Where Do Dogs Pee On Planes?

Eric has been anxious for days leading up to this flight. He’s flying to the UAE from the US. He has been planning for this trip for a long time now, but didn’t know he would have a dog. Consequently, he didn’t plan for his dog. When he was gifted his puppy, he still didn’t include it in his plans. He forgot that he was going to be traveling with an additional living companion.

It’s the day of the trip, and his anxiety knows no end. Why though? It’s not like he hasn’t flown before or that he has a fear of flying. I’ll tell you why he’s anxious. He knows he has to fly for long hours, and wonders how his dog will pee or take a poop as it most certainly will do. He has never travelled with an animal before, talk more of a dog and so he doesn’t know how to. He asked his neighbors and his best friend John, but they all seem to not have an idea on how to solve this issue.

Eric then remembers that he has Google. He goes online and googles “Where do dogs pee on a plane?” and he finds this article.

You might not be in Eric’s exact situation, but you’re probably in a similar situation. You’re wondering how your dog will go to the bathroom when it has need to which will most definitely happen. If you’ve never flown with a dog before, your anxiety is justified. You do not want your dog to embarrass you, and you aren’t sure that they have animal bathrooms on the plane.

Well you’re in luck. The solution to your problem is really really simple. If you go on Amazon right now and search for Puppy pads, you will see a variety of designs. These puppy pads are so that your dog can seat on and take a pee or a poop. They can then be disposed of.

However, your dog can’t do that besides you, so you can’t be there to watch it. In planes, animals do not stay in the cabin with human passengers. There are numerous other reasons why many Airlines do not accomodate animals in the human cabins, even though it’s your emotional support animal. Some of these reasons include;

Allergies:

Some people have very severe animal allergies. For example, so many people have dog allergies, and when put in a confined space with a dog, this allergy can become even worse up to a matter of life and death. As a result, airlines need to put the needs of their human customers first and will not jeopardize the health of their human customers just to please one person who insists on having his dog on the plane. As a result, many Airlines do not allow dogs in the human cabins at all.

Cleanliness:

Many animals, notably dogs aren’t clean. Cats naturally clean up after themselves, but even they are at risk too. Airlines are places where different people are packed together for a long time, breathing the same air and sharing the same space. As a result, it is very easy for diseases to be spread. For instance, animals can spread Zoonotic diseases to humans. Also, the animals e.g Young unvaccinated dogs can pick up diseases which wouldn’t normally infect them, and when they do they might come down with their diseases and it could be fatal.

Stress:

Animals can get easily stressed. Flight conditions can be really stressful for them. They can feel the change in pressure of the plane. Also, turbulent conditions can be really stressful for them even more than humans. This is because they cannot make sense of what is happening. The noise can be too much for them, and changes in temperature might be dangerous for them as well.

There is usually a lot of commotion on the flight, what with people putting their luggage in the compartments and trying to find their seats and what not. This unusual environment can be terrifying for the dog.

Inconvenience to other Passengers:

Imagine you’re in a plane, and while trying to relax and enjoy your flight, from nowhere you hear a very loud, sudden and consistent bark from the dog seated behind you. The bark continues for most of the flight, giving you a terrible experience. You most probably won’t fly with that airline again. Thus, the airline has lost a customer.

To avoid things like this happening, airlines put in regulations animals on board inconveniencing their passengers. Some even go as far as insisting that the dogs be taken down in their crates to the hold. Thus, they aren’t even allowed in the baggage section. The hold of course has oxygen, but it may seem a little extreme. However, the Airlines may have their hands tied especially if there have been numerous complains about animals being on planee before.

In that situation, what do you do when your dog has to go to the bathroom? That’s why the puppy pad is there for you. It will be there when you aren’t.

However, some airlines allow people take their dogs to the bathroom. If this is the case, then you are in luck. Make sure you have a seat on the aisle so that you can get up quickly and often without inconveniencing other passengers when your dog needs to go. Then you can take it’s pad, along and make it go on the pad in the bathroom. There. Problem solved.

Do not worry about the pee leaking to the floor. As long as you buy a good one, it should have enough absorbent material to take your dogs pee. Just to be on the safer side though, you can have an extra puppy pad or two. That way, you won’t be caught off guard when your dog’s pad is full.

Some airlines also allow dogs under your seat. If you’re lucky to be on that kind of flight, thank your stars. However, make sure you have trained your dog properly and if possible, that you have a bark collar so that it doesn’t bark incessantly and disturb other passengers.

Also avoid feeding your dog too much or giving it too much water before or during the flight. This is to limit the number of times it has to go to the bathroom, and to Dave you some stress. Trust me, the flight has a lot of stress on it’s own, and you do not need a dog adding to the stress. If you’ll be going through the stress of getting puppy passports, and navigating dog friendly airlines, you need to have a dog that’s cooperative and won’t be going to the bathroom every hour on the hour.

What you can do is make sure that your dog goes to the bathroom in the Airport, before it gets on the plane. That way, it can go for longer and possibly the whole length of the flight time without having to use the bathroom. Fortunately, there are now many animal relief centers in Airports across the United States, so that shouldn’t be too much of a hassle.

Another thing to do is to change the absorbent pads often enough if the flight is for long hours. This is to avoid pee accumulating in it, thereby causing it to have a bad odour and giving the rest of the passengers a terrible experience.

If you have a healthy, adult dog, it should be able to hold its bladder for 6-8 hours. For puppies though, the situation is different. They can only hold their bladders for an hour for every month that they’re older. That is to say that a one month old puppy can only hold it’s bladder for a maximum of one hour, while a two month old puppy can go up to two hours.

If your dog is above 7 years of age, it is classified as a senior dog, and senior dogs between 7 to 12 years of age can hold their bladders for 4 to 6 hours. If the senior dog is above 12 years of age, it can only hold it’s bladder for between 2 to 4 hours. This is just like the way it is with humans. You get children might not be able to hold their bladders for long, but adults should. As the adults become aged the hours they can hold their bladders for decreases.

The bottom line remains that you should avoid feeding or giving water to your dog two hours before the plane leaves, and should also take it to the bathroom at the airport before getting on the plane. That way, your dog is saved the stress that comes with motion sicknesses, and you are saved the stress of having to clean up after your dog.

Also, it becomes imperative that you buy puppy training pads of very good quality, made with very absorbent material so that the dog can go when it has to. Also, you should have an extra pad or two just to be on the safer side. Do all of these things, and you’re guaranteed to have an enjoyable flight with your dog.