Tips For Flying With A Dog In Cabin For A Stress Free Journey

UPDATED FEB 2020. When we found out we were moving to Italy my first priority was getting my two dogs, Bella and Coco Chanel, ready to move. We had 30+ hours of travel ahead of us with the dogs at our feet, followed by a transition phase of living in a hotel so it definitely got a little stressful for them and us. But, with a little patience and perseverance, we got through it. Today I’m sharing my top tips for flying with a dog in cabin to help you prepare yourself and your pets for the journey.

Tips For Flying With A Dog In Cabin For A Stress-Free Journey

Disclaimer

I am not a pet expert and have no animal behavior or medical training.

I am sharing these tips as a guide of what helped me and my dogs during our travel. You know your pet better than I do, so use your best judgment.

I certainly recommend that you consult your vet to get advice from the experts.

1. Organize the paperwork

ASAP.

This is especially important for international travel.

For our trip to Italy, we needed to get vaccinations, European microchips, health checks, and have paperwork signed off by a USDA vet all completed according to a very strict timeline.

I researched the requirements as soon as we found out we were moving and had a lot of help from our local vet clinic to piece it all together.

Start researching and speak to your vet ASAP so that you can begin this tricky element of the travel.

Make copies of everything too – either paper copies or save electronic copies.

On a beach in Hawaii with Bella

2. Familiarize your dog with the carrier it will be traveling in

One of the most helpful tips for traveling with a dog in cabin is to get them used to their carrier as early as possible. It will help to reduce stress on the day.

If your furry babies are like mine, then they probably don’t like being cramped up in a carrier.

To help them with this adjustment, I called our airline for the carrier requirements then bought the carriers early.

Then leave the carrier around the house with a blanket, toy, or one of your t-shirts inside.

Your dogs will be able to familiarize themselves with it instead of having the sudden shock of being stuck in it on the day of travel. That would be scary for anyone to suddenly be stuck in a cage.

Mine ended up sleeping in their carriers while I left them out in the house and this familiarization definitely helped ease their stress on travel day.

Coco Chanel in Tuscany

3. Keep their food light

Prior to the flight, remember to keep their food light as opposed to feeding them a big meal.

This will help with any travel sickness during the flights.

We fed our dogs a light meal of dry food before the flight and gave them little servings along the way so that they had a continual supply of small snacks to keep their hunger at bay.

I think its also a good idea to pack extra food for them because you may not be able to buy the same brand wherever you move to.

This way you can ease out the old brand while you introduce the new food to avoid stomach upsets.

Hiking in the Italian Alps

4. Keep them comfortable in the cabin

For the flight itself, keep them comfortable by making sure they have something cozy and familiar.

Things like a blanket, toy (preferably not squeaky for the sake of the other passengers), or any of your old clothing.

Just a couple of creature comforts to offer them something familiar and keep them as cozy as possible during the scary travel time.

Tips for traveling with a dog in cabin – lots of cuddles to get through the stress. This is Coco Chanel and I in Germany

5. Find pet areas in airports for layovers

Have you heard of pet areas in airports? They’re a lifesaver when you are traveling with pets.

During any layovers visit the pet areas and make the most of them.

They give the dogs a chance to get out of their carrier to stretch their legs, smell other dog smells, and use the bathroom.

It would be a good idea to research this ahead of time so that you know which airports have them and where they are in the airport just to save you time on the day.

We used the pet area in the Seattle airport which was complete with fake grass, water station and a fire hydrant and the girls absolutely loved it.

In Tuscany with Bella

6. Settle them into their new area

Once you get to the hotel or your new home, the stress isn’t over for your fur babies.

This is actually where my dogs became the most anxious but a few little things did help to ease them through.

Firstly, since we were living in a small hotel room, we got them out of the room.

Once they were able to walk in the hallway to see and smell the surroundings they could understand that everything wasn’t as scary as it seemed.

I also got them out for exercise at least once a day so that they were never left with a lot of pent up energy.

We also used some ‘thinking’ toys for Coco who has a very active mind. These toys have treats hidden deep in them so that she has to work to get them out which helped to keep her preoccupied.

We also gave them both a little treat when we were leaving the room so that there was something positive to associate with us leaving.

Lastly, leaving clothes and hoodies for them to snuggle in helped them to have cozy sleep spaces as well.

None of this worked like magic overnight, but it all helped and improved their separation anxiety during our hotel stay.

With Bella in Italy

7. Be there for them

Plain and simple, travel is scary for your pets.

At least us humans have the luxury of knowing what is happening whereas our furry companions are cramped in a carrier and moved around as an overwhelming amount of smells and noises surround them.

If it starts to get difficult, just remember that they are probably scared. They probably just need a little extra support as they adjust through the travel period.

These are just some of the things that helped me during our travel and transition. I hope you enjoyed the post and even more so, I hope the tips can help you if you are traveling with your own pets.

Other posts to help you plan your travels

• Travel Diary Ideas – 21 Thoughtful Prompts For Your Travel Journal

• Pre Travel Checklist – The Ultimate List Of What To Do Before Your Trip

• Travel Photography Tips For Beginners – Improve Your Shots In 6 Easy Steps

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