Yorkie on an Airplane
 

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.

Is nobody else's yorkie a nervous flyer or is my post too verbose?:confused:

I'd love to know how you guys deal with anxious travelers!

I am sorry I can't help as we don't get out little guy until Saturday :)

My mum however has a Westie and he totally hates being in the front seat of the car or sitting on someones lap he goes crazy, shaking constantly and being restless.

Stick him in the trunk though (one of those big estate type trunks) and he loves it, either just sits there looking out of the window or falls fast asleep within minutes!

So, sorry I wasn't really much help there :S

I have no suggestions as my guys have never flown. I wonder if it's his ears that are causing his anxiety? Someone here will have some ideas...

I don't have experience flying with pets, so I'm sorry that I can't offer any advice on this issue.... but I do want to say WELCOME to YT.

I'm sorry your little one is a nervous flier. With all the ruckus, I'm surprised the stewardesses didn't allow you to have him on your lap to help calm him down. I hope someone has a suggestion for you. I've only flown with my little one once, and I broke the rules because I know he's highly anxious and tends to panic. He was content to sit in my lap under a blanket. :)

I have flown with remy once.. Round trip.
She was ok..she did whine and wanted out of the carrier..but calmed down.

I used rescue remdy ..it calmes her. I was also thinking maybe a thunder shirt?

I also agree with having his ears checked.

Good luck

He is such a cutie. Just like with humans some medicines just don't work so I would try to talk to your vet about trying another medicine and explaining the problem to him.

I have never flown with a dog. The only things I can think of that you might try, if not already, are a Thunder suit, and ginger...but that is mostly for motion sickness. It could be that his ears are more sensitive and he's disturbed by the cabin pressure, but I am not sure what to do about that. I flew with a toddler who was horribly pained by cabin pressure, but so were most of the other passengers...including myself, and the Flight Attendants were passing out gum...which didn't help me, and my son was too young to try their fix. This was many years ago.

He could also be troubled by frequencies generated by the engines, etc. Dogs can hear sounds we cannot, and he may be bothered by them.

I'd hate to think he was hurting without you being able to tell. Have you discussed this with your vet, by the way? Maybe s/he can offer a better option/solution.

Good luck...I hope you can figure it out and resolve it. He's a cutie pie...

Thanks all for the warm welcome!

Hmmm, his ears... If his ears are hurting him because of pressure and "popping" I'm not sure what a vet would be able to do. We've tried giving him treats during takeoff and landing so that he'll swallow and his ears won't pop but he refuses to eat in the carrier.

So far we've flown about 6 times, and each time that's what ends up happening- I've had to sneak him out of his carrier and hide him on my lap or on my seat with me sitting awkwardly for the duration of the flight. Luckily I'm petite, otherwise there would definitely be no way that could work. The sad thing is, he immediately calms down when he's in my lap. But the stewardesses are very strict and the one time I got caught it was a pretty ugly sight with me having to force him back under the seat where he proceeded to cry piteously for 3 hours. :(

Rescue remedy and thunder shirt? I had no idea what those are but I will definitely consult google! Thank you!

I will definitely look into this thunder suit/shirt idea. I do know that thunder during rainstorms and fireworks on 4th of july don't bother him at all- he doesn't even turn his head. But maybe the airplane is making some other sort of painful sound that I can't hear, like a dog whistle or something. I also hate the thought of him being distressed or in pain, and it feels like needles under my skin to listen to him whine and struggle under the seat.

Sadly, I have already been to a vet (several different ones in fact) several times to try to get the flying issue taken care of, but no luck with their suggestions so far. That's why I was wondering if anyone else had a suggestion for a dog sleeping pill I could ask the vet to prescribe. I'd rather not dope him if I can help it, but he works himself up so badly it seems kinder to let him sleep out the trip.

Sorry that you are going through this, maybe your vet can give you something else..Yoshi used to get carsick but Hydroxizine "spelling error I'm sure" helped him when Benedryl didn't.

Hiya!! You may also try making it dark in his carrier before u get into the plane:)

Hope you find a solution, your baby is super cute!

Stick round too :)

Cali and I fly a lot,but I have never had the problem you are having. I'm a medical person and it looks like drugs may be your best answer even though I'm sure that is not what you want. Your furbaby needs to be out-of-it enought to not care what is going on, probably a little dopey. Hydroxyzine is for anxiety and is good, ace usually works so I am wondering about the dose you used, also there is Valium. You might want to talk with other vets to compare the doses they recommend and your comfort with your fur baby being dopey.

Hope you come up with a solution - best of luck. The floor of a plane is very noisy and sometimes even cold. Clai likes to have her favorite toy in her bag with her.

sounds like the key is that on you other travels he sits on your lap or the carrier is next to you on the seat. It could be a combination of things, he is afraid under the seat in the carrier especially since there are often a lot of loud noises, also change in altitude will get his ears popping. I use dramamine, it helps with the motion and also make him sleepy, check the dosage with your vet. How big is your yorkie? if not to big you might be able to sneak him out during the flight, I almost always do. If traveling with hubby, book a window and an aisle if you can, since often the middle will be vacant, or at least make sure you get a window for yourself. Board towards the end, and DO NOT let any airline personal see the dog when you board, keep the carry case as closed up as you can. Bring a large dark or brown and black multi colored scarf. After things settle down and the flight attendants are no longer walking around, take the dog, and sort of put him between the window and you, if next to your DH put the arm rest up so you can move closer to him giving the dog more room. Throw the scarf over him, I also will carry a magazine to use as a shield, try to keep him from moving to much, also massage the base of the ears, to help with the popping as the plane takes off and climbs to a higher altitude, keep your eyes peeled around the cabin and make adjustments as necessary, sometime if they are doing food near me, the dog goes back underneath, make adjustments as necessary. I will not kid you this is stressful since you are always on the lookout, but what are they going to do throw you off, just say this is his first time on a plane and, he has never acted like this he is getting older and I afraid he is going to have a heart attack, I will do my best to keep him underneath but I can't have him stress himself out that he goes into heart failure. I like Spirit Airlines, because they charge for everything even water so the flight attendants hardly ever walk up and down the aisles. Some people on here have said that instead of a pet ticket that they have bought seats for their dog, while you still are supposed to keep them underneath, at least you will have more room. Do a search and those threads will come up, one was even started by me, but I can not remember what it was called. Good luck