hi again....as said b4..im picking my pup up at 8weeks. i intend to take him on the daily school runs etc...how long do you think i should leave him to settle in, in his new home and surroundings 'til he comes on the daily rides?

They can go in the car from day 1 to get them used to it - as long as you can safely transport them of course :)

Hi -

I would take your pup out from Day 1, especially if he will have to travel often in the car. But maybe not the school run immediately - start with a short 5min ride around the block with lots of treats and praise, and then slowly extend the trip. It should make the whole experience pleasant for him. Watch out for car sickness in the beginning, though! :) My pup had it really bad - we went through a stage where I had to clean out the boot and wash the blanket after every ride because she was throwing up all her food! I found that leaving the windows open slightly and trying to drive smoothly helped. She still drools an awful lot on every ride but at least she's stopped vomiting.

I'm a big believer in getting your pup to do things way before you actually need to do them, so that he/she is used to things before you need to do them for real (and are under time pressure or she gets too big and strong, etc). For example, I bathed my puppy within a week after she came to us and at regular intervals after that, so that she was used to baths and accepted it, even though she was never dirty at the time. Now it's winter and she is always getting muddy - and she is now also 50kg - and I'm so glad I got her used to baths! My friend who also has a Great Dane pup of the same age and has never really bathed her is now worrying how to do it because it's not funny when you're trying to hold down a GIANT struggling puppy! So I think you should do everything as early as possible, even if you don't really need to.

Hsin-Yi

Hi

We took ours from day 1 as we do a lot of travelling to shows and training and I wanted a good traveller.  For the first few days she travelled on the passenger's lap (normally me) so that she could see everything, with the window open a bit and me talking to her.  After about a week she then went into the dog cage in the boot (I have a 4 x4) with my older dog and we have never had any problems.

It's quite cute as I can see how much she is growing by the fact that firstly I couldn't see her over the back seat of the car, then it was just the tips of her ears and now it's the whole ears!

Jayne

Wholeheartedly agree with what everyone else has said here.  From day 1 but just keep it short and sweet and gradually lengthen it bit by bit.