Dogs Travel by Airplane - Dogs that travel in the main cabin

Vacation time and travels are here and so I would like to offer a small excerpt from our book "Keep Your Paws on the Road".The book is soon to be published, and offers lots of valuable information on traveling with dogs.

 

Travel by Airplane - Dogs that travel in the main cabin

While every airline has different regulations, generally speaking, pets who weigh less than 20 pounds – pet carrier weight included – can travel in the cabin if the airline permits it. Your soft or hard case pet carrier must securely fit under the seat in front of you and is counted as one of your carry-ons. When you look to purchase your pet carrier, be sure to verify that it is airline approved, as there are lots of choices, but not all pet carriers meet the IATA requirement. You can go to our website and check out our recommended products in the travel essentials section. If your pet meets your airline’s criteria for traveling in the cabin, this is probably the best option for him.

Spending time in the pet carrier

Keep in mind that your dog must remain in the carrier for the entire flight. Your dog may whine or bark when confined in the carrier, especially when he can see you and is unsure why is his inside. We highly recommend that you get your dog used to the carrier weeks ahead of travel. You can use his bed and some toys and have him spend time in the crate while you watch TV or cook dinner. Use short periods of time to get him accustomed to the carrier.

After the initial crate training, make sure to have him spent time in it, while you carry him around. A good way to practice is to take him to restaurants or into stores with you. Practice with him staying in the crate for several hours at a time, since that will be the case during your flight time.

You can put a worn t-shirt in the bag with him, so he has your familiar smells with him to be comfortable.

Before you go on your flight, limit his food and fluid intake, so he will not need to go potty and won’t get motion-sick. You can talk to your veterinarian and see if the vet recommends a sedative for your dog to calm him during the travel time. If you have practiced being in the carrier prior to the flight, your dog should be fine.

Make sure you have his pet passport, and other documentation required. Have the dog collar with his ID tag on the dog and his leash handy, in case you want or need to take him out.

Security Checkpoint

After you have checked in for your flight, you and your dog will need to go through the airport security checkpoints.

You have two options to take your dog through the screening process. You can take him out of the carrier, and have the empty pet carrier go through the X-Ray belt, while you walk through the body scanner with your dog on-leash. Or leave your dog in the pet carrier and walk through the body scanner with him in it. If you leave him in the bag, TSA officials may ask to inspect the bag after you have been scanned.

To simplify the process, we recommend you have only few other carry-on items with you, so you have your hands free to handle the dog and the carrier.

In-flight

When you get to your seat on the aircraft, you can store the pet carrier under the seat right away, or keep the dog with the carrier on your lap until the flight attendants clear the cabin for take-off.

During the flight, you may want to interact with your dog. You can have the carrier on your lab during the flight, but your dog must remain contained in the carrier at all times. If you are tempted to open the carrier to give your dog a treat or pet him, do so carefully and only open the bag a little bit. You can give your dog a small ice cube, but again, don’t overdo it. The more you interact, the more likely he is wanting to come out. Just keep things calm and let Fido sleep in this carrier.

Connecting flights

If your flight is long and has several legs, you will have time in between your flights for Fido to come out of the crate in the airport area. If he has been confined for some time, the first order of business will be to give him an opportunity to relieve himself. Many airports have dog walking areas. However, going to the dog area usually requires for you to leave the secure gate area and to go back through security later. This may not be feasible if you have only little time between connections.

We find it is very beneficial to piddle pad train your dog, when you travel by airplane, since it allows you to stay within the secured area with your dog. 

We hope you enjoyed this excerpt from our book. Check back for more information on traveling with your pets.

Thank you,
Bee

Modern Canine Services  is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on Amazon.

Pawsible Travel - Training to get your dog ready for vacation

Here comes the summer, with warm temperatures and long days. Time to get ready for that vacation! If you are like me, you're looking to spend some time relaxing in nature and you want to bring your dog (s) with you. I love to travel with my dogs, in fact, I plan my vacations around them.

When you want to take your dog (s) with you on vacation, you have to research and prepare a little more carefully. There are a lot of places your dog can't go and you need to find a dog-friendly accommodation, as well as plan a dog-friendly travel route.

For more on finding dog-friendly accommodations, read my previous post:

5 Questions you should ask before you book that pet-friendly overnight accommodation.

 

But before you make your reservations, did you ask yourself if your dog is ready for travel?

I believe the most important travel preparation is to make sure your dog is comfortable in unfamiliar places and feels safe wherever you take him, because he has learned to trust you. 

Here are a few exercises you should do with your dog, prior to taking him on vacation. These training exercises expose your dog to some unfamiliar places and in the process teach him to rely on you for guidance and safety.

1. Get your dog used to being out in public places,  new smells and noises.

 It is actually a good idea to practice taking your dog with you to a few busy places around your home town and get him used to being out in public places that are full of new smells and noises.Make it a regular habit to take your dog to the Farmer's Market or an outdoor event. This will teach him to be around a lot of other people, noises and smells. Make sure he is comfortable walking through crowded areas. Make sure he is well-behaved. He should be walking calmly by your side and not bark or lung at the leash, when he sees other dogs or distractions.

2. Practice walking on different types of surfaces and through obstacles and distractions.

You should expose your dog to as many different surfaces and distractions as possible. Find a local skateboard park and take your dog near it. The sounds and fast moving skateboards are hard to get used to for many dogs. Being accustomed to these noises will help as you are out in unusual surroundings. Find bridges in local parks that may have wooden planks with sections you can see through, this is another tough one for dogs. Go up and down different types of stairways and walk over metal walkways if possible. Can you walk past an area with sheep or goats without your dog barking at them? 

3. Take your dog to local restaurants and see how he behaves.

Have you taken your dog out for dinner? Can you eat and enjoy your meal with him under the table, or is he getting himself raped up in his leash and is restless, giving you no time to eat? Practice until he is calm and lays down under the table, out of everyone's way. Don't allow your dog to sit on the chair or sniff around the tabletops! Other patrons will not like the idea of your dog having licked the plates or the tabletops.

4. Teach him to be left by himself in unfamiliar surroundings

This will be the hardest lesson to teach. Try to find an area that you can leave your dog by himself and see how he reacts. Most dogs will whine or bark when left by themselves in unfamiliar surroundings. It is a good idea to have a familiar item for them to lay on, so bring your dog's bed or blanket. You should start by leaving only for a few minutes and then come back. 

5. Crate Train your dog.

Another important lesson for traveling is to crate train your dog. He should see the crate as his familiar surrounding and you can bring the crate with you on your vacation. There are several hotels and vacation rentals that may even require you crate your dog when you leave him alone.

When you travel with your dog, you will have to take him everywhere with you, so practice while you are at home and show him the proper way to behave while you are out and about. Make sure you have a well-behaved dog before you go on vacation, it will make your travels much more enjoyable.

For more information on getting your dog ready for travel, look for our upcoming book "Keep Your Paws on the Road" or go to our website and read through our free training tips on our FREE resource page.

I wish you wonderful travels this summer. If you can, share some of your travel pictures and stories with us here at ModernCanineServices.blogspot

Until next time: Keep your paws on the road!

Bee Walker


 Modern Canine Services  is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on Amazon.