I've done this once before all by myself and it went well. (knock on wood) I will do it again in the future. Here's my experience....

I had a 45 minute drive from the breeder's to the airport. Poor puppy was miserable in the car and was carsick. Not a huge mess, cleaned up with baby wipes. I dropped off my rental car and found an out of the way spot of grass where hopefully other people have NEVER walked another dog. We sat in the grass and played so he would have a chance to potty. All this resulted in him being awake for a couple hours with no nap.

I put on my backpack with supplies, plastic grocery bags, baby wipes, paper towels and put puppy in the Medium sized sherpa carry on, zipped it up with just his head sticking out. He was fine with this since I carried him in front of my body and he must have felt safe. We went through security like that and I made sure I gave myself PLENTY of time for every step of the process so I never felt stressed or rushed.

I tried putting him on a pee pad in the ladies room to see if he would go but he never did. I loaded him back up in the sherpa carrier to board the plane, this time I zipped him securely into the bag and never opened or checked (the sides are mesh so he can breathe and you can see him).

I boarded, stuck him on the floor by my feet and he went to sleep, my flight was direct, almost 3 hours. He slept the whole time. I did not mess with him or open to check etc. As with children, the rule is NEVER wake a sleeping baby

My dad picked me up at the airport so I could hold him on the drive home. It was easy and went well and I will do it again. I think it's key to make sure the puppy is ready to nap and doesn't snooze for hours before the plane trip.

How wonderful that the breeder is loaning you a carrier. Awesome!

 

I flew a puppy that I bred out to Montana... and two layovers and plane changes.... it was a very long day...

bring a little rescue remedy in case puppy gets stressed but I doubt he will... then inside the carrier layer your puppy pads... I put 5 down at a time so if puppy had an accident I could pull out the soiled one and have more underneath so I didn't have to take puppy out of carrier to change the pad.... bring water and a dish but don't expect puppy to drink it...

I found that puppy went under the seat in front of me and fell asleep ... the engines just lulled him to sleep... the person in the seat next to me was thrilled to be flying with the puppy and she moved all of her stuff so that puppy could have more room... he ended up on the seat in his carrier in between me and the woman (we had a spare seat in our row) and he was petted by the woman the whole flight from regan to denver ....

at the gates the airline folks were just thrilled to see the puppy and were calling their friends to come and visit the baby... it went very very smoothly I dropped puppy in montana... stayed for a day to visit and then flew home crying the better part of the flight... its hard to leavea puppy so far from home.

 

Clavendog, my husband and I flew up from DFW to Cleveland and back to pick up our Yogi from his breeder in PA. It was a 2.5 hour flight and a 2 hour drive between the breeder and Cleveland, another 45 minutes from the airport home. Yogi's adventure is chronicled here: http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/golden-retriever-puppy-up-1-year/123647-introducing-our-newest-addition-yogi.html#post1859529. There are some photos of Yogi at the airport and on the plane and the first post details our adventure so I won't repeat it here.

Before we did this I did a lot of internet research on flying a puppy in the cabin. The best advice was on this forum. You can do an advanced search (brown bar on main page) and find all the posts where puppies are flown in the cabin. I eliminated the ones about flying them in cargo (there are more about that). I noted everyone who posted about their experiences and then PM'd them to ask questions... and EVERYONE was very helpful! Thanks guys- you know who you are! I got a lot of great advice, including wrapping the bottom of the sherpa bag (the support board) with saran wrap and multiple piddle pads, taking baby wipes (OK for TSA requirements), paper towels, a blanket for the waiting area and a little water bottle (empty for TSA requirements) and a little food/treat. Don't forget a collar and lead (with a tag) because you will probably make a few potty pit stops before arriving at the airport.

Check with your airline to see if you need a health certificate to board and what their boarding policies/fees are. As airline employees we had it really easy in this regard- no health certificate and no fees or check in requirements. There was a limit of 7 dogs on board in coach and 2 in first class, but we were the only people with a nice little puppy. Had there been a bunch of revenue dogs, then we would not get that flight.

As Yogi's thread mentions we got a row in coach, and once airborne the flight attendants allowed up to just strap his sherpa in the seat between us. They didn't make us put his sherpa underneath the seat, just on the floor for take off and landing. It's going to depend on the crew as to what they will and won't allow you to do. We were in the back and the flight attendants wanted to talk to us about him during their down time. Puppies usually sleep on the flight (someone mentioned here that their puppy screamed, so it's not universal!). Yogi was quiet as a mouse- the kid in the first row of coach wasn't.

I'm sure you are planning to spend all the formative weeks socializing the puppy to as many new sights, sounds and people as you can. The airport is PERFECT for that. Yogi got to meet the car return people, the people in the bus to the terminal, all of the TSA agents on duty that day (Yogi was a rock star with them), and dozens of people in the terminal as we waited for the flight. He met all the airline crew and employees working the flight and some members of a jazz band playing in the terminal. He even met several people at the rest stops we went to. When we arrived there were people in the DFW terminal wanting to meet him, including several employees on the employee bus.

Now my little guy is totally distracted from pooping when he hears air traffic overhead. He had a wonderful experience.

My last piece of advice is to take precautions in the airport and on the plane- I picked up a bug from my flight and it made the first several days of middle of the night potty training absolutely miserable!

Good luck! Please let us know how it turns out for you!

 

I drove about 3 hours - North of Toronto to Buffalo Airport and then a one hour flight. My biggest concern was that the puppy was 20 pounds. She was a big girl.

Each airline has its own requirements. After doing a TON of research, I found out that Sturdiproducts - pet carriers that more easily adjust under the seat in front of you. This was important for me given the size of the puppy. The key is usually that the carrier fit completely under the seat in front of you. I flew Southwest and didn't have any problems.

Good luck!

 

I want to Thank everyone with their experiences ! I’ve got time to figure out what will be easier and best. Even though I’m a like a kid at Christmas! Whether I drive or fly, the cost comes out even. I want to do what’s best for the new family member ( I hate the term “dog”) I will keep everyone posted and share pics as they start coming in. ( he hasn’t been born yet lol ) but I feel like a new parent lol....David

 

Goldens are family!! Yeah please send pics, you should make a thread for your little one!