Photo by Pet Gear

Best suited for: In-cabin airplane carrier
Also works for: Over the shoulder carrier, car carrier
Quality: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Overall rating: ★★★★★

As you know, I’ve long been searching for a good wheeled dog carrier that will work for in-cabin plane travel. I own one — the Creature Leisure Pet Pilot XL — but it’s just a hair too small for Chloe. I was excited, therefore, when a reader asked me what I thought of Pet Gear’s “World Traveler” carrier: It sounded like it was about the right size, and it had wheels. I was intrigued enough to order the bag and check it out in person.

The verdict is: Almost, but not quite. It’s a fairly attractive bag, and it’s not cheesily-made. It depends, structurally, on one very long zipper, which is annoyingly balky but seems substantial enough to do its job. The point of the long zipper is that between uses, the carrier can be collapsed into a flat packet. It doesn’t have a mesh panel on top — always a pet peeve of mine — but it does have sizeable mesh panels on all other sides. One effect of that? There are only two tiny pockets, located on one of the ends. Between the two pockets is a single, short vertical strap, through which a seatbelt can pass. I prefer a carrier with at least two seatbelt straps, and on the long end, so that your dog is secured at two points to your car.

The dimensions provided on Amazon are nearly the same (in fact, a hair smaller) as those for Chloe’s SturdiBag: 18″L x 11″W x 11.5″H. In actuality, the bag is bigger. The internal space is 11″H; overall, including the wheels on the bottom, the bag is 13″ tall, 18″ long, and 12″ wide. [Please note that it also comes in a size Small; Amazon's dimensions for the smaller bag are 15"L x 9.5"W x 10.3"H.]

Although it’s about the same size as the large SturdiBag (it’s an inch taller), it doesn’t compress like its competitor. It would have to rest on its side under your seat, which would mean you’d have to de-Velcro the base pad and move it around to the side (the sides are, like I say, mesh panels — not padded), or carry some additional padding with you. However, the stiffness of the ends and the bottom mean that it cannot compress, even lying on its side, to fit in a space shorter than 11″ tall — and too many airlines have spaces that are shorter than that. You could turn the bag around and poke it in, on its side, top first (so the fattest, bottom end was pointing towards you) — that way, you could jam most of it into a space that was 10″ tall but no shorter. But then, of course, none of the mesh panels would be facing you, which I think would be pretty horrifying for your dog, even just for takeoff and landing.

This carrier’s shoulder strap doubles as its handle — you remove the strap, then clip both of its ends to a loop on one end of the bag. The resulting structure rolls, but at a great distance behind you (which is awkward in a crowded airport); it’s difficult to steer; and it wants to topple over. On balance, I don’t think the wheels make up for this bag’s drawbacks.

Amazon link:
Pet Gear World Traveler Carrier

Photo by ProSelect

I bought this crate bowl on-line, from Amazon, after I realized that the Lixit crate bowl I owned was plastic (many dogs are allergic to plastic bowls, and I don’t want to find out that Chloe is one of them). It arrived today, and I’ve just installed it. It’s a straightforward object: The bowl is held in a steel ring welded to a small rectangular plate, which is attached to your dog’s crate by a wing-nut, exerting pressure on another rectangular plate. While the bowl itself is stainless steel, the supporting steel ring and attachment apparatus are black powder-coated steel.

It’s inexpensive, easy to install, and I don’t believe that Chloe will have any interest in chewing on the empty steel ring (when the bowl is absent). She could, I suppose, knock the bowl up and out of its supporting ring (the bowl only rests in the ring), but I’ve positioned the apparatus low enough on her crate that she’d really have to try before she succeeded.

Please note that I chose an 8 oz. bowl for her. That turns out to be quite a small bowl, but she’s a small dog, and we only leave her in her crate for short periods of time. If you’d prefer a larger crate bowl, ProSelect offers the same bowl in a 16-oz. size.

Amazon links:
ProSelect 8-oz. Stainless Steel Coop Cup
ProSelect 16-oz. Stainless Steel Coop Cup

Chloe and her Lixit crate bowl

I found this crate bowl at Petco, and I like it because it came in a small (10 oz.) size (it also comes in a 20 oz. size), it was inexpensive, and it fastens easily and solidly to a wire crate. The bowl fits onto a notch in the holder and you turn the bowl to secure it — simple, straightforward, and impossible (or at least hard!) to dislodge. I suppose that a bored or motivated dog could chew on the exposed base, if the bowl weren’t in place, but Chloe has never shown any interest in doing so.

The only problem with this bowl — and I only thought of it on the way home, after I’d made my purchase — is that it’s plastic. Some dogs are allergic to plastic bowls (our cats certainly were), so if I’d been thinking, I would have passed this bowl up. As it is, I plan to use it as Chloe’s travel crate bowl. I’ll pack it in her suitcase, and it’ll be the crate bowl she uses when we’re on the road. I’ll keep an eye on her, though, and if it looks like she’s developing an allergy, I’ll replace it with a stainless steel crate bowl.

Please note that Lixit also makes a crate bowl for soft-sided crates. I have not tried that product out, but would like to know what you think of it!

Amazon links:
LIXIT CARRIER CAGE CROCK 10 OZ
LIXIT CARRIER CAGE CROCK 20 OZ

Chloe in a large Fundle sling

Best suited for: Over the shoulder carrier, stealth transport
Also works for:
Quality: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Overall rating: ★★★★★

Longer ago than I’d like to admit, a reader wrote to me and asked what I thought of the Fundle pet carrier. She wanted a stealth bag for her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, but thought that the PetEgo messenger bag I’ve recommended would be too big for her (she’s petite, and she has some neck/back problems). I’m on it, I told her, and I sent away for a large Fundle carrier (the carrier is available in Mini, Standard and Large).

As you can see from the picture, it too is an over-the-shoulder carrier. Its particular claims to fame include its shape, which cleverly supports your dog in a comfortable sitting posture, and a heavily-padded rim on which she can rest her chin. Chloe did indeed seem to find it comfortable to sit/lie in the carrier, with her chest fully supported by the sloping bottom of the bag. That feature gives this carrier a distinct advantage over, for example, her Wagwear tote.

I don’t know what she thought of the cushioned pads around the rim. They are somewhat rigid, and although they curved out of the way when I left the carrier open on top, when the stealth cover was zipped into place they pressed closely around Chloe’s face. She didn’t like that at all. A smaller dog might feel less trapped by the cover (which does have a nice ventilation panel, providing air and some visibility). Chloe, however, is at the upper limit of what even the large-sized bag will hold. To fit in the bag, she pretty much had to have her neck and head poking out the top.

It’s an effective stealth bag with the cover zipped in place, especially in black. I like the four generous outside pockets, and I like how it’s made. It’s also quite light. Unfortunately, although the shoulder strap is nicely padded, the padded area is fixed in place — so if you (like me) are tall and have to extend the strap to its longest length, the padded area shifts off your shoulder and hangs uselessly behind your back.

If you are petite and your dog weighs, say, 10 lbs. or under, this is a carrier to consider. You’ll have to get her accustomed to the zipped cover over time — I would not count on your dog taking to it straight out of the box. For a dog Chloe’s size, I still prefer the PetEgo messenger bag.

Photo by BICE

Best suited for: Bike carrier
Also works for: Over the shoulder carrier
Quality: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Overall rating: ★★★★★

The WalkyBasket is, relatively speaking, a large carrier (15.7Lx13Wx10H). That’s good news for me, because Chloe’s a big small dog. The carrier is made of a sturdy PVC fabric, and it’s nicely put together. It has several outer pockets, two of which will be occupied with the optional zip-in mesh top and the rain cover. Still, you’ll have room in the others for a water bottle and some treats and a leash. There is a tether to attach to your dog’s harness, and the bottom of the carrier is lightly-padded and removable for cleaning.

The zip-in mesh top is presumably meant to keep your dog contained, but it’s very lightweight. The tether is a more reliable restraint. The rain cover, by contrast, is very sturdy — if it covers the carrier completely, it’s hard to see where your dog’s air would come from. Happily, you can adjust it so it leaves a section of the top open, like pushing a shower cap to one side of your head (consider carrying a couple of clothespins or binder clips to ensure that the cover stays on the carrier and doesn’t get popped off by its elastic).

The WalkyBasket would, I think, be a good choice for someone who wants to travel somewhere else and then go biking. The sides of the carrier are unstructured, so the carrier collapses into a packable oval about 2″ deep. It comes with a shoulder strap, and once the carrier is unhooked from the bike, it functions well as an over-the-shoulder carrier. It mounts to a bicycle with a KLICKfix handlebar adapter, which is pretty easy to install (remember to bring a Phillips-head screwdriver with you). Please note that KLICKfix also makes an extender that attaches to your seat post; I prefer to have my dog in front of me on a bike, but the extender might be a good option if you need to carry two dogs.

Best suited for: In-cabin airplane carrier
Also works for: Over the shoulder carrier, car carrier, travel bed
Quality: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Overall rating: ★★★★★

This is an unpaid and unsolicited review of Sleepypod’s new Air pet carrier. Sleepypod sent me a carrier, at my request, to try out and review. The company has also generously given me a second, unused Air carrier to give away to one lucky reader. The giveaway will start on Monday, March 29th, and will be co-hosted by my other blog, Dog Jaunt, and by Edie Jarolim’s blog Will My Dog Hate Me. Check back on Monday to learn how to enter!

Sleepypod first caught my attention with a combination pet bed/carrier (the “Sleepypod”) that I praised in one of Dog Jaunt’s first posts. When I learned last fall that the company was introducing a carrier specifically designed to work for in-cabin pets (the “Air”), I was intrigued — and asked for a sample to review.

We’ve now used the Sleepypod Air on two separate trips involving several flights on different kinds of planes. It’s an outstanding carrier in ways that I’ll describe below, but it’s revolutionary in one particular way: It’s designed to compress in length from 22″ to 16″. A carrier’s length is always its Achilles heel — you want a long carrier so that your dog has room to sprawl, but U.S. airlines typically require your carrier to be only 16-19″ long (depending on the airline). The Sleepypod Air’s ends and interior padding are structured so that they can be folded up to fit the carrier lengthwise in a 16″ space (if you only fold one end up, it fits in a 19″ space). Once the flight is underway, you can pull the carrier out and turn it around under your legs — the ends fall back down, giving your dog an unusually large amount of room to maneuver.

Please note that you can still only bring a small dog onboard — the carrier is just 10.5″ tall and 10.5″ wide — but she’ll have room to stretch, and that’s rare.

Here’s what we like: The carrier is made of a sturdy ballistic nylon and lined with a thick, easily-cleaned nylon. The zipper runs completely around the perimeter of the all-mesh top and ends, allowing the carrier to be collapsed when it’s not in use and allowing the top to be flipped off at the end of a journey, so the sides and bottom can function as a comfortable travel bed. Because the top and ends are all mesh, your dog has plenty of ventilation and you can see her easily from above (there are no privacy panels, so if your pet prefers cavelike solitude, this may not be the carrier for her). If you want to have the carrier mostly closed, but have one of the ends open, each end flap has a snap that can attach to the bottom of the centrally-located handle.

The bottom pad is cushy and washable. If you’re using the carrier as a travel bed for a pet you really want to pamper, you can buy a warming pad from Sleepypod that slips into the carrier’s bottom pad. But what about the cord (leading to either a car adapter or a wall adapter)? Sleepypod has positioned a large grommet in a bottom corner of the carrier, through which the cord threads. Genius!

There is a long pocket on one of the sides — there’s one on the other side, too, but it’s also the slot through which your suitcase handle passes, so I tend not to keep anything on that side. The handle and shoulder strap are both padded and comfortable. There is a harness tether — in another clever move, you can unclip it from the carrier if you prefer (most tethers are not removable, and cry out to be chewed off by a bored dog). The carrier is quite light (4 lbs.), which turned out to be a blessing — Chloe was weighed for the first time in the Air carrier, and easily came in under Jet Blue’s 20 lb. maximum.

Here’s what we didn’t like: Theoretically, it’s not a problem that there’s no dedicated access zipper, since you can position the existing zippers at the top of the carrier and sneak your hand in between them when you need to pat your pup. In practice, that doesn’t work so well, because the edges of the carrier components are fairly rigid. Another side effect of the carrier components being so structured is that this carrier doesn’t easily lose height(this is one place where Chloe’s SturdiProducts bag comes out ahead).

When I looked at Sleepypod’s drawings of the Air carrier, I got the impression that when you wanted to shorten the bag, the ends flipped upand stayed up. In fact, they don’t. They flip up, but only as long as you’re applying pressure to them (as you would be when you’re wedging your dog’s carrier under your seat). It’s not immediately obvious, therefore, that the bag has the ability to be shorter. With that in mind, I’ve kept the explanatory card that comes with the Air bag and tucked it into the side pocket, so that if a ticket or gate agent is concerned about the bag’s length, I’ll have the diagrams to show them. They’re just diagrams, so they’ll work in any country.

It’s just as well that I’ve kept the explanatory card, because I need it every time I have to attach the carrier to a seat belt. Sleepypod has come up with an ingenious set of buckles that fasten the carrier securely to a seat belt, but without the diagrams, I’m lost.

Our last complaint? The carrier slips over the handle of a rolling suitcase by way of a panel on one of the long sides. Double-ended zippers at the top and bottom of the panel allow it to be a pocket when you want, and a slot when you want. So far, so normal. However, the Sleepypod Air panel is 14″ long! I assume the designers thought I’d like to have the option of having a 14″-wide pocket when the slot is not needed — and when the slot is needed, I can close the zippers tightly against the handle of my suitcase. It’s a great idea, but the zippers sometimes shift, allowing the bag to swivel around on top of the supporting suitcase. Happily, Chloe is a dog with a sunny outlook on life, and doesn’t lose sleep over sudden swoops. I suggest looking back frequently as you roll along to make sure everything’s in place.

Please note that the Air comes in five colors. I asked for a sample in Orange Dream, because I’m a total sucker for orange. As always, I recommend that you get your carrier in a dark color (Jet Black or Dark Chocolate) so that it looks as small as possible. That said, however, we took our high-visibility Orange Dream carrier on Jet Blue and Virgin America and neither airline turned a hair over the carrier’s size.

Dog Jaunt’s review policy requires me to give away freebies valued at over $50, and the Sleepypod Air has a retail value of $149.99. I can’t give the carrier I’ve been testing to a reader because it’s been thoroughly Chloe-fied by now. I don’t want to give it away, period, since I like it so much. My solution? I’m sending Sleepypod a check and adding it to Chloe’s Collection of Carriers.

Best suited for: Over the shoulder carrier
Also works for: Car carrier
Quality: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Overall rating: ★★★★★

This is a surprisingly well-made and appealing carrier, but I can’t recommend it. Here’s what I liked: It’s sturdily-constructed of heavyweight material, and the zippers are solid and function well. The mesh panels are of good-quality mesh, and they’re huge — no problem with ventilation in this carrier. The zipper runs all the way around the front sides and top panel, so that when the bag is completely unzipped, it can function as a comfortable travel bed.

Here’s what I didn’t like: This carrier does not allow you to see your dog from above, which is the view you’ll most often have of her as you’re traveling. Please also note that to reach your dog during travel, you’ll have to position the main zipper just so — what looks like an access zipper on the top is really just a pocket in the carrier’s lid. The deal breaker for me, though, is that this carrier (20Lx11Wx11H) is simply too large to work as an in-cabin carrier. It’s much larger than the official U.S. airline maximums, but even if you’re willing to push those limits, in my experience, 19 inches is as wide as a carrier can be and still fit under an airplane seat.

Photo by The Kyjen Company

Best suited for: Backpack, wheeled transport
Also works for: In-cabin airplane carrier
Quality: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Overall rating: ★★★★★

The Roll Along Pet Carrier both rolls and converts to a backpack. At 19Hx14Wx10D, it’s larger than the last Outward Hound carrier I reviewed, but it shares many of the same features, including enormous ventilation panels on the front and sides, and roomy pockets — big enough to carry your dog’s leash, poop bags and treats and still leave plenty of room for a wallet and keys.

This carrier handles its various tasks pretty well. Our 13-lb. dog Chloe is at the upper limit of what it will handle, and with her on board the carrier rolls well but shows a tendency to wobble. Carrying her on my shoulders, I wished for straps that were better-padded, but noted with pleasure that the carrier is quite light and its hard bits rest on the back of my hips, which have sufficient padding of their own. (The backpack carrier that I own, Creature Leisure’s Carry Den XT, is a better-quality bag, overall, but throws a structural support uncomfortably across your backbone.) I could see carrying Chloe in this bag for a while — not all day, but certainly for a couple of hours — and it would work well for people bringing their dogs with them on a scooter.

“Great for airline travel,” says the marketing materials — and indeed, a dog park friend of mine who travels the world with her Schipperke is on her second Roll Along Pet Carrier (the first carrier’s wheels “melted” during a particularly rigorous trip to South America). It needs to be pointed out, however, that this bag exceeds every major U.S. airline’s maximum dimensions for an in-cabin pet carrier (it does much better with international airline maximums). As you know from previous posts and comments, most carriers you see are non-complying. Unlike some non-complying carriers, though, this bag looks big, probably because of its large side pockets.

It won’t fit left-to-right under an airplane seat — the handle will get in the way, and the 10″ depth (which will be the height, once the carrier is laid on its back) is structured enough not to flex. It would, however, fit front-to-back, with the narrower part by the handle inserted first under the seat. A few inches of the widest, bottom part would be visible to an alert flight attendant.

From your dog’s point of view, it works as an in-cabin carrier. Even Chloe, a big small dog, had lots of room, and the padding on top of the handle structure is light but sufficient. Negatives? This carrier has no privacy panels, which may be an issue if your pet prefers cave-like solitude when she’s traveling. Some users complain that the front ventilation panel droops onto their pet when the bag is on its back. It does, a bit, but Chloe seemed completely unfazed.

I’d buy this bag in a heartbeat for international travel, and I’d probably risk it, with fingers crossed, for domestic travel too. Frankly, I wish I’d bought it instead of my Creature Leisure Carry Den XT (purchased for outings to farmer’s markets).

Kyle Hansen of the Kyjen Company sent me three different Outward Hound carriers to try out and review. Kyjen has not paid for these reviews, and when I warned Kyle that they might not be love-fests, he said, essentially, “let ‘er rip.” Pet Carrier Review’s policy requires me to give away freebies valued at over $50, and Kyjen has agreed that the products will be given away to Pet Carrier Review readers.

Photo by Midwest

Best suited for: Everyday crate
Also works for: Hotel or vacation rental crate
Quality: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Overall rating: ★★★★★

This is the crate I should have bought when I first brought Chloe home. I’ve ended up with it, after a variety of collapsible fabric crates, a Marchioro “Ithaka Clipper 6″ crate, and a Sky Kennel crate, but I wish I’d started here.

First things first: I bought the iCrate Single Door Folding Crate, Model 1530 (which is the size Medium, at 30Lx19wx21H). Chloe could fit in the next smaller size, but for her everyday crate I like her to have lots of room. I also bought a crate cover, because it will help protect her from the sun (if summer ever returns to Seattle), and without it, she’s really exposed — with it, the crate is more den-like. I bought both items from Fetch Dog, since the crate cover that Midwest sells has its good points (I like the quilted bumpers) but the Fetch Dog cover allows you to roll up one or more sides if you wish.

Here’s what I like about the iCrate: It’s fairly easy to assemble and disassemble, Chloe cannot scrape her way out of it, and the latch (the model I bought only has one) works smoothly and opens/closes without effort.

Here’s what I don’t like: The top panel just catches closed on the front and back panels — add any weight, and it un-catches. That means that our cats can’t sleep on top of the crate, and that I can’t rest Chloe’s heavy tote of gear on top either.  I should mention, though, that my parents own iCrate Model 1536, which is the next size larger and also has two latches rather than one. We’ve used it for Chloe when we visit, and its top seemed sturdier than ours. We had no problem stacking stuff on top.

That’s a pretty mild gripe, though. On balance, I’m delighted with this crate, and Chloe seems to like it too. Please note that it is also available with two or even three doors, so if your home kennel set-up would work better with a door that opens on the long side, for example, that option is available.

The folks at PetRelocation.com have put together a video, featuring mascots Bruno and Chatty, about getting your pet’s crate ready for airplane travel — it’s short but thorough, and well worth a look.