Hi All, Going to pick up our new pup Marley next week and I would like to be as prepared as possible Couple of quick questions on bringing him home... The breeder is just over an hours drive from where we live and i read that toilet break ever half hour is a must, as this will be our first ever pup/dog we are quite unsure where to go for his toilet break as i read and watched somewhere that where other dogs have been is a big no-no so i presume the motorway services will be tricky, do i park somewhere in a quiet countryside road or do i pick him and put him down on the floor to do his business and pick him back up at the services? Also we have brought him a crate for him to sleep etc and was planning on bringing him home in this crate but this is far to big for my car - in regards to safely put him in the car would a cardboard box covered in towels, blankets and toys be ok or would i need to purchase say a cat carrier? Thanks all
An hour should not be a problem. Make sure he goes before he gets in the car and take him straight to his designated widdle spot when he gets out. If Marley needs to go during the journey then, as you indicated, d it somewhere where other dogs would not go. Holly we brought our last two dogs home on my wife's lap on the back seat. Both journeys were over two hours. They had soft towels to sleep on (and absorb any accidents). We had a clean up kit but didn't need it as they both slept all the way. Good luck with the journey, and don't forget to take a few pictures of this memorable day.
Was it only 17 days ago we brought Ted home in the back of our car. We had exactly the same anxieties about the journey, so three of us went to collect him about 55 minutes away from home. It will be a new experience for him and he might whimper. Plenty of soothing and a toy helped. Just make sure he pees before he leaves. Ted was carsick twice. You will see a warning retch so have a plastic bag for him to be sick into. He also pooed on me, but a tiny amount. Tip: have old clothes on, and old towel or two for him to lie on on your lap and to mop up if needed. As soon as you get home whisk him to the designated toilet area and name the thing that he does (we use "busy") Now he does it there regularly. Also look elsewhere on the forum about a puppy's first nights in the crate. You'll find the advice and experience of members really helpful.
We had a 4 hour drive home with Juno and stopped half way and pooped onto the gravel of the parking area but she didn't wee or poo. She travelled home snuggled on my lap in the back of the car with no accidents, crying or being sick, sk fir an hours journey I wouldn't worry. Just make sure you have towels, damp cloths/wipes, a bottle of water and some bin bags to clean up puppy and car if necessary. We did have Juno's crate in the car in case she didn't travel well but didn't need it on the day. One thought I had was although you have a crate it's too big for the car so how are you planning to take your new puppy to the vets and out and about to socialise in the car?
We brought Enzo home just last month, a 2.5 hour drive trouble free. We used a medium size crate that fitted on the back seat, a folded towel and fleece blanket the one end plus a comfort blanket from breeder and a few toys. Incontinece pad the other end of crate incase of accidents, fortunately Enzo didn't need the loo on the way home anyway. Plus a water dish, I'd strongly recommend one of these water dishes, they are non spill plus Enzo is still using this at home, can pick them up from most pet stores.... http://www.roadrefresher.com He cried for half hour but as soon as we hit the motorway he just chilled out and slept all the way home. Good luck
So interesting to read everybody's experiences - they're all different! We had a 2 hour drive to bring Xena home. She was in the back seat with my daughter and would not sit still - on her lap, on the floor, on the passenger seat, scrabbling about everywhere - plus lots of crying. God, it was awful. But she eventually fell asleep and we had no accidents of any sort. She's 13 weeks and travels in the car like a gem now (thank dog), sits in the back seat and just chills.
We had Bailey, our 41/2 month old flown to us as a 71/2 week old as his breeder lives interstate, which is a 2 day drive away. He had been on two aeroplanes so by the time we picked him up he was a seasoned traveller! He sat in the back seat with two very excited grandchildren and promptly fell asleep.
We had a 2.5hr car journey with Saba, and he travelled in the bottom half of his airline crate with a couple of towels, his (stinky)blanket from mum, and a new toy. Aside from some wicked wind, he was absolutely fine, settling to sleep almost immediately. Now, he happily travels in the complete crate in the back of my car, and in fact, won't climb into the car unless it's to get in his crate! Best of luck with your journey!
Despite the safety issues I like puppy to be on my lap for the trip home. I feel it's a time to bond with me (OH is driving) after being wrenched away from Mum and siblings. I folded a big comforter up to cushion him and keep him warm (it was winter) and to absorb any pee, poop or puke accidents. Due to a snowstorm our trip home with Oban took twice as long as usual, three hours it took, and he never had an accident. He also never slept, foretelling what was to come, and sat up or stood up on my lap so he could see out the WHOLE trip. He had his new little collar on and we had a new little lightweight puppy leash jsut in case of having to make a stop. And a cat crate. Maybe you could borrow someone's cat crate? Oh, food and water too, we took. Have fun, try to get some sleep before next week.
Hi all, Thanks so much for everyone’s input so far, nice hearing comments on different views and different behaviour each puppy has that its really not possible to guess, I think its best to just wait and hope for the best lol, I never thought about after bringing home on how we would transport him from in a car, I have seen the below on petsathome – im not sure if something like this would be ok?
In retrospect, we didn't have a clue about bringing a new puppy home, even though I'd done a lot of reading and we had bought all the essentials. I'd read that I should take his bed with us and get his mum to lie on it -- which she did promptly when we put it down! We also took a big teddy and rubbed his mum with it to get her smell (and to this day, that teddy is on his bed, just a tiny hole chewed into it, but amazingly was spared the puppy gnawing that most other toys went through and didn't survive!). A vet who had bought one of the other boys had brought along a special collar with pheromones that apparently calm a distressed puppy and help him think his mom is around. She had cut it to size and left the leftover length with the breeder. The breeder put it on Snowie and said it would help... We had about an 8-hour journey ahead of us (including stops). I held Snowie on my lap initially on top of the "smelly" teddy (with his mum's smell) and he cried and cried and cried and cried and I told my husband we should turn around and take him back to his mum and siblings, it was so distressing. But we persevered and about an hour later he stopped crying and settled down. We stopped a lot because we thought he'd want to wee every half an hour! I don't know why we were terrified he'd wee or poo in the car -- so what! But we stopped every moment it looked like he wanted to "go", and each time he didn't, so clearly we had no clue what "wanting to go" looked like! We had a tiny pink harness for him, that we borrowed, and which he wore until he grew out of a few months later -- everyone thought he was a girl, he was so pretty in pink! Having the harness definitely helped when taking him out of the car during the journey, at least we knew he was safe and couldn't dart away -- he was very adventurous and curious. We also didn't have a clue about feeding him during the journey. My sister-in-law whose dad is a vet said we should not feed him anything before or during to prevent vomiting in case of car sickness. But the breeder said no, he must have lunch, can't starve a puppy for 8 hours. Because we didn't know where we'd get hot water to pour on his pellets to soften them, she gave us some rice and a sachet of her cat's food that was wet, and he gobbled it up at lunch time! He eventually made a poo at one of our stops around 5pm. I was quite traumatised by the whole event. But now having been through it, I wouldn't worry at all! Good luck!!
Hi when we collected our Bailey we had an hours drive from the breeders to home. We took a blanket and a puppy pad, plus the breeder gave us a blanket that smelt of his mum. He spent the entire journey either whining, howling, climbing on and off my lap, chewing me or chewing on the metal bit of the seat belt in the back! We didn't stop and it was over an hour after we got home that he finally had his first wee and poo. Good luck and remember to take loads of pictures as they are tiny for such a short time - Bailey is now 5 months old and is growing so fast, it is lovely to look back at him when we first collected him x
We use those seat belt restraints when dog(s) travelling on back seat of the car, with standard walking harness. They're no real use in an accident, but they do stop the dog wandering all over the car causing accidents.
Amar, I don't think you would need those belt restraints when bringing the puppy home, best if you have someone with you to cuddle the puppy. They can be useful later on.
We had an hours trip back home from the breeders. I just brought an old towel and had it on my lap and Axel slept on my lap the whole way home. Didn't stop for him to relieve himself. Felt that would just interrupt his calmness
Hiya, The belt would be used for later on after we brought him home but if you and others say they are useful then that is perfect
If you're going to use a harness in the future, I'd recommend a crash-tested one. They're still not 100%, but far better than a regular walking harness with one of those straps - they do nothing in the event of the crash, leaving your dog to be potentially injured or killed, as well as being a large projectile who could injure others in the car. The best option by far, for everyone's safety, is a properly fitted car crate, but if that's not possible, please look into crash-tested harnesses. I believe the Sleepypod Clickit is the best currently available.
A crate is better though I think! You can contain the dog in the crate, the mud and hairs stay in the crate (more or less)!
When we brought home Millie we had a pet carrier with a blanket in it, was used before for a cat (it's a xl size so it's not that small) I hooked it up properly in the trunk of our jeep so it couldn't move at all. Now we use a harness and those seat belts you showed on a picture to travel to the vet and such. Also when we got Millie it was 1 1/2 hour drive and I brought along a small bowl and some water in a bottle since it was very hot outside, we had a stop about halfway home where I sat in the closed trunk with Millie and let her drink a bit. She didn't poo or wee during our travel home, just 15 minutes of whimpering and then she slept.
Hi all, After being recommended and kindly advised here , I think we have decided on buying a crate for him and when he is older then get a harness seat belt, I don’t have the most practical car in the world (VW Sirocco) would a pup manage ok in 24” crate as I measured and this would just about go in my car, Or should i just leave the crate and go straight for the harness, so confused lol Cheers
