Anyone flown pets through United Airlines?

Question

I'm making the final move from Hawaii to Tucson and am bringing our adopted dog Jake with us. After reading up on all the horror stories (I was hoping to have him sedated somewhat since he's so skiddish but apparently that's very ill-advised so I won't be doing it) I'm terrified that something will go wrong. Unfortunately, I change planes in LAX since there are absolutely NO non-stop flights to Tucson from Oahu on ANY airline and the military has booked my flight through United, anyway. I'm really curious to hear about the experiences of people who have flown their pets with United. He's a bloodhound mix and weighs about 72 pounds so bringing him in the cabin with me is obviously not an option. And any tips or advice would also be much appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 1

Whatever you do don't sedate your dog! They need to be as alert as possible so they can save themselves if need be. My vet told me that most dogs don't like flying, but they make it through it just fine.

Recently in Feb. 2008 I flew my 95 pound Mastiff mix from Sacramento, Ca to Raleigh, Nc with one stop layover in Atlanta and he came out of that 8 hour journey perfectly fine. I didn't fly with United I flew with Delta and I would fly with them again if need be.

All airlines are good however. Just make sure you have your dog's health certificate and a sturdy airline approved cage for him. I bought my dog's kennel (cage) from Wal-Mart and we still have it to this day.

Happy travels!