Potty Breaks for Transports

[Greg Ciliberti]

I'm new and as yet have not done a transport. I was wondering if it is smart or necessary to give a dog a potty break during the transport. I'm thinking about volunteering to recieve a dog that will have been in another plane for about 2 hours before it is transferred to me. Should I give it water? Should I 'walk' it someplace at the airport? How will the airport staff react to 'walking' a dog to let it take a pee or more? And then what about clean up?
Greg

[traunero]

I would definitely give the dog an opportunity to relieve itself during a transfer. Most airports have a grassy area somewhere to use. It would only be polit to clean up the "number two" afterward. Every airport I have ever been to on a PnP mission, large and small, have been very receptive to the animals being there. Questions usually arise, and an opportunity for education about PnP presents itself.

[richclover]

I agree with traunero, Greg. Walk the dogs Last flight we did, 5 more minutes would've saved us a "poopy" clean up. I'm now allowing an hour for transfer from ground transport to my airplane. Time for "walking", pictures, paperwork, loading, etc.

Airport parking lots, off ramp areas work for walking. Be CAREFUL at towered, TSA-airline airports where you walk on the ramp!

WalMart shopping bags serve well for "Picking Up" the dooty. Or, WalMart sells special purpose bags in the pet section.

[Jon]

One of the reason I prefer to do long range transports is the animals aren't disturbed as much. When a transport is broken into legs the pups get excited and when they get excited we know what happens.

But no matter how much we walk the animals preceding a transport and no matter how long or short the flight sometimes I have to face one of the three "Ps" (that would be pooping, peeing or puking). So as I have had to learn the hard way the best way to mitigate the impact of an accident is to line the bottom of every crate with a large bath towel or equivalent. That will catch and absorb the worst of it. Every towel is washed prior to reuse whether it was soiled or not.

At the receiving end of the flight I take all the "linens" and place them in a plastic garbage bag and close it tightly. That way I don't have to enjoy the aromas on the return flight. If the crate gets soiled I use the hose that every FBO seems to have available and flush out the crate before the return flight. The crate may not be perfectly clean for reuse, but at least I have flushed away the worst soiling.

I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with flatulence. Dobies seem to be the worst offenders, but in their defense I have never had a Dobie do any of the three "Ps" in the plane. In fact I think I can say they have always been good passengers.

[traunero]

Heck, I have to deal with flatulence when I fly my family (I am also guilty of it myself), dealing with dogs' gas is nothing new.

The plane usually has that "dog" smell to it, though. Not offensive to someone who loves dogs, but it is there.

[emartin]

At 16000ft it really reaks,there is a condensed air freshner that helps,not like you can open a window

[Jon]

Lets just say that even with my outflow valves in the rear and cabin air supply in the front the aromas can get very interesting.

I have tried every combination of air flow, from forward air to defrost, to floor air and I just accept the fact that I'm going to have to endure the environment in the plane. There have been flights where the smells are enough to gag a maggot.

But I'll endure them all to get these pups to safety. It's not like they are creating the aromas on purpose.

I do get the "linens" out of the cabin and in a sealed plastic bag in the unpressurized baggage area as soon as the pups are delivered, and I do remove and sanitize the crates at the end of the flight. So far it does not appear the plane has picked up the smells.