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Travel Tips

Chamberlain

Well-known member
I just booked my flight home for Christmas, Chamberlain will be accompanying me. :shock: I am super nervous about flying with him!

After work we are going to the pet store to buy a pet carrier to practice in. Does anyone have any favorites?

It is an direct flight and it is only an hour and 10 min so he won't be in the air long, but I know that crying babies annoy everyone and I am worried I will have a whinny pup that will P/O everyone!!

How did the other fliers react?

Did your dog whine when the plane took off??

What papers did you bring with you?

When I talked to the airline they said that they did not need any papers and he did not have to be cleared by a vet. But I plan on brining all his papers and having his vet write a letter 10 days out saying that he is up to date on all of his shots….Is there anything else I need?
Thanks!
 
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I have flown with Riley and Oz many, many times. Riley is my dream flier. She has never made a peep ever when she has flown. People are shocked when they find out I have a dog in my bag. Oz on the other hand has started whining when we've started our descent a few times, must be the pressure change. I started giving him a high quality chew toy and he seems better when I do that.

You will need to carry Chamberlain through security without his harness or leash. I have never been asked to show papers, although like you, I carry papers from the vet showing that they are up to date with immunizations etc, and that Rily has a titanium mesh implant from her decompression surgery (she has SM).

I also let him walk through the airport . He loves it and I've only been told once to put him back in his bag. I carry Riley in my arms through the airport. She is a much more timid dog and would be very nervous if I let her walk whereas Oz is a meeter and greeter to everyone he sees.

The medium Sherpa bag fits mostly under the seats in economy. Because it doesn't fit all the way under, I try to get the window seat, so I don't bother any one eslse if they have to get up and then have to kind of step over the bag a bit. If you are flying business or first you can get the large Sherpa. It doesn't quite fit under the seat either, but I have never had a flight attendant give me grief about it not fitting under totally. Riley weighs about 12.5 pounds and Oz weighs 15 pounds. I have only flown American with them so I don't know what other airline seat configurations are. I have been asked by the ticket agents to let them see the dog in the bag. They want to make sure that the bag is big enough for the dog.

I always check in and get my boarding pass and then take them across the street to a grassy area to pee and/or poop before I go through security. O'Hare has a Hilton right there that has a front grassy area so I use that. Most of the time they will pee, but not always. When I land, I take them right outside before I get my luggage. You can't really carry on any luggage since the dog counts as carry- on luggage.

The longest flight my dogs have been on is a 4 hour flight and they have done really well. Just the little bit of whining from Oz, before I learned to give him the chew.

In terms of other fliers, most people love seeing a dog on the plane, but they don't really see them until I am getting off the plane. Then I open the top zipper to let them stick their head out. People coo and talk their little baby talk to them. I have only had one women who recognized the dog carrier and said she was highly allergic to dogs and asked to have her seat changed (but did it very nastily like it ws my fault that she was allergic).

I do keep them in their carrier when I am walking out of the airport once I am at my destination since I am afraid that Oz especially might just cock his leg on a chair if he really had to pee. Better to keep him safe in his little carrier until we're outside.

My best advice would be to relax. You are going to be more nervous than any one else and more bothered than anyone else if he happens to whine. I think that the noise of the airplane is kind of lulling to them also. It is kind of loud and monotonous. Enjoy your vacation!
 
By the way, I forgot to add that the first time I flew with Oz, he was three months old like Chamberlain and he was a dream on that flight - no whining.
 
As I live in a country you can drive from end to end in a couple of hours found this thread very interesting :)
 
The sturdibag carrier is designed for airline travel. It fits perfectly under the seat in coach, and then pops up a little bigger for when you aren't shoving it under the seat.
 
My best advice would be to relax. You are going to be more nervous than any one else and more bothered than anyone else if he happens to whine. I think that the noise of the airplane is kind of lulling to them also. It is kind of loud and monotonous. Enjoy your vacation!

I :lotsaluv: you! Thank you so much, all your information was very helpful.

Last night I went to Petco and bought a Sherpa Medium Carrier and when I got home I realized that in the carrier they had a "Sherpa Pet Group Guaranteed On-Board." And Air Tran is on their list of approved airlines that allow their bags! Sherpa guarantees that you will be granted access on the plane and if not they refund the price of the bag and your airline ticket! They also gave me a form to print off to get a health certificate. I feel much better!

Last night I put some treats in the bag and let Chamberlain jump in and out of it. He doesn't seem to mind it too much. Every day we are going to train with the bag to get him used to it. He loves car rides and settles down so I hope that the plane will feel like an extension of the car.

I picked an aisle seat because I thought it would be easier but now that I am thinking about it, it isn't going to easier! lol

So from your experiences it is okay to carry him in my arms around the airport when I am walking to the gate? Did you give your dogs any sedatives or any good chew bones you can recommend?

I am only brining a small backpack as my other carry-on that will hold a change of clothes and my purse so I will have both hands free.

And I agree with you, I need to get my nerves under control before we fly!
 
If you go to seatguru.com you can look up the size under the seat on your specific airplane.

I have flown SEVERAL times with my cavaliers and I have found the SturdiBag is the best choice.

I would recommend doing a LONG walk in the morning before the flight and just relax and enjoy yourself. :) I've never had any problems from airline agents. :)
 
I would recommend doing a LONG walk in the morning before the flight and just relax and enjoy yourself. :) I've never had any problems from airline agents. :)

Thank you for your advice!

I am bringing Chamberlain to work with me that morning; because our flight isn't till late afternoon. Where I work there is large garden and lots of place to walk so we will be doing a long walk before we leave! I am also hoping that all the attention from my co-workers will wear him out. I want that puppy to be exhausted! :paw:

Does anyone have any tips on how to introduce him into a new house? We are staying at my mother’s house and she has two dogs. I just want to make sure that he does not "relapse" on his housebreaking or have problems sleeping at night.

PS I am a little embarssed because I am coming off as a nervous nelly! hehe
 
No need to apologize; I would be nervous, too, as I haven't flown with a dog and have always boarded them.

Once you arrive to your mom's, I think it would be a very good idea to take your dog for a 10 minute walk, to let him sniff and get to know the neighborhood, and even circle the house/property, and block if possible. I was recently watching "It's Me or the Dog" and Victoria suggests that the visiting dog meet the 'host' dogs outdoors for the first time. I guess that would be a more neutral territory. We did this when our son and DIL came to visit a few weeks ago and brought their 45-lb 6 month-old puppy, and it went much better than the first visit, when I did not have this information, and Sophie 'received' their pup in our house. THAT was a disaster. (Their puppy is also much better behaved now, since the first visit, because DDIL has been diligently working on their puppy's training, and that helped a lot.)
 
Thank you Waldor!

My parents have a Springer Spaniel and an English Cocker Spaniel, they are both very well behaved because my parents hunt with them. Also they are both very dog friendly.

My mom normally goes everywhere with her English Cocker, named Teddy, but she is going to leave him home when they pick me up at the airport. I think this is partly because she wants Chamberlain all to herself and doesn't want Teddy to be jealous! hehe :)

We are already planning on having the dogs meet outside.

Chamberlain has been doing very well with his traveling training. I took him on a car ride with him and he stayed in his travel crate while I went into Kohls to pick up some presents. I was only gone 15min because I want to start out small. I gave him a bone and he only whinned a couple of times. However, I think he was only whinning because he had to poo! Woops bad mommy!
 
Hello there! I have an absolute favorite travel bag.
It's called the sturdibag. http://reviews.petco.com/3554/10883...rdibag-purple-pet-carrier-reviews/reviews.htm The large bag is a couple of inches over airplane guidelines in width but so flexible and bendable and even on international flights they never looked at it twice. It's super light and fits even a larger cavalier! The sherpa bags are uncomfortable in my experience. i have both.
As far as I know, for domestic flights u do need a "health certificate from a vet, in the US. My dog adores flying and keeps quiet for a whole 8 hours during flying. I take her to the bathroom about twice to stretch her legs. Cavaliers are superb travelers though!!!
 
I just picked up a Sturdibag for our drive home and it was excellent! I can't testify to how it works flying, but overall I was impressed with the construction and design. I think my breeder was even more impressed when I slipped the seat belt through the loops to keep the whole thing secure. It was a good thing I did, since I was traveling in DC beltway traffic and a few times I had to stop suddenly.

TIP: If you don't know this already, pulling the seat belt out ALL THE WAY puts it into an automatic locking position wherever you stop it. This will keep the bag (or whatever you are securing) from sliding forward, even if you don't have a sudden stop (where the seat belts are supposed to lock anyway). If you have installed an infant car seat using a seat belt, you probably know this already, but there might be some folks on here who haven't done that. To reset it, unlatch it and let the seat belt all the way back into the wall of the vehicle.

One thing I can say about the Sturdibag, though, is that the two rods are incredibly difficult to install. I got one in after wrestling with it for about 10 minutes and putting a cramp in my hand. The other one I gave up on after 15 minutes and ended up asking the guy who was cleaning my fireplace & chimney to do it for me!

If you are in the U.S., keep an eye out for it at your local PetSmart -- I saw it at both my locations on clearance for $45, regularly $90.
 
One thing I can say about the Sturdibag, though, is that the two rods are incredibly difficult to install. I got one in after wrestling with it for about 10 minutes and putting a cramp in my hand. The other one I gave up on after 15 minutes and ended up asking the guy who was cleaning my fireplace & chimney to do it for me!

If you are in the U.S., keep an eye out for it at your local PetSmart -- I saw it at both my locations on clearance for $45, regularly $90.

hahahahaha! I had the same problem. Took me hours!!!!!
 
Chamberlain is taking his second flight next month. He is either going to do really well or throw a fit at being in his carrier. We need to start practicing again!
 
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