nursekaty

hopefully, they were worried cause he'd spilt his water aswell n it was all on his bed, i'm wondering if they can put a frozen bowl of water so he won't spill it then it'll defrost whilst they're flying!!!god it's such a nightmare!!

Dreams of Oz

Hi.

I know this is no help whatsoever but this is the reason why i couldnt even think of taking our labrador with us.
He is so scared of everything that makes a noise at all...and he is a gun dog!! He would be so stressed in the crate he would die i am sure of it.We have tried the rescue remedy and all the pheramone plug ins money can buy bit nothing works for him.We even (reluctantly ) did try diazepam once from the vets but it didnt touch him really as he just gets so worked up that he fights everything.
He is such a lovely dog and we will be heartbroken to leave him but i just think when i find him the right home he will be so much better off here than having to go through all that...as i say i doubt he would make it.
Its a very personal choice though and i am well aware of that so i understand other people and why they would choose differently.

Good luck to you and your dog...hope he gets to travel on Monday.
Janice.

Timber Floor Au

Kinda weird, the limited knowledge some people have of staffys.

A staffy has over 300 lbs per square inch jaw pressure, I think some figures on record are much higher.

Its very easy for a scared staffy to chew thru what appears to be very strong steel mesh.

Good crates, are designed to enclose the dog, and to be reused, they have to be fairly light, and so are made from thinner guage material, than we would generally use to contain dogs within our yard.

I have seen a Staffy, chew thru metal fencing that a man with bolt croppers, would have difficulty handling.

Given that the plane is in the air for some considerable time.. I think the concern is that the dog could actually escape, and cause further damage, whilst it is panicking.

Most staffies are absolutley scared shitless over thunderstorms, and I would imagine a flight would be akin to that kind of situation for the dog.

I would imagine, not sure on this, but someone said using a blanket to cover the crate... thats actually a great suggestion. Also putting the mutt in a wooden crate could be a way forward, with the metal crate inside it. Would cost you more tho.

Speak to the airport, and your pet carrier.

Best of luck, Ste

MOONLIGHT

I hope your dog settles and get's to fly tomorrow. I shipped my little dog out, when i dropped her off to the kennels they showed me her wooden crate then when i went and picked her up from quarantine it was a plastic crate????? so don't know what happened there! If your dog is still at the airport waiting maybe it's heard planes taking off and landing and may be a bit more relaxed to the noise, good luck

jonathanb

Cover the crate with a blanket and get your mom to get in with the dog and smoke about 10 joints, the dog will be so stoned that it wont bother about the noise and your mom will giggle all the way home........ Everyone happy

nursekaty

good answer jonathon!!

thanks everyone, have spoke to dog handlers with him at the mo n he said he's doing ok, the plastic crate arrives monday so fingers crossed!!!hopefully he wont' chew through this one!!!

IanJakeCharlieDaddy

Hi I am a vet nurse and as everyone has said they will not sedate him, you could try rescue rem in the water and/or DAP spray which every vet will stock and spray all over the bedding. The spray is a pheromone that the bitch naturally produces after birth to calm the puppies and works really well for fireworks, moving house etc. They also do a plug in but thats no help in this situation. Hope this helps

NikiL

Would feliway have the same effect for cats?

IanJakeCharlieDaddy

yep you can get a travell spray that you are meant to put in carrier before you transport the cat. There is a new natural drug called serina which you put in the food for dogs and cats and will help them to calm down. My advise to anyone who is shipping start any naturall remidies 2 weeks before travel as the take time to get up to effective levels.

Kapri

Agreed.
Our staffie cross dislocated her hip a few years ago and had to be kept in a dog cage for a few weeks.
We used to call her Houdini because if she wanted to get out she would find a way
She is a nervous dog too - scared of thunder, fireworks and other loud noises.

That's why it's essential they have the right cage. The dog will no doubt settle to sleep once in the air but prior to and during take off would be a problem time.
The dog travel companies must have experince of this so hopefully a solution will be found.

ray2gill

I would be very concerned about putting a blanket over the cage in the hold. Whilst animals are carried in the pressurised section of the hold, the blanket could slip and limit air circulation in the cage and he could become overheaded if in an agitated state.

If he is being kept at the airport now may be he will be a little more used to all the airport noise and it won't be so scary. If an animal has never heard an aeroplane it must be a very terrifying experience.

Your dog should be watered at all stop off points, i.e. Dubai, Singapore etc. Not sure what your flight plan is.

Who are you flying with?

JoolsB

Just wanted to wish you best of luck with getting your staffie to Oz-if only dogs could talk and we could explain what is happening! I'm so sorry you're having to go through this extra worry.

Streaks

we'll have to introduce him to Professional Princess' cat Gordon as he can talk (and if you don't believe me just check out his journal!)

JoolsB

Yeh but can dogs speak cat?

Streaks

with the imagination that PP has, I'm sure something can worked out