taking your dog flying
 

i met a pilot at blackbushe last year who took his alsation flying with him. does anybody have any opinions concerning safety, noise, etc.
if the dog has a pet passport (UK) has anybody flown their pet into the UK from the continent, if so what are the procedures.
i would like to take my dog on trips to france and spain, so would be grateful for any advice.

Nice one Mono, you are "leading" him in the right direction.

As far as dogs in the plane, mine is fine!!

We get a few funny looks at bigger airports when we all get out of the aircraft followed by luggage then the dog jumps out.

I've taken my 5 year old Samoyed flying since he was 18 months old. He wears a harness that is then secured into the rear seat belt. It allows him to move side to side, but will not allow him to reach the front seats in my C172. The engine noise does not seem to bother him at all and he mostly sleeps between stops, only showing interest during descents. If we have been fairly high, above 6,000 ft, I try to make the decent as long and easy as possible as I have seen him experience inner ear discomfort. Aside from this he is always eager to fly, and waits patiently by the door to be lifted up and strapped in.
Regards,
W.B.

A widely-known (but nameless, here) CFI from the south-east was flying a family to Germany in an AA5 when the family cat escaped from its basket, defied all attempts to restrain it and lodged itself under the left-seat pedals, hissing. A diversion was made, using gentle rudder, and the beast was again caged for onward transport, with extra string. The pilot involved told me that had a significant rudder input been required, it would have been accompanied by crunching noises.

Taxying past tower, big black lab in RH seat, ask for radio check..and duck under coaming. Tower look out and see black lab and no-one else.

You can imagine the rest.

Step one: What do the rules say?

For example, in Oz the rules require an animal to be in a cage strong enough to prevent escape with a waterproof base, and placed in the cargo section. There's an exception for guide dogs who may travel with their user but must sit on an absorbent mat.

Years ago there was also a requirement that swine must be prevented from rooting but that was removed. The powers that be must have been successfully lobbied by the local Porcine mile high club something... :p

If you need a guide dog then should you really be acting as PiC?

I've never noticed a problem but I don't think I'd have him in the front seat, just me and him. Even though the comedy effect with the tower would be worth it.

Some time ago I had the opportunity to read CAP 612 which is the Ops Manual for Police AOCs. There's a section in there relating to carriage of dogs in police aircraft. The CAA advice was that it wasn't necessary for the police dog to lie down, it's best for the dog to be allowed to see out - they're more at ease that way. However, the dog has to be kept on a short leash and under control by a handler, who must not let go of the lead. The link to CAP 612 is at http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP612.pdf and the page you want is 158 (of 226). (Section 5, Chapter 2 Page 4). There's no mention of a cage at all, but they do recommend avoiding large attitude changes which may upset the dog.

So far as taking the dog foreign is concerned, you may not. You may only use approved carriers and routes. Carriage of animals on private aircraft or boats is specifically forbidden. The link to the DEFRA (formerly the Ministry of Ag and Fish) website is http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quar...nfo/routes.htm

General advice on the Pets Travel Scheme is at http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/pets/

Regards

P

As an aside I have heard DEFRA expanded as " Department for the Elimination of Food and Rural Activities;-)

many thanks for the useful replies, especially from pronto. at least i know i will only be able to take her on local flights.
reading some of the replies has given me an idea to train her to watch out and bark when she sees other aircraft, but perhaps only pups, bulldogs or terriers (unless anybody can think of any more!!).
thanksCJH

Took my Border Collie flying once - she was a little concerned to see the ground disappearing for the first time, but soon settled down (wife was on back seat alongside her). The main downside for her (the dog, that is! ;)) is the fact that she couldn't lick my ears with the DCs on!!

Go for it - great experience for the dog!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...g_Collie_2.jpg

Circuit Basher

It looks like your four legged friend is reading from the wrong map mate!!!!

She seems okay with it, been watching you reading it upside down?:confused: :ok:

She was correct - I was flying out of Perth towards Oban (with the hills over Loch Tay in the background!)!!

Have been a bit of a tramp for the last year - started work in Essex in Mar, son was born in Scotland in May, moved out of Scotland with 6 wk old son in Jul and moved him / wife to Dorset, then transferred jobs to Dorset in Dec! [Hence reason why I've not posted on Prune for a while]

Ashamed to say that I haven't flown since last Mar, having failed to complete IMC due to duff wx at Kinloss, then no more time.

Will maybe need to get a week off for an intensive IMC in the next few weeks.

So, the dog was right, after all!!

taking dog flying
 

We had a need to take our 11 yers old Springer Spaniel flying with us because the weather was great, we had no dog sitter and kennels were full. We gave her a check circuit and apart from looking bemused as the ground disappeared settled down. The next day having prepped the plane (DR221) she waited under the wing to be lifted in - so she must have been happy. We use a dog harness (for cars) to secure her to rear seat safty belt, she likes to have something to rest her head on - usually luggage and we make sure that her lead is handy when we lift her from the plane and carry water and a bowl. She has been to West Wales, the Gower (Swansea) Sscarborough (Edsfield) the Isle of Wight and Chaley airshow and has been welcomed (we always advise that we are bringing a dog)

As far as pet passport for european travel we have friends who take their dog by car to france and they have to get her checked 24hours before return also the vaccinations and passport seemed to take about 6 months to activate. I don't know what issues there may be returning

cjhants,

You may find helpful this article from the March/April 2003 issue of Aviator's Guide.

Regards,

MLS

Is it legal to let my pooch take control, so long as the safety of the flight is not compromised? ;)

Would that be a dog leg, F3G?

Treadigraph

Quite right :O And he'll log it "PICUS" (pooch in control under supervision)

It's the loops where the trouble starts... :)

I'll be dog-gone.

Have you seen this issue of GASIL.