Have you ever flown your boxer on an airline?

[SashaBaby]

This is just a general question to see if anyone has ever flown their boxer on a major airline. We go home for the holidays to Pennsylvania but we live with our boxer in Texas - so we recently looked into flying her home with us.
Apparently, your dog must fly as cargo and there are weight restrictions as well as temperature restrictions. We cannot fly our baby on the flight we are taking because the restrictions state a kennel size for her can not be accomodated on our plane. So, poor Sasha will have to spend a little over a week away at a kennel while we are gone.

She will be staying with our vet and will get lots of attention but she is 10 months old and we are feeling really guilty for leaving her. Unfortunately, we cannot fly her at this point and winter weather may not allow a drive with her in tow!

Just wondering if anyone had any experiences flying their boxers and if you thought it was a good/bad idea or recommended airlines.

Thanks for your help!

~Jennifer,Brett and Sasha

 

[pinkpuppy]

Chloe flew... She came to us on plne - a 2+ hour fliht... She was 9 weeks old - so size was not an issue. When she arrived and we rescued her out of the crate she was happy and greatful; she didn't look back. She also flew at the begining of September - and I know that at that point no all airlines flew dogs due to the temperature drop... Some airlines however have spcial, conditioned animal cargo areas... Check more than one. I think big doggies must be able to fly somehow -- so they not fly to shows sometimes?

 

[gmacleod]

Yep, plenty people fly their dogs. Short distances, across country, internationally... If you do a search with the terms "airline" or "airplane" you'll come across plenty of previous threads on the issue. Generally speaking, I'd always go with one of the large airlines - they're more likely to be experienced in carrying animals and have the infrastructure necessary to carry your pet in comfort.

 

[kassa]

I've flown dogs, but I wouldn't put them through it for the sake of sparing them a week in a kennel. From talking to my friends who have worked in kennels, most dogs actually do seem to enjoy it and it's not the sad atmosphere that people imagine. They get to stand around and see lots of new stuff and bark to their heart's content. Even if they're stressed, it's nothing compared to being lifted in a crate here and there with all the strange noises and smells and chaos of an airline shipping service.

A dog that will be overstressed by a kennel stay will be really overstressed by a flight.

 

[SashaBaby]

That's a really good point. I didn't like the idea of flying Sash for the week just because I knew that could end up being more stressful with chances of canceled or connecting flights...

I think she will be ok at the kennel...she will get a few walks everyday and there will be lots of other dogs there for her to play with. We just hate leaving her since we have never done it before!!

I'm sure she will be fine bc she has always been very good in new situations!!