I traveled internationally with my dog for the first time

The thought of traveling with your pet can be scary. Let me rephrase that, the thought of traveling with your pet is downright terrifying. Yet, thousands of pets are transported yearly so it’s obviously possible and if they can do it, you can too! I’ve racked the internet for pet traveling stories and experiences just so I can have a mental simulation of every scenario that could happen in case I need to be prepared. I’ve read about the biggest airline approved carrier, which airline is the most pet-friendly, if I should sedate my pet, etc. I’m here to tell you exactly what I did, where I traveled, and how I traveled from Los Angeles to Berlin. Mind you, this is a post about bringing a pet in cabin only.

It seems that when you fly with a pet there are a lot of hurdles to jump over, first with making sure that there’s even room for another dog in cabin before you book- which is very important! Second you’re praying that nothing goes wrong when you check-in at the airport and they see nothing wrong with your choice of carrier, third hoping all goes well during the security TSA check point, fourth having to be reassessed again by the airline staff before boarding, and fifth worrying about the behavior of your dog during the flight! Jeez!

Paperwork

I wish it was easy to just pay for your pets spot on the plane and jet set around the globe, but unfortunately there is a lot of work to put in it and if you’re traveling internationally, it gets quite bureaucratic. If you’re flying between states in the US, you’ll need to have your vet give him or her a health exam to obtain a necessary health certificate and up to date rabies vaccination. For international flights, you must have the same health exam but for the specific country of destination with rabies vaccinations and possibly other tests and rabies tethers, depending on your country. So I paid a hefty $100 for his fancy German health certificate that his vet pulled from the USDA website and had to drive all the way from San Bernardino County to El Segundo next to LAX to get a stamp of endorsement from the USDA for $38. There was a lot of driving, costs, and hair pulling involved but it’s absolutely worth it.

Checking-in

Probably one of my worst fears was checking in before my flight because it was either a confirmation that he could fly with me or that he could not. My dog is a registered emotional support animal for real mental health disabilities that I wish to not disclose, with verifiable documents but I still treated the entire situation as if he was simply a pet flying in cabin for the instance that he was denied his ESA status. I had all of my documents including his international health certificate, rabies certificate, letter of emotional support animal prescription, and even a document stating my health history as further confirmation. For good measure I also printed a “Pet Passport” cover page with a photo of my dog with his name and put it all in a clear folder with copies of the documents and a letter with contacts and addresses for emergencies. Once you have all the necessary paperwork, an airplane seat appropriate carrier, and the money for the in cabin fees, there’s no reason why your dog wouldn’t be able to fly. I was scared that the ticketing agent would look at my seemingly large pet carrier and deem it too big, or that he’d make me weigh it to see if it was under 8 kg (17 lbs) although it definitely wasn’t, but he was more interested in the paperwork so checking in was a tropical breeze. One possibility for him not checking my carrier and its weight might be because Torben is an emotional support dog, thus not needing a carrier because he is allowed to sit on my lap or sit on the floor in front of me, so keep this in mind and keep unnecessary items out of the carrier so that it checks in under the weight limit.

Security

Are you worried that security would think your dog is a drug carrier and will snatch him up, never to be see again? Nonsense! Security was a bit of a hassle, but it did not concern me at all. Just think of it as a few extra steps. I somewhat knew that his collar and harness wouldn’t be a good idea through the metal detector and it did set off the first time a TSA agent waved me through while carrying him, so it was a pain to have to wait for a free spot on the belt to take off his gear then find a spot before the metal detector and carry him through again. After I went through, I had to have my hands swabbed for traces of explosives (where did they possibly think I would put them?!) while I was holding Torben, so he was stressed out more than I was. Then I had to hurriedly grab all of my belongings off the belt while holding my dog because he had no collar or leash on, so next time I will consider a non-metal harness for flights!

Carrier

The moment I knew I was moving to Berlin from sunny LA I immediately bought a pet carrier so that my 15 pound Puggle (half beagle and half pug- adorable!) could get used to it and would find it as familiar territory when cramped under an airplane seat. I am aware of the Sherpa Deluxe carrier in size large but when I tried it on for size with my pup it was simply too short and I wanted him to at least sit up with his head crouched but he could not in this carrier. I scoured the web and found out about Sturdipet Products and found the soft sided collapsible arch design to be appealing because it was definitely taller and most likely too tall for under the airplane seat but it could easily be crunched down like malleable clay. I bought the size large for my dog Torben, because even though he is probably small enough to fit into a medium, I’d feel terrible if he was cramped for eleven hours when he could have more width space. When I first received it and assembled it, Torben was not amused or even investigative, even with a treat inside he would just crawl in to snatch it then quickly back up out of it. But he fit perfectly and it was long enough so I just let it sit around in my room as if it was a doggy bed that he’d finally give a try. He would still never get in on his own until I would put him in and zip it up for a few hours, but what really mattered was having it there and open that would always invite him. It was a good thing I never pushed it onto him, because he familiarized it as a safe space when I went through the hectic as hell TSA check and it stressed him out so much that while I was still getting things off the belt, he would crawl inside and curl up to escape the madness that I had to literally pull him out.  Once on the plane I knew the carrier wouldn’t be a perfect fit, the space under the Lufthansa airline seat was a mere 8 inches high and it scrunched the top a bit that gave him just an inch or two above, forcing him to lay the entire time. To solve this problem for anyone who does not have an ESA, just pull out the carrier as much as you can during the flight to give your pup more height space because it is a very long carrier so he or she will have ample room in the front. The picture below is on our flight from Frankfurt to Berlin, so for some reason there is much more room under the seats on domestic European flights and he was not allowed to be out of his carrier but it’s a good thing that no space was taken.

Carry-on

Even if you knew your dog can hold it, it’s better to be prepared than to not be. I had my backpack and a duffel bag carry-on and his transporter carrier, so I was certainly using all the limbs I had for 15 hours. In the duffel bag I had some pee pads, dog treats (I planned on giving him a treat every few hours to distract and reward him), his blanket, some toys, a small plastic tupperware bowl for water, then I later stole a roll of toilet paper from an airport (it was already running low!) for any leaks or messes. Something that would also come in handy is hand sanitizer, air freshening spray, and possibly a worn shirt for comforting smells in the carrier.

Flight

I always saw online that Lufthansa was a very pet friendly airline and their service was beyond expectations so since I was flying to Berlin, I decided to fly with them and searched the internet for decent priced tickets because I knew that Lufthansa wasn’t cheap. When I searched, the prices were always $3k and above and those prices are ludicrous but I was not going to compromise this time on air travel because my pet’s safety is my first priority, so I searched through a lot of online travel agencies and found an astonishing price of $903 on Skybooker! My eyeballs literally popped out of my head and I jumped on it as fast as I could even though I had some doubts that it was a scam but it miraculously pulled through and before you knew it I was on the plane! I walked him through security all the way to my seat so he was never inside the carrier until I sat down. The stewardess of my flight was incredibly amazing and accommodating, and even asked the person who was sitting next to me (I sat in the aisle) if he could switch to a better seat so that my dog would be comfortable. I sat in a three seater row and there was a larger amount of space in the middle seat so I had Torben’s carrier somewhat under the seat but more so in front of the chair horizontally, while I had my carryon under my seat in front of me. He was such a good boy and stayed in his carrier for two hours, probably because he was scared of the take off and loud noises, but I was allowed to have him on my lap and eventually he just laid on pillows in the empty seat next to me- I’m telling you, Lufthansa is amazing with in cabin pets! He mostly slept the entire time and he never went pee even though I took him to the bathroom twice during the flight with a pee pad on the floor. It wasn’t until we landed in Frankfurt and I had to actually leave the airport and go outside that he actually peed. We went back inside Terminal A and had to go through security but it was great because all of the security staff loved him! And guess what? NO ONE cared to check his USDA endorsed health certificate! That does not mean you should forego it, because there might be a chance where they will stop you at the border check and your poor dog will have to fly back by himself or herself.

Airport

If any of this information matters, I flew from the Los Angeles Airport (LAX) to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) then from there to Berlin Tegel Airport (TXL). I had to allow myself at least two hours of a layover in case border patrol held me up because of Torben and to make sure I gave him a potty break in between flights. When I googled pet relief areas in airports, a picture of a small patch of grass in a terminal popped up with Frankfurt Airport and I thought to myself, well how perfect is that! But alas, when I arrived there was NO animal pet relief area, so that’s why I had to leave the actual airport when I got to my gate but it was a very fast process because going through security when I came back in was right next to my gate so I didn’t miss a beat and Torben got to do his business. Throughout LAX, FRA, and TXL I walked him on a leash within the terminals and no one ever stopped me to put him in a carrier so it’s good to let your dog stretch his legs and walk in the airport during layovers or right before flying.

To sedate or not sedate

I have heard scary stories about tranquilizing your pets for flights and I would highly recommend against it. I am talking about fully sedating your pet so it is asleep, which can lead to broken bones during take off and landing because they can not adjust their position while the aircraft jumbles your pet around and breathing can be obstructed. My pet has a bit of separation anxiety and gets very nervous at the vet or in new surroundings, so I knew that I had to give him something for an eleven hour flight with strangers surrounding him and a bunch of new smells while confined to one space. I talked to my vet about it and he was prescribed a very low dose of trazodone, an anti-anxiety medication. I tested it out for a few days leading up to the big day and the first two days he seemed unaffected by it but by the third day he seemed groggy, just like when I’d take him home after going under anesthesia for a dental cleaning. I wanted him to relax on the flight so I gave him just half a pill approximately two hours prior to my flight, literally in the parking lot of the airport, and he seemed himself for the rest of the journey but without the anxiousness that he would usually exhibit. He never barked at strangers, cried or whined for attention as he would do when scared, or try to wonder off as the curious animal he is. He knew that he was traveling and amidst all the strangers he had to follow and listen to me until he arrived at a new and very cold place: Berlin.

And here he is, arrived in Berlin Tegel Airport! He crawled back into his carrier while I waited for my luggages, so don’t be worried that your pet will hate their cramped carrier during long haul flights, they see it as their small cozy home! Did my story help or ease any anxiety? Please let me know about your experience with flying with your pup or ask me any questions and I will be happy to answer them to the best of my ability.