My first time traveling with my dog Ruby was last month to NYC. The reasons why I picked NYC to be our first trip together, is because it’s a short flight from Raleigh and I thought a short flight would be best for her first flight. Another reason is that NYC is where I’ve lived the majority of my life (I’m now living in Raleigh), and all of my family and friends are there. I thought it would be amazing for her to not only visit one of the busiest cities in the USA, but also get to meet some of my boyfriend’s and I family and friends.
Planning and preparation
Flights
I booked my boyfriend and I Delta flight about 90 days before the trip. Right after booking our flights, I called Delta to add Ruby to our flights. Adding her to our flights was quick and easy. The Delta rep asked for her information (name, age, size), the dimensions of her soft sided kennel, and then told me to go to the Delta check in desk when I get to the airport to check Ruby in. She also told me that I didn’t have to pay for Ruby’s flight before going to the airport, and that I had to pay for her flight during her check in process.
If you’re thinking about flying with your pet on Delta, check out Pet travel on Delta.
Itinerary
Our itinerary consisted of two dog meetups, one with my friends and the second with his friends, a visit to Washington Square Park, a stroll to Carrol Gardens, a small family gathering at my mom’s home, a visit to see my boyfriend’s mom and dad, and a stroll through Times Square.
Packing
I made a packing list for her about a month prior to our trip to make sure I didn’t forget anything. Her list consisted of:
- Brush
- Calming headband
- Coat
- Collapsible water and food bowls
- Comb
- Dog carrier sling
- Harness
- Kongs
- Life vest
- Minties
- Paw balm
- Poop bags
- Portable playpen
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Towel
- Toys
- Training pouch
- Waste bags
- Water bottle with food container
My boyfriend and I planned not to check in any bags, so I used a tote bag as my personal bag because Ruby and the soft sided kennel were going to be considered my carry-on. Since the kennel had a pocket, I put Ruby’s toys and kongs inside. I packed all of my belongings and some of Ruby’s in my tote bag. My boyfriend used a duffle bag for his carry on, and the playpen as his personal item. He packed all of his items and some of Ruby’s in his duffle bag.
The journey
To start off, we decided to put Ruby’s “In training, Do not pet” vest on before getting to the airport. The reason being is that she’s still young, and gets really excited when adults and kids want to pet her. We’re currently doing reactivity training with her and didn’t want anyone in the airport to ask if they could pet her because we get it often on a regular basis. While waiting on our Uber to go to the airport, I took her outside to potty, which she did and then the journey began.
Raleigh-Durham International Airport
When we pulled up in front of the airport I was a little nervous because I know how excited she could get, and that all of this was new to her. But she did amazing. She was quiet, obeying our commands, and just observing everything around her while going through check in and security. While we waited for our flight to board, she laid down and played with us a little. When the boarding process started we put her in the kennel.
Boarding the plane was pretty easy. I held the kennel in front me while I walked to our seats. When we finally sat, I put the kennel under my seat, I put one of her favorite toys in the kennel, and prepared for the plane to take off. When the plane started moving, she was quiet. I wasn’t sure how she was going to be during take off, so I put one of her kongs in the kennel to keep her occupied. The kong was filled with bacon and cheddar flavor. When the plane took off, she was quiet, during the 1 hour and 40 minutes flight, she was quiet, during the landing, she was quiet.
JFK Airport
After exiting the plane at JFK, we stood in front of the restroom and let her out so she could stretch. We took her to the Pet Relief area, which had faux grass, a fire hydrant, and poop bags. We stayed in there for about ten minutes but she didn’t do anything. She was still quiet and observing everything while walking through JFK to the Rideshare apps pickup location.
Exploring NYC with my dog
Taking the subway
Taking the subway in NYC is an experience on its own. I wondered how Ruby would react to being on a train for the first time, specifically a NYC train. I decided to put her in a dog carrier sling while on the train because I wanted to carry her (she’s about 9Ibs now), and I wanted to respect the other passengers by keeping her as close to me as I could. I’m happy I was able to find a seat most of the times we took a train, and most of the times she rested. To my surprise, she didn’t seem to be that affected by the train being crowded, people moving around, a lot of talking, the conductor on the loud speaker, and the train performance.
Carroll Garden
Ruby and I strolled through Carroll Garden where she met a few dogs close to her size, ran up Court St, stopped at PetSmart to get her food, and went to a smoothie bar to buy an acai bowl for myself.
Dog Meetup at Washington Square Park and in Long Island
Ruby and I met up with a couple of my friends that also have dogs. We started out at a frozen yogurt spot called 16 Handles, and then we all walked to Washington Square Park. We spent about two hours at Washington Square Park walking around and letting our dogs play in two of the dog parks.
Then, the next day, my boyfriend, Ruby, and I went to his friend’s home in Long Island, where Ruby met his dog for the first time. They spent a couple of hours playing with toys, eating, and running around. I’m happy our dog meetups turned out to be successful.
Times Square
We decided to go to Times Square in the evening, so we could be there in the daytime going into night time. I thought she was going to be super distracted and reactive because of how busy Times Square is but to my surprise, she wasn’t. She strolled with her hand turning, taking in all of the sights, sounds, and smells. But even with everything going on she still obeyed our commands.
Lessons I learned
She could sleep in her soft sided kennel
We bought her travel playpen with us so she would have something to sleep in, but it takes time to put it together and it takes up a lot of space. We ended up leaving the playpen at my mom’s home because we didn’t want to keep taking it apart to put it back together at his mom’s home. So instead, we decided that she would sleep in her kennel at his mom’s home, which worked out perfectly. She was quieter and calmer, sleeping in the kennel than sleeping in the playpen. Before going to NYC I didn’t even consider the kennel being where she sleeps when we travel, I thought it was only good for transportation, but I was wrong.
Don’t plan too much in one day
Since our NYC trip was only five days, I wanted to make the most out of it. But me making the most of it included doing as much as we could and seeing as many people as we could. Which ended up making me feel exhausted because I wasn’t getting enough rest. During our next trip to NYC, we’re going to have days with no plans, and the days that do have plans, we’re not going to do too much in those days. I want to have a good balance of exploring, socializing, and rest.
Bring a separate bag for Ruby
Most of Ruby’s things were small, but they were packed into different bags. I want to be able to keep all of her things together because it will be easier to find them when needed. One day, when we were leaving the home of my boyfriend’s mom to go back to my mom’s home, I accidentally left the training pouch that had poop bags and treats inside. Thankfully, I had an extra roll of poop bags in my coat pocket.
Overall my first time traveling with my dog was an amazing, unforgettable experience. Filled with joy, laughter, new memories, surprises, and lessons. She did so good during this trip that I’m already planning our next trip within the USA. Can you guess where 🤔
For tips for flying with your dog, click Tips for flying with your dog for the first time.
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