Frequently Asked Questions about Flying with a Dog

In this blog, we will answer some frequently asked questions about flying with a dog. All answers are based on our experience/knowledge and are only intended to be used as a guide. It is your responsibility to research on current regulations.

Background: Tofu is a 4.5 kg, 3-year-old Maltese dog. He has been on 39 flights so far. Tofu is a working multipurpose assistance dog for my disability. We have experienced flying with him both as a pet (before he became an assistance dog) and flying as a service/assistance animal. We will differentiate the two (pet vs. service animal) in our blog.

According to ADA, a service animal is defined as "a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability". The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person's disability. Faking a service dog is a crime and hurts disabled handlers.

Here we will answer our top 10 most asked questions!

Question 1: How do you fly with a dog on a plane? Are they allowed?

Not all airlines and their routes accept flying with animals. However, most European/American airlines allow it. There are two ways you can fly with your pet: either in the cabin or in the cargo hold. For a pet to fly in the cabin, the pet has to be under a certain size and weight, and inside a pet carrier. There is also a pet fee you have to pay. You can find all the details on each airline's website. To reserve for your pet to fly, you should contact the airline right after you book your ticket. There are limits on the number of animals per flight.

Service dogs, on the other hand, can also fly in the cabin without those restrictions. But, they must be fully trained and pre-approved by the airline. Another option to fly with a dog is to fly in cargo. We do not have experience with flying in cargo so we unfortunately cannot speak about it.

Question 2: What happens if the dog needs to pee and poo on the flight?

We have flown on flights from as little as 2 hours to as long as 15 hours. Usually, the answer is they don't. Most people recommend limiting food and water before flights to reduce the chance of pets having accidents. Tofu is potty trained and pee pad trained. In other words, he is trained to potty on command. Usually, we have him potty right before boarding (either in the pet relief area or on a pee pad in the bathroom) and right after we land. For longer flights (10+ hours), we think it is inhumane to ask a dog to withhold their pee and poop, especially since Tofu is a small pup. Therefore, when he needs to go potty, he lets me know and we go to the aircraft's bathroom. I put a couple of pee pads on the bathroom floor and he can relieve himself on the pad. According to DOT's regulation, "dogs should refrain from relieving themselves or can relieve themselves in a way without posing a health/sanitation issue".

Question 3: What are the documents you need to fly with a dog?

The required documents depend on where you are from and where you are traveling. For example, for domestic flights inside the United States, all you need are health/vaccination certificates. But to travel internationally there are more requirements. Common requirements are ISO microchip, international health certificates, rabies certificates, some require special deworming procedures and or titer tests. If you are traveling from the United States, you can go to usda.gov to see all the requirements, as well as searching for USDA-accredited vets in your area. Some countries have more complicated requirements and wait times. For example, we traveled to Japan with Tofu and the entire process took us 8 months. There was additional paperwork and a 6 month waiting period. If you are interested, you can read our Japan blog here (https://traveldogtofu.wixsite.com/traveldogtofu/post/how-to-bring-your-dog-to-japan-from-other-country) .

On the other hand, some countries have animal quarantine requirements, but we have not gone to those countries yet.

Question 4: How do you train your dog to be calm and cool on flights? Any tips?

There are many ways you can prepare your dog for air travel.

For pet: 1) Purchase the pet carrier some time before your travel date and train your pet to be comfortable and safe inside the carrier. Pets are required to stay inside their carrier at all times on the flight so it is important that they feel safe and comfortable.

2) You can simulate the flight scenario by riding on different public transportations. When Tofu was a baby we did a lot of training on the train and at the train station.

3) You can use YouTube to play different engine sounds.

4) For nervous pups you can purchase ear muffs, thunder shirt, or have the vet prescribe calming meds. For service dogs: 1) Bring a blanket or mat. Service dogs are required to stay on the floor, not on the seat. By bringing a blanket the dog is more comfortable lying down and sometimes the aircraft gets cold.

2) Bring a chew stick in case their ears become uncomfortable.

3) Soft leash to buckle between the dog and your seat belt. (Many European airlines asked us to tie the leash on the seatbelts)

4) A muzzle. Most airlines recommend bringing a muzzle but is not a requirement.However, some European airline requires you to have it with you in order for you and your service dog to board the flight (Turkish airline)

Question 5: Do all airports have pet relief area?

Unfortunately no. While most airports in the US have pet relief areas, it does not exist in Europe and other parts of the world. There are exceptions, of course, but you should look up if your terminal is equipped with pet relief area prior to your travel. Some pet relief area are pre-security, so make sure you plan accordingly. For airports with no pet relief areas, we usually bring a pee pad inside the bathroom and have him potty on the pad. Therefore, teaching the "potty on command" skill is very important for dog travel, in my opinion.

Question 6: How do you prepare yourselves and Tofu for any delay at the airport or on the plane?

We have couple things with us AT ALL TIMES: 1) Dog dried food- a portion or two 2) dog bowl 3) pee pads and wet wipes 4) copies of dog vaccinations/passports/medication/microchip info (either on our phone or hardcopies) 5) treats/a toy/chew 6) muzzle For service dog handlers: 1) emergency info sheet- in English and one in the language you are traveling to 2) medication and their prescription slips

Question 7: How does the pet go through the metal detector?

Definitely not through the X-ray machine! If you are traveling with a pet, most of the time TSA will ask you to remove the carrier and pet's harness and ask you to hold your pet through the metal detector.

For service dogs, you can either take off all the gear and have the dog go through the metal detector alone. OR you can choose to have the gear on and have a pat-down by the TSA. We personally choose to take off all the gear because we don't want to associate petting when Tofu's work gear is on.

I have to point out that in some countries this process may look different. For example, we were in Frankfurt airport and the TSA wanted me to hold my dog at all times when passing through TSA. In Tokyo Narita Airport, we had to wait until further instruction as the TSA there was not familiar with the protocol with dogs. In Istanbul airport, they demanded my dog to be pat down but all the TSAs there were either scared of dogs or were not allowed to touch dogs due to their religion. We waited there for 20 minutes until they found someone. Therefore, you should arrive extra early at the airport when traveling with your dog.

Question 8: What is the best pet friendly airline?

I get asked this question a lot but honestly, I am unsure how to answer this. I think most American based Airlines are quite pet-friendly- you can book your pet's ticket on the website (without having to call). I think for the experience really depend on the flight crew. For example, when tofu was a baby we often fly JetBlue from Boston to LA. Most of the times the crew is super nice, they offered tofu some water and checks on us. However, one time the plane was super hot, and I opened the carrier to offer tofu some water and I got yelled at...So the experience really depend on the flight crew. For international airlines we have flew Turkish airline and Lufthansa. We have both good and bad experiences. However, airlines that have the most experienced with pet travels, in my opinion and from what I heard are: Delta airlines, American Airlines, United airlines, Lufthansa, Turkish airline, China airline, and KLM.

Question 9: What about larger dogs?

Pet dogs that exceed the weight and size cannot travel in cabin. The only way they can fly is in cargo. However, some companies have bigger pet weight allowance. The other option would be charter flights. To find charter flights with other pet parents, I recommend adding a Facebook group called "Charter Air Travel With Pets".

Question 10: How do you find pet-friendly accommodation and restaurants?

For pet-friendly hotels, we like to search and book through hotels.com. From the search engine, you can click on the filter that only finds you pet-friendly hotels. For restaurants, you can always call ahead and ask. It is a good idea to do some research on dog culture in each country prior to your trip. In the US, places that sell food do not welcome pets, only service animals. Pets are welcome in the restaurant's outdoor seating area in some states. Most European countries like Germany, France, and Italy, allow pets in most restaurants and cafes. For the ones that don't allow they usually have a sign on their door. You can also always just ask them directly :). Japan, on the other hand, is very tricky. Most restaurants do not allow dogs, but some do. It is super hard to find those informations, so I searched for some Instagrammers who specialized in dining with their pet at pet-friendly restaurants.

I would also like to point out that in Europe and Japan, most restaurants/cafes have their own Instagram account. So if you cannot call the place directly you can always send an instagram message.

Thank you for reading our blog! For questions, feel free to connect with us through instagram:)

-Tofu and Tiffany