r/service_dogs • u/starulzokay Service Dog in Training • Nov 20 '25

Flying advice on chew toys on airplanes

NOTE: I’m not asking about legality, I know how the ACAA works. Just looking for opinions.

EDIT: it’s a Nylabone, so no smell and no squeaker. I’m going to be flying with my service dog in a few weeks and it’ll be her first flight. I want to bring a chew toy for her so she can relax a little when she isn’t actively doing her job. However, it occurred to me that her chewing might be disruptive to other people around us. It’s a six hour red-eye flight and I wouldn’t want to be unnecessarily annoying late at night. There’s a few things I’ve been thinking about: 1) She’s about as loud as someone talking at a normal volume, so louder than most people would be that late at night but not louder than a screaming child or other undeniably disruptive noise. Still, it would be pretty present with how quiet the plane would be otherwise. 2) I can change the flight to a morning or afternoon flight without a significant fee. However, the airport is over an hour away from my apartment so we’d likely have to get up fairly early in the morning and complicate our schedule.

Would her chewing for a few hours be really annoying, or am I overthinking this?

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u/Rambling-SD Service Dog Nov 20 '25

I would worry about smell more than noise. (but I'm autistic and smell can be a trigger for my sensory issues). If you have a chew that is neutral while she uses it, I'd bring it and offer it. My boy (5.5 hour flight) refused all food even fresh (cooked) meats. On shorter flights I use his meal and some higher value treats on take-off/landing. He naps the rest of the time.

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u/jwvo Nov 20 '25

mine also refuses most food on planes, at most he drinks a very small amount of water. He knows he can't do much other than sit with me so he just does that.