ytodd
Pre-takeoff checklist
Crating is really pilot's discretion IMO. I crate my own dogs on flights because they like to come up into the front seats on car rides to say hello/look out the windows and can be a huge distraction that I wouldn't want in a critical phase of flight. Also it contains all the fur- I normally only vacuum the plane out a couple of times a year and I don't want huge amounts of fur everywhere.
For these flights I don't know the dogs or their temperaments, we usually get reports but even then the dog may never have flown so who really knows? What finally made me decide to purchase a second crate(we only had one big enough for a lab) for this flight was that the crate was cheaper than anything in the airplane the dog might chew up and was worth it to me not have to try to clean urine, vomit, or poop out of the plane. We were the middle leg for this flight and I was the only one using a crate so maybe I'm being overly cautious but I'm taking the better safe than sorry route here.
This was the crate we used:
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/you-and-me-portable-canvas-crate-large-2505416
The large 36" size fits, just barely, into the baggage area of a Piper Archer II. This style is really nice because they quickly collapse so you can get it through the baggage door folded up then open it back up inside fairly easily. A hard plastic 36" crate will also just fit into the back seat of an Archer II, you have to fold the front seats forward and slide it in at an angle but it does fit.
PnP will send you free crates, collars, leashes and tethers, just email them. I have done about 30 PnP flights and hauled a bunch of cats, and probably 75 dogs.