Questions and Answers

[B][U]What are the social rules of etiquette for dogs on a plane?[/U][/B]
[U]Was there a way to handle the situation differently?-[/U]
I don’t usually pay attention to other passengers, but during boarding I noticed an older lady with a lap dog. No big deal, I just moved to the opposite end of the cabin. (allergies and dogs don’t mix well together.)

Woke up during the flight with a rash breaking out, and I found the dog sleeping fairly close to me. This was a red eye flight, so when I went to the lady, I had to wake her up. She didn’t appreciate the gesture, and before I even managed to say anything she goes on a tirade about how rude and disrespectful my generation is.- Right, because I’m the one letting my dog roam the aisles freely.

In a premium cabin, no scratch that, in any cabin I’d expect FA to notice a dog wandering around. When it was clear that I wasn’t going to get anywhere with the lady, I went to an FA and asked if they could handle the situation. Found out that they had, multiples times. The woman would listen for a few minutes and then let her dog out again. I explained that I had allergies, and as cute as I find her dog, I can’t be near it. She apparently didn’t take that well.

The situation ended when I was bumped into 1st after the FAs spotted that I was hanging out near the back of the plane in economy. Kudos to them, it wasn’t a pleasant situation but they handled it well. My question is, isn’t there rules about dogs in premium cabins? I understand that some people need them for medical reasons, but there is absolutely no reason in my mind that they should be allowed to wander freely.

I dont think there are rules specifically about dogs in premium cabins. However, I dont think the dog should be free to roam the aircraft at all. I was under the impression that emotional support animals have to stay in the passengers immediate area at all times – lap, under the seat in front or in the seat next to the passenger if its empty.

Yeah, that’s obnoxious. I think in any cabin the burden is on the dog owner to ask their seat mate if they mind being next to a dog, and if not they need to organize switching seats.

Letting the dog roam around the cabin is completely unacceptable. The crew should have insisted she control her dog.