Flying with teapot yorkie?
 

So I am considering taking my dog with me on my next trip home but I am worried after looking at the flight bag height requirements. The talest I have been able to find is 10.5, my Chibi being a teapot is about 13 inches high, plus ears. Does anyone know an airline that has a bigger under seat area? Also what airline is the cheapest as far as pet tickets?
Also my BF is worried about Chibi's ears popping in the altitude. Does this happen to dogs? I know I hate that feeling and I wouldnt want to cause my baby pain.
Thanks

Southwest is the cheapest. And no airline will measure your carrier. Mine all sleep on planes. Don't worry if it's tall enough for his ears. Nor have any of mine cried as if in pain from their ears popping.

Depending on which airline you go with, it may be cheaper to buy another seat on the plane for your dog...:D

I have only ever flown Delta, and it is not the cheapest! I have only flown once but they never checked to see if Layla could stand in her carrier (which she could but she slept the whole time). Here is a GREAT webstie about flying with dogs (and travelling in general) The author of the website tells you about flying various airlines and which seat is best to pick as well as which carrier.
Dog Jaunt : Traveling with a small dog

cool, thanks. I didnt think their ears poped like ours but my BF is ever the worry wort :D
I'd love to have him on the seat next to me but I thought they only allowed that for service dogs

You are not allowed to purchase a seat for your dog. You can purchase an extra seat to place your dog UNDER.....but I don't see the value in that :eek:

I have two teapot yorkies, and I fly with them all the time. We've flown Delta with them almost every time. I believe Southwest is the least expensive. They obviously won't fit in the same bag, so my husband takes one and I take the other. I have tried so many different carriers ranging the spectrum (Juicy, Coach, PetFlys, Sherpa, etc...), and wouldn't you know it the Sherpa (cheapest!) is our favorite by far. :) My girls are about 10 and 12 lbs, and they both fit comfortably in their own size medium Sherpa. The Sherpas are nice because they are a bit more flexible than some of the harder sided carriers, so you can compress them slightly to get them under the seat, whereas with some of the hard sided carriers you have to actually rotate them t their sides. I saw someone else recommended Dog Jaunt to you, which is an awesome blog, and if you do some reading there you'll see the Sturdibag also comes highly recommended. I have no first hand experience with it, but I'd trust their recommendation.

I've never had anyone check to make sure they can stand up in their carrier, but think of it like standing up while drinking water. I can't imagine there are many dogs small enough who can stand upright fully in a carrier unless it just dwarfs them.

My girls both usually just sleep on the plane, and I've never noticed them acting like their ears are bothered.

One warning though...those long distance trips in the carrier can be murder on the hair! :p We were so excited the first time we tried the Sherpas, and they fit so easily under the seat (seat height does vary by type of plane) that we took a picture!

How cute!I would worry about the person in the seat trying to lay back, does that effect them at all?

Only the top/back portion of the seat moves. The seats and under storage areas are stationary and unaffected.

The way the seats recline it's really only the back of the chair that reclines. It doesn't really change the under the seat space in my experience. My 6'5" husband, on the other hand, is squished when we don't sit in first or business, so you can imagine what it is like when we are in coach AND someone tries to recline their seat. I suppose in that case HIS feet are probably encroaching on the pups' space! :p