Dog Travel Essentials for Flights – Top Dog Travel Carrier and Gear
Before you fly with your dog for the first time, it's important to stock up on dog travel essentials like an airline-approved dog travel carrier, collapsible food and water bowls, and more. Here's our list of the most important dog travel gear to purchase before your trip.
So far in our journeys, we’ve traveled with our pup, Cali, to nine different countries on seven different airlines – plus buses, trains, and ferries. So we’re a bit of an expert when it comes to what gear you need to travel with your dog successfully. Despite airlines having differing rules on what’s allowed, we’ve found an assortment of dog travel essentials that have been universally accepted and extremely helpful in making Cali comfortable during our flights. Before you take your pup on their first airplane journey, take a pass through this list of our favorite dog travel accessories. Make sure you’ve got what you need to make your pup’s travel seamless, including the most important item – an airline-approved dog travel carrier.
Disclaimer – We travel with our small dog, Cali, as “pet in cabin” whenever possible, and our advice is geared towards other small dogs that can do the same. We do not have expertise on traveling with large dogs as cargo, service dogs, or other animals.
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Short on time? Use these links to buy the gear you need on Amazon:
- Our Recommended Dog Travel Carrier
- Collapsible Travel Food and Water Bowls
- Apple AirTag and AirTag Carrying Case
- A Short, Sturdy Leash
- Dog Poop Bags and Poop Bag HolderÂ
- Small Dog Treats (for good behavior) and Large Dog Treats (to keep them busy on the flight)
- Bark Collar with Vibrate Mode
- A Calming Dog Toy or Dog Treats with Melatonin
Dog Travel Essentials for Airline Travel
Without further ado, here is our list of the dog travel essentials we use for traveling the world with our pup, Cali. We’ll start with the most important item – an airline-approved dog travel carrier.Â
Dog Travel Carrier
The Sherpa Original Deluxe Travel Pet Carrier is our pick for the best airline-approved dog travel carrier. We use their medium size, which is the biggest size you can purchase that will still be accepted on most major airlines. It measures 11″ x 17″ x 10.5″ (28cm x 43cm x 26.5cm) and is suitable for pets weighing up to 16lbs (7.3kg), 16″ (41cm) in length, and 9.5″ (24cm) in height.
While some airlines we’ve traveled on have size restrictions that are slightly smaller, this soft-sided carrier’s ability to compress to fit under the seat has made it acceptable by every airline we’ve flown thus far. This includes both US and international carriers like Delta, United, American, Iberia, Aeromexico, Korean Air, Austrian Airlines, Finnair, and Air Siberia.  If you can get away with the small size, it’s worth considering. It may open up more budget airlines to you, but don’t get overzealous. Measure your dog and make sure they can still stand up and turn around in the carrier before you purchase it.
In addition to its airline-approved size, this dog travel carrier has several other features we love. There’s a side strap that allows you to secure the carrier to the handle of your carry-on, so getting through the airport is a breeze. It also has dual-access zippers for easy loading, and for letting Cali poke her head out while we move around the airport. A handy internal clip provides extra safety, as we can attach it to her collar so she can’t jump out. Finally, the soft bed liner is detachable and machine-washable, in case of any accidents. But most importantly? Cali loves it – it’s her little safe space, and she sleeps in it frequently even when we’re not traveling. Buy your dog travel carrier here.
Travel Food and Water Bowls
Apple AirTag - Safety First!
Though we thankfully have never lost our dog, we take a “better safe than sorry” approach to her safety. As such, we consider an Apple AirTag one of our dog travel essentials, and have sewn one into the bowtie of her collar. The AirTag alerts us if we’re separated from her for any reason, and we can use our phone’s Find My feature to locate her if need be. During our flight to Vietnam, we were unfortunately forced to check her as cargo, rather than flying with us in the cabin. We were especially grateful to have the AirTag on this flight to keep an eye on her as she moved through the baggage process. Buy your AirTag here.
If you’re unable to sew an AirTag into your dog’s collar, you can also attach it via one of these handy AirTag carrying cases. It’s waterproof and small, similar in size to a dog tag.  Buy your AirTag carrying case here.
A Short, Sturdy Leash and Poop Bags
When moving through the airport, you’ll want to have a short, sturdy leash if you decide to let your dog out of their dog travel carrier. With all the chaos of other people – and their luggage – racing for their flights, you’ll want to avoid any leashes longer than 6ft (1.8m), as well as those with a retractable or elastic feature. We prefer a sturdy leather leash like this one for its durability – we’ve had it for years now, and it’s never let us down. Buy your 6ft leather leash here.
Attached to your leash, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got poop bags in a poop bag holder. Accidents happen – even in the airport! While pet relief areas are becoming more common in airports around the world, there are still plenty that don’t have them, and sometimes, a dog’s just gotta go. Be prepared with dog travel essentials for clean-up like poop bags and a poop bag holder. We like this poop bag holder for its minimal design and easy attachment to any leash or dog travel carrier. We also prefer these dog poop bags, as they’re biodegradable and better for the planet. Buy your poop bag holder here and buy your poop bags here.
Good Dog Treats
Bark Collar with Vibrate Mode
A Calming Toy
In addition to the dog travel essentials above, don’t forget to pack some basics in your dog travel carrier – a little food, any needed medication, and all the proper paperwork. If you’re not sure what paperwork you need, stay tuned. We’ll be writing a whole series of posts on the administrative requirements of traveling to each of the countries we’ve been to.
With these dog travel essentials in hand, you should be set up for a successful flight! We hope you and your pup have an incredible time traveling the world together. Want some ideas of where to go? Try searching “dog-friendly” in our search bar for some of our favorite dog-friendly cities. We love bringing our fur baby on the journey with us and want to share what we know so you can too!
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