Introducing my dog to the plane

[Michael 182]

I have a 9 month old yellow lab. Very well trained - come, sit, stay, down,
fetch, drop, heel, crate, etc. Loves the car, jumps right in. Want to start
taking him on flights with me. Any comments on introducing him to the plane?

Thanks,

Michael

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"Michael 182" wrote:
> I have a 9 month old yellow lab. Very well trained - come, sit, stay, down,
> fetch, drop, heel, crate, etc. Loves the car, jumps right in. Want to start
> taking him on flights with me. Any comments on introducing him to the plane?

I just did that w/my 2 yr-old Jack Russell a couple of months ago. She
rides in a crate in the car and goes to sleep before I even have the car
out of the driveway. I put the crate in the back (C-152) for some
touch-n-goes just to see, first, if she would be okay with it. She went
right to sleep while I was preflighting. Sat up when I started the
engine. After the run-up, she was awake but curled up and comfortable.
Took off, climbed out, turned to look when I leveled off on the downwind
.... she was asleep! I said "Hey, you're FLYING!" She looked at me as if
to say, "Yeah ... so what??" Have taken her on a few trips since ... she
just sleeps, appears to not think of it any differently than a car ride.

Some said the noise bothers some dogs. Was told there is a company that
actually makes dog ear-protectors (similar to a headset), but was never
able to find it. Asked our veterinarian, she said she knows of several
people who take their dogs flying with no ill effects from the noise,
just to try it ... the dog will let you know if they object.

Friends have a Brittany who loved their 182 but hated their RV-4 and
would run and hide when he knew he had to go in that one. Not sure if
noise was the reason.

In any case, if he appears okay during start-up and taxi, maybe do a
couple of touch-n-goes before an actual trip to see how he reacts, and
if he isn't crated, take someone with you in case he freaks out after
you take off. Good luck.