Bev--I fly all of the time with my 14 year old baby. He does great! It depends on what airline you are flying as to whether you can take her in the cabin. If you can't take her in the cabin--leave her home!!! Try to get an aisle seat because she will get more air. Also, you can't sit in an emergency aisle. Make sure that you are not in the rows closest to first class because they don't have under seat storage. When you make your reservations be sure to tell them that you are going to be bringing a dog on board. They charge you a fee around $50 each way for your little one--they are considered excess baggage:-( Some airlines limit the number of animals on board to 2. Be sure to check with them. You need to make a reservation for her so that you are not suprised when you get to the airport. If you are using an airline such as ASA, you need to leave her at home because she will be on the plane near the passengers, but she will still be with all of the baggage. Be sure to verify that you can take her on the plane and place her UNDERNEATH the seat.

You need to purchase a sherpa. This is a great travel bag that a stewardess designed for her own little one. This particular bag has been approved for travel on almost all domestic airlines that accept pets. If you have time, you save money if you order it from a mail order catalogue. JB Wholesale Pet Supplies is selling their original deluxe medium for 56.95 plus shipping which depends on where you live. Their number is 800-526-0388. Cherrybrook 800-524-0820 or www.cherrybrook.com has the medium for 59.90 plus shipping. They also offer a small. I personally got the medium because it still fits underneath the seat and gives him more room. RC Steele 800-872-3773 has the deluxe medium for 59.98 plus shipping. They will match any current published prices.

Now that you have the sherpa, here is what you do with it--get her used to going in and out of the bag. I make it a big production getting the sherpa out of the closet. He will come running into it. You just have to get your baby used to it. If she is used to a crate, it should be no problem. You can encourage her to get in, but don't close her in initially. Give her time to get used to it. I then closed the door part of the way so that he could see out and could still squish out of the top:-) Keep working with her until she in comfortable in the sherpa with the door closed. Place a nice soft towel in the sherpa. You can also put her favorite toy in the sherpa, but be sure to not lose it!!! You can also place a piece of clothing that smells like you into the sherpa so that she will know that you are really close. Be sure to put a sandwich bag of food in the pocket of the sherpa as well as any medicine that she needs. You don't want them to lose your luggage and be without food or medicine! Also, always keep the sherpa attached to your body because some thief could decided that they want whatever is in the bag and not even know that your little one is inside.

If she is used to having a crate, you may want to take it with you if it is small and collapsable. I wrap Cotton's in an old box and put tape handles on it. I always check it. It has come through with flying colors!

Now on the day of the flight. Whatever you do--do NOT give her any kind of sedative!! Sedatives can have weird side effects at a higher altitude. Take her on a nice long walk before the flight. Run around and try to get her tired. She should sleep the entire flight if you get her pretty pooped. I do feed Cotton a little bit of a bone before the flight. I also give him some water during the flight because he can become dehydrated. Cotton is older and is used to holding it in for a while so if your little one is a puppy, you may want to let her lick some ice but not chew it. If she is pad trained, you can bring a puppy pad with you. Let her use it in the bathroom.

So you are going to check in. You usually pay for the doggie ticket when you check your baggage. They may ask you for a statement of health for the dog. You need to get a health certificate from your vet that states that she has had all of her shots. I always bring it, but they never ask for it. They may want to see the sherpa, but it states right on the bag that it is approved for the airlines. Be sure to put your name on the bag! Someone on this site said that one airline employee stuck his hand in the bag with the dog still inside. Try to discourage this. I know that Cotton would take a hunk out of his hand! Now you have to go through the xray machine. TAKE YOUR BABY OUT OF THE BAG!!! Walk through the metal detector while holding her. Place the sherpa on the xray machine. They may give you a hassle of "Put that dog in the bag right now." after you get through xray. Take your time and make sure that she is comfortable--rearrange the towel, check to see that her favorite toy is still in the bag, etc. While sitting at the gate, I usually open up the top of the bag and let Cotton pop his head out. Don't take her out of the bag or you could get in trouble. If you do let her stick her head out be prepared for lots of attention--oh what a sweet dog, oh how beautiful, etc.

I personally board when they call for first class or people that need extra time to board. You have your child...of course you need extra time! I have never been hassled about getting on early. Find your seat and make sure that she is comfortable. Place the sherpa under the seat and make sure that it is not smushed down. It can get kind of smushed because it was designed to be collapsable. Don't place another bag underneath your seat because she will not get enough air. I always tell the people that are sitting next to me that I have a dog in the carrier. Some people tend to kick the bag and shove stuff right next to the bag if you are not very vocal. They don't seem to hear or understand that there is a dog underneath the seat. If the flight is full sometimes they will tell you to put another bag underneath the seat. Don't do it. You have the excess baggage ticket. You already have a bag underneath the seat. You have every right to put your stuff in the overhead bin. This happened to me once and they were nice about it once they knew that I had a dog with me.

During takeoff and landing unzip the bag a little bit and put your hand in to comfort her. She may try to climb out, but make sure that you only open the bag a little bit. I don't think that Cotton has had trouble with his ears, but you may want to see the vet about that. During the flight I find that the less attention that I pay Cotton, the better he is. He just sleeps. If you don't take off for a while or if she is hot, you can pull the sherpa up on your lap. I do that sometimes during the flight. If you are lucky enough to not have someone sitting next to you, you can place the sherpa on the seat. Just don't make a big production of it because they are supposed to be underneath the seat. Also, don't take her out of the bag because you will face a really stiff penalty. If mommy has to go potty during the flight try to do it when the little one is asleep. You don't want to be in the bathroom and hear barking in the cabin--yes, this actually happened to me. Some people decided to tease him while I was gone. Now worse case scenerio, the oxygen masks come down. My vet told me to get your baby out of the bag and share yours with her like you would with a child. This has never happened to me, but it is good to know.

Once you are out of the airport be sure to let her go potty.

I know that this is a really long post, but I learned this through a lot of travel. I wanted to share it with you so that you don't have to learn the hard way! You and your little one will have a great trip!!! If anyone wants my email address to talk about travel, email Jay.
Georgiann and Cotton