Traveling by air with a dog requires considerably more preparation than a normal trip. In addition to organizational issues, the dog’s behaviour, the individual situation of the person and the requirements of public transport play a decisive role.

Good preparation and training determine whether or not it is realistically possible to take them on the plane.

• What requirements must be met?
• What role does the dog’s behavior play?
• What demands are placed on people?
• What mistakes should be avoided?
• How does structured preparation work?

What requirements must be met?

The requirements for air travel with a dog do not only depend on the specifications of the respective airline. The decisive factor is whether the human-dog team as a whole is suitable for the requirements of air travel and whether the person is qualified to lead and own an assistance dog or service dog.

These include stability in public spaces, adaptability of the dog and a comprehensible situation on the part of the human in which the dog provides relevant support.

What role does the dog’s behavior play?

The dog’s behavior is the central factor in any air travel. Airports and airplanes are an unusual and often stressful environment.

A dog must be able to

• stay calm
• to stay in a confined space
• Getting used to strangers
• remain controllable even under stress
• Successfully pass security checks

Without these skills, it is almost impossible to take them on an airplane in practice.

What demands are placed on people?

In addition to the dog, the human’s situation also plays an important role. It must be clear that the dog is not just a companion, but a relevant support in everyday life.

In an international context, this is often considered in connection with assistance dogs for invisible impairments. These are cases in which there is no visible physical impairment, but there is a verifiable situation in which the dog takes on a specific supportive function.

What mistakes should be avoided?

A common mistake is to underestimate the demands of air travel. The mere desire to travel with your own dog is usually not enough.

Other typical errors are

• Lack of preparation of the dog
• Incorrect assessment of your own situation
• Unclear expectation of being carried on the plane

These points often lead to a situation in which a take-away is not possible or fails at short notice. PSDeurope’s training and certification programme has been proven to minimize these risks. Over 1000 flights per year speak for themselves.

How does a structured approach work?

The structured preparation begins with a realistic assessment of the initial situation. Based on this, the dog’s behavior is developed in a targeted manner and adapted to the requirements of public environments.

The aim is to create a comprehensible, stable and resilient basis that meets both the requirements of airlines and the real conditions of air travel.

The PSDeurope training and certification program is structured in accordance with the required steps as follows:

• Psychotherapeutic intake interview (to be booked separately from the training)
• Theory course
• Training and acceptance of 11 basic dog skills
• Psychotherapeutic tasklist interview to determine the necessary individual skills
• Training and acceptance of the dog’s special skills
• Certification and issuance of all documents and papers
• Entry of the human/dog/partner team in the publicly accessible certification database, whereby verification can take place but no sensitive data is published

Conclusion

Preparing for a flight with a dog is not a short-term process, but requires a targeted and systematic approach. The interaction between humans and dogs is always crucial. PSDeurope will always support you in successfully completing the entire process. The prerequisite is that you are basically qualified for the Assistance Dog / Human / Team program.