Hi there,

We are going to look at a pup on Saturday and if we like her we can bring her home that day (as they will be 8 weeks old that weekend)

Just wondering if anyone could give us some tips on what we should take with us for the car journey as it is a 4 hr drive (8hr return trip). How did you all bring your pups home? Did you have them on your lap or in something secure? We don't want to get a crate as I don't think we will be crate training.

Thanks

We brought our puppy back 4 wks ago from yorkshire to edinburgh area about the same time as you are going to take. I sat in the back of the car with her no crate. Take plenty kitchen roll ; towels; water; poly carrier bags & a bottle of water & dish. Good luck with your puppy what kind are you getting

Jean

Hi Neoluke

We made a similar journey for both of our boys, and both times there were no problems. We decided to have the pup on one of our laps in the back of the car, I know others won't agree with this, and its something you have to weigh up for yourself. We took plenty of towels, and carrier bags in case the towels were soiled! We also took a bottle to be filled with water at the breeders. We stopped frequently at service stations and carried the pups out for a breath of fresh air and offered a drink of water and gave the pup a chance to do the toilet. We also took along a couple of toys for distraction purposes, but both times the boys slept most of the time.

We had absolutely no problems; thankfully our boy's breeder socialises his pups extremely well and they took the journey and the attention they received on stops completely in their strides. Hope this helps!

Good luck on Saturday!
Lesley

Hi

I was given I small crate by the breeder as I went to collect Becks on my own. He screamed, ( cant think of better way to describe it,) the entire 2hr journey home and soiled himself. I wished so much I had someone to give him a cuddle, so whilst I wouldnt recommend having an un secure dog in the car usually for that first journey I would agree with the others. Think about a crate as if you have the pup in your room at night you can sleep sound knowing there is no chance they will get up and wonder around, which could be quite dangerous for them but you do need to be quite strong and not give up because the make a fuss for the first few nights. I hope you like your pup, (how could anyone not like a puppy????) Good Luck x

Hi Becksmum

What a shame you had such a bad journey, I expect you were about at your wits end by the time you got home :( Our boys have only ever made that one journey each unsecured in the car, and I would agree that its not a good thing at all to have a dog loose in the passenger cabin, but I think for the first journey the benefit outweighs the risk. That being said, I also agree that even if the pup is crated for the journey, it is a good idea to have someone other than the driver in the car to tend to the pup.

I'd also back up what Becksmum says about using a crate anyway. Our first boy was not trained to go in a crate, but the second one was and although it was folded away long ago it was very useful in giving him a secure place to retreat to and to eat his food in without being pestered. Plus, if ever something dreadful was to happen that meant him needing complete rest we know he would go happily to a crate, whereas we'd have a battle on our hands with the older one. Even if you don't intend to use it in the longterm, I think it is useful to train a dog to accept being in a cage.

Lesley