Before I begin, let me say that I have read through
all nine pages of travel threads in his forum, and I have gained a ton of great information. (In other words, I'm not asking for information that's already been posted.) However, after reading through everything, I still have a few questions. Hopefully someone will be able to help me out.
Basic Info:
Flight from Korea to Boston (3 flights: ~12 hr, 5 hr, 2 hr)
Meg
: less than 2 lbs at 15 weeks old, and will probably top out at 2.5 lbs.
Meg will only eat wet food.
Everyone says to not give much water or food before the flight, but I am concerned about Meg becoming hypoglycemic. She had a hypo episode shortly after we got her and due to her size, it could happen again. I am not sure how long she could go without food. Don't get me wrong, I will offer food on the plane, but what if she refuses to eat?
I'm sure someone will say to give her Nutri-Cal, but I can't get it in Korea (urgh!). I can give her Clini-Care which is a liquid equivalent. I'll probably make her some Clini-Care popsicles or something, but that will be very messy.
Someone suggested in an earlier thread to have some honey or syrup packets (from McD's) on hand in case of a hypo episode, and I will definitely do that. But.... the goal is to never get to that point. What I'm really asking here is
does anyone know how long a 2-lb puppy can go without eating? I have never had to syringe-feed her, but should I bring some syringes along just in case?
And if all she will eat is the honey or a sugary equivalent, how long can she last on that? Obviously her blood sugar will spike, then crash if I'm just feeding her sugar. I don't want to end up in an emergency hypo situation on the plane.
My last question is regarding
carriers. I keep hearing about the Sherpa being a great carrier, and maybe I will just go with that. But I really love the Pet Flys Humble Paw carrier. So --- veteran travelers, help me out. What's better, a soft-side or hard carrier? The Pets Fly (size small) should fit under the seat on its side, and Met will will be able to stand and move around. I feel like Meg will feel more secure in a hard-sided carrier, and I also feel like it will be easier to lift the carrier up into my lap so Meg can be near me during the flight. But... I'll willingly take any advice you have for me!
Does anyone have the Pet Flys carrier (size small)? Is it smooshable at all? I've checked and it should fit under the seat, but I'd like a little smoosh factor just in case. It's a pleather bag, so I'm guessing it will smoosh a little.
To those of you who read all the way to the bottom of this post, THANK YOU!