Travel plan idea blog

I was bitten by a large dog when I was a child. People hid the dog. Had to take the shots. 14 of them. I DO NOT think dogs should be around people, in planes, stores, etc. You never know when one will bite.

I have been on 2 flights where dogs ran up and down the aisle. On one, the owner fell asleep and had to be awakened to go capture the canine which had traveled about 10 rows behind her.

Why don't you write an article about people's children while you're at it? After all, they cry during takeoff and run up and down the aisles more often that any animals on any flights I have been on. And how about that guy next to you that talks through the entire flight while you are trying to take a cat nap. Maybe he should be kept a case too??
People! Flying in close quarters is sometimes an aggravating experience! Whoa..what a thought! Sometimes tolerance is greatly needed on your part. Next time, bring earplugs...and save the readers from needless "yapping"....

Pearl,
At least you are correct on one aspect about flying it can be an aggravating experience. Why compound the aggravation with yapping dogs, misbehaving children or 350lbs individuals whose blubber invades other peoples purchased seat.

On a flihgt from LA to Chicago I had the the isle seat with two vary large women. So large that they had to retract the arm rest to set down. This leaving less then half the seat for me. When serving a meal, the tray could not be used due to thier large size. Since the plane was full, I could not be moved to a different location. Why they put two so very large women in the same location side by side still has me wondering if any thougth is ever given to passenger comforts

Airlines have rules about traveling with pets. They all must fly in an airline approved crate or bag, and they are not to be removed from said containment while on the plane. Dogs over a certain size/weight must fly in cargo. A fee is also charged. If it's a case of the owner letting the dog out while in flight, blame them. Perhaps the airline should even fine them! There is no reason to ban dogs all together though. 99% of the time they are very good passengers, unlike many children I've seen on planes. Perhaps we should consider fining those parents who don't control their kids too!

I have taken our dog on many flights and never once has she done anything to annoy anyone, unlike the numerous times we have all been annoyed by children whining, kicking seats etc. along with the people that talk incessantly and loud as if they were the only ones on the entire airplane. To date the only comment I have received about my dog is after we get off the plane and people ask me if she was on the flight with me, they never realized there was a dog in the bag under the seat in front of me. It is the responsibility of the airline to enforce the rules and the dog owner to follow the rules,which are that the dog must remain in the carrier (bag) the entire time of the flight and even in the airports in the USA. It is too bad that there are always those that ruin it for others by not following the rules.

I am 6'3" tall, but with the body of a Greek god.
Flew to SF from Munich non-stop - 12 hours - in the cattle compartment. The guy in front of me laid his seat back the moment he sat down; the arm rest (I sat on the ailse) was jammed leaving me about 6" to get in and out of my seat. I had to ask the man in front of me to move his seat so I could make a "pill" run now and then. He said I was too big, but I fit in my seat. Seatback pushers drive me nuts, and are inconsiderate if they think only of themselves, as many do. I can sympathize with passengers who are squeezed by persons obese. Heavies should be charged extra.

On my first business trip to Africa, I had the last seat in an L1011 on the way to Ivory Coast. The plane was packed and I was between two of the largest females I have ever seen. They immediately raised the arm rests and did not use their seatbelts. Shortly after takeoff they started eating their fried chicken which they had brought with them. After about 30 minutes the lady on my left started to choke and was obviously in distress; the steward showed up and tried to help; in the meantime most of the passengers from the front of the plane moved to the rear of the plane to see what was happening. The pilot had to come on the intercom to tell passengers to resume their seats; I never knew whether the plane was out of balance (imagine 100 people rushing to the rear of the plane) or it was just a reminder to try and solve the problem. Anyway it will remain one of my most memorable moments.

Simple solution: fly business or first class. When you fly in the "cattle car" section, you have no expectation of privacy or comfort.
ddg

Thank you all for the comments. I'm happy to see a lot of people supporting our right to fly with dogs. Dogs on airplanes are almost always well-behaved. Certainly better than sitting next to most kids and even some adults.

Experiencing folks who are rude and inconsiderate is simply one of the troubles we have when we choose to travel on a plane. Whether it is Doggies, Kiddies, Jerks, Drunks, or whatever, it is, after all, our choice to fly.

However, if we put up with the problems without speaking up, then we also choose to give those inconsiderate folks the power to piss us off.

There is a solution. When you are troubed by such behavior, tell the flight crew, calmly and politely, about it and ask for assistance. You can also take the initiative to ask the "bad guys" politely to stop the behavior. My experience is that both of these will stop the offensive behavior in the vast majority of situations.

I think we also have the right to claim something that may not be completely true to get the behavior stopped. For example, with the lady with the doggie in her lap, why did you, and no one else, choose to let yourselves be stressed by not speaking up? You even have my permission to tell the lady and the flight crew that you are allergic to doggies.

The message is that being bothered with bad behavior on a flight is often because no one wants to be the person who complains. (I will leave it to the shrinks to figure out why people do this.)

Have the guts to stick up for your rights, and do it politely, and you will get results. But if you and others sit there and allow yourselves to have a stressful flight, then you should realize that you are choosing to do so.

You have a problem with a dog barking a few times? Get over it!!! What about the lady who sprays unpleasant perfume all over the plane? The people who snore??? As mentioned, the babies crying, children screaming, men talking loudly, the elbows in your ribs, the boots on your toes, the bad breath from the alcoholic sitting next to you, etc. etc. Dogs are GOD spelled backwards and we should take a lesson from them. Maybe if a few more of them barked, the airlines would improve their service.

Amazing, I don't fly much. I don't think I want too. Sounds like the Airlines could use some improvement. How about an Airline that don't have all these problems. That would be an answer for the ones who don't like all the problems. Is it even possible? I was thinking about the animals flying. Let's have a flying circus with the people. A little entertainment maybe. Could you imagine all the poop and pee. Isn't flying poop with pee a little unsanatary? I'm not paying a high price for it.

Its all part of the joys of travel... Either stay at home or tune out with an MP3 player?

I don’t have any problems with pets on board I have more problems with the bratty kids screaming, running up and down the isles, and kicking the seats in front of them ...perhaps some of these monster children should be caged at the back of the plane along with their parents irresponsible parents!

I am also a frequent business traveler and forced to survive in coach with the rest of the herd at least on two trips a month... typically to an event I am running. So my journeys are often to Orlando or Las Vegas. I would welcome the puppy under the seat rather than the person selling AMway, the dude that tried to get my mother's maiden name out of me, the gas bag (yup I think he had Mexican last night), and those GERM BAGS commonly referred to as the future of our society CHILDREN! I feel like I need to board the flights to and from Florida with a surgical mask.

I have two large dogs. I can't travel with them. However, I can clearly tell you that they are better behaved then 90% of the toddlers on planes. Have any of you been blessed with witnessed the Breast feeding on planes? Ladies, I am a woman. I understand it is natural. However, this is a situation you could pump for huh? Especially, when the kid in question is verbally asking for it in complete sentences. I won't get into the new age of flight crew that is openly rude half the time.

Oh and Beverly, I was bitten by a Child when I was young. I had to have a shot as well. Don't blame all dogs on one bad owner and I will try to be more understanding of the wailng brat that will be next to me on Sunday afternoon when I am winging my way to Vegas. I pray it is a sweet Maltese, named Guido instead.

I agree...Rotten, spoiled, rowdy kids should be in crates in the baggage section...next to their
crated parents. More room for doggies !!!!
Lady that got bitten...So did I as a child by
a frightend German Shepard. I've loved all kinds of animals all my life...one bad experience
didn't spoil a whole bunch of good ones. I can't
say the same about experiences with people. Some
times I think, the more people I meet...the more
I love my dogs !!!!

Dogs aren't that bad. Would you rather have a few barks during takeoff and landing or a 2-yr old who cries the whole flight? Who eventually works herself up enough so that she throws up on her mother. And then having to smell puke for the remainder of the flight. I have had that experience with my younger sister, and I hated it as much as the rest of the passengers did. Unfortunately, we can't ban kids, even though they're much worse flyers than dogs are.

I just got off a flight from Munich to Chicago yesterday that had THE MOST screaming babies that I have ever seen in one place in my life. There must have been 10 screaming (I'm talking screaming, not crying) babies and it was like a chain reaction, when one started, they all started. A couple of barks from a dog is nothing compared to listening to that for 9 hours.

I regularly travel with my small dog, and I have had people who sat next to me tell me as we were getting off (and they saw the hair sticking out of the mesh on her bag) that they didn't even know I had an animal. I have also had children purposely taunt my dog because they thought it was fun to hear her bark, and adults who stood there in the aisle and let them do it (meanwhile I couldn't even bend down to comfort the dog because the adult's rear-end was right in my face.) There's a good reason why I like animals better than people.