What's Brewing, Barley?

On June 8th, 2023, I took my first flight as a cabin pet (here’s a Reel of my experience)! It was just a short hop – Boston to Washington DC. My grandfather lives on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, so my humans thought they could combine a visit with a quick introduction to air travel. In short, I did great! I snoozed the vast majority of the trip, and the only time I got even remotely startled was takeoff on the flight down (I was unbothered on the return). It was a great experience and my parents learned a few things that might be helpful if you’re thinking of traveling with your pup in the cabin.

• Like most socialization, if you can start early, do it. My parents wanted me to fly young so I can be comfortable when I’m older.
• Be flexible. Normally, my parents would fly to Norfolk to visit my grandpa, but that usually requires a connection. So they chose to fly to DC and rent a car knowing that the short flight and lack of connection would take some pressure off of me and make things easier if I didn’t do well.
• Do your homework on requirements. We flew Delta which charges $95 each way and requires advance notification (call or chat after booking the human tickets). You’ll have to check-in and pay the pet fare at the counter, so plan accordingly. Each airline has their own policy so look it up. I am not a service dog, but service dogs have different rules.
• Practice being in the carrier. My parents put my in the carrier at a young age and I traveled everywhere in it. So when it came time to fly, I was perfectly comfortable being in the space. That made a huge difference. Airline rules say that dogs must be in the carrier for the entirety of the flight and time on the ground. We found that there’s wiggle room when it comes to those rules (I had my head out the entire flight and walked through a lot of the airport on my own). However, you can’t bank on everyone being flexible and should be prepared to follow the rules exactly.
• Vets prescribe drugs for anxious dogs. Thankfully, I didn’t need them. But most vets have options for dogs that may not be comfortable.
• You can carry or walk your dog through security (the carrier goes through the X-ray machine, not the dog!). If you have Precheck or Global Entry, you can still use those when traveling with your pup (it’s nice not to strip down AND carry your pup!).
• Find your pet relief areas ahead of time. Have a plan to get your dog to go so that they’re not uncomfortable on the flight. Almost every airport has pet relief areas and you can identify them on airport maps and plan accordingly.

It went as well as we could have expected and we’re looking forward to many more trips together!