The first step isn't training, it's shopping. Get the right size crate, the one the airline accepts, as early as you can, and let him live with it. A crate that turns up the week before the flight is a box he's never met. Work out his size here.
The five steps
- Put the crate where the family is. The room you actually use every day. It becomes furniture before it becomes a box.
- Take the door off. Put his treats and his favourite toy inside, and let him find them on his own time.
- Put the door back, taped open. Once he's happy going in, put the door on but tape it open so it can't swing. Very often it's the swinging door that scares a pet, not the box.
- Close it for a minute, while you sit beside him. When he's comfortable inside, close the door briefly and stay right next to him.
- Build it up. When he stays quiet inside, leave him for 5 minutes, then 10, 15 and 30, then longer. On travel day he'll be in it for a long stretch, so the longer the practice, the better.
What IATA asks of the crate
- He has to be able to stand, sit up straight, lie down naturally and turn around.
- One whole end is welded mesh, with ventilation on all four sides.
- A water bowl fixed inside, fillable from outside. Absorbent bedding, which is required.
- No wheels, and a plastic crate held together with metal nuts and bolts in every hole.
Some airlines add their own rules, like extra steel mesh, or refuse wooden crates, so we check the crate against the airline flying him before you buy it.
What goes in on the day
- IATA asks for absorbent bedding suitable for the animal, so a blanket goes in, along with an old article of your clothing that smells like home. The water container is fixed inside the box and fillable from outside. If bedding gets soiled in transit the airline may remove it and replace it.
- Put your pet in the travel carrier box before it is collected. Usually the pet moving team will load your pet into the box.
- Secure a small supply of your pet's favourite food on top of the box, so the airline can feed your pet in transit if there is time.
- Toys and bones are not banned by IATA, but some airlines do not allow loose items in the box, so we check it against the carrier operating your flight before you pack anything.
- Remove the collar and lead and secure them on top of the box. Keep expensive collars and leads with you and substitute cheaper ones, because they are frequently lost in transit.
The five step method is IKAN Lola's own published guidance. Crate requirements from IATA Live Animals Regulations, 52nd edition, Container Requirement 1, pages 303 to 309.