Dogs flying

Hi, all,

Does anyone have any suggestions for cutting down noise for the dogs?
We have 2 toy poodles who we love to take with us on plane trips.
Unfortunately, they don't enjoy it and I think it's because of the
noise. I don't think there are any "doggie" headsets available. Any
suggestions?

TIA, Chuck

"Chuck" wrote in message

We have 2 toy poodles who we love to take with us on plane trips.
Unfortunately, they don't enjoy it and I think it's because of the
noise.

Chuck... It may well be the motion -- we've had that reaction to auto travel
with some pets, albeit no experience with pets flying. Do the poodles
protest car travel?

In any event, if they clearly do not enjoy the trips, you must leave them
behind. Forced travel would be abusive, imo.

Dogs are more of a noise hazard than something that should be bothered by
noise. :-)

Anything that can stand their barking is not likely to suffer hearing loss
from a mere airplane. If you are still concerned about it, you can clamp
blocks of high density foam over their ears using a strap of some kind. I
don't think our Scottie would tolerate this for a minute, but, well, she's a
Scottie. She normally just sleeps and passes gas during a flight.

Dogs' heads vary in shape so much that it would be almost impossible to
produce commercially viable hearing protection. The biggest market would be
hunting dogs, since only a few kinds of dogs are used and there are a lot of
hunters. Lots of hunting and gun dog shops carry hearing protection for dog
owners, but none for the dogs.

"C J Campbell" wrote:

Anything that can stand their barking is not
likely to suffer hearing loss from a mere airplane.

That's debatable. You likely wouldn't suffer hearing loss from your own yelling
either! But as a teenager, I remember reading about studies showing how
listening to our music at the volume and for the duration we listened to it
would eventually cause hearing loss, so doesn't it follow that prolonged
exposure to the noise of an airplane engine from inside the cockpit could do
the same? ... and God knows dog's ears are more sensitive than human ears. Some
veterinarians say it wouldn't be a problem; others say they should have
protection just like we do. Guess it boils down to what you and your dog are
comfortable with.

--Shirley

"Shirley" wrote in message
...
"C J Campbell" wrote:

Anything that can stand their barking is not
likely to suffer hearing loss from a mere airplane.

That's debatable. You likely wouldn't suffer hearing loss from your own
yelling
either! But as a teenager, I remember reading about studies showing how
listening to our music at the volume and for the duration we listened to
it
would eventually cause hearing loss, so doesn't it follow that prolonged
exposure to the noise of an airplane engine from inside the cockpit could
do
the same? ... and God knows dog's ears are more sensitive than human ears.
Some
veterinarians say it wouldn't be a problem; others say they should have
protection just like we do. Guess it boils down to what you and your dog
are
comfortable with.

Exposure to prolonged engine and propeller noise definitely will cause
hearing loss in humans, just as prolonged exposure to rock and roll will.
Dogs, however, can and do create noise that is just as loud and prolonged
without any apparent hearing loss on their part, despite the fact that
humans exposed to dogs' barking can lose their hearing.

Dogs can hear higher frequencies than we do, but it is doubtful that their
hearing is more sensitive than that of humans. Most dogs, in fact, do not
appear to hear all that well. It is too easy to sneak up on them, for
example, if you do it from downwind. They will not respond to whispered
commands. Dogs rely on their sense of smell more than anything else.

Unfortunately, there don't appear to be any serious studies measuring
hearing loss in dogs due to noise hazards. Anything veterinarians have to
say in this regard may be no better informed than what any dog owner would
say. It is all based on speculation and anecdotal experience.

"C J Campbell" wrote:

Exposure to prolonged engine and propeller noise
definitely will cause hearing loss in humans, just as
prolonged exposure to rock and roll will.

Then it follows that it *could* potentially cause hearing loss in dogs as well.
Just because a dog bark is loud and they carry on with it for extended periods
doesn't mean that has the same effect on their hearing as a constantly running
engine at that specific level.

Dogs, however, can and do create noise that is just
as loud and prolonged without any apparent hearing
loss on their part,

Such as? and where is this study?

Most dogs, in fact, do not appear to hear all that well.
It is too easy to sneak up on them, for example, if you
do it from downwind. They will not respond to
whispered commands.

Really? I've owned many dogs, and I'm pretty light on my feet, and I've never
been able to sneak up on one until they were well into old age and *obviously*
hard of hearing. And as far as not responding to a whisper, I can whisper the
word "cookie" while she's asleep and my JRT jumps up and runs to the jar. I'd
say your statement depends on the dog in question.

Unfortunately, there don't appear to be any serious
studies measuring hearing loss in dogs due to noise
hazards. Anything veterinarians have to say in this
regard may be no better informed than what any dog
owner would say. It is all based on speculation and
anecdotal experience.

On that, I completely agree. Even a veterinarian's opinion *is* JUST that on
whether or not taking a dog in an airplane on a regular basis without providing
some form of ear protection would or would not be harmful to their hearing. As
said in a previous post, it all boils down to what you are comfortable with,
since the dog really has no choice (other than to make it extremely unpleasant
for you if he/she is unhappy!).

--Shirley

Maybe active noise reduction is the way to go. A lightweight ANR headset may be
easier to get the dogs to live with. You (the pilot) would then use the old
rickety ones you reserved for passengers you don't like very much.

Jose

--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

If the truth be known, the long-term effect is more applicable to humans
than dogs. Compared to humans, dogs have a relatively (unfortunately) short
life and as a consequence have a shorter potential of exposure than do
humans. Further factor, into it that the dog (presumably) isn't going to be
flying as often as its' human companion.

If you were to ask if I would do it (i.e, take my dog ((or God forbid one of
my catsgrin))), I would say no,,,, unless it was a dog that been exposed
to flight from puppyhood. Also, if you were to ask if I would get my dog
hearing protection (despite the facts regarding a relatively short-term
exposure), I probably would.... Of course, I got my first dog (a small
American Eskimo) a sweater,,,, so I can't claim to be driven by logic,
either grin

And now,,,,, since I obviously possess the sum total of all human
wisdom,,,,,,, the thread is closed.......... ;-) .... just kidding....
g

--
--
=-----
Good Flights!

Cecil
PP-ASEL
Student-IASEL

Check out my personal flying adventures from my first flight to the
checkride AND the continuing adventures beyond!
Complete with pictures and text at: www.bayareapilot.com

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery -

"We who fly, do so for the love of flying. We are alive in the air with
this miracle that lies in our hands and beneath our feet"
- Cecil Day Lewis -

Humans, dogs, bats, etc. are neurologically wired to prevent deafening
themselve from their own loud vocalilizations. Some bats can vocalize at
up to 120 db (luckily in frequencies that we don't hear). When you yell,
a reflex mechanism is activated that relaxes the muscles that tension
the eardrums. This effectively reduces the sensitivity of your hearing
and protects your inner ears. This mechanism is wired into the nerves
that govern vocalization and so this mechanism only works for your own
vocalizations. That's why a dog won't go deaf from it's own barking but
will go deaf from exposure to outside noise.


Exposure to prolonged engine and propeller noise definitely will cause
hearing loss in humans, just as prolonged exposure to rock and roll will.
Dogs, however, can and do create noise that is just as loud and prolonged
without any apparent hearing loss on their part, despite the fact that
humans exposed to dogs' barking can lose their hearing.

unicate (Shirley) writes:

That's debatable. You likely wouldn't suffer hearing loss from your own yelling
either! But as a teenager, I remember reading about studies showing how
listening to our music at the volume and for the duration we listened to it
would eventually cause hearing loss, so doesn't it follow that prolonged
exposure to the noise of an airplane engine from inside the cockpit could do
the same?

Yes, dogs who ride in airplanes during their teens will almost certainly have
hearing loss in their twenties. It is likely to be so bad that they will be
unable to get even a Third Class Airman Medical.

--kyler