So we've got a new ball of terror.. Flew to KBYI a few weeks ago and picked up our new Brittany pup, Zulu. He did well on his first flight home, but I would like to take him flying whenever possible. I've looked at Mutt Muffs, they look like the only game in town... but reviews are pretty mixed and at this point I'm not sure they are even worth getting due to low level of noise blocking and problems keeping them on the ears. Anybody care to chime in on whether or not they are worth it?


20140207_194801 by scottf, on Flickr

I have not had good luck with them. Over the course of 3 dogs flying with me (damn near every flight) the best for me is little soft foam ear plugs that we all wear around loud stuffs . Roll em up tight and get them in dogs ear good and deep. They can't scratch them out and they don't choke my dogs like the chin strap on mutt muffs.

ummm yeah i dunno...

My golden retriever took the muffs off just once when she was a pup. I guess she didn't like the resulting noise level and so now happily leaves them on.



When testing the muff sound reduction by ear (rather than with instruments), consider that dogs hear much higher frequencies than us, and passive attenuation material mostly blocks the mid to highs, not so good on low frequencies (ANR is good for low). Thus the muffs don't seem like they are doing so much for us as a lot of the lows get through. Dogs, on the other hand, may notice a much larger improvement.

bumper

Tipsy, my smooth hair border collie has a head shape that lends itself to them sliding off


I try to keep them on her though

Tim

Molly wears hers most of the time, but from time to time, she pushes them down around her neck by putting her head between the front seat back rests to be closer to me. I don't think she's consciously attempting to remove them--it just happens. She'll be 10 in July and has been flying with me since she was about 9 or 10 weeks old. She was nearly a year old before I bought the Mutt Muffs, so she's been wearing hers for about 8 1/2 years, mostly successfully.

There is another brand I've looked at, at OSH. But I haven't found them at any of the major suppliers of pilot stuff, and I can't recall the name of the outfit that was hawking them at OSH. They claim better noise reduction than Mutt Muffs, but whether that's true or not, I can't say.



Cary

You mean dogs GET TO GO??

Man, if Ted knew that he'd never forgive me! As far as he knows dogs stay, and if I took him once I'd have to take him all the time. Funny I guess, but for a dog person who takes his dog to work and almost everywhere else, I have never made the leap to taking them flying. They already are deaf once they get old, just being around what I do. If I had a big cert plane maybe, a small experimental with lexan windows and min. sound proofing, I figure I'm doing him a favor by leaving him home. I admire you guys that take them, don't get me wrong, but someone has to be there to piss on the tire or the skis when I get back.

If anybody wants to sell a small or medium mutt muff that their pup has outgrown let me know.

Sent you a PM.

Our Golden has been wearing them since he was a puppy. Took 'em off once, and has wore them no problem ever since.



He's a lot bigger now! But he still wears 'em

We'll be getting a set for Healy once we start flying regularly. Her first flight was the day we picked her up, Wasilla to Fairbanks, but she hasn't flown since.

We put them on every dog in the plane. Not every dog keeps them on. But we certainly feel better about making the initial effort. It seems for us that it is completely dog dependent. One of our dogs kept them on all the time. Another didn't wear them at first, but then seemed to like them after learning how noisy the airplane was. Yet another dog just shakes them off every time.

courierguy wrote:You mean dogs GET TO GO??

Man, if Ted knew that he'd never forgive me! As far as he knows dogs stay, and if I took him once I'd have to take him all the time. Funny I guess, but for a dog person who takes his dog to work and almost everywhere else, I have never made the leap to taking them flying. They already are deaf once they get old, just being around what I do. If I had a big cert plane maybe, a small experimental with lexan windows and min. sound proofing, I figure I'm doing him a favor by leaving him home. I admire you guys that take them, don't get me wrong, but someone has to be there to piss on the tire or the skis when I get back.[/url]

I think I'm going to agree with you courierguy... My pug Doug is not really made to fly, I might as well save him the hearing and leave him at home. The one time I took him flying, we flew over to Sisters from Corvallis, I had to do a 15-20kt crosswing landing with a pug in my lap, not the easiest thing I've done before. He caught a ride home with my girlfriend in the car... so if anyone wants I've got a pair of I think small though maybe extra small for sale.