If you want to travel somewhere quickly with your small dog, flying is the way to do it. Google “pet carriers” and you will find hundreds of available options. If you have a truly tiny dog (let’s say 10 pounds and under), what bag you choose is really just personal preference. If you have a slightly larger dog, it doesn’t mean you can’t fly, but you do need to be more careful when it comes to choosing a bag. I’ve been flying with my Shelties for years, and have found a couple of options that have worked great for us. Here’s a look at what I’ve found.
The large Sturdibag is my tried and true option. I’ve had this bag for 10+ years, it’s still in great shape. It is perfect for my smaller Shelties (13″-14″, 12-15 pounds). The structure is formed with flexible poles that give it a curved appearance. The advantage to those poles is that you can squish the top of the crate down to help fit it under the airline seat, while maintaining the structure of the bag, thus maximizing your dog’s room. When the pressure is released, they spring back into shape. It has a heavy foam board that zips into the bottom of the bag, giving a good base structure without adding a lot of weight. The large Sturdibag comes in at just over 3 pounds, so it won’t weigh you down. This bag is 18″Lx12″Wx12″H. You can purchase it on Amazon here (affiliate link).
Trek (and previously Trip) have flown a ton in this bag, on several different airlines (United, Southwest, Frontier, and the non-defunct US Airways), on all different sized planes. One plane I’d rather forget was so small, people in the first few rows had to move to the back of the plane to redistribute the weight. I’ve sat on the side of the plane with a single seat, I’ve sat where there were 2 or 3 seats across. The smallest underseat storage I’ve ever experienced was on Frontier economy, where the underseat area was extremely short. It fit fine, but stuck out further then I’ve experienced before. This bag can go anywhere. The price is pretty reasonable — the large Sturdibag is currently $95.
Sturdibag does make an XL (and now an XXL version). The design is the same as the large, but with XL is slightly longer and MUCH taller. Ticket, my slightly larger Sheltie, fits great in this bag. However, even though it can be fit under the seat on the average planes, it’s so far outside of their recommended bag dimensions that it can definitely cause unwanted attention. I’ve had friends that have been hassled about flying with this bag, and threatened with not being able to get on their plane. I’ve also known people who used this bag for their small border collies without problem. Definitely a tricky situation that is very dependent on who you have to deal with at the airport. For this reason, I’ve never been 100% comfortable with the idea of flying a dog in this bag, and I haven’t attempted it. The XL Sturdibag is 20″Lx12″Wx16″H. Find it here:
For my larger Sheltie, I ended up with another great option, the Celltei bag. They make a variety of styles — I went with a large Backpack-o-pet initially, which worked great for Ticket. Ultimately after Ticket had multiple knee surgeries I wanted the option for her to have more room, and I had a custom Backpack-o-pet made, that had 3″ zippered extensions on either end that could be opened once we were in-flight. And that’s the great thing about Celltei — they can customize any bag for your specific needs. The large size comes with two detachable hard plastic frames. These can be removed if you will need to squish the bag under an airplane seat, or left in to provide a little more structure. There is also a rimmed tray in the bottom, which is also detachable. There are other cool features for the different styles that you can read about on their website. The Large Backpack-o-pet is 20″Lx11.5″Wx12.5″H. https://www.celltei.com/products/active-backpack-o-pet-large-size.html
Hopefully this will give you some ideas about what to look for when choosing a bag to fly your pet in-cabin. If you have any specific questions, leave a comment. Happy adventures!
If you have a dog who might be hesitant about the bag does it make sense to start with them getting into a bag that’s a bit bigger to acclimate? Or persist with the travel bag? I’ve not put a lot of work in yet but I see this happening.
I think it’s reasonable to try to start with a bigger bag until they learn they CAN do it, and then try to move down to a smaller bag. I feel like most dogs figure out the bag pretty quickly, but that’s a good step to take if they seem to be struggling.