When dogs fly...

ircphoenix

ircphoenix

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ircphoenix
Thinking about taking my dog with me and the girlfriend when we go to Sedona next week... I've seen a bunch of positive to neutral stories about people taking their dogs with them... anyone have dogs that absolutely HATE the airplane? She does fine in the car.
 
I've flown about 2,000 dogs. The only one who hated the airplane was a Dalmation. I'll never fly one of those again.

If she does fine in the car, she'll do fine in the plane.
 
ircphoenix said:
Ever worry about their hearing?
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What did you say? ;)

No, I don't. I know people whose dogs have hundreds of hours in planes without hearing protection and they hear just fine. Reality is that most dogs are going to have very limited exposure time. Hearing loss is cumulative, and the decibel levels found in planes typically aren't that bad.
 
Mine does not really like it even though I named him PAX..but I would not say "hate" as he is pretty tolerant.

He does not like the loud noise of the engine and just curls up on the back floor in a ball...which is what he does in the truck when there is a lot of consistent loud noise otherwise he is a perked up passenger in the vehicle...and I have not found hearing protection that fits his head.

Will totally be up to the dog but consensus seems to be that they will behave and react to the plane like they behave in the car.

I would recommend a few laps in the pattern before taking a trip.
 
A good hint that they'll hate flying is if they hate the ride to the airport. Not always the case, but often go hand in hand.
 
I think I'm gonna take her up for a trip in the pattern tomorrow and see how she reacts. Guess the only way to be sure is to try, right?
 
I'm no dogologist but if ur just talking once or twice I wouldn't be concerned. If it was my dog, I would be concerned if he actually liked to fly and I was gonna take him up regularly.
 
Id make sure and bring your girlfriend along to if you didn't plan to on the test flight. Last thing you want is an unruly dog acting a fool. But like was has been said before, how they ride in the car is how they will be in the plane.
 
I often thought about taking Olaf up but I'm worried of the noise and his ears

...Olaf is my dog by the way
 
simtech said:
Id make sure and bring your girlfriend along to if you didn't plan to on the test flight. Last thing you want is an unruly dog acting a fool. But like was has been said before, how they ride in the car is how they will be in the plane.
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Yup. Girlfriend is coming along too. Girlfriend definitely enjoys flying and it'll be nice to have her around in case dog panics and wants out.

Tantalum said:
I often thought about taking Olaf up but I'm worried of the noise and his ears

...Olaf is my dog by the way
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That's my concern with my Lexi. How she'll like it and if the sound will bother her hearing.
 
I was flying a team of sled dogs once, in a C-207 north of the Arctic Circle. One of the dogs got loose in the plane and would have torn me to shreds if I had not had my parka on. I had my pistol out but the dog was freaking out so bad there was no way I would get a clear shot.

The dogs are carried in a nylon bag that cinches up around the collar. All the seats are removed so the dogs usually just sit or lay down during the flight. They can move but not move around.

This one dog some how got the cinch loose and got out of the bag. First thing that let me know a dog was loose was when something hit me in the back of my right shoulder with a pretty strong force. I jerked around and raised my arm to stop another hit, and I saw the dog at the back of the plane running, then it turn around and came back towards me again. I ruddered the plane really hard to knock the dog off balance, which worked but the dog was up again. I ruddered the other way but the dog learned quickly and just bounced off the walls and kept running.

I turned to hit it with my fist as it jumped at me, but I only hit it on the shoulder. The dog turned towards the back and I used the chance to grab my pistol. The dog had apparently been shot at before, and stayed towards the back of the plane running in circles on top of the other dogs. They were all yowling and barking at the top of their lungs.

I finally made the destination about 20 minutes later. I landed hard intentionally, ruddering the tail back and forth. When I got to the ramp I shut down then jumped out and closed the door. The dog handler looked at me, then I realized I still had my pistol in my hand. I told the handler a dog got loose, and he thought it was funny, until I raised my pistol and was about to open the rear door. The handler and his buddy took over and got control of the dog.

That dog crapped and peed everywhere. The handler must of thought I still had murder on my mind as he cleaned the inside for me.


I really hope your experience with your dog and girl friend goes much better....
 
Zeldman said:
I was flying a team of sled dogs once, in a C-207 north of the Arctic Circle. One of the dogs got loose in the plane and would have torn me to shreds if I had not had my parka on. I had my pistol out but the dog was freaking out so bad there was no way I would get a clear shot.

The dogs are carried in a nylon bag that cinches up around the collar. All the seats are removed so the dogs usually just sit or lay down during the flight. They can move but not move around.

This one dog some how got the cinch loose and got out of the bag. First thing that let me know a dog was loose was when something hit me in the back of my right shoulder with a pretty strong force. I jerked around and raised my arm to stop another hit, and I saw the dog at the back of the plane running, then it turn around and came back towards me again. I ruddered the plane really hard to knock the dog off balance, which worked but the dog was up again. I ruddered the other way but the dog learned quickly and just bounced off the walls and kept running.

I turned to hit it with my fist as it jumped at me, but I only hit it on the shoulder. The dog turned towards the back and I used the chance to grab my pistol. The dog had apparently been shot at before, and stayed towards the back of the plane running in circles on top of the other dogs. They were all yowling and barking at the top of their lungs.

I finally made the destination about 20 minutes later. I landed hard intentionally, ruddering the tail back and forth. When I got to the ramp I shut down then jumped out and closed the door. The dog handler looked at me, then I realized I still had my pistol in my hand. I told the handler a dog got loose, and he thought it was funny, until I raised my pistol and was about to open the rear door. The handler and his buddy took over and got control of the dog.

That dog crapped and peed everywhere. The handler must of thought I still had murder on my mind as he cleaned the inside for me.


I really hope your experience with your dog and girl friend goes much better....
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That sounds like a Craig George Story ...
 
Last I heard. I haven't been up there myself in several years. My folks are in Point Hope this year, but they haven't mentioned Craig. I have many good memories of Craig and Geoff out at the lakes inland of Barrow in 60 below windchill.
 
Volzalum said:
Last I heard. I haven't been up there myself in several years. My folks are in Point Hope this year, but they haven't mentioned Craig. I have many good memories of Craig and Geoff out at the lakes inland of Barrow in 60 below windchill.
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Cool..!!! I did get to meet Eugene Brower one time and listen to a few of his stories.
 
Mutt Muffs are also an option if noise damage is a concern and your dog will keep them on.
 
Most dogs seem to not have an issue with it. We've got a number of flying dogs on the airpark here. I did have one friend/CFI who has a dog (ironically named Jeppesen) that was absolutely afraid of flying.

I recommend trying a short test before committing to fly the dog anywhere significant.
 
tawood said:
One more thing we have in common IRC...I also have a dog named Lexi...what kind of dog is your Lexi?
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I think her breed is "best dog ever."

She's a lab mix. They said jack Russell/lab when we got her... but I'm not sure of the physics behind that.
344d7bf6206a7561c7b9fec5f691f81b.jpg


Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
 
simtech said:
Id make sure and bring your girlfriend along to if you didn't plan to on the test flight. Last thing you want is an unruly dog acting a fool. But like was has been said before, how they ride in the car is how they will be in the plane.
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I often fly PnP....if the dog isn't in a crate, they're on a harness in the back seat so they can't get into the front seat. Even if I have someone with me. Sometimes the person is sitting in the back with the dog, some times in front to share the flying.
 
Looks like she could have a little bit of red heeler based on the size/build and coloring and your description of best dog ever (I wouldn't think she could get that name with Jack Russell mixed in)! Can't wait to take mine up for the first time!
 
ircphoenix said:
I think her breed is "best dog ever."

She's a lab mix. They said jack Russell/lab when we got her... but I'm not sure of the physics behind that.
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Did you adopt her from shelter? I don't think they ( agencies ) have any idea about the breed or may be they do not think about it.
We just adopted a puppy and all along they told us he is a German shepherd mix. We went to the dog training class last weekend and as soon as we walk in the lady says this is Ridgeback. I googles up the pictures and the match is exact. I am not sure how they missed it.
 
ircphoenix said:
Thinking about taking my dog with me and the girlfriend when we go to Sedona next week... I've seen a bunch of positive to neutral stories about people taking their dogs with them... anyone have dogs that absolutely HATE the airplane? She does fine in the car.
Click to expand...

Car=airplane as said before as far as the dog is concerned.

Tantalum said:
I often thought about taking Olaf up but I'm worried of the noise and his ears

...Olaf is my dog by the way
Click to expand...

My dog can't hear anything at all, must have been the 3-4 flights, am sure it has nothing to do with her being 14 years old:confused::D

Am in the medical field working on pregnant women all the time. Had one ask about circumcision after her delivery. I told her I have a son and he had his a week after delivery and didn't walk until a year later:eek::eek::eek::confused::confused::confused:;););)

Only problem with my dog, is she is usually never on a leash. Our field is out in the boonies, she discovered jack rabbits while at the hangar pre-flighting and I had to get into the truck to catch back up with her ... she really wanted that rabbit.
 
Most dogs I have flown for PnP just curl up on the seat and sleep. I have a tether that hooks into the seatbelt latch.
 
blueskyMD said:
Did you adopt her from shelter? I don't think they ( agencies ) have any idea about the breed or may be they do not think about it.
We just adopted a puppy and all along they told us he is a German shepherd mix. We went to the dog training class last weekend and as soon as we walk in the lady says this is Ridgeback. I googles up the pictures and the match is exact. I am not sure how they missed it.
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She was adopted from another family when she was 5, so all the info we have is from them. When they got her from the pound the pound said lab/jack russel. Probably because she looks like a 3/4 size lab with jack russel coloring. She's definitely got some lab in her as she has a very soft mouth. Not a chewer, and won't touch any hard chew toys. Stuffed animals only. Does not have the energy level at all of a jack russel... but she digs like a terrier so who knows.
 
ircphoenix said:
She was adopted from another family when she was 5, so all the info we have is from them. When they got her from the pound the pound said lab/jack russel. Probably because she looks like a 3/4 size lab with jack russel coloring. She's definitely got some lab in her as she has a very soft mouth. Not a chewer, and won't touch any hard chew toys. Stuffed animals only. Does not have the energy level at all of a jack russel... but she digs like a terrier so who knows.
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Have fun!
 
3F1C157B-541B-4EAD-8271-F790820D4A1B.JPG 3F1C157B-541B-4EAD-8271-F790820D4A1B.JPG
ircphoenix said:
Thinking about taking my dog with me and the girlfriend when we go to Sedona next week... I've seen a bunch of positive to neutral stories about people taking their dogs with them... anyone have dogs that absolutely HATE the airplane? She does fine in the car.
Click to expand...
My dogs do better than I expected as pax.....yes, I'm concerned re their hearing - use hearing protection from 4 Paws Aviation:
 
wrbix, those hearing protections look nice. Looks like they would stay on well.
 
Volzalum said:
wrbix, those hearing protections look nice. Looks like they would stay on well.
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Stay on reasonably well, especially considering Bucky isn't quite 2yo yet. When first getting them accustomed to the ear covers they wanted to take them off; but the more they've worn them the more they seem to appreciate their comfort and sound reduction.
 
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