Dogs flying

Thanks for all the replies. I'm really not sure if the dogs mind the
flights...they just seem a bit uncomfortable. It's hard to tell. One
thing I do know, they would never wear any kind of a headset.

Thanks again, Chuck

Chuck wrote:
Thanks for all the replies. I'm really not sure if the dogs mind the
flights...they just seem a bit uncomfortable. It's hard to tell. One
thing I do know, they would never wear any kind of a headset.
Thanks again, Chuck

Chuck,
I think they'll be fine. Just give them time. My dog was shaking and
shivering like crazy the first several flights, and now she hops up on the
wing and gets in the back seat with only a little encouragement. She
watches for birds, and can tell when it's time to land (she listens for
the throttle to be reduced).

--- Jay


--
__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! !
http://www.oceancityairport.com
http://www.oc-adolfos.com

You might try to find a commercial Television/Stage supply house. Ask for
a few square feet of Anechoic paneling. If you cover 3/4 of the interior of
a doggy carrier, it would SERIOUSLY reduce the ambient noise level.

the down side is that the dog would have to travel inside it's little travel
cage.

We use the stuff to cover the walls of small audio recording
booths. Even with only half the wall surface covered, the noise level in
the room
drops by over 15db.

Chuck wrote:

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
...
Thanks for all the replies. I'm really not sure if the dogs mind the
flights...they just seem a bit uncomfortable. It's hard to tell.

Every dog is different. Also, how the dog is introduced to airplanes
matters too. I introduced our dog a little bit at a time. Starting out
with just visiting the airport, to showing him the airplane, to showing him
that the airplane actually moves, to taxiing around, and finally to a
flight.

Some dogs you can just toss them in, and they'll be fine, but you never
really know until you try. And if it turns out they weren't fine, it may be
a lot harder to get them used to it. They may NEVER get used to it.

Of course, you are the only person who has a chance of knowing what the
situation is with your own dogs. But some dogs definitely don't like
flying, and yours might be in that category. It's also entirely possible
that the noise has nothing to do with it, and that they'd still be
uncomfortable even if you got them some sort of hearing protection.

Pete

(Jay Masino) writes:

I think they'll be fine. Just give them time. My dog was shaking and
shivering like crazy the first several flights, and now she hops up on the
wing and gets in the back seat with only a little encouragement.

Of the four dogs who've flown with me regularly, none have been bothered
by it and I can hardly keep my youngest off of the plane while I'm loading
it. (That's saying a lot because they're usually free to run after the
ground squirrels in the lot by the hangar while I'm loading.) Part of the
reason for their comfort is probably because they spent a lot of time in
the plane while it was restored.
http://www.ecn.purdue.edu/~laird/fly...es/aztec34.jpg

I've only flown a guest dog once and he snuggled in nicely with my gang
and had no problems.

She
watches for birds, and can tell when it's time to land (she listens for
the throttle to be reduced).

Our oldest once *told* me it was time to land. We were at 16,500' over
Nebraska at the time... Make sure to pull water well before flying a
long leg.

--kyler

"Peter Duniho" wrote in message
...
"Chuck" wrote in message
...
Thanks for all the replies. I'm really not sure if the dogs mind the
flights...they just seem a bit uncomfortable. It's hard to tell.

Every dog is different. Also, how the dog is introduced to airplanes
matters too. I introduced our dog a little bit at a time. Starting out
with just visiting the airport, to showing him the airplane, to showing
him
that the airplane actually moves, to taxiing around, and finally to a
flight.

Some dogs you can just toss them in, and they'll be fine, but you never
really know until you try. And if it turns out they weren't fine, it may
be
a lot harder to get them used to it. They may NEVER get used to it.


Dogs go through two fear imprint stages in their first year. If they have a
bad experience during those times they will fear whatever they associate
with that experience for the rest of their life. These would be the times
that parent dogs would have introduced their pups to the dangers of the
wild, taking the pup near dangerous animals and then making him lie low and
hidden to emphasize the situation. Making your dog sit or down whenever a
vehicle approaches during the fear imprint period will cause the animal to
become terrified of automobiles forever. This can be a good or bad thing
depending on your training objectives.

Dogs that are afraid of fireworks, guns, riding in the car, etc., for no
apparent good reason probably learned this fear during one of the fear
imprint periods. The best way to teach a dog to fear flying is to crate him
up during a during a fear imprint period and take him flying while you
'comfort' him the whole time with sympathetic little worried sounds. It
really teaches the dog that flying is something to be afraid of. The second
period during early adolescence is the least rational of the two. The
trainer has to be very careful or you can absolutely ruin a dog. I would not
take a dog flying during the second fear imprint period at all. Taking your
dog for rides in the car to the park or to meet other dogs during the second
fear imprint period will teach the dog that riding in the car is desirable
and fun. Taking him to be neutered may well teach him that the car takes him
to the vet or some other painful place. Unfortunately, this is right when
most dogs are neutered because owners like to maintain a somewhat puppy-like
personality.

The breed of dog has a big effect on both the timing and duration of the
fear imprint periods as well as how the dog reacts to fear. Non-aggressive
dogs such as poodles will cower and piddle, whereas a terrier might well
bite or even viciously attack. Independent hunting dogs such as Scotties
have short fear imprint periods and generally fear absolutely nothing. These
breeds will chase anything that moves and, if they can't chase, will bark.
Some other breeds seem to be afraid of nearly everything.

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.

Kyler Laird wrote:
Our oldest once *told* me it was time to land. We were at 16,500' over
Nebraska at the time... Make sure to pull water well before flying a
long leg.

One time, I was getting close to the pattern, and I (jokingly) told Zena
to watch out for other traffic. When I was on downwind, about to turn
base, she saw another plane that happened to be on final. She jumped up
on the window and barked. Practically scared the hell out of me. I'm
sure it was a coincidence, but it was funny nonetheless.

--- Jay

--
__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! !
http://www.oceancityairport.com
http://www.oc-adolfos.com

"Kyler Laird" wrote in message
...
(Jay Masino) writes:

I've only flown a guest dog once and he snuggled in nicely with my gang
and had no problems.

My dog Bernie seems to like flying just fine. He's 17 and deaf as
a post, so hearing problems aren't an issue. He's a hoot in
turbulence -- somehow he thinks there's something wrong with
the seat, stands up, glares at it & stomps it in circles again suspiciously.


She
watches for birds, and can tell when it's time to land (she listens for
the throttle to be reduced).

Our oldest once *told* me it was time to land. We were at 16,500' over
Nebraska at the time... Make sure to pull water well before flying a
long leg.

Tell me. Do your dogs bark at other planes in the air, or just those
that have dogs in them?

Chuck wrote:
Thanks for all the replies. I'm really not sure if the dogs mind the
flights...they just seem a bit uncomfortable. It's hard to tell. One
thing I do know, they would never wear any kind of a headset.

Thanks again, Chuck
I never took a dog flying, but I did take my dog from South Fla to Mass
on a motorcycle. I made a platform that attached to the gas tank. She
would sit or stand most of the way and would lay down and sleep some of
the way. I made her a terry cloth lined rain suit and goggles.

The googles were made out of knauga hide (vinyl) that covered her entire
head and snapped under her chin. The vinyl had an oval cut out where
the eyes were. The oval opening was covered by a curved peice of
plexiglass. There was about 1" of foam between the vinyl and the
plexiglass that separated the plexiglass from the vinyl so that it
didn't touch her eyes.

The biggest problem was when we would stop. I had to get the rain coat
off before she would squat to pee.

Now, what were you saying about never getting your dog to wear a head set???

Marty