Is it cruel to fly a dog in cargo?
While most animals flown in the cargo area of airplanes are fine, you should be aware that some animals are killed, injured or lost on commercial flights each year. Excessively hot or cold temperatures, poor ventilation and rough handling are often to blame.
It's loud; it's turbulent; and it's full of bizarre sites, sounds, and smells. It's not uncommon for animals to injure themselves by trying to claw or chew their way through a carrier. Some have been reported to break free and wander the cargo hold and others have even broken free of their carrier while on the tarmac!
Kirsten Theisen, director of pet care issues for the Humane Society of the United States, believes air travel is simply too stressful for most animals, especially when they are placed in an aircraft's cargo hold. “Flying is frightening for animals,” says Theisen.
Your pet will be in his crate for the entirety of the flight in a temperature-controlled portion of the cargo hold. While some pets simply sleep or rest until the plane lands, others panic or suffer from motion sickness.
Air travel can be stressful for pets, and making sure they have a temperament that works well with change is important. “On an airline, we have lots of weird sounds. The altitude changes, the pressure changes, their ears pop and it's loud, and their ears are a lot more sensitive than ours,” Ellis described.
Flying is an incredibly stressful experience for all dogs, but it can be especially upsetting for elderly dogs, as well as pups with health or behavioral challenges.
Just like humans, a dog's ears are vulnerable to high altitudes. Flying can cause mild pain for your dog if it has trouble equalizing its ears. Luckily, the dog's outer ear canal equalizes pressure in the dog's ear naturally, so if your dog's ears hurt during the flight, it will pass within a few minutes.
Line the carrier with an absorbent “puppy potty pad” in case your dog needs to urinate or defecate during travel. Carry extra pads as well as a couple of plastic zip-lock bags, some paper towels, and a few pairs of latex gloves for any necessary cleanup and containment of a mess.
The simple answer is NO! According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), sedating cats or dogs during air travel may increase the risk of heart and respiratory problems. Except in unusual circ*mstances, veterinarians should not dispense sedatives to transport animals.
CRATE TRAIN YOUR DOG.
At least a month before your flight, get your dog used to his pet travel crate. Keep the travel crate in a well-trafficked part of your home with the door open, and encourage your dog to relax, sleep, and play in the crate during the day.
What airline is best for dogs in cargo?
Pets in cargo: Alaska Airlines allows a more diverse selection of pets to fly in its climate-controlled cargo hold for $100 each way: dogs, ferrets, guinea pigs, hamsters, household birds, non-poisonous reptiles, pot-bellied pigs, rabbits, and tropical fish.
