Flying United With Your Dog: No Weight Limit, But No Hold Either
United is unusual in two ways. It publishes no weight limit and no breed limit for a dog in the cabin, which is good news for a chunky French bulldog. But it also shut down PetSafe, so there is no way to send your dog in the hold any more. Here's the short version, checked September 2026. Confirm on United's own pet page before you book.
In the cabin: only the bag has to fit
United states there are no weight or breed limitations for pets in the cabin. What has to fit is the carrier, under the seat in front of you.
- Soft-sided carrier: max 11 × 18 × 11 in (27 × 45 × 27 cm).
- Hard carrier: max 9 × 17.5 × 12 in (22 × 44 × 30 cm).
- On the Boeing 737 MAX: the carrier may be no more than 10 in (25 cm) tall.
- Age: 2 months for domestic flights; for international ones dogs must be 6 months and cats 4 months.
You may take two pets, but only if you buy two seats next to each other, and on most single-aisle aircraft it is one pet per person anyway. Each flight has a cap that depends on the aircraft: two in the premium cabins, and three to six in Economy.
Seats you can't take
No emergency exit row, no United Premium Plus, and not the front row of any cabin. On the 757-200 you have to sit by a window; on the 737-800, 737-900 and the MAX 8 and MAX 9 an aisle or window seat in Economy.
What it costs
$150 each way, per pet. You can't add a pet in the United app, only on the website or through My Trips.
No hold for your dog
United ended PetSafe: pets can no longer be checked. The only exception is the Military Pet Program for active-duty US military on permanent change of station orders and State Department staff, and only between Guam and Honolulu. If your dog is too big for a bag, you need a different airline. Our comparison of 27 airlines shows which ones still take dogs in the hold, and Alaska Airlines is the one US airline that does.
Breed rules
None for the cabin. That makes United one of the better options for a snub-nosed dog, as long as it fits the bag: bulldogs, pugs and boxers are refused from the hold by almost every airline, but that rule simply doesn't exist here.
Does your dog fit?
Our free Dog Flight Checker takes your dog's weight and tells you whether United, and 26 other airlines, take it in the cabin or the hold. It compares your dog's length with the bag each airline allows.
Also flying with: American Airlines · JetBlue. Need a bag? Which Dog Carrier Bag Is Really Airline-Approved?
Source: United traveling with pets page and Military Pet Program page, checked September 2026. Always confirm with the airline before you book.