Flying with a BC inside cabin

[Pipa]

Hi everyone,

 

I have a rescued 2 yo BC that has been with me for almost an year. We made great progress but she stills suffers a lot with loud noises and even more with separation anxiety (with the pandemic she just haven’t been alone for much time).

 

I’ll be traveling from US to Latin America for a month and decided to take her with me (I thought it was better than leaving her with strangers for a month, giving the separation anxiety seems much worse than her fear of loud noises).

She has never been on a plane before and even though she’ll be inside the cabin (and with me and my partner at all times) I’m pretty scared of how she’ll handle it.

 

I couldn’t find direct flights (again covid) so we’d be taking two planes for a total of 12-13h. Any advice on how to make the trip better for her?!

[GentleLake]

Welcome to the Boards.

I've never flown with a dog so can't speak from experience, but with the probability of experiencing both noise and separation issues I'd be inclined to speak to my vet about possibly using some mild sedative that could help keep her calm.

BTW, noise phobias are so common in border collies that there's a high probability it's genetic.

Good luck with the trip.

[D'Elle]

Hello, and welcome to the forum.

My understanding is that dogs cannot fly in the cabin on an airplane unless they are certified service dogs, or are emotional support dogs and you have paperwork to support that. Most airlines are not willing to accept the passenger's word that the dog is a support dog without proof these days because they have had to deal with people who bring untrained animals on board.

Also, you need to take into consideration the demands this places on your dog, such as the fact that your dog may not be able to go 12 or 13 hours without going potty, which is impossible on an airplane.  That is a very long time to ask a dog to go. If she is afraid of noises, the airport and the plane will likely stress her out.

And also, please consider how well trained your dog is. Unless  your dog is trained so well that she will sit at your feet (or on a seat if you buy her an extra ticket) for that long without making any noise, or throwing up or wanting to get up and wander around, she will be a nuisance for you and the rest of the airplane. Any of those things will make you unpopular with the passengers and the crew, and may even result in a very bad experience for you and your dog. Most dogs who have not been trained as official service dogs are not well enough trained to ride in an airplane cabin, especially for that long.

I would suggest that you need to talk with the airline(s) about all of this. It is possible that taking her with you won't be allowed. And please reconsider what you would be asking of your dog to do this.

 

[Pipa]

On 11/28/2020 at 5:58 PM, GentleLake said:

Welcome to the Boards.

I've never flown with a dog so can't speak from experience, but with the probability of experiencing both noise and separation issues I'd be inclined to speak to my vet about possibly using some mild sedative that could help keep her calm.

BTW, noise phobias are so common in border collies that there's a high probability it's genetic.

Good luck with the trip.

Thank you!!!! The vet told us she was not comfortable giving her any sedative but told us to give her Kylkene days before and on the day of the flight.

Let’s see how she handles it! =)

[Pipa]

On 11/29/2020 at 9:04 AM, D'Elle said:

Hello, and welcome to the forum.

My understanding is that dogs cannot fly in the cabin on an airplane unless they are certified service dogs, or are emotional support dogs and you have paperwork to support that. Most airlines are not willing to accept the passenger's word that the dog is a support dog without proof these days because they have had to deal with people who bring untrained animals on board.

Also, you need to take into consideration the demands this places on your dog, such as the fact that your dog may not be able to go 12 or 13 hours without going potty, which is impossible on an airplane.  That is a very long time to ask a dog to go. If she is afraid of noises, the airport and the plane will likely stress her out.

And also, please consider how well trained your dog is. Unless  your dog is trained so well that she will sit at your feet (or on a seat if you buy her an extra ticket) for that long without making any noise, or throwing up or wanting to get up and wander around, she will be a nuisance for you and the rest of the airplane. Any of those things will make you unpopular with the passengers and the crew, and may even result in a very bad experience for you and your dog. Most dogs who have not been trained as official service dogs are not well enough trained to ride in an airplane cabin, especially for that long.

I would suggest that you need to talk with the airline(s) about all of this. It is possible that taking her with you won't be allowed. And please reconsider what you would be asking of your dog to do this.

 

Hey, thanks for your input. I actually already have everything in order with the airline and the vet for her to fly inside the cabin and she is well trained. I’m not worried at all about her behavior. I’m mostly worried about her fear and anxiety. =\

And if I had an option I’d not put her through this but we have no one to take care of her in the US and I’m not comfortable leaving her with strangers or any boarding place for so long. This could be particularly complicated if for some COVID reason we are not able to come back to the US for her.

So her staying in the US is not an option. I’m just looking for the best I can do to make her more comfortable during the flight.

 

[D'Elle]

OK, that makes sense. Maybe you could try giving her an herbal kind of sedative? I'd look that up online and read reviews and so on, of course, and then test it out on her ahead of time to make sure she doesn't have a negative experience with it. I have given herbal or homeopathic remedies to dogs to calm them down a bit and had some success with it, with no side effects.  Maybe even CBD would help, I don't know. But maybe it's worth looking into those possibilities.

Wishing you and your dog the best of luck.