Sherpa Delta Airlines Travel Pet Carrier, Airline Approved & Guaranteed On Board – Black, Medium

Lil Bear Approved! (Some tips, too.)
This BRAND NEW one I just bought – the strap broke in the airport after only carrying it 10 minutes – not happy! My old one lasted for years without doing that. I had to rig it to make it work so I could complete my journey. Though my old one is FIVE stars, I would take off 2 stars for the strap on this new one. I hope the company will make it right.–Update 3: I bought a new one (Original Deluxe) in black and lil Bear loves this one more than the original one. It has more mesh for air (not shown in these pics) but otherwise is very similar to the Delta Black one I had. He actually got in it and took a nap–I was surprised! Still a good buy for the money. Bear is about 15 pounds and is a long-haired chihuahua mix – stocky build – he JUST fits in it. I could go for a large but he is able to turn around, lie down comfortably, and walk in it just fine. I like this one even better than the first one.———Update 2: Travel. Lil Bear and I did great together with this Sherpa Carrier. I hauled him around the airport easier than I thought, though it killed my shoulders and back to lug around his carrier and my other carry on, but that’s travel. We went through the security line with no problems at all. And, the carrier fit under the seat perfectly. Lil Bear lay quietly the entire time (but he is a well-behaved awesome calm dog). The medium just fit – I mean JUST fit. I considered whether I should have bought a large but then that would have been too big. So measure your dog and look at the dimensions of the carriers and go from there.———–Update: I just found the other pocket on the other side! So two pockets!This is a very well-made/constructed pet carrier that I bought for less than I thought I’d have to pay for such a nice carrier! The ‘canvas’ is made of quality material and the seams are firm and intact. There are handles so you can hold the carrier in your hands, or you can use the included strap to put it across your shoulder.There are two openings to the carrier: one on the front, and one on the top. The zippers are heavy-duty and well made. There are also air vents – one on the side, and one on each end that you can unvelcro the covering to provide that air vent.Inside on the “floor” of the carrier is a nice padding that will detach for laundering.On the side is a zippered pocket. That would be my only “negative” to this – I wish the pocket were a little bigger so I could fit a little more in it, but it would fit some treats and a regular leash. A bigger deeper pocket would be nice, but that’s not a deal breaker at all.THE SIZE ISSUE: – Besides wanting the pocket to be a little bigger, finding the correct size can be a little confusing. I researched so many reviews before purchasing, and the sizes and poundage were all over the place for a medium carrier! Argh! I knew I didn’t want a small, but deciding between a large and medium was daunting. I went with the medium and he fits, but it’s close. It’s why the 4 stars instead of five, though I’m still tempted to give it 5 stars, but maybe some videos and pictures from the manufacturer would help. If you are confused about finding the correct size, I can only tell you that my dog is a long-haired chihuahua but mixed with something else – he’s about 14 pounds, and about 10 inches high or so–measuring him from feet to shoulder/back height, length about 19-20 inches from nose to back (not including tail of course!)–these are approximate as it’s more difficult to measure a dog than I thought (laugh). He fits inside the carrier with enough room to turn around but it’s close – he can stand but it’s very close – he’ll be lying down 99% of the time and he should feel secure and comfortable. I have no idea about under the seat issues, yet, because this will be my first time to fly with a pet. The large may have been too large where he is kind of shuffled around in there – I felt the medium gave him some security from being “knocked about.” I don’t know if this helps, but I do suggest ordering early enough that you can not only train your dog to be comfortable with the idea, but also to gauge the size.My dog is a chihuahua-something-I-don’t-know mix, and is about 14 pounds. He’s about 10 inches high. He fits in it just fine. I didn’t want him to have so much room that he was “knocked about” as I carry him, but he has enough room to stand–but just enough to stand, and he can turn around in it. The small would have been way too small, and the large would be too large. But he fits closely and I’d not want it any smaller than this.Surprisingly, the weight when you carry him even if you use the shorter straps on your shoulder isn’t bad at all.Some Tips for getting your dog used to the carrier:They include a little tag with some tips. I did my own thing, too. If your dog is not used to a carrier, some things you can do are:I did these things one or two times a day only:Make sure the carrier is associated with something good – way long before your trip is to come, you should start preparing your dog so he isn’t scared of something new.I started early on by putting a treat inside the carrier and put the carrier by the side of his bed. I just let him go in and get it without me closing him up. I did this for several weeks, the only difference is that after a couple weeks of doing this, I gently nudged him in and closed the front “gate” but didn’t zip it-I petted and praised him. Doing this a few times, whenever I’d pick up the carrier to bring it over to his bed even before I opened the treat can to put in the treat, he’d be excited, knowing he was going to get a treat.Then next stage I put the treat in there, but I closed him up. Did this a couple times, reaching my hand through the top part and petting and praising him.The next stage, I closed him up with the treat and carried him around my house, talking to him in a happy voice. This is the stage where I am now. By time my flight comes, he’ll be very comfortable inside there. I’m also going to take him in the car and drive around with him in it.He’s a calm well-behaved dog, so I don’t expect any problems at all. If I have problems once I do take my trip, I’ll be back to report that.I do highly recommend.

Great for our small dog!
This product was a “life-saver” for my wife and I as we recently traveled via Delta and needed to bring our small dog along. I’ve never done that before so I did not know where to start. In doing research I found the Sherpa Delta Pet Carriers and looked into them. This product which we bought fit the bill both in terms of cost, sizing and quality. And it was Delta approved!As I noted above we flew on Delta and had four flights. The bag easily went under the front seat in a 737 for all four flights. It also was very easy to carry slung over one of our shoulders as we made our way through the airport. It has adequate ventilation and fit our 9 pound or so dog fine. She seemed to be fine in it but I will speak to that a little later.If you are going to fly with your pet, this is what I recommend:1. Call your airline and confirm their restrictions/limitations on pets and carrier sizes. Do NOT skip this step!!! Make sure to do this for the specific flights you are looking at (or already booked) because the size of the aircraft does matter as to what carrier will fit or not. When you cal the airline make sure you have the dimensions of the carrier and provide that to the agent.2. Ideally before you book your flight make sure that it has “room” to accept pets in the cabin. I found, at least with Delta, is that they only allow a certain number of pets on-board any given flight (I believe it is four but don’t quote me – confirm with the airline). If there is no room then you are out of luck. Better to find this out before you book than after.3. You may have confirmed before you booked, but you must make a pet reservation after you book your flights. I’ll tell you I was so scared when I called to do this as I did not know I even had to make a pet reservation. Thankfully, and this SAVED me, the Sherpa carrier included a sheet with instructions on flying with your pet and recommended making a pet reservation with the airline. If this tip had not been included, I think I would have been sunk as I would not have done this.4. Condition your pet (dog or cat) to the carrier BEFORE you fly! I think you should start this weeks before to see how they adjust and acclimate to the carrier. I imagine some pets will be fine, but others, like our dog, will want to get out as soon as possible! She just does not like to be “contained.” What we found though is that we could appease here by passing treats through the zipper on the top of the carrier. And once the flight got going it was a blessing but she settled down. Maybe the movement or noise of the engines; I’m not sure but she did fine.5. Be ready to pay a fee to fly with your beloved pet. It is financially painful but something that they all require.6. We made sure our dog’s vaccines were up to date and got a certificate from the vet for her to fly. We never had to show this to the airline agent and it appeared to not be required so you may not have to do this if they are in the cabin (you do if they are in cargo). Depends on how paranoid you are but this is an option if you want to have that “just in case.”7. We did not have to remove our pet at security as some said they had to. I guess it depends on the agent or air carrier.One, one more “tip” is if you have a pet that is hyper or does not travel well is to speak to your vet about Dramamine for dogs (I’m sure for cats also). We did not have to use it for this dog but have for another dog we have to for car sickness. It takes the edge off the dog and helps it to settle down. I’m not for giving dogs medicine if they don’t need it but I think to help the dog with anxiety it is well worth it and safe. And it will make your flight a lot more enjoyable as you don’t want to be “that” person who everyone on the plane is whispering about :)Happy travels!

Perfect to travel with if you do not have a very big cat or dog.I love that I get attach it over my luggage, it fits perfeclty under the seat in front of me and it has enough ventilation. Easy to fold when empty and easy to wash.

It’s collapsible for easy storage, it’s sturdy and a nice fit for my mini-schnauzer. The mat provided slides which can alarm her, so I prefer to use a thick blanket. All in, happy with my purchase. I do wish that wheels could be attached!