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Flying a puppy at 7 weeks and 1 day old, (just 6 days shy of 8 wks) in the cabin with me! any tips and/or experiences?

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I just flew (last week) with a 7.5-week pup in the cabin. I flew Southwest. I did have to make a reservation for the pup ahead of time. I asked whether they needed to see any records. Nope. I did have to check in at the ticket counter and pay an extra $75 fee for the pup. No request for records or proof of age when I checked in. (Nor did I see anything on Southwest's website saying puppies had to be eight weeks old). I didn't feed him that morning. I brought a Nylabone for him to chew on in the carrier (it didn't get touched). I also brought a collapsible water bowl with me and bought water at the airport once past security. I made sure he had a collar on (with a nametag with my cell phone number and "Reward" on it), and brought a leash. I let him out to pee in the bushes at the airport (he wasn't interested). I also went into a "family bathroom" at the airport, locked the door, and let the pup out of the carrier and offered him water. He still wouldn't pee, and he didn't want to drink any water. I'd brought puppy pads with me (one in the carrier, another to set on the floor) - still no peeing. Little guy held it the whole way until I got him home - 12 hours after leaving the breeder's. (No, he wouldn't pee at my home airport either).

 

He was good as gold on both legs of the flight - my seatmates on the first leg weren't even aware I had a puppy with me. On the second leg I boarded after my seatmates, so they saw I had a pet carrier. Fortunately they were dog lovers. Nary a peep out of him on either leg.

 

What I'd do differently: pay the small fee on Southwest for them to assign the boarding pass automatically for my return flight. (I flew out one day, home the next. I'd asked my husband to get my boarding pass for me, as I was in transit 24 hours before my return, but Southwest wouldn't let him do so until I'd landed on my outbound trip. That meant that for my return flight my boarding assignment was something like Boarding Group C31- in other words, I was condemned to a bad seat on a full flight. That being said, the center seat has the greatest width for a puppy carrier plus human legs.

 

Best of luck!!!

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