oceanblue

We're really nervous about flying our oldest dog (8 years old) from Cyprus to Canada. I have spoken to Lufthansa in Germany with regards to flying both of my dogs to Toronto via Germany in September and they have been very helpful and reassuring of our dogs safety onboard the plane. Our oldest dog, a medium sized poodle (about the size of a Bischon Frise) has a very nervous disposition - she shakes and hyperventilates whenever she hears thunder or fireworks. She weighs around 7 kilos so most airlines won't allow her to fly in the cabin, after combining body weight and box weight. Are there any other airlines that would allow her to fly in the cabin with us? I think I will be extremely stressed and worried during the whole flight. I'm not too worried about the Golden Retriever; she's more brave than the poodle.

Any tips/advice/recommendations would be greatly appreciated! I wish I was a millionaire so I could afford a private jet and have my pets sit next to me!!

Thankyou in advance!

CazW54

Hi.
The only comment I can make is that if I were a paying passenger on a plane I would not want to be sitting anywhere near someone's dog, not for two minutes let alone ten hours!

Sorry.

oceanblue

And this solves my problem how?

Lisa_W

We got a special spray (I think it was a type of hormone spray) from the vet which we sprayed around the travelling boxes and it was meant to calm the cats. I believe you can get a similar one for dogs, so it might be worth asking your vet, if you haven't already. One of our cats is very timid and jumpy, but she was fine after the flight, so the spray obviously had some effect!

I think after the initial trauma of taking off, most animals probably calm down and go to sleep in the dark for the journey - you'll probably spend the whole journey worrying yourself sick and the dogs will be "downstairs" snoring!!

Lisa

Butch Cassidy

Excuse me? I'd rather sit near most peoples dogs than most kids I've encountered on ANY flight.

oceanblue

Haha, thanks so much for sharing that with me. Did your cats travel in the cabin? I wonder what it's like down below... do they regulate the temperature and air pressure? I wonder if they would allow me to watch the baggage handlers as they load my dogs into the cargo hold? I've even contemplated a chartered flight that would allow me to sit next to my pets on the flight - has anyone done this? I've read about airlines that do this in the US, and it costs around 3000 pounds. I would be tempted to travel this way with my older dog. I guess I'm just being an overly worried pet parent?

oceanblue

I will second that.

Novocastrian

Unless, of course, the kids were in a box.

dbd33

I sat next to an unleashed and unmuzzled dog that growled alarmingly the whole flight, I didn't care for that. Also a basket of live chickens, that was less intimidating but smellier.

Lisa_W

The cats didn't travel in the cabin. I think you can keep your pet in the cabin with you on internal US flights, which is probably what you have heard about, but I am sure they have to be in the hold on international charter flights. The hold is kept at a certain temperature and pressure if there are animals on board.

The cats had to be left at a shipping company at the airport about three or four hours before the flight. I Would imagine you would not be allowed to watch the baggage handlers load them onto the flight, because of all the safety implications of you being out on the concourse with them.

I am sure they will be fine. They might be a bit subdued for a couple of days after, but they will bounce back - even the nervous one!

Novocastrian

I'd forgotten, but I had a similar experience once on a flight from Lagos to Abidjan. An astonishing variety of "hand luggage".

Louisecooke

ah, poor little thing! Our 9 dogs flew over and had no problems, though none of them are nervous anyway. We've also flown quite a few dogs internally too with no probs.

However, this is the spray you need, it does work apparently

http://www.doggiesolutions.co.uk/d-a...one-497-0.html

good luck

Butch Cassidy

and muzzled\sedated

The4BellsLondon

Ocean - I think dogs can only go in the cabin on internal flights in Canada and then they have to under a certain size / weight.