Biggest Mistakes to avoid Shipping a Pet By Air

10 Biggest Mistakes to Avoid when traveling by air with pets

1. Shipping your pet in an old worn out or broken-down pet carrier with missing or faulty attachments.
2. Purchasing a brand-new pet carrier with unreliable plastic attachments or snap latches, top loading, plastic doors or other non-airline approved features.
3. Not acclimating the pet to the carrier/kennel. You should spend a good month or more training the pet and getting him/her used to being crated.
4. Medicating your pet with Sedatives or Tranquilizers.
5. Lining the carrier with the wrong material assuming it is absorbent and comfortable without testing.  Also providing filled water bowls that are not spill resistant.
6. Relying on the airline to furnish required pet shipping supplies. ie. Special releasable cable ties for the door, Live Animal Stickers / Labels, food & water dishes, absorbent bedding. Pet owners should never assume Airline will supply these and other required items. They often run out of supplies, forget to check for them or do not normally stock which means your pet will be refused or possibly fly at risk. Visit our Store for all these airlines required items.
7. Not being prepared for unforeseen emergencies such as pet getting loose or lost. It is always a good idea to add an alternate contact number on pets' collar for traveling owners and carry a recent picture of your pet with you just in case.
8. Opening the carrier/kennel in unfamiliar places. Once you have left home DO NOT open the pet carrier / kennel until you reach your final destination if possible. Also providing water & food bowls that are not attached securely to the kennel door, will sometimes force airline personal to open the kennel door in order to dispense water to dehydrated pets. Please test to be certain your dishes will stay on securely or use cable ties to reinforce the attachments provided.
9. Flying elderly, fragile or EXTREME snub nose pets in cargo area of the plane. These pets should always travel by ground or as carry-on in the passenger area of the plane only.
10. Supplying a carrier/kennel that is too small for your pet. Carrier must have ample room for the pet to stand and turn around in with ease. Pets are often refused at the airport the day of the flight because pet owner arrived with pets in an inappropriately sized pet carrier kennel.