Trailblazing Unleashed

Trace and I have never flown before, and our first flight is coming soon! Here’s everything we’re doing to plan for this new adventure in advance and make this transition as easy as possible.

Why Plan for the Flight

There is no better reason than this. We’ve never done it before! So, to ease my anxiety and hopefully make this a positive experience for Trace, I’m doing my research in advance. This includes writing out my plan of action here and looking into other resources from trainers who have done it before.

Commands and Tricks to Know

Now again, we haven’t done this yet, but based on the resources I listed below, here all the things I want Trace to know before we venture forth into the skies!

Sit/Stay – This sounds obvious, but I’ve heard it’s essential for getting through TSA. From what I know, the handler walks through the metal detector first, and the dog has to wait on the other side with no handling/leash access. Then after the handler passes, the dog has to follow on their own. Sounds spooky, but with a good sit and recall, I’m not too worried.

Stranger handling – the dog does have to be patted down by TSA (because there is metal in their gear) so they have to be comfortable with strangers touching them! Trace has always been super friendly, so I’m not worried about this either.

Potty on Command – no accidents for us please! Hopefully this command will help us with that.

Seat – This one is a bit harder to train, but not impossible! Here your pup learns how to sit under the seat in front of you on public transportation. We’ve been using busses to practice.

A few other things that we want him to know include how to navigate different textured floors, where is spot is on a plane or at the gate, and how to ride elevators, escalators, and moving walkways.

Resources to Check Out

The US Transportation Website – here you can look at all the legal requirements for flying with a service dog.

This video from a service dog trainer who has done this before! Thank you DOGGYU

Whatever airline you are using! That site is a good one to check out as well. I added United’s, because that’s who we’re working with.

My Planned Packing List

This one is a bit more specific to each handler, but here are the major things I’m planning on bringing to make our flight easier.

Collapsible water bowl – for after the flight! They’re going to be dehydrated after, so make sure you have water on standby.

Trace’s blanket – this helps him understand where he is supposed to be, and where his spot on the plane is.

Harness – to show he’s a service dog and help him navigate the airport.

Toys – I’m planning on bringing a chew toy to keep him busy on the flight, but not something he can play tug o war with, so he stays calm.

Poop bags and clean up supplies – just in case we have an accident, I want to be able to clean it up! Even if we don’t need them, we definitely will when we land.

Treats, treats, treats! – This one seems a bit more obvious, but I want to keep him calm, focused, and doing his tasks, so we’re going to bring some positive reinforcement.

As always, we’ll keep you posted after we try this out! Our first flight will be a well-documented event. If you have any questions about our plans in the meantime, reach out or leave a comment.

But until then, trailblaze on!

— Kaya and the Trailblazing Unleashed Pack