Preparing Gia for plane travel
Are you planning to travel with your dog and wondering how to make it a stress-free experience? In this video, watch a fun and effective positive reinforcement dog training session at Oakland International Airport (OAK) with Gia, a Mini Schnauzer preparing for her first airplane trip across the country!
Top 3 tips for travel with your pup (or cat!) from a trainer’s perspective
Plan ahead. Look up the rules and requirements for travel with your fur ball via your method of ticketed transportation: plane, train, or ship. If you are crossing international borders, also research the regulations for visiting animals. Some countries require a period of quarantine in addition to proof of vaccinations and health records. These requirements will inform what and how you need to prepare for the trip as well as for training your pet for the entire experience.
For example, each airline has specific measurements for animal carriers and you’ll have to buy a carrier that fits the airline you travel most. That’s the carrier you’ll want to use in training your pet. Don’t assume that the carrier you already have will work for the flight you’ve booked.
Also look up pet travel information for the airport or station where you’ll be. For dogs it’s important to know where the animal relief areas. When I was preparing for our hands-on training excursion to Oakland International Airport, I could not find any information for people traveling with pets! The only information I could find was an interactive map that had one Animal Relief Area listed. I had to go to another independent website to find out information about animal relief areas at OAK, but wasn’t sure how updated it was. In contrast, the San Francisco International Airport’s website is much more informative and helpful for travelers with pets.
Train for the trip. In addition to getting your pet comfortable in their travel carrier for longer periods of time, you can work on making sure your pup or cat is more comfortable in stressful and busy transit environments. It can be extremely shocking and distressing for your cat or dog to be confined in a small carrier with nowhere to hide or escape and be jostled about in loud and crowded travel terminals. Imagine from their point of view, usually lower to the ground, near walking feet, rolling luggage, vehicles whizzing by, as well as other pets in or out of carriers - all in close proximity - and lots of unusual and loud noises.
Do a practice run. Do as many as you can. If you can’t get to an airport, find similarly crowded and busy areas to do a training session. Take the luggage cases, carry ons, and pet travel kit with you to get a feel for what it will be like to tote your pup in their carrier along with your own items. I asked my clients, Michelle and Adrian, to do this with partially full cases so as not to be overburdened during our training session. Practice out in the field is an opportunity to test the skills you’ve been working on with your pup and test out your own preparation for the actual day of travel. It’s an invaluable way to gather information about what is working and what can be improved for your real travel day.
