[prettybird]

I've been a lurker for a long time because I usually find answers to my questions in other people's posts, but now I feel like I could benefit from some direct help. I have a 3 year old, 10 pound pup named Widget.

Generally, he's an excellent traveler. In cars, he sits quietly on my lap or on the seat beside me. On the subway, he stays in his carrier without any fuss (trips are usually 30-40 min max). On the long distance bus he lays down on my lap and sleeps the entire journey without incident. Usually a bus trip is an average of 5 hours with one potty break, but even when the bus driver is unreasonable and won't allow a break, the little one does allright. No whining, no wriggling- he's the supreme dog of relaxation.

Airplanes however are another story. We have an official airplane approved carrier and he uses it for subway trips so he's familiar and comfortable with it. We always pay to have him in the cabin with us. Despite all our efforts to do everything to ensure his comfort on airplanes, Widget is not a happy flier. He'll stay quiet for maybe 15 min or so, but then he'll start whining without pausing for breath. The whining builds in urgency (sort of like puppy hysterics?) until he starts to scratch violently at his carrier. Of course I'm trying to bend over in my seat and talk to him, soothe him, give him a treat or a toy. Nothing works. He's fine with the carrier, but something about being in the carrier underneath the seat without human contact freaks him out completely. I've been told to ignore him in so that he tires himself out and stops, but I worry about his safety. With all the panting and whining and scratching he starts to get really hot and I'm worried he'll suffocate or hurt himself!

My husband and I have tried various ways of sedation. Children's benadryl was recommended by our vet, but it did not calm him down in the slightest. A different vet prescribed acepromazine (i think that's the correct spelling). We tried trial runs at home and it worked fine, but when we've used it for actual airplane trips he was as alert and hyper agitated as ever. We've tried the max dosage of the acepromazine and he's still extremely agitated on the airplane. Is there anything else we can do/ give our dog to calm him down or knock him out completely so he won't work himself into a panic like this?

We are an extremely laid back couple and even when flying we are not stressed- there's no banging of luggage or tense conversations. I don't think he could be picking up stress signals from us, so I'm at my wits' end trying to figure out what else I can do to calm him down. Is there some drug we can ask our vet for that will let our dog sleep peacefully for the duration of the flight (6 hours)? Something that works as strongly as a sleeping pill for humans, only one that's meant for dogs.