Traveling with 2 Yorkies in one bag
 

Hi there! Fiance and I jumped the gun and fell in love with our 2 Yorkies before we had our honeymoon planned. So we have a 3 week trip and decided to bring them with us. We are flying Delta and they said as long as 2 dogs fit in one bag, they can be charged as one. We have a 7 lb boy and a 3.5 lb girl. The girl is tiny - no concerns at all. But will it be too tight of a squeeze for the both of them in one bag under a seat? Ultimately if we had to be charged for 2 bags then we must ($500 each dog carrier roundtrip!), but I want to know if it is completely impossible to do so. Our boy Yorkie is about 13" to the top of his head if he stands straight up. Also, I know people say it is against regulation to take them out, but realistically, a lof of other people have said it depends on the flight attendants. So we plan on putting them on our laps with a blanket over them through most of the flight - it is a LONG flight.

Our flight is 3 hours to Atlanta where the seat height is 14", width 12" and the flight to Italy is 9 hours and the seat height is 18" and width 14". We also have a 2.5 hour layover between the 2 flights so we plan to let them get out and get some exercise before the 2nd flight.

Could we fit the two of them in one Sherpa bag? I know they fit fine in a large Sherpa bag - and it is soft-sided so we could conceivably "squish" it in the shorter seat for the first leg of the flight.

Would appreciate your own experiences so we can figure out what is best for our babies on the trip.

HA! I posted asking the same thing not long ago.
I did buy a Sherpa in Large last night and fit my two pretty good.
We are flying FL to WV...

Going to Italy, must be nice, enjoy your honeymoon! Can you have them in cabin going overseas? Do they have to go through quarantine? :cool:

I have the Petsfly carrier and I can out 3 in it but it is tight. 2 fit nicely.

Yes, they are flying in cabin with us - under the seat. We made reservations for the 2 of them in 1 bag with Delta for the whole trip. If for some reason they would not be allowed to fly in cabin - we would NEVER let them fly through checked baggage. Too risky!

So you had 2 Yorkies in a large Sherpa bag and you were able to fly with no problems? Thanks for your experience :-)

There is no quarantine required for Italy, just the usual steps - Must be microchipped with the 15 digit microchip, FORM 998 pet health certificate listing all their shots, rabies shots, etc. The form has to apparently be stamped by our local USDA office as well.

I'm curious also about the regulations of quarrantine...are there any for Europe (Italy)?

I have not flown with my girls but, if I did...I'd probably go with what Patti was describing. The biggest carrier you can fit under your seat for your babies maximum comfort...just in case you fly with the flight attendent from hell...kwim?

Good Luck & Have a wonderful time in Italy!:p

I just bought the large size last night. I have a med size I used when i just had 1 yorkie....I haven't used it yet, I will at the end of the month.
Happy Travels!!

No quarantine for Italy, just make sure you have all of your documentation on hand...they usually check at the start point, but not at the end, but you may get pulled off to the side for a forms check. Are you going to have to get them vet checked for the way back? I know there are time restrictions, Rizzo and Fatso are going to have to be checked for Leptospirosis before I'll be able to take them back to the states...or anywhere for that matter. It's highly infectious and can be transmitted so easily so ensure that your pups don't drink or play in any water that you don't provide for them. Again I don't know if there are time constraints that you've already discussed with your vet, but you may need another vet check to get your papers signed off before going back to the States.

Which one do you have that would fit 2? Are they airline approved??

I have this one and it works great for two of mine with a combine weight of 14 pounds. Sherpa Sherpa Double Sided 2-Dog Carrier - TheUncommonDog.com

Yorkiedaze - you used this bag for 2 Yorkies on the plane and it fit fine under the seat?

My girls fit fine in our travel carrier.....they total about 11 pounds together... just make sure your carrier is regulation size and you should be fine! My bag is a bit larger...but still fit within their size specification. Have a FUN trip!!!

My first yorkiie was 15-16 pounds and we used a large sherpa bag to fly with her. Technically I don't think the large meets Delta's regulations but no one ever bothered us about it in ten years of travel. It swished down fine. Delta has their own sherpa bag. (it is on the Sherpa website) It is a little bigger than the medium one but smaller than the large. You may want to consider that. I bought the medium one for my current yorkie. She is 9 pounds and there is plenty of room for her in there. Your two are only a little bigger than my one. Is there a store near you where you could try out bags with similar dimensions to the sherpa?

I don't fly but if I did I could only imagine flying with Gracie...I'd be willing to bet she'd whine sooo loud under the seat even the flight attendant from Hell would be begging me to take her out and hold her! lol I'm sure the other passengers would take a vote for her on my lap too! Maybe take up a collection to bribe the attendant!

Carol607. Thanks for your experience! We are leaning towards the large Sherpa bag with wheels. I know technically it probably is too big but I would rather put them in the large Sherpa as opposed to the medium Sherpa. We did try to squeeze them in the medium and it seemed impossible. Our boy is way too tall! Granted, they don't need to be standing up either - but I am concerned about the "standing up and turning around" rule. I guess I just have so much anxiety because 3 weeks is too long to leave them alone (no one to watch over them and kennel would be torture for them). I don't want to get caught with having the wrong bag at the airport the morning we leave.

Sherpa makes a carrier that is designed to fit 2 small dogs with a removeable separator.
Collapsible soft dog crates
Sherpa AKC 2 Dog carrier

Hope this helps! Congratualtions and enjoy your honeymoon!