I’m going to be traveling with my dog across the country. He’s going to be in the cabin with me, underneath the seat in front of me. A couple questions:
He’s a 1.5 year old poodle mix, 8lbs. He’s never flown before.
Also if anyone has any tips, they’d be greatly appreciated!!
he loves car rides if that adds any insight
we r flying United
I’ve flown recently with small pooches traveling with other passengers near me. Our airline (SW) requires that the animals remain in their carriers, but everyone I’ve travelled with has had the carrier open so they could,pet their dog or cat.
I would check with the airline. They are the best source of information bout this.
My only advice is to remember that a good share of the population doesn’t like dogs/cats and/or can even be allergic to them. Most don’t mind well mannered animals that owners keep to themselves, but don’t assume everyone loves Fido and wants to see/pet them or have them lick/crawl on them. Only “share” if someone openly asks you to as many in the “non-lovers” group will be polite if they have to be, but then complain quite a bit behind your back.
We did this with our little guy and let his head out for pets and treats. We also got him some mild sedatives so he wouldn’t bark and be annoying to others. Make sure to let his head peek out when walking through the airport - it seems to make people very happy!
I believe you are supposed to leave them in the carrier the whole time but I’ve never seen someone not let the dog poke their head out ; ). In some airports, they are even allowed to walk around the terminal but that is highly variable.
I’ve traveled with 2 different dogs this way. We flew SW where I knew that the aisle seat usually has a very small space under the seat in front, so I sat in the middle seat. Hopefully on United there isn’t much difference as your seat selection needs to be pre-chosen.
My current dog had never flown before and he wasn’t happy. The flight was full. He didn’t bark, but he tossed himself back and forth trying to get out of the case. If I had let his head pop out it would have made things worse. He was OK if H or I stuck our hand in to pet him. We had only given him benadryl and it didn’t appear to do much. I would bring something stronger, just in case. And have pill pockets handy so you can feed meds to your dog.
Our trip home was much better. I didn’t bother with the benadryl. The dog was much calmer and I put the whole carrying case on my lap as our flight was nearly empty. I didn’t take him out though.
If I were you, I would practice having your dog in the case for a period of time, so he can get used to it. Take him out and put him back in so he gets used to that too. The TSA makes you carry your dog through the metal detector and put the case through on the x-ray belt.
Yes on the advice to get your dog used to the carrier ahead of time! Also, if you are going to medicate your dog with something new, do a trial at home in case you need to get him to the vet if he has an adverse reaction.
DD has traveled with her little dog a lot. Before the first trip she drove around with him in the carrier so he got used to being in it with motion. She gave him Benadryl the first time and also took some of his favorite treats and a little portable water. She also let his head out when he was clam. She also put his favorite small bed in the carrier so he know he was supposed to rest there. Most of the time people did not even know he was there. Even the flight attendants.
thank you everyone for the advice!! the vet said she would give us a prescription for a mild sedative, so we are planning on doing a trial run with it. we also bought a carrier that he ended up hating and it wasn’t even the right dimensions, so we are going to have to buy a new one. anyone have any suggestions?
It needs to be soft bodied so you can squish it a bit while getting it under the seat. Ours is mesh all around the sides and most of the top zips off. I don’t think any dog likes those carriers!
There is a TV show called Lucky Dog that does dog rescue. He always trains them for their new home and one of them was for a traveler. He showed how to ease a dog into the carrier with small steps and rewards. I don’t know if you can find it but he started very slowly by keeping the carrier open all the way first and putting treats in it. Then step by step let the dog go in again and closed one side at a time until dog would go in to a closed up carrier. Each time rewarded with treats.
As a person with pretty bad dog allergies, please keep him in his carrier so his dander/hair etc. is not spread throughout the cabin.
he’s hypoallergenic :)) so his hair doesn’t shed or anything! also we have taken the entire row so we shouldn’t be bothering anyone
he hated his hard crate when we first got him, but especially since we kind of had no experience training dogs we realized we did it all wrong. I think we are going to slowly convince him that the soft crate is his favorite thing EVER
Just FYI - I have gotten reactions from poodles and other breeds which are supposed to be hypoallergenic.
@kiddie obviously I don’t plan on taking him out since that’s already not allowed by United. i feel bad!! i could never imagine being allergic to dogs 
I just flew across the country with a puppy. I used an airline-approved Sherpa soft-sided carrier (link below), then there’s no argument at the ticket counter or security about whether it’ll fit under the seat.
I traveled on Delta, I did have to go to a special line at the ticket counter and it took extra time to get the puppy checked thru the process. You will probably need proof of vet vaccinations, but check with United.
Consult your vet, but I was told, if needed, you could give your dog some Benadryl. The dosing I was told was 1 mg per pound. Typical human adult tablets are 25mg, but they do sell Benadryl for pets.
Lastly, I took the puppy out of the carrier for a while on the airplane (Delta). No one gave me any trouble. Obviously, for take-offs and landings, the dog must remain in the carrier.
That’s simply not true. If someone is allergic to animal dander, your dog has it too. He just doesn’t shed as much…there is no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog.