If you’re considering traveling with your dog, there are a number of important considerations. Dog transport does carry risk. If you’ve looked into this at all, you’ve probably been warned or heard about horror stories, particularly with travel by airplane, of dogs dying during the flight, or being injured, or even lost. Obviously the risk of these things happening is relatively small, or no one would ever think of putting dogs in transport dog crates and transporting them by airplane, or using pet travel carriers of any type.

Simply because thousands and thousands of pets are safely transferred from one destination to another via the airlines, does not mean that dog owners do not need to take responsible precautionary measures to ensure the safety of their family pet. After all, it only takes one incident to change your life forever when your dog becomes seriously injured or dies because of a lack of preparation on your part.

The best precautionary measure you can take, of course, is not to transport your pet at all. The next best is to drive to your destination and take your dog in the car with you – you will preferably need to use pet travel carriers for this purpose, but your dog will be right alongside you all the way. If you have a puppy, or small dog, then the trip will not be so traumatic for your dog if he is allowed to travel in the passenger compartment with you, tucked safely underneath your seat. There are some really stylish pet carriers you can use for this purpose, as well as the very small sized transport dog crates.

The most important precautionary measure to take for the safety of your dog, if you do decide that the only dog transport available is to fly your dog, is to take him to the vet for a complete checkup to avoid complicating a pre-existing medical condition.

As far as comfort for your dog goes, do your best to select a flight that is either during the early morning hours or early evening time. These are the best times during the day in which your dog will experience the most comfortable of temperatures. Avoid flying your pet during extreme weather climates that are too hot or too cold. Remember, he will be stuffed down in the cargo area.

Puppies and small dogs can usually travel in the passenger compartment with you if you are also traveling on the same flight. This is desirable, since it minimizes the potential for stressing your dog, and significantly reduces the potential for your dog to suffer from separation anxiety. Puppies, in particular, can suffer long term adverse effects from experiencing separation anxiety in such a situation. You will need small transport dog crates or pet carriers for small pets for travel in the passenger compartment. You could even splash out and invest in stylish pet carriers you’ll be able to use for other types of travel.

Not all dogs can easily cope with the experience of being locked up in transport dog crates and placed in the cargo hold during an airplane ride. Every dog owner knows what his or her dog’s personality is like. Trust your gut instincts on whether or not you think your dog can handle the flight.

Separation anxiety is a real condition that should not be overlooked. It is estimated that almost 20% of all dogs suffer at some level from separation anxiety. These personality types make very poor candidates for dog transport by airplane, unless they can travel in the passenger cabin with you (which medium and large dogs obviously cannot). Such dogs should not be left alone and when their condition reaches elevated levels, it is not uncommon for a dog to literally chew through a metal cage in the attempt of trying to escape, causing severe injuries that can cause the dog to bleed to death. It may be possible to treat your dog with natural anxiety remedies, or you may even want to talk to your vet about a sedative if you think your dog will react badly to being transported.

Luxury pet carriers are all the rage today. But if you’re doing any serious travel with your dog, or transporting your dog anywhere, you may want to skip stylish pet carriers for heavier duty transport dog crates.