I've hear horror stories about dogs dying, getting injured, etc. while below.

Thoughts?

I've got a dog & I'd be very hesitant to put her in the cargo hold...but, if you're relocating to a foreign country, sometimes you don't have a choice...

I've got a dog & I'd be very hesitant to put her in the cargo hold...but, if you're relocating to a foreign country, sometimes you don't have a choice...

Sure you do. You could choose not to have the dog go through that misery (and potentially die) and give it up to someone who will care for it.

Agreed - but sometimes that's not an option...

I have a coworker who relocated to the England for work - none of her friends were willing to take her two year old dog & she couldn't find a suitable home for it. As it wasn't a puppy anymore, a shelter would have more than likely meant putting it to sleep. She had it sedated & flew nonstop from IAD to LHR with it (after getting its shots & certification here so it didn't have to go into quarantine in London).

If I were to take my dog in the cargo hold - I'd definitely have it sedated...

Agreed - but sometimes that's not an option...

I have a coworker who relocated to the England for work - none of her friends were willing to take her two year old dog & she couldn't find a suitable home for it. As it wasn't a puppy anymore, a shelter would have more than likely meant putting it to sleep. She had it sedated & flew nonstop from IAD to LHR with it (after getting its shots & certification here so it didn't have to go into quarantine in London).

If I were to take my dog in the cargo hold - I'd definitely have it sedated...

The reason I bring this up is that my parents are thinking of going to France for a year and are considering bringing the dogs with them. I'm against it, for the reasons delineated above, but I suppose sedation is the way to go. I just feel bad thinking about them down below. Seems awful. It's awful enough upstairs in coach. :)

I'd be against it to - if its for a year & they can get someone to watch the dog, that's clearly, IMHO, the better option. That said, if not, then cargo hold it is...sedation apparently works - but I also would be worried about doing it in middle of summer (I'm sure those holds get hot in the summertime sitting for hours on the tarmac). You can always try the slow boat!

I know that Delta will not permit Pugs in Cargo during warm weather months. Some dogs are more amenable to cargo holds than others.
My son bought a Goldendoodle from a breeder in Alabama. The pup did fine in cargo, which included a short layover in ATL. Evidently, ATL has a fine, dedicated, air-conditioned transit area for shipped animals.

The reason I bring this up is that my parents are thinking of going to France for a year and are considering bringing the dogs with them. I'm against it, for the reasons delineated above, but I suppose sedation is the way to go. I just feel bad thinking about them down below. Seems awful. It's awful enough upstairs in coach. :)

What breeds are you discussing? Some breeds do better than others in cargo.

What breeds are you discussing? Some breeds do better than others in cargo.

Golden retrievers.. will be close to 2 years old when this might take place.

Have you considered taking it in the Cabin. we have a 14 lbs dog, and she flys often, right beside us.:)

Have you considered taking it in the Cabin. we have a 14 lbs dog, and she flys often, right beside us.:)

Ain't gonna work. One is 60 lbs, the other 80. And they're still growing.

If I moved away for a year, my dogs would certainly come with me. With careful selection of the time of year for travel, careful selection of the airline, owner vigilance, and a healthy, prepared pup, you can certainly manage the danger. My German Shepherd has flown in cargo a dozen times or so with no ill effects. She still happily jumps in her crate so it obviously hasn't mentally scarred her. Show dogs travel as cargo/checked luggage all the time with very few mishaps.

Time of year: Avoid extremes in temperature (especially for young, old, and brachiocephalic breeds.)

Airline: Some have better records and service than others. As previously mentioned, if travelling through ATL, DL is an obvious choice. I'm not familiar with the services provided by the international carriers, but you would look for temperature controlled waiting areas and preferably also temp controlled transport to/from the aircraft.

Owner vigilance: When traveling with a pet as checked luggage, it's SO important that the owner play an active part in their transport. Let everyone EVERYONE know that you have a dog in the hold. Check-in agents, gate agent, and most importantly the FA/purser as you board. Make sure to ask (insist) that the FA tells the Captain that you are traveling with a dog in cargo. In my experience they happily agree, but in the instance that they shrug you off, INSIST. In every instance I've seen the Captain personally walk off the plane and check to make sure that the dog was loaded and the temp/pressure/etc controls were in place. I've even had the CPT come back to show me pictures of his dogs! Do not let the plane take off until you have confirmation that your dog is loaded properly.

Healthy/ready pup: Your dog should get a general wellness check, and especially focus of heart/breathing status. Your dog needs to be happy and comfortable in its crate. Most vets HIGHLY discourage the use of sedatives. They can affect the ability of the dog's body to cope with the changes in his physical surroundings. If the pup is conditioned to time in his/her crate, there's no plus in having him sedated.

Cats and dogs and even horses often travel better on planes than in cars. As long as the crate is big enough for the animal to stand and turn and lie down comfortably, they are fine.

The worst thing to do is to sedate them because if they do get travel sickness their reactions are slower and just as a human can suffocate on his/her own vomit, so can a cat/dog. For horses, sedation also leads to their loss of balance which is imperative for them while traveling (by road or air).

Sedating your dog or cat is not recommended.

Check with airline AND with country of destination what paperwork is needed.

Airline: Some have better records and service than others. As previously mentioned, if travelling through ATL, DL is an obvious choice. I'm not familiar with the services provided by the international carriers, but you would look for temperature controlled waiting areas and preferably also temp controlled transport to/from the aircraft.

wasn't delta the airline that lost someone's cat last year?

Cats and dogs and even horses often travel better on planes than in cars.

Based on what and how do you know?

With a car I can stop every hour and take it for a walk.

wasn't delta the airline that lost someone's cat last year?

I've had good luck with the DeltaDash service. I'll leave that to someone else to research, but my question would be why is the cat in the hold? A cat is certainly small enough to be taken as a carry on (and no, not all airlines allow carry-on pets, but it would be worth the owner's while to choose one that does.)

My brother flies with his labs about 3 times a year. He has flown Continental as they have an onsite airport kennel where he can put the dogs if he has a long layover. He has had no problems and the dogs are not stressed when they arrive at their destination.
http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/content/travel/animals/default.aspx

Cats and dogs and even horses often travel better on planes than in cars. As long as the crate is big enough for the animal to stand and turn and lie down comfortably, they are fine.

The worst thing to do is to sedate them because if they do get travel sickness their reactions are slower and just as a human can suffocate on his/her own vomit, so can a cat/dog. For horses, sedation also leads to their loss of balance which is imperative for them while traveling (by road or air).

Sedating your dog or cat is not recommended.

Check with airline AND with country of destination what paperwork is needed.
Sounds like good advice. Thanks.

Owner vigilance: When traveling with a pet as checked luggage, it's SO important that the owner play an active part in their transport. Let everyone EVERYONE know that you have a dog in the hold. Check-in agents, gate agent, and most importantly the FA/purser as you board. Make sure to ask (insist) that the FA tells the Captain that you are traveling with a dog in cargo. In my experience they happily agree, but in the instance that they shrug you off, INSIST. In every instance I've seen the Captain personally walk off the plane and check to make sure that the dog was loaded and the temp/pressure/etc controls were in place. I've even had the CPT come back to show me pictures of his dogs! Do not let the plane take off until you have confirmation that your dog is loaded properly.

Don't forget-the cockpit door is usually open during passenger boarding (pilot/copilot shooting the breeze w/the F FA's & purser generally), so you can also try sticking your head in & talking to the flight deck crew directly (especially w/the attitudes of some of the FAs flying these days, sadly).

I share the concerns about an animal traveling in cargo, even though the rational part of my brain says most animals do just fine. Though it was expensive & a hassle, especially when we were weather delayed for an additional 4 days, I'm glad I was able to put my 4 furpeople in the cabin when we moved last year.

Good luck!

Isn't it true that during summer months Pets are NOT permitted in the Cargo hold? The temperature in there could get over 120 degrees F or more!

One of my clients traveled back from Costa Rica with three Cats. Two went in the Cargo hold of a COntinental flight (the oldest Cat, Mee Too went on board with the client and was fawned over by the crew. He's a very pretty boy.)

She said COntinental did a good job getting them home.

But for me if I had more than one Cat I would ask a friend "hey want a free trip to (fill in destination?) All you hvae to do is carry my Cat."

Isn't it true that during summer months Pets are NOT permitted in the Cargo hold? The temperature in there could get over 120 degrees F or more!

But for me if I had more than one Cat I would ask a friend "hey want a free trip to (fill in destination?) All you hvae to do is carry my Cat."

How do you think I got my 4 cross-country in the cabin? :D Of course, I was the one who ended up trekking back & forth thru security, sans shoes, 3 times to get them all properly 'screened' :rolleyes:

As far as restrictions due to outside temps, I think it varies by airline, itinerary, & time of the year. When I was looking into this last year, in March, AA said they would not accept animals in the hold if it was 35 degrees or colder at any stop on the itinerary (BOS in March can absolutely be 35 or below). So, I'm sure there are similar rules for flying during the warm weather months.

I've travelled with my dog a number of times, he isn't a frequent flyer, but has done 12 flights, a number long-ish intra-australia (ie Sydney-Perth which is about 5 hours). I never thought twice about any probs and luckily none occured.

I'm surprised the number of times people say - oh did you sedate him? I would NEVER sedate a dog when they are travelling, it is better to have them struggle on the fight rather than just fall asleep, this is especially the case for dogs with shorter snouts (ie pugs, cav king charles spaniels, where the air doesn't have a chance to process through their snout). One thing that scares me the most is they forget to put "LIVE ANIMAL" on board on their sheets etc and they forget to ensure the cargo area is pressurised/has oxygen. Dunno if it's big, but this is my biggest fear.

My dog is 7 now and with the exception of moving from Australia to the UK, I decided I didn't want to have him fly anymore. The flight from SYD-SIN-LHR went stress free, we had a short layover in Singapore in the late evening (around 11pm or so) for about 50 mins, I planned it this way. As most of you will know singpoare is very humid. I researched lots and put a big frozen iceblock in his drink container at least he could lick and make sure there was sufficent water etc. Plenty of paperwork (planning was 12 mths prior with rabies injections, blood tests, etc). And in total it cost a small fortune (about US$3,500), i did it myself rather than using an agent. On arrival into LHR, i had to wait about 2-3 hours before i could collect him. Unfortunately another dog on a MEL-SIN-LHR flight which arrived just before the SYD flight had died. That really scarred me, after I was happily talking to the owner as we waited only hear screams and shrieks when they were asked to come in their dog's corpse was laying on a table.

Unless you really have to, i'd avoid travelling with your dogs in the air on any long trips. I had found my dog had tried to break out of the container (attempted to bite through plastic, there was blood inside and his gums were scarred), but i'm so glad he is over here now.