Very excited (and a little nervous) as getting a female black lab puppy at the end of the month, I will have to travel 3 hrs to get her though so just wondering if any one has any tips for that long journey home, Loving this forum - can't read enough info and tips at the moment as I so want it all to go well! Thank you in advance for your responses Lucy X
Hi Lucy and welcome to the forum! Do you have a name for your little girl yet? I also have a female black, from working lines, called Willow, and her brother, Shadow, who is a yellow. They came from a place four hours away, so I prepared thoroughly for this. Firstly, you need to make sure that your puppy doesn't get fed before picking her up, because this will make her more likely to get travel sick. If the breeder or you can have a good play with her before you put her in the car, that will also wear her out so she'll be more likely to sleep most of the way. I carried Willow (who we brought home several weeks before her brother) on my lap and in the footwell I laid out bin liners at the bottom, to act as a moisture barrier, followed by lots of newspaper and then topped with a couple of towels. I had loads of kitchen roll and baby wipes to hand. I needn't have worried; she didn't make a mess the whole way home. As soon as we got home and let her outside, she went straight away, but she was fine during the trip. She started off on my lap, but wanted to go down on the floor for a snooze after about half an hour, and stayed there for nearly the entire time. If you're planning on using a pet carrier to bring her home, then I would try to have someone sitting next to her in the back to comfort her if she becomes upset. I would definitely recommend getting a copy of The Happy Puppy Handbook if you haven't already. I read it twice before Willow came home, and again afterwards. It's a great resource for new puppy owners. However prepared you think you are, though, nothing really prepares you for the amount of disruption that little bundle will bring to your life! Good luck and I look forward to hearing more about your little girl soon.
Hi and welcome. like Fiona I had a 4 hour journey home with Juno and prepared with lots of kitchen roll, towels, bin bags, wet wipes, bottles of water (it was August) needless to say I didn't need any off them. We started off with Juno in the footwell but she didn't settle so we stopped within 10 minutes from the breeders and I sat in the back of the car with Juno on my lap. I also had a crate set up on the back set so I could pop her in if necessary. Happily I enjoyed puppy cuddles and licks all the way home and not a murmur out of her.
Thank you ladies great tips keep them coming! I haven't been able to choose a name yet - don't think it will be real until I have her in my arms! Also having 3 children I have lots of unhelpful ideas for her name such as fluffy and snowy (for a black dog!!) I am a bit worried that after being out all day we will not have time to accustom her to her crate before bedtime ( I have got the happy puppy handbook and have loved reading and rereading it and it does say try to get pup in morning so you have time for her to get used to the crate etc
Don't worry that you can't get her in the morning Where are you planning on putting the crate for nights? If you're happy to have the crate in the bedroom, even by your bed, this will be the most comforting for her Welcome to the forum and congrats on having chosen your newest family member
Hello! Welcome! I had a 3 hour travel home with Charlie, and had him in a box on the back seat (with plastic, towels....etc etc.). He cried for a bit, I cuddled him, then he went to sleep in the box with my hand as a pillow and I didn't move my arm or hand for the next 3 hours! My hand was completely numb by the time we got home. From what I read on the forum, some dogs are just fine with a crate from the get go, others not. I crate trained my dog when he was a little older, in advance of an operation, and I was glad to be able to take a few days over it - he is super reliable in a crate now, and I'm really glad to be able to do thing like leave him in hotel rooms in a fabric travel crate, knowing he will be settled and silent. I started with a puppy pen at first, and that worked really well. Later, I bought a taller puppy pen and put his crate inside. This had the added advantage that when I had to leave him, he was able to (in an emergency) move out of his crate into the pen if he really needed a pee. In an ideal world, he would never have peed inside - but he had the bladder capacity of about a teaspoon when I got him, and I did need to pop out time to time. I thought it was kinder than him having to go in his crate. For this reason, I think I'll always use a pen/crate arrangement for young puppies, and just use the crate when I'm around all the time at first.
Welcome to the forum! We just had a 1/2 hour or so trip in the care and it was no problem. My main worry was getting a wriggly puppy from the breeders house to the car - I was really worried Lilly would jump out my arms and run away from me. The irrational fears of a new mum. Good luck Lucy! x
Hi and welcome! We live near Frankfurt in Germany, and we picked our Poppy up from the south of England and drove her back with us. It was an 11-hour trip, including the channel tunnel. My OH drove, and I had her in the footwell by my seat. We stopped every couple of hours to let her out for a wee. She was so good... And when we got home, our old dog Bones was there to welcome her. She did think the car was her new home though, and tried to get back in! I put her puppy pen next to his bed, and she was fine. If I hadn't had Bones there, I would have slept on the couch by her, or else I'd have had the puppy pen next to our bed. Don't worry too much; the trip will be fine
Welcome Lucy from Hattie 8 years and rescue boy Charlie 5 years. When we picked Hattie up we were very lucky as we had less than a 1 hour drive with all of our 4 children. On the journey home Hattie sat in the back on Thomas' lap - lovely When we collected Charlie from the rescue centre fosterer again it was less than an hour and he sat in the boot with Hattie, again - lovely Good luck!! Helen x
