Is is safe to fly in cargo?

[MicroMuttMom]

Hi All,

My husband and I are off for the weekend tomorrow to surprise his folks on their 40th anniversary. It's only about an hour-long flight we're talking about, but after checking out the airline's website and talking to a couple of their reps, it seems that Stella, who only weighs about 5.5 pounds, is a bit too tall to stand up in an under-the-seat carrier, and although she'd be just fine sitting for an hour, the airline is pretty strict about their rules.

There's only about 9" of space under the seat, and puppy's about 12" tall from head to paw - I'm guessing she's got the long-leggidy thing going on because she's half Papillon.

Anyhow, the other alternative is to put her in cargo hold in her hard kennel, but this worries me a bit - we hear horror stories. We were also hoping to travel (from Vancouver, Canada to Cancun, Mexico) with her this winter, and there we'd be looking at 5 or 6 hours in cargo. We've been looking at this weekend trip as a kind of test-drive, or I guess test-flight. I had really hoped she'd remain small enough for cabin travel, but we're not about to have her legs shortened, so I guess it's cargo or dog-sitter.

Has anyone had experience (good or bad) flying with their pooches?

Your advice, as always, would be much appreciated.

Muchas Gracias,

Lili

[PooGirl13]

Hi there!

I don't have any experience with this, so hopefully someone who has will pop in...

Personally, I'm not sure how I'd feel about it.... I don't think I'd be very comfortable with my girls being anywhere except under my seat. I'm also saying this having not yet been faced with this situation so perhaps after some investigation and talking to others I'd feel differently.. don't know!

I would like to think that it a safe way for them to fly this way, but not sure

[MyBabyShihPoo]

Would I fly my pets via cargo on a plane...absolutely not!!!

I believe doing so is just too stressful emotionally and physically for the dog! My reasons for which I would not do so are all stated in the following article:

http://www.dogfriendly.com/server/magazine/m0802/f0802_1.shtml

A family friend of mine used to work as a flight attendent for many years, and feels the same way about transporting pets via cargo...in her words, "FOR THE LOVE OF YOUR PET, DON'T DO IT!"

However, if you are going to do so, please do take all precautions possible to ensure a safe flight for your pet! If you'd like me to list some important steps to take when flying your dog via cargo, please let me know, I know my friend had some excellent tips and suggestions for people who must fly their pets!

Hope that helps!

[MonsterBailey]

yea, I agree with the others... I don't think I could do it either. You hear about the total stress they go through! Just think about it ?? yipes!! the noise? the strangers? the other dogs?? the KENNEL!!?? the whole air sickness and then the ears poppin? eeek.

[MicroMuttMom]

Okay, then - my baby's staying at home. I was all stoked to take her travelling because she's such an easy-going and adaptable little critter, but that was under the assumption we could have her with us in the cabin. The cargo does sound pretty awful though, so we won't put her through it. The good news is that she's such a sweetie, we've got loads of dog-sitters to choose from - my brother and sister inlaw always get first dibs!

Thanks for the feedback.

BTW, Monsterbailey - I know this was a while back, but I just LOVE the pic of your pooch lining up his toys to give them a good "talking to"!

[MyBabyShihPoo]

Given that Stella can't be in the cabin with you, the dog-sitters sound like the best idea, MicroMuttMom!

[MonsterBailey]

hehe... micromutt... you wouldn't like it so much if you were HERE! It's a nightly occurrence. arghhhh.

And by the way... I have to say, I'm happy he's staying home. You're going to miss him terribly, but it is probably the best decision for the little munchkin