Pilot introduction

[PPC]

New pilot volunteer flying out of KEYE. I have a 177B. (Nice wide doors).

Any tips on how to safely keep the animals restrained would be welcome. Smaller dogs obviously could easily fit in a crate. But what do people do with a medium to large size dog? I have nightmares of a dog freaking and hopping the back seat into the baggage compartment, making stall recovery impossible. I would prefer to crate the dog, but you can't get too large of a crate back there. So that means a harness, I guess. Also, how do people protect/clean their seats. The parvo issue scares me a bit. I am going to want to fly with my own dog at some point. I am use to driving in my car with a dog, but I just don't know what to expect flying with strange dogs.

[admin]

New pilot volunteer flying out of KEYE. I have a 177B. (Nice wide doors).

Any tips on how to safely keep the animals restrained would be welcome. Smaller dogs obviously could easily fit in a crate. But what do people do with a medium to large size dog? I have nightmares of a dog freaking and hopping the back seat into the baggage compartment, making stall recovery impossible. I would prefer to crate the dog, but you can't get too large of a crate back there. So that means a harness, I guess. Also, how do people protect/clean their seats. The parvo issue scares me a bit. I am going to want to fly with my own dog at some point. I am use to driving in my car with a dog, but I just don't know what to expect flying with strange dogs.

Welcome to Pilots N Paws and thank you for offering to fly the animals who need your assistance. Many of your questions can be answered by going to the FAQ section on the upper right hand side of every page on the Forum Board Index. The Pilots section is shown with a plane and the Rescue section is shown with a life ring.

Regarding parvo virus, when you open the Ride Board: Animals Needing Transport forum, at the top are important topics and announcements that will always stay there. There is an article written by a vet that gives you good insight into canine parvo virus.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7680&p=21532&hilit=Parvo+vet#p21532

We are very fortunate to have Petmate and Subaru as sponsors. Petmate donates crates and safety harnesses at no charge to our pilots. You simply need to send an email to pilotsnpaws@gmail.com with the size area you are hoping to use for crates in your plane. If it is a larger dog, safety auto harnesses are used. Most pilots put a blue tarp down and bungey moving blankets over top of the tarp. This protects your plane. Also request that the rescues do not feed the animals the morning of the flight and that they be walked well.

I think you will find a lot of good information in the FAQ section. Very helpful to our members. If you still have questions, always feel free to post them to the board. Hopefully other pilots will chime in here with their experiences.

Thanks again for joining,
Debi

[Ladyflier]

Believe it or not, "most" big dogs travel well. And a few like to hop up front and help fly the plane. I use the harness and tether them to the back seat seatbelt to restrict movement. And, I never take a big dog unless I have another pilot with me...just in case. There is a nylon case that looks like a crate that I put in my cargo area. The dogs feel secure and think they are contained. Only one chewed thru the fabric ....lol.

A word of caution. I personally don't like to transport a dog that has just been neutered/spayed. They need a day or to to recover from the stress of their surgery. If they are sore and you pick them up, you could get nipped.