O2 for Fufu?

[BlueLight]

I hope to upgrade my C182 to a Columbia 400 in 2006. However, the benefits of flying in the lower FLs along w/ the 400's perfomance would work only when the wife leaves our beloved 7lb Havanese (that's a dog) home.

We love to travel together including dog, but we gotta keep the lil' Fufu oxygenated. We should agree and assume that flying at FL180 with a peeked hypoxic dog won't be good for the marriage (or the dog).

So, for you pet loving and pet traveling types, have you ever heard of any pet sized canula's or other solutions (aside from keeping it under 12500)?

 

[doug_or]

Well you don't have to worry about 12,500' at all as long as YOU've got O2. You're allowed to take humans in the back up to 15,000, so a few thou above that doesn't seem like a big deal. As long as you don't kill the damn thing, going up to 18 should just keep the damn thing quiet.

signed
a guy who doesn't own a dog

 

[Flying Illini]

I just did a quick google search for "dog on oxygen" but didn't come up with anything useful. If I were you I would go to my vet and bring it up. Ask how they put dogs on o2 when they are in surgery. He/she may be able to direct you to someone with some know-how or he may help you modify some cannulas or a mask for your dog (sometimes dogs breath through their mouth so a cannula may not work). Either way, it will take your dog a while to adjust to wearing and breathing with an aid.

Signed, a multiple dog owner.

ps. What a great problem to have! Enjoy the 400, looks like a blast!

 

[Lead Sled]

I remember seeing an O2 mask for a dog in a magazine article. As I remember, it was a home-made affair. I wish I could remember more details.

 

[Cardinal]

Another dog owner, dog lover here that devotes most of my day to keeping her happy and occupied. With that said:

Let Fufu pass out.

Animal life is quite sustainable at 18,000, I was hiking for hours above 14,000 this summer and didn't keel over. With a bit of acclimitization people climb 29000 ft. Mt. Everest without oxygen regularly. Heck when i was 2 my parents (on oxygen themselves) threw me in an unpressurized CASA 212, and climbed into the flight levels and let me pass out - no readily apparent brain damage.

Keeping the climb/descent rates slow would be my only other observation.

 

[cforst513]

...no readily apparent brain damage...

in whose opinion? :beer:

http://network.bestfriends.org/News/PostDetail.aspx?np=206 you could probably rig a way to keep that to Fufu's head so you don't have to hold it. or you can tranquilize the dog and just let it lay there with the mask over its nose. but i imagine that Fufu likes to look out the window and stuff. like it was mentioned earlier, go ask a vet and then get creative. i live in florida for most of the year, if you ever want to let me borrow your new plane....

 

[A Squared]

Animal life is quite sustainable at 18,000, I was hiking for hours above 14,000 this summer and didn't keel over. With a bit of acclimitization people climb 29000 ft. Mt. Everest without oxygen regularly.

Just for the record, life is not sustainable on the upper reaches of Everest. Anything above 8000 meters (about 26,000') is referred to as the "death zone", if you're there without O2, you're slowly dying. The folks that climb Everst without O2 have a very limited time above 8000 meters.

 

[9GClub]

You could buy a harness and a long rope and keep Fufu at 10,000.

Might need some goggles though.

 

[Gorilla]

The answer is simple, not a face mask or cannula. Since Fufu is a tiny 7lb dog, get a doggie carrier, one of the nylon jobs, and set it up so it leaks minimally. Have an O2 line enter at one end, and exhaust at the other - bingo, instant O2 tent. You may need to seal portions with rubber cement, but the overall O2 % will be quite high.

 

[9GClub]

. . . the overall O2 % will be quite high.

Try not to smoke.

 

[Gorilla]

Try not to smoke.

If Fufu smokes, they have other problems!

 

[flypup]

O2 for dogs at altitude

My husband and I (both pilots) fly our Mooney with our two 90 lb GSDs at altitudes up to FL190. Both dogs are active competitors in obedience, tracking, protection, and agility. We are concerned about hypoxia as they need all the brain cells they have! These dogs normally sleep at altitude as there is no ground scent or visual stimulus for them. Makes it hard to assess their oxygenation state by clinical means.

We have used our O2 sat monitor by placing on the web space between their toes and it seems to give a very accurate reading. Their sat is maintained well and only begins to modestly decline above 17000 so we stay below this unless we need to climb briefly for weather. But this makes us more comfortable to fly up to 17000 with them. Have not found any O2 mask or canula system for them.

I am now more concerned about hearing damage as they are exposed for long times to engine noise with only cotton balls in their ears for protection.

 

[cforst513]

you know, pup, i was actually gonna post something about the ear protection myself. i saw an avatar w/ a dog w/ a headset on and it got me wondering.

 

[thee12nv]

Well if something happens to Fu Fu my mom breeds havenese here in Tampa. Maybe I trade you one for some time in the 400..

 

[BlueLight]

Thanks for the suggestions -- I esp. liked Cardinal's suggestion and and glad no "apparent brain damage" occurred by his parents letting him sleep it off in the FL's.

I am going with the O2 tent concept -- sort of like creating a "bubble-dog" vs a "Bubble-Boy" from Seinfeld.

I sent the orginal question over to Brent Blue (MD) who is one of the muckety-mucks over at Aeromedix. In addition to the need to talk to a vet he wrote:

"Actually a frequent question!

They make dog specific oxygen cannulas in three sizes. However, getting them to keep it on is more problematic. The best solution is to put the dog in a kennel type carrier and cover it with a "tent." Unless you are as old as I am, you may never have seen one of these in a hospital. They basically are a plastic cover that hangs over a bed. You can duplicated it with a kennel by wrapping the kennel loosely with plastic wrap (air should be able to leak out). Put the oxygen tubing inside and run it at about 2 liters per minute (for 18K). You must check the system regularly to make sure the oxygen is being delivered to the tent.

The dog can also be monitored with special vet type pulse oximeters which we can order if you want to be exacting about the process.

Let me know if you have other questions."

Brent

Finally, and in the neverending search of the best hooters/ga airport around, there may be times during such research ops that fufu and the wife stay home and the O2 tent stays in the hangar!




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[lurker]

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/25264/the_flying_dog/