Sedation carries various risks and is not recommended for pets during air travel. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), sedating cats or dogs during air travel may increase the risk of heart and respiratory problems.
Flying in a plane is an unnatural experience for most dogs. The air pressure alone can affect a dogs' balance and cause anxiety or uneasiness. While your dog has flown peacefully before, he may be having a reaction now based on a variety of reasons, different smells, sounds, etc.
Medication prescribed by your veterinarian: trazodone (brand name Desyrel®), gabapentin (brand name Neurontin®), and alprazolam (brand names: Xanax® and Niravam®) are examples of medications that are sometimes used to reduce the anxiety that some dogs experience when traveling.
Flying is an incredibly stressful experience for all dogs, but it can be especially upsetting for elderly dogs, as well as pups with health or behavioral challenges.
While lavender has been widely used for its calming effects, other herbs such as valerian, passionflower, and chamomile could also help ease your dog's anxiety. While you can make your own capsules or teas, you can also purchase pre-made remedies, and even treats that your dog is more likely to enjoy.
During the layover, your pet will be dismebarked, and airline officials will ensure your pet has access to water and food. If the layover is for a longer duration, your pet will be taken to a pet lounge for a comfort stop where he or she can relieve themselves and stretch their legs.
Before your dog's flight
We always recommend feeding pets more than 4 hours prior to being picked up from their home or arriving at the airport. This gives your dog enough time to digest their food and, hopefully, pee and poop before going into their travel kennel.
So you may be wondering, if your pet can barely cope with you leaving the house, how will they be able to handle a plane trip? The truth is, it will be a new experience for them, but they will be just fine. And we have some tips to help prepare them for their next adventure.
People often come to us requesting the doctor or nurse to prescribe diazepam for fear of flying or assist with sleep during flights. Diazepam is a sedative, which means it makes you sleepy and more relaxed.
Some pets might travel better if there's soothing music or fresh air in the car. Try playing classical music, soft rock, or reggae (read about what types of music are most calming for dogs here) or opening the windows a bit. Just don't let your dog put their head out the window.
When you leave your dog or puppy at a boarding service, it's important to have realistic expectations about how they will do. Just like humans, a dog (and even a cat) can get anxious in new environments and may not enjoy every minute of their stay.
No loving pet parent wishes any of that on their cat or dog! That's why the American Veterinary Medical Association strongly recommends against using tranquilizers or sedatives. Airlines won't even accept sedated/tranquilized dogs and cats.
Book a non-stop, direct flight whenever possible and try to fly on a weekday when airports are typically less hectic. If your pet will be traveling in the cargo hold, it's best to fly in the morning or evening during the summer, and midday during the winter to avoid extremely hot or cold temperatures.
Getting your dog used to being in different environments is the very first step you can take. Practice, practice, practice! I can't bark that enough. Taking your dog out, going on road trips, and flying your dog domestically – all those experiences will help your dog prepare for a long-hauled flight.
Dogs do survive long flights. On all flights, statistics show airlines lost less than 0.005 percent of the pets they flew. Fliers haven't reported any behavioral effects resulting from long flights. However, some flight experiences such as cargo handling can be traumatizing and even dangerous.
As with humans, animals can also experience barotrauma when traveling by plane. This injury is caused by an imbalance between the environmental pressure inside the aircraft and the pressure inside the middle ear cavity.
Exercise! In the hours before the flight, take your dog on lots of walks and let her run around as much as possible. A tired dog handles a flight much more easily, as she'll hopefully be tempted to curl up and take a nap. Bonus: generally fit pets make better travelers.
Dog separation anxiety, more aptly termed as separation distress or panic is real. It can happen not only when you go on vacation but also when you need to leave them in general. It is a relatively common behavioural disorder, and it is a lot more than just “getting bored”.
Your vet can then advise you as to whether your dog is healthy enough to travel in either the cabin or cargo area. Dogs with pre-existing cardiac, respiratory, epilepsy, blood clots, hypertension and other issues, as well as very young, pregnant or elderly dogs may be advised against flying entirely.
Many dogs experience a combination of motion sickness and travel anxiety, since nausea can make travel stressful to them. So it's important to address motion sickness in addition to dog anxiety in cars.