I am after some advice, please. 
I am going to have a crate in the home for my new puppy and understand that you need to encourage the pup to use the crate and never force this. 
However, what about the journey in the car when picking the pup up from the breeder to home? If I use the same crate to travel, I will have to place the pup in there and close the door!  Is this going to make the puppy not want to use her crate at home?  Should I buy a different soft crate for the car and have a different one for the home? 
Am I over thinking this?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Many thanks
Tracey

Do you have someone who can hold the puppy on its journey home? It’s traumatic enough leaving mum and  siblings and travelling in a car without being put in a crate.

Yes, my son can sit in the back with the puppy.  I was just concerned about the safety of the puppy and not to cause a distraction for the driver either.

If your son is able to then this sounds like a better option .

Thank you for the advice.

When we bought our 2 buy-ins home, some years ago now, we used a crate each time.   The back seats of our car 'break' so my husband sat alongside the crate, to calm then.   Not that they needed any of that - both curled up and went to sleep during the journey, one of which was quite a long trip.   Holding a puppy for as long as some trips home might be is, in my opinion, unwise.

For safety reasons I would never travel sny dog loose in a vehicle. To comply with the law dogs have to be restrained in vehicles.

All my pups have been brought home in a crate with lots of absorbent towels etc. Don't forget a lot of pups are sick or drool excessively on their first few trips in vehicles.

I'm sure your son won't enjoy having a drooling/sick pup on his knee, not nice for the pup or him.

Most of my puppies simply curl up & sleep in the safety of a comfy crate.

Are you intending to travel the pup restrained(ie on a harness)in the future ? IMHO the only safe way to travel a dog is in a crate

Thank you.  I agree with you re the safety aspect.

Did you have any trouble with using the crate at home, if this was the same crate you used for the travel?

Thank you.  I agree with you re the safety aspect.  I would wish to use a harness when the puppy was older but may keep to the crate for a while.  My car is a polo and there is not a lot of height in the boot for a full sized crate when the dog is fully grown.

Did you have any trouble with the pups using the crate when used at home, following their travelling?

Thanks

> Did you have any trouble with using the crate at home, if this was the same crate you used for the travel?

The one I use for my Whippet, although the same size as the one she still uses indoors, at night only now, isn't the same one I use in the car which is always in there (other than when the car goes in for servicing or if we happen to need the back seats) whether travelling with her in the car, or not.   My Basset's crate is significantly bigger, and if needed in the car, which for short trips like to the vet it isn't, I move it from the house to the car.   His area is behind my Whippet's crate, so quite roomy.

I had no trouble with either re accepting being in their crates.   As I said, both travelled home in a crate, with no stressing at all.

Thank you for the advice.  Much appreciated.

Never had any problem using a crate indoors. Feed puppy in it, pop puppy in it when he/she falls asleep, cover it to make a safe place, play crate games etc.

Because my dogs travel in crates, they are used to being in one, I find it makes life easier using indoor crates.

Thank you for the advice.

>Thank you.  I agree with you re the safety aspect.  I would wish to use a harness when the puppy was older but may keep to the crate for a while.  My car is a polo and there is not a lot of height in the boot for a full sized crate when the dog is fully grown.

Could you lower the back seats to accommodate a crate? The good part is that car travelling crates do not need to be large - in fact the smaller they are the safer it is for the dog, just enough space for her/him to curl up. I still wouldn't put it in the boot of a small car as there will probably be not much space left between the crate and the hatch, and with rear-end collisions being so common it would basically be putting the dog in the crumple zone.

To me harnesses don't look very safe, I think they just don't work in the same way as human seatbelts. If you look at harness crash test videos, even when the harness doesn't fail the momentum twists and turns the dog in ways that don't look healthy! Whereas in a well secured suitable crate the dog would be kept pretty much intact in the event of a collision, its whole body would be pressed against one or the other side of the crate distributing the impact with no twists and bends to the body.

Thank you.  Your advice is most useful. 
I can split the back seat down, so will do that.
I can see what you mean about harnesses and someone else said on this thread that the safest way to travel a dog was to use a crate, so I will take all your advice.
I am going to get a small cosy crate for the journey home and will buy a larger crate for sleeping at home.  And when the pup is bigger, will use the large crate for travelling too.

Thank you all so much for your valuable advice.
Tracey

in a well secured suitable crate the dog would be kept pretty much intact in the event of a collision, its whole body would be pressed against one or the other side of the crate distributing the impact with no twists and bends to the body.

Some years ago daughter had a small van, dogs - Rott and xbreed - each had a crate in the back.
She hit a patch of mud slid up the bank, van tipped onto the roof and slid several yards down the road still on the roof
She got out, opened back to check dogs and both of them were .................  why are we standing on the roof ..... but both absolutely fine despite a quantity of loose objects having flown round the back.
Crates evey time

My flat coat travels in the back of my jazz in a bespoke car crate. There are number of companies who do them and it's definitely worth the money .we had a different one in doors when she was young which worked fine.i would always have two as moving crates is annoying ime

You can always sit your son in the back next to the crate so he can reach a hand in to stroke the puppy while keeping it secure.

Thank you.

That is what we thought would be best too.

Thank you.  That is something to consider.

Oh, that is a funny story, with the dogs looking confused standing on the roof!  Not funny at the time though I bet!
Thanks for making my choice to use a crate the best choice.