Need some advice on train travel with my dog.

Hello,'I will be travelling on the train from Montreal to Mont-Jolie (about a 10 hr train ride)with my dog Layla. She has to be crated and "checked" like baggage (clearly the people who own these trains don't own dogs). I can get out and walk her at any major stop (there will be 2) but I was wondering if anyone has some (informed) thoughts on sedation. I know a lot of people don't reccomend it for air travel, but since there is no altitude issue, what are your thoughts?
thanks :)

No idea. I just had to answer because nobody was... :D I would imagine that it depends on where the luggage ends up. If the doggy is near the door, maybe, but otherwise, I'd say no.

Ha ha thanks Prin :thumbs up i've managed to waste away the past three hours just staring at this forum. I have to go to the vet before we leave anyways, so I'll get his oppinion on the matter. Just thought i'd ask around here first.

LOL did you see the funny thread that's happening now? It's slightly more entertaining. :D

I travelled with YY on VIA and it was a wonderful experience for both of us. All of the conductors fell in love with her and while the rules say you can go see your pet at certain stops, these ppl allowed me in almost the whole trip - I sat in the cat next to the baggage car. And VIA is quite lax with security so even if I had not rec'd help, I knew where the baggae car was and I would have been there. We were travelling four hours and while technically, we should have dismbarked (I hate the term detrained, not convinced it is a word, lol) at a further point but a smaller place - where you cannot get off wuth a pet - was closer to my destination and they allowed us to get off there.

One of the conductors had cats herself and when I was not in the baggage car, she was! And YY is so talkative, she just gets noticed. She slept for part of the trip - I had given her some Rescue Remedy and it was v. helpful - and while I was happy to get to my destination, I have nothing but praise for the VIA people.

You could sneak into the baggage car - it is usually the one nest to the engine. Conductors have to go thru there to bring coffee and other goodies to the engineers but when they are not doing that, no one would know you are there.

Tho - some media person just did an expose on VIA's lax security so they may beef it up after what happened in Britain but I actually doubt it. I once met someone taking her lab on the train with her from Halifax to Toronto (and I was just going from Hfx to Monton) but she too seemed to be having a positive experiences. You need conductors who have pets and hopefully you will!!

Good luck!!

Ya, CK-- but not too many pets are as cute as yy... :)

Awww thx Prin but surely they would be helpful to any pet - and most pets ARE cute!!! I mean, I know ppl who love cats and do not like Siamese, go figure, lol

thanks for the reassuring info cyberkitten. I hope I can be as happy with VIA as you were !!

I believe the whole sedation thing was an issue not because of altitude but because of the temperature of the cargo comparment. If you decide to go that route, check out the temp of where she'll be stored.

Myself, I would just give her some Rescue Remedy, starting a few days before you leave.

It occurs to me that if the train you will be taking is the Ocean Limited (travels from Montreal to Halifax), you will have the same kind pet loving conductors I had!! But there is another train - the name of which I forget that has another route in Quebec so I am not sure which one you will be on. I do not have THAT much expertise in the VIA schedule - not sure THEY do either but that's another story, lol

ha ha, yes i will be on the Ocean. that's great news! thanks! :)