A two days car trip to pick-up our new seven weeks old puppy : How to manage this and not upset my p

My title pretty much describes my concern. Has anyone ever needed to do this before ? The month will be in July, so, cold weather won’t be a problem. We’re taking our puppy home by car, because we don’t want to put her on a plane- that worries me too.

 

Not the same, but I did bring three dogs , all quite young , through France and then overnight on the ferry . Are you breaking the journey at all, an overnight stay somewhere ? Just make lots of stops , but again its difficult as your puppy wont be covered by vaccinations, so putting he/she onto the ground would be too risky . Lots of puppy pads will come in handy , both in the car and overnight, plus water and very light meals .

 

Fiona @snowbunny did this just over a year ago, paging Fiona!

 

Cooper was delivered to us by the breeder, who made a one day trip from Ontario OR to Portland, with a trailer full of dogs for a field trial, and two pups in the cab with the family. They had to stop occasionally, but I think the pups mostly slept.

 

Well, not quite; with my 8-week old puppy, I travelled from Scotland to Surrey, which took over six hours. We did have to stop towards the end and let her out to toilet. We just found somewhere that was very unlikely to have had dogs on it, to minimise any risks. Be prepared that your pup may cry to toilet but, when put on the ground, won't go for a looooooong time! They just don't understand at such a young age that they should go - and being put on the ground is highly exciting for them, too, with all the different smells. I had a similar situation with my first puppy, Willow, when we were caught in some traffic when she was small and we pulled off the road to let her toilet. She just wouldn't go - in the end we gave up as we weren't far from home, but you can't do that if you're doing a very long journey; you'll just have to be prepared to wait your puppy out until she "performs" and then give her a lot of fuss and treats for doing so to hopefully make a repeat performance quicker the next time you stop!

I then travelled to Andorra with her, but she was nearly 17 weeks by then, fully vaccinated and obviously able to hold her bladder a little better. We had a disaster as our car broke down just into Calais and we had to spend the night in the vehicle in sub-zero temperatures while the insurance company sorted out recovery to Andorra, as there was no way of getting us and the three dogs to a local hotel. That was NOT a fun trip!!

 

We’re staying overnight one night. I’m prepared to make a lot of stops when we’re driving. Thank-You for suggestion regarding bringing along many puppy pads. I hope she’s a sleepy puppy !

 

Thanks for the tip about how puppy might take 4ever to wee or poop. Puppies teach us patience !

 

This would be Wonderful ! Sleepy puppy is a true blessing

 

We travelled from the UK to Germany with our 8-week old puppy, which was an 11-hour journey. She was an absolute dream - but by the end she was getting very jumpy. I wouldn't have wanted to travel much further with her without an overnight stop. I had her either on my lap, or else in the footwell. Once we got home she was delighted to explore and to meet our old dog - but then she tried to get back in the car; she obviously thought it was her new home!!!!!

This wasn't the first time I have taken long trips with puppies or kittens. My sister used to live in rural France, and we re-homed several puppies and kittens from there to Germany. We once did the 1,000 km trip with two puppies on the back seat with our children! The only time it was very difficult was when I was driving a rescued kitten (in addition to my two grown-up dogs and two teenagers) to Germany, and our car broke down in rural France, in the middle of nowhere... we had to wait for a rescue vehicle, then our car was hoisted on to the back of the truck and we all had to climb up into the truck's cab. We then drove to the repair garage, and got a rental car - and then drove five hours back to my sister, with the little kitten crying in his crate, and two very sulky teenagers... Needless to say, that little kitten did not travel to Germany once the car was repaired, we felt he had been through enough, and so he stayed in France with my sister. All other trips though were uneventful!

 

We picked up our 8-week-old puppy from a place normally about 6 hours away. Needless to say it took much, much longer to get home given all the stops!

He cried and cried when we left the breeder, broke my heart, I wanted to take him back. But obviously we persevered and he stopped after about 45 mins.

I took his bed and a soft toy and wiped his mom with them to hopefully retain her smell. His mother actually lay on his bed when we brought it inside their house!

The breeder gave us a pheromone collar that apparently was supposed to reduce anxiety. No idea if it worked. But he was a very brave fellow and was excited to discover every new place - we had no idea he should not be allowed to walk where other dogs had been. We had a tiny harness for him which was useful cos he would take off as soon as he was put on the ground.

He didn’t wee or poo nearly as much as expected. One poo the whole ride. I think a couple of wees.

The breeder gave us wet cat food and some rice for the ride home because we had no access to hot water to soften his kibble. He ate with gusto! If I had to do it all again, I’d be far more prepared on the food side and have lots of treats (I knew nothing then about rewards-based training and using treats) and of course I’d not be feeding kibble (my boy now gets raw meat and bones). I’d have had a nice raw meaty bone for him to chew during the ride. My sister-in-law whose dad is a vet said to not feed him at all the entire day to prevent vomiting in the car. I must say, I think that it is dangerous to starve a small puppy, and am glad I didn’t follow her advice.

I found the ride very stressful just because I was worried he’d need to wee all the time. If I had to do it again, I would be relaxed and not care about accidents.

 

We’re going to have an overnight stop after a full day of driving. I had wondered about where the puppy would be - in a crate, or in my lap. The footwell sounds like a good place, along with my lap. Your other journey sounds like a really hard ordeal. Leaving the kitten with your sister must have been a relief !
Thanks for your reply.

 

I guess after 45 minutes of crying your little puppy was tired out. They’re just so young and vulnerable, it can break your heart a bit when they want mom.
I had thought of getting a harness- sounds like a good plan for the wee stops.
Another member on here suggested bringing along wee pads.

I can completely relate to how you felt stressed out. I’ve learned that puppies and dogs pick-up on our stress, so I’m determined to act calm even if I’m faking it. Watch, the puppy will know I’m faking it !

This is our first puppy in a long time. Our old dog passed away this fall. I’ve been feeling anxious on several counts : this will be our first Lab. All our others were English Cockers. I joined this Forum specifically to be prepared for a Lab. They are really different from Cockers . You mentioned how you wished you had been prepared for some things, like training with treats. Before coming here I had been watching Lab puppy videos. These puppies could star in their own t.v. shows; that’s how amazingly well behaved they are. They are tiny puppy genius puppies ! Here, on the Forum, I not getting sugar coated advice and unrealistic expectations.

I’m glad you responded, giving me helpful advice and letting me know how important it is to be less stressed out by puppy wee (-:
Like a Girl Scout: the motto is “be prepared” !

 

I`m so pleased that you`re enjoying our forum !

 

This forum is an important addition to the world of humans and their dogs. I’m glad people understand it’s actually very good to ask for help and support while we’re doing our best to give our dogs happy lives.

 

When I took my puppy home we had a 4 hour trip with one rest stop. I brought some disposable socks for his paws when I placed him on the ground and kept him far away from the area marked for dogs to minimize any risk to him. Once I picked him up , I took the socks off and threw them away. I brought a lot extra just in case.

He was 50% of the time on my lap and 50%in his small crate filled with some toys , we both sat in the back seat. If I recall correctly he didn’t give us any trouble, although it might be my rose tinted glasses clouding my memory, lol

 

That must have looked absolutely adorable

 

Lol it was to me , although he didn’t like them too much,

 

I like your idea about 50% in the crate and 50% in your lap.

‘’Rose tinted glasses “ happen with our beloved dogs !

The socks must have looked silly in a cute way. Puppies and dogs are so good about tolerating our desires to dress them up. One of my dogs had a yellow raincoat with matching boots. I’m not kidding !

Thanks for answering my question.

 

Oh how adorable! How old was he when he wore them? That would’ve game in handy for me while at the park with him, he loved playing in the mud(around the water fountain the dogs made a huge mess with the water and the area around it was very muddy) it took forever to wash the mud off

Can’t wait to see your pics when you get him!

 

When I dressed my pup in her raincoat and boots she was sweet about it, but completely frustrated. She kept nipping at the boots and the raincoat got all twisted up. Needless to say, that was the end of her raincoat days !

I will send photos when I get our puppy, but not sure how to do that on here. Is there a place for photos ? I’m still new to the forum.