Dogs & Aeroplanes

[Keepingthepeace9]

Sorry folks, another thread about dogs & this time the question is do you agree with a recent suggestion the UK becomes similar to countries like France & America where small dogs can travel in the cabin with their owners.

Despite having absolutely nothing against dogs or their owners I can't begin to stress how much I disagree with this for countless reasons. This of course is with the exception of assistance dogs. Are you for or against the idea?
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We are talking about risk mitigation. The probability of becoming ill with an allergy to dogs is far greater if its a dog friendly flight compared to the probability of a situation such as you describe in your post. Airborn food allergy is extremely rare although peanuts are banned on most if not every airline now. Dog dander allergy is extremely common. The two can't be compared.

So again, what happens if people with these severe allergies end up on a flight with a service dog, or end up sitting next to someone covered in pet hair from their pets at home?

You can't mitigate for every risk. The rest of the world manages fine with animals in the cabin.

I'm in favour. Animals going in the hold seems inhumane. Dogs are allowed on other forms of public transport and on planes on other countries, so it must be manageable.

I strongly suspect dogs smell less than some humans I've had the misfortune of sitting next to.

In the UK 8-13% of the population have a dog dander allergy and it’s extremely rare that people with dog dander allergy will create an anaphylactic reaction. Add to that the dogs are not roaming free but sit inside a dog carrier with mesh windows and you can probably work out that the risk of dying or having any kind of serious reaction is vanishingly tiny.

People on EU flights will also in some cases be allergic, they are not exactly dropping like flies.

Chances are far less likely that's all

Dogs don't try to rape people mid-flight (see news from today, man sentenced for this!)

Dogs don't become drunk and disorderly

Dogs don't play ipads at full volume

In many ways dogs sound more pleasant travel companions

Yes exactly this - this would make the flight experience a lot worse for people like us. Also you aren’t allowed nuts on a flight if someone is allergic so would you be able to flag it and have someone not bring their pet? Why does someone need to bring a dog abroad anyway?

Exactly. There are dogs on trains, tube, buses etc. and they are not even contained in carriers.

I have no idea how people put their dogs in the hold for a plane journey.

I would be in bits the entire flight thinking of my poor terrified dog, locked in a cage, in poor temperatures, in a loud hold, in the pitch black darkness with other dogs probably barking and growling around her. For hours on end. Not to mention fretting about how ground staff treated her before that.

I'd sooner drive and take boats for days on end at huge expense than subject her to that. I dont know how people do it 😭

I'm so fucked off with dogs, where I live there are more bloody dogs than young kids. Every other person. seems to have a least two in tow, and don't get me on the subject of buses, several times recently I have had to ask some one to take their dog off a seat so I can sit down. They usually put it on their laps then look sour because I openly ignore it.
I used to have dogs myself and loved them but here it's incessant and I'm sick to the vack teeth of stupid owners and their fur babies. Just fuck off.
Breathe....rant over and now I'm calm again with the world until the next time...😀

Boo hoo. Then leave your animals at home.

Like a very sensible poster said upthread, making the choice to have an animal means that some things may not be suitable for your animal.

It would be a dream come true for me. I'd much rather be sat next to Fido than Tim, middle aged and pissed before he boards after his business meeting or Kyle, high on drugs and shouting obscenities off to a stag doo, Kirsty and her brood of feral kids and 'fucking sit down, TeeJay' .
Seriously though, I have PTSD triggered by babies/ children crying/screaming. I have to suck up that if I use any form of public transport and cope.

If other parts of the world can cope with dogs on flights without the allergic reaction deaths or childrens' fear of dogs grounding flights, we need to see what's so different about us.

My dog would love it but she's a bit too big to sit in a carrier and would need a big seat.

Can I politely point out that it's the owners fault for putting them on seats on busses not the dogs....

...the dogs are actually being good..doing what they are told. Don't be fecked off at the dogs 😢

Agree that dogs shoukd not be on seats on public transport.

It’s humans you are angry with.

To end my contribution, I think we should ask flight attendants with and without the allergy how they would feel if this became the norm in the UK, obviously outwith assistance dogs. This is before considering the dog allergy situation for up to 20% or more of the population globally.

You can move though. Get up, swap seats. Stops tend to be frequent so you can get off. You're trapped on a plane. Pets should stay at home or go in the hold.

Tbh 'assistance' dogs are everywhere now. Guide dogs great, any other nope.

Has anyone ever come across a hearing dog? They bark like mad but obviously have no way of telling the owner what they're barking at. Far better to get a flashing light for a door bell.

@MindYourUsage

Ref holds and "poor temperatures" I've just checked some old work related documents I still have and when we had animals in the hold the temperature was set to regulate between 18 and 24 degrees C.

But this already happens in almost every other location - the UK is very much an anomaly in that we don’t allow dogs to fly in to us in the cabin.

If your allergy is that bad, maybe you should have to tell the airline in advance so they can arrange a pet free flight. Because even now, you could end up on a flight with a service dog.

I don’t agree with that either!

It’s bad enough getting on a train and finding yourself next to a stinky dog. Can you imagine several hours on a flight?

I would feel very unwell if one was next to me.

I don’t trust dog owners not to let them out either.

Give me a dog over a child any day.

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That's the whole point & well said. You can't move away in an aeroplane & even if you could if the flight was filled with dog crates there would be nowhere to go😂

The idea of a flight possibly having as many dogs as passengers is ludicrous, especially on a long haul flight. The only way it's acceptable is if the airlines go ahead there should be a choice of pet friendly or pet free flights. It's only fair & makes more sense.

The only way it's acceptable is if the airlines go ahead there should be a choice of pet riendly or pet free flights.

.....and still want cheapish flights?

I just don't see how that would work, especially to/from places which have a limited number of flights a day ...it just adds another layer of complication...oh and there's no way aircraft will be deep cleaned between sectors, and there will be no way you can have separate pet/no pet airframes.

I've seen Air France does this - small animals only in carriers, and that seems ok.

Properly trained service animals are delightful and better behaved than some humans...also carried plenty of dogs in the holds over the years and the ones visible on the pre-flight walkround and sometimes post flight in the baggage hall seemed unphased...

OTOH I'm not sure about any old domestic animal including dogs being let lose in the cabin....the stories coming out of the US experience haven't always been great.

I’ve got nothing against dogs, or any animals, as long as they’re not treated like humans. I wouldn’t want a dog snuffling around my feet, trying to lick me, and crapping on the floor. When people can train their dogs to behave like humans then they can treat them like humans, but until then, they’re dogs.