Pets and flying

[TWinter]

I looked back over the forums and found a few posts about flying with your pet. My question really is about "Mutt-Muffs" or hearing protection. I found a old thread were Hank says the frequency range is different for dogs vs. humans so they really they do not need them. I did not realize that..interesting.

 

Wondering how many use ear protection for their pets. I have a 8 yr old Boxer and he loves to ride with us in the vehicles...usually goes round and round until he makes his nest and he naps. I would hope he would do the same in the plane. Those that have read my posts know I'm anal about my plane, so the backseat will be covered and then covered some more, but we would like to be able to bring him along. Thoughts?

[bonal]

Our 90 pounder has never flown. We have taken him on the boat and he did fine. He would fill the back seat from one side to the other. I would not be too concerned with the seats as like you said they would be covered. What I would be concerned about is the glass if he were to put his paws up like he does in the car it would cause damage.

[47U]

I shuttled my daughter and her Pug half a dozen times back and forth to school a few years ago. She trained him to ride in the airline soft carrier beside her on the back seat and he was fine. It was about 50 minutes or an hour one way depending on traffic and 4500 / 5500msl. No mutt muffs and never an issue.

I guess I would like to see some test data on how effective doggie ear defenders are. Even the foggles break enough ear seal to let some noise in so with all the different sizes and shapes of canine noggins, I remain sceptical as to their effectiveness.

Tom

[RocketAviator]

I fly with our doberman on a regular basis. Have to stay at lower altitudes but other than that she rides swell. She is not real fond of accents & descents but she tolerates them well enough. She did try and climb into my lap once during a solid IAC approach! That was more than just a little interesting to say the least.

[scottfromiowa]

I have a soft sided dog enclosure ($30 bucks at Farm&Fleet) that I load through the baggage door and expand on a towell covered back seat. I load the dog (55lb English Pointer) through the baggage door into the travel kennel and zip up. He sleeps for the whole flight.

I wear headsets to hear ATC and listen to music. The noise in the plane is not as loud as my lawn mower. For the time/duration and noise level (under 100dba) using pet ear muffs is simply NOT necessary.

If you fly eight hours a day for day upon day...Yes.

Most don't.

Much ado about nothing.

[scottfromiowa]

I would never fly in a plane solo with an animal unconfined.

[cnoe]

Eli goes everywhere with my wife and I. In fact he's already logged 77 hours during his 2 1/2 years on earth. It always amazes me how welcome he is at FBOs across the country, always being invited inside with many offering free dog treats and water! At SAF we even had TSA officers coming over to pet him.

His Mutt Muffs are part of the basic equipment list. At 85# he fits the rear seat nicely and will now climb in and out of the plane on his own. I always attach a short leash to a secure harness to assure he'd stay in the back if things got wild. On one flight we caught a nice downdraft that prompted him to sit up in the seat and stare out the window for a minute; I swear he was pondering his location but soon laid back down. For the most part he just sleeps while in flight.

I do tuck a blanket over the seats but not once has he ever pawed at a window, YMMV. He also doesn't paw at the Mutt Muffs which stay in place well, but one leg I forgot to put them on him and my wife was none too pleased (though she didn't remember either).

One more thing, for his first outing we made a couple of takeoff rolls before taking him airborne just to be sure he'd be okay. He was a bit antsy on the first run but quickly adapted.

Take Fido along; it's much better than sticking him in a pen at some boarding kennel while you're out having fun.

[gjensen]

Being an avid duck hunter, my plane almost always has a 70 pound Labrador in the back seat. He wears muffs but shakes them off easily, I just put a sheet over the back seat, lower the flaps, cover the wing walk and he loads right up. He usually does not get up until after we land. Probably the best passenger I have unless he has gas.

[neilpilot]

I've flown Yogi a few times, and he just sits or sleeps on my co-pilot's lap and sometimes looks out the passenger side window.  Have considered hearing protection, but based on consultation with a vet we know whose well versed in GA, we've decided that it isn't really necessary for the frequency of his flight.  Have also transported hundreds of rescue dogs, always without incident except for the time that a Jack Russel chewed his way out of the carrier on climb-out from KNEW.  I was initially concerned about having a loose dog in the aircraft, one that I didn't know.  Luckily, he just climbed up front from the baggage compartment and slept on my co-pilot's lap, all the way to Memphis.

 

Here's Yogi on the way back from this year's MAPA Homecoming, nonstop from KERV to KAWM.

http://mooneyspace.com/gallery/album/13961-copilot-on-return-from-2014-mapa-homecoming/

[carusoam]

pm,

Is there an iPhone app or something similar that You would use to measure sound level?

I am going with the following logic...

The O is much quieter than my old C (fuzzy memory at best)

The dog,

Only flies a couple times per year.

Flights are less than or about an hour in length.

She doesn't listen to me anyway. ( unless there are bits of meat in my hand.)

She is comfortable through the whole flight accept the traffic pattern...

********

Front seaters get Halos!

Back seaters inherited the DCs.

I would rather save for Halos for the back seaters than muffs for the mutt...

Your professional opinion...?

Best regards,

-a-

S from I, point well taken...

[gsxrpilot]

Good point -A-

 

I went and download SPLnFFT which just happens to be the most accurate decibel meter for iPhone as tested by Univ. of Florida.  No I need to go fly and test the noise level in my M20C.

 

We've flown with our Labradoodle a couple of times and she doesn't like the mutt-muffs.  I'd like to be comfortable knowing that I'm not abusing her by letting her fly without the muffs.

 

Thanks,

[The-sky-captain]

TWinter: Boxers are great! I lost my boxer, Cosmo, in May to kidney failure. He lived to the ripe old age of 15 years and 2 months. Truly my best friend as I had him from a pup until his last day on earth. He loved going to the airport with me and watch me putter around on the plane. The is a picture or two of him in the background of a few shots in my gallery. I loved that dog...

[N201MKTurbo]

When I moved from Colorado to Arizona I took my cat in the plane. He just curled up in the passenger seat and slept the whole way.

[lahso]

I regularly fly with two Shih Tzu's and don't use any muffs or muffling on them. After take-off, they just settle in for a long nap.

[scottfromiowa]

I can maintain a conversation without headsets in my plane in cruise. 85dba is the OSHA action level. You can have 85dba constant for 8 hour work day. You can go above that level for periods of time, but must average below 85dba (total) for work day. If higher than 85dba for day you need to have annual testing (baseline) and note changes. If changes mandatory hearing protetion to attenuate the noise below 85dba. If you can carry on a conversation at normal levels at normal conversation distance you are below 85dba. In my plane in cruise you have to raise your voice...not yell..raise your voice. Somewhere between 86 and 90dba. If ABOVE 90dba for 8 hour aveerage MANDATORY hearing protection. When I cut the grass or fly it is WAY below 85dba. I would be more concerned with cranking your stereo in your car above 1/2 volume or driving a LOT with your windows down. Way over 90dba with windows down...THAT is why truckers lose hearing...NOT from diesel engine. That and listening to talk radio.

[ryoder]

I would never fly in a plane solo with an animal unconfined.

I nearly killed myself and my cat when I was sixteen driving an extended fan to Tampa when my cat decided to sit on the dash blocking my vision. When I tried to move her she shifted her weight and I got distracted and fish tailed on the road at 70 mph. I ran off the road into the center ditch area of I75 and got stuck in the mud. It could have easily flipped over.

[scottfromiowa]

Decibel 10th

iphone ap. Sound (decibel meter). New feature allows you to take a photo with noise level on screen...

[1964-M20E]

Cookie who died a year ago and now Julet fly with me.  I generally fix up a cord to secure Julet to the rear seat if I am alone.  Cookie used to fly in the right seat if it was just her and I flying and did fine.  I have mutt muffs and tried them but the dogs eventually shook them off and I’m not sure of how effective they were anyway.  We just drove to Orlando for a visit because we had too much stuff for my grandson to fit in the plane.  Julet appeared to prefer flying to driving.

[schule]

My pup tolerated the ear muffs for the joy of traveling with me. He also gets tied into the seat belts with the equivalent of a pet booster seat with a multi-point harness so he does not kill us in the unlikely event of a crash.

[dcrogers11]

Max, my 8 YO Shih Tzu has around 300 hours in the right seat.  He wears Mutt Muffs as well as a harness that is clipped to the seat belt.  He will not touch the muffs until I start down as he knows the sound change in the engine means we're almost home.  And for those wondering if I make my wife ride in back, I commute to work in my Mooney and he stays we me at work.  He is also in the LOP camp.    

Don