This question is primarly for real life pilots, ramp workers or anyone that knows a true answer to this. Is the luggage compartment pressurized the same as passenger's? I just recently got a German Shepherd and I will be taking her with me numerous times via air and I've heard all bunch of stupid rumors claiming that the compartment that the dogs are being transported in is not properly pressurized and so on. Anyone care to elaborate on this? Thanks!

There are pressurised sections of the cargo holds of most airliners for the purpose of transporting animals and other fragile cargo, for example, expensive musical instruments can be damaged by being placed in low pressure cold environments. The airlines know this, which is why airliners have that capability.My wife and I have exported show dogs to China and Finland from the UK, and we know they were treated well. A little tip: we generally put a sign on the transport cage with 'my name is XXX, please talk to me' as the animals are generally transported unaccompanied. That may seem silly, but even when accompanied by someone traveling in the main cabin, it is worth doing that to assist in ensuring the animal is treated well by cargo handlers, as it helps to show that the animal is not merely cargo, but a creature with feelings and people that care about its welfare.You can find airlines which specialise in the transport of animals, in the UK, you can find information about that from the Kennel Club and in the US by the American Kennel Club, so I would imagine the same would be true for other countries and their similar show dog organisations. You should be aware that the regulations (especially in the US) changed last year with regard to transporting animals unaccompanied on airliners into the US, with the animals being required to be checked in at the departure airport by a regulated agent.Note that there are specialist airline companies that can offer more comprehensive services in this regard, here is one such specialist company's website, with a lot of information about all that kind of thing:http://www.animalairlines.co.uk/?gclid=CKaNxt_dt6MCFUqX2AodYW0-dgAl

Thank you Al! I appreciate the response!

google the name "pet scheme" and you will see an entry for defra.uk or something like that. i was looking into it for parents that are moving to UK.