Flying with a puppy

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pilotjlr

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james
Hi all,

The wife and I are considering buying a puppy from a breeder a couple states away. It would be a several hour drive going through a couple big cities, but only a 1:20 flight in the Cessna 210.

I'm a little hesitant to bring a puppy on the relatively loud 210, though. The puppy would be in the back seat with my wife, which I think will allow us to handle anxiety, but I don't want to put the dog's hearing at risk.

Does anyone have any experience or insight with this? I'll ask our vet as well, but would appreciate anyone else's thoughts.

Thanks
 
pilotjlr said:
Hi all,



The wife and I are considering buying a puppy from a breeder a couple states away. It would be a several hour drive going through a couple big cities, but only a 1:20 flight in the Cessna 210.



I'm a little hesitant to bring a puppy on the relatively loud 210, though. The puppy would be in the back seat with my wife, which I think will allow us to handle anxiety, but I don't want to put the dog's hearing at risk.



Does anyone have any experience or insight with this? I'll ask our vet as well, but would appreciate anyone else's thoughts.



Thanks
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I fly Pilots N Paws rescues. The pup will be fine. Will sleep through the flight.
 
Mutt Muffs work great. My dog never objected to them and looks forward to seeing them because it means she gets to go.

Start 'em young.
 

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I just flew 1.5 or so each way to get a Whippet.


Get a small dog crate, put some crappy towels in it. The dog will probably pee and crap. It will probably howel and yelp, so try to keep your radio traffic down. After a while, it will settle down.

Upon arrival, the dog might very well have crap on their coat, so don't take it out till your designated at home or whatever. Into the bath they go.
 
Mutt muffs are kinda a waste IMO.

I've flown my min pin in the 185 quite a few times, she just sleeps.

Get a SOFT kennel, walmart sells a nice folding one with a waterproof bottom.

For water give the little guy a ice cube, it won't spill and won't let the pup drink too much at a time.
 
Do you wear headset? Are those a waste?

My last dog was stone deaf in his last years. This one's got more flying time and still has exceptional hearing. Mutt Muffs are not a waste. They're required equipment in my airplane.
 
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500FPM climbs and descents, other than that.. Just make sure they relieve themselves first and it is preferred if you have a crate.
 
I don't think you would have any problems, as others here have mentioned Pilots N Paws, which do this kind of operation. Anyway if you do have concern, you could bring a small carrying crate for them and put a couple blankets over it to block out some of the noise. Chances are it will sleep right through it, good luck!
 
Marauder said:
I fly Pilots N Paws rescues. The pup will be fine. Will sleep through the flight.
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Just make sure the puppy is crated with a good pile of towels on the floor of the crate. And yes, like Marauder, I've hauled plenty of puppies for PnP.
 
Or like with my dog, they fit fine, but he paws them off right away.
 
We have mutt muffs for the bloodhounds but they usually take them off. You can carefully put cotton in their ears. The wife has been doing this for years. Just don't forget to take it out.

You can get two 125 lb. bloodhounds in the back of a 172.
 
My Westie has flown many a mile in my Tiger, and falls asleep within minutes of hitting cruise. The Lab I recently flew on a rescue mission didn't sleep but laid down in the backseat and completely relaxed.

No Muffs, no muss. Your mileage may vary.
 
BTW, the three Chihuahuas I hauled a couple of weeks ago for PnP started yapping the second I put them in the crate, and didn't shut up again until they got out of the plane. Bloody annoying, but fortunately very rare behavior.
 
Stewartb said:
Do you wear headset? Are those a waste?
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Mutt Muffs suck!

(how many times am I going to say this here before getting sued?)

OH (that's right) IN MY OPINION...Mutt Muffs suck!

They are nothing more than a "feel good" item for the owners. They do very little to deaden sound and the seals are far too thin to conform to varied doggie heads. Steward, put them on yourself (if they're big enough) and you'll see that they do nothing. I had a XL set for my GSD and could put them on (they fit quite well actually). I could still clearly hear my wife speaking in a soft tone from across our 50' wide great room. They do nothing.

If you want something that might afford your dog some real protection then check out http://www.4pawsaviation.com/

It's my experience that a dog will fly very similarly to how he rides in a car.

My GSD has over 250 hours logged. Most of them wearing Mutt Muffs. Too bad they're not worth the effort.
 
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You're welcome to your opinion. I offered mine. My dog goes with me 99% of the time. Her hearing after 8 years is doing significantly better then her two predecessors at the same age. Mutt Muffs seem to be doing what they're supposed to.
 
I see no problems. I would bring a crate and have it available if needed. That was one of my plans when we were looking and thinking about a German Shepherd pup. Then we picked our dog up locally.
 

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I'd take a crate, lots of towels and fly that puppy home! The crate is more to contain the bodily functions that hold the dog, the dog will likely sleep most of the way. :D All my dogs have flown with me, like small kids they usually go to sleep 10 minutes after take off and sleep til we land. :wink2:
 
We always take towels, blankets and a bag of cleaning supplies. If we use a rental it is always clean before we turn it in. No hair or slobber.
 
I've flown my lab in airplanes several times with no side effects. His hearing is still incredibly sharp. I've flown puppies quite a few times and have never put hearing protection on them. Most dogs will be more upset about an object clamped on their head than the noise.

All the animal rescue flights I've never seen involve ear protection. If you were flying the dog 8 hours a day 5 days a week then I might worry about the hearing but one flight as a puppy is nothing.
 
jesse said:
I've flown puppies quite a few times and have never put hearing protection on them.
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Hmmmm..I thought they flew you! :goofy:
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Thanks very much! I appreciate everyone's feedback. The flight is on.
 
Ron Levy said:
BTW, the three Chihuahuas I hauled a couple of weeks ago for PnP started yapping the second I put them in the crate, and didn't shut up again until they got out of the plane. Bloody annoying, but fortunately very rare behavior.
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I had 3 Chihuahuas on a PnP flight this past fall, that were probably the best puppies I took over the course of the 3 or 4 flights I did. They were so quiet, while loading the big dogs in the back of the aircraft, I moved them up to the front with me. Totally quiet the whole time, even when I let them out for a a bit.
 
We did the flight yesterday, and it went great. Though we brought clean up supplies, toys, blankets, etc, the puppy fell asleep soon after takeoff and slept all the way home. Way better than a 6+ hour drive.
 
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