-
Pet Carrier Training
A mobile home – that’s how I see Nomii’s pet carrier. It needs to be a space he feels safe in and will be comfortable staying in for hours especially on flights.
Training your dog to like its pet carrier is very similar to training it in many different things. You integrate it into its way of life and this takes time.
Having a good handle on what motivates your dog – play or food – is important as you design your dog’s pet carrier training program. For Nomii, I turned using the pet carrier into a game, built positive associations and experiences with the pet carrier, and slowly nurtured comfort and confidence in being confined in the carrier.
The first time we had to travel with Nomii, we started pet carrier training 3 months ahead.
In the beginning, it was about leaving the carrier in sight around the house so it isn’t a strange object. Then we put it down every now and then for Nomii to sniff for short periods of time. He is a very curious dog so he started chewing the bag and scratching the lining and we would distract him every time he does it.
Once the bag isn’t a scary thing to Nomii, which didn’t take long, we started throwing tiny pieces of cheese into the far end of the bag with the command “get in bag”. He would dive right in, and then we would use “stay” to get him to remain in the bag for a while, before releasing him with “Ok!”
So this became a game for us – he would literally bounce around whenever we take the bag out – and very soon, we didn’t have to use “stay” for him to stay in there.
The next stage was for him to accept being zipped up. Again, start slow with seconds in the bag. As we extended the time, we combined it with taking him in the bag to the car, and then driving to somewhere fun. It would be to the park or daycare but being in the bag came to mean something good happening at the end of the experience.
Because of the foundation we built, the second time we had to fly with Nomii within US domestically, we just had to reacquaint him with the bag and it didn’t take more than a week or two. We went straight into the game stage of training – throwing cheese into the bag etc – and he remembered the “get in bag” command very quickly.
Nomii is also crate-trained so this definitely made it easier for him to feel comfortable in the bag. The den-like nature of his pet carrier made him see the bag as a safe place for him. On layovers, he would choose to lie in the bag, head out, versus being on the floor. This helped him deal with the many different stimulations on the journey and I think it made for more comfortable trips for Nomii on the whole.
-
Pet Carrier for the Traveling Dog
Nomii flew from his birthplace in Queensland, Australia, to Singapore in a crate in cargo. But for the rest of his flights, he flew in the cabin with us, his humans. Particularly in the US, Nomii can join us in the cabin in his pet carrier.
Where possible, we choose to keep flights no longer than 3hour at a stretch to allow for extended time being stuck in the plane at the gate or on the tarmac due to flight delays – of which we’ve experienced a few – so that his toilet breaks are kept reasonable at about 4 to 5 hours gap.
So choosing a comfortable pet carrier is a priority and we´ve tried a few. Nomii isn’t wide but he’s pretty tall and lanky. He’s about 15″ at the withers and 16″ along the length of his back. The height of the carrier isn’t as critical for us because he sleeps on flights and knows how to turn himself around or make himself comfortable. The length is critical so that he has space to lie down comfortably.
I’ve a separate post about how we trained Nomii to like his pet carrier.
Back to the bags – here’re the bags we’ve tried/used and what we think about them.
Sherpa Original Deluxe Pet Carrier Bag – Large
This was the very first bag we tried and we trained Nomii to be ok in a pet carrier using this bag. This is the bag that many travelers swear by – you can be very sure you’d rarely have issues with bringing your dog/cat onboard if it fits into the bag comfortably. We like how sturdy it is, the amount of ventilation and it looks pretty good too.
8/10: Great for smaller animals and shorter trips.
Petsfit Single-Side Expandable Dog Carrier – Large
While we liked the Sherpa carrier, we wanted to give Nomii the ability to stretch out on long layovers. So we bought a second carrier that’s expandable on one side, and eventually used this for an international flight. This was the Petsfit Expandable Dog Carrier in size L.
This bag didn’t feel as sturdy as the Sherpa but it lasted the 2-day travel time. It was flexible enough to squeeze a little under the seat. By the end of the trip though, Nomii had ripped a role in the expandable section.
The expanded side did serve its function well though. Nomii was able to stretch out and sleep on his side on one leg of the flight and he slept so well I had to nudge him into position to zip up the bag extension for disembarking.
6.5/10: Straps were narrow and not comfortable to carry a loaded bag with. Material didn’t feel sturdy and didn’t inspire much confidence in how well it would last. BUT…you’ll see below we went back to this brand.
Petsfit Double Side Expandable Pet Carrier – Large
In spite of our first experience with Petsfit, we went back to the brand when we wanted another expandable bag…and liked it better this second time around. I think it’s probably because Nomii is now older and less destructive. The bag still wasn’t the sturdiest we’ve seen BUT it is functional.
We took Nomii on 3 to 4 legs type of flights in the US and it held up very well. It is a bit stiff though o on smaller planes, it took some effort to push the end down and push the bag under the seat.
The pictures below show how the bag did under the seat of 3 different types of aircraft. On each flight, we were in row 3 – this meant being in First for some flights.
8/10: Expandable sides once again worked well. Overall size was good and the bag held up well to the challenge of travels.
From L to R: B757-300; B737-800; and CRJ200 Mr. Peanut’s Gold Series Big Apple XL Expandable Airline Capable Soft Sided Pet Carrier – Extra Large
We returned this bag for a few reasons: (i) quality wise, it didn’t feel much better than the Sherpa; (ii) it felt too “covered up” and we wondered about ventilation for Nomii; and (iii) compared with the Petsfit Expandable, the height and width of the bag was an inch shorter.
Sturdi Bag Pro 2.0 – Extra Large
I loved how the bag looked and felt but returned it for a couple of reasons: (i) the Extra Large size is far too big for many airlines – we had fair warning on the product sides and from other reviewers; (ii) it’s not expandable and we already have the Sherpa as a non-expandable option. I considered exchanging it for a large but the length of the large at 18″ is an inch shorter than Nomii’s Petsfit pet carrier.
Subscribe To Our Mailing List
And let us alert you to new content.
Life with Nomii 