# driving home a new puppy



## katied86 (Feb 16, 2013)

Hi!

I'm going to be picking up my 8 week old lab in 4 weeks time. The breeder is approximately 2.5hrs away. Any tips on bringing puppy home in the car? The pups will have been in the car before pick up to go to the vets but nothing this distance!


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

These two free downloads may help in general: http://www.dogstardaily.com/free-downloads

1. Bring a towel for clean-up.
2. Be prepared to stop every hour or so, and be prepared for an accident or two.
3. Have a crate or box to confine the pup. A second person might help.
4. Expect the pup to get car sick. That's what the towel is for.

Finally, expect the puppy to whine and cry for about 3 nights, then calm down. Also, try to bring about 2 weeks of puppy food from the breeder. You can switch food, but it's easier to let the pup get used to his new home, before switching food. Then, you can switch food gradually over the course of 3 - 5 days.

Please come back and post pictures!


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

Make sure your crate is secure but also easy to access in case of emergency. Plan to stop at least once during the trip for a potty break (make sure you're in a secure area for this, somewhere off to itself away from a road, and that your puppy is secure on a leash.
Ask the breeder if you can have something that puppy is familiar with, like a blanket or a toy, to put in the crate with hir.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I'll recommend NOT taking the puppy anywhere near the dog potty areas of rest stops. The number of random dogs that wander through there daily. . .no, not a good idea for a young pup whose immune system isn't fully developed yet. Stop on a side road or some other place where there isn't a lot of dog traffic.

And paper towels and a garbage bag. OK, that advice comes from traveling with kids, but it'll work for puppies too!


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## nick1021 (Feb 18, 2013)

When my sister got her dog, from a road trip not quite as long as your's - she only had like an hour 45 min drive, she took a small towel from the home that the mom and pups had been laying on that day, it seem to provide a sense that family was still near. Outside of that, advise above is all good


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## megs2219 (Feb 23, 2013)

About 3 months ago I was in a very similar situation. My puppy was 12 weeks instead of 8 weeks, but the drive was the same 2.5 hours. It honestly wasn't that bad, but I brought my dad along to help which was really good. I drove there and he drove back so I could bond with the new puppy. I got a soft-sided crate and put it in the backseat and most of the time i held him in my lap but he also slept inside the crate some. I brought a couple of towels which was good, put one on your lap if you are going to hold him. I did that and was very happy because he peed on it several times (luckily they don't have much each time). I found holding him on my lap was good or in my arms so he could see out - that seemed to help him feel better and he did not get sick. I did give him a little water and a few treats because he seemed thirsty and I thought he might be hungry. I also bought a couple of treats he could chew on and put those in his crate and that helped keep him entertained. We stopped about 1 hr into the drive for dinner and left him in the car for 15 mins (fast food) in the crate and he was fine. I also took him out then for a little walk/potty break. He slept the rest of the way home. I would also say bring a leash/collar with you so you can take him out and the place you get him from probably won't have that. Getting something from the place he used to live is a great idea - I wasn't able to get anything but i am sure that would help. 

Just a side note - while he was great one the way home when I put him in the crate to sleep that night he HOWLED for a good 45 mins. He got so upset a couple of times i got him out and held him for a few minutes because i was afraid he'd work himself into a frenzy. Finally he seemed to tire himself out and went to sleep but it was a long time. The next night was about 20 mins, the third night 5 mins and after less than a minute. He doesn't fuss at all now in fact he goes into the crate himself while I'm brushing my teeth.


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## katied86 (Feb 16, 2013)

Thanks for all your advice! I have already organised for my friend to come with me to pick up and I'm hoping he'll drive back so I can play with puppy, otherwise at least he can look after the pup. I also have towels and soft toys that I will be leaving with the breeder on the next visit so they'll smell like the litter when pup comes home.

I have a large crate with a divider for him at home but the crate won't fit in my car assembled. I'm looking at getting a harness and tether so pup can sit in the backseat, but for the first trip home, is a cardboard box ok? I'm not going to be puppy pad training - aiming to take him outside right from the start - but is it worth having puppy pads lining the box incase he pees? I'm also happy to be holding pup (or have my friend hold him) on the way home...

In terms of safe places to stop, is fast food truck stops ok to let pup out on the lead to pee? I'm in Australia and have been warned about parvovirus. Pup will have his 6 week immunisations sometime this week but I've been told to be careful until 12 week immunisations are done... I have a collar and lead ready to go!

Sorry! So many questions! My last pup was a rescue that found us so we didn't have to bring him home at all!!


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## ABBYLAB (Jan 30, 2013)

You have been given very good advice. Our Abby (yellow Lab) had a 2 hr. ride when we picked her up at 8 weeks old. Two people are a very good thing to have when picking up your pup. She rode on my wife's lap on a blanket for the whole ride. We knew that a secured crate would have been the safest option but we took the chance. She was very comfortable with that set up and slept a good part of the trip. We stopped 3 times at remote locations to let her out. The hardest part was getting her to pee in the strange surroundings, but eventually she did...have patience! She didn't have any accidents in the truck even though we were prepared for it. I wouldn't trust truck stops...at least around here. Like I said we picked more remote locations that she would have less of a chance of picking up anything bad before her immunizations were finished.

Good luck with your new pup!


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## makenzie (Jan 3, 2013)

katied86 said:


> I have a large crate with a divider for him at home but the crate won't fit in my car assembled. I'm looking at getting a harness and tether so pup can sit in the backseat, but for the first trip home, is a cardboard box ok? I'm not going to be puppy pad training - aiming to take him outside right from the start - but is it worth having puppy pads lining the box incase he pees? I'm also happy to be holding pup (or have my friend hold him) on the way home...
> 
> In terms of safe places to stop, is fast food truck stops ok to let pup out on the lead to pee? I'm in Australia and have been warned about parvovirus. Pup will have his 6 week immunisations sometime this week but I've been told to be careful until 12 week immunisations are done... I have a collar and lead ready to go!
> 
> Sorry! So many questions! My last pup was a rescue that found us so we didn't have to bring him home at all!!


We couldn't fit his crate in the car to bring him home either so we just used a cardboard box and that worked pretty well. We didn't have wee pads but lined it with newspaper and some towels. Even if you plan on holding him most of the way it's not a bad idea to line it with wee pads if you have them just in case. In all likelyhood he will be nervous and possibly throw up or have diarrhea which you may not be able to pull over fast enough for. Poor Copper threw up on the way home and were were able to just switch out his towel rather than having a real mess on our hands. 

I'm not a fan of truck stops either (especially if you were warned that parvo is rampant in your area) but depending on how long your drive is (mine was an 8 hours!) maybe you can plan out some stops in advance that aren't necessarily truck stops.


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## megs2219 (Feb 23, 2013)

I think if you can't do a crate a box would be OK, though I would try and make it one that is not so tall -so he can still see you. I think towels/newspaper or cardboard to line the box would be fine -i wouldn't bother with buying pee pads if you aren't going to use them later. 

I honestly didn't know/think about things like parvo virus (first time dog owner) but we picked kind of a random fast food place of the highway and just took him out on a random pack of grass - i doubt many if anyone has used that spot for their dog before. Anyway, we got lucky and he didn't pick anything up but I would suggest doing something a little off the standard rest stop (or truck stop) - any patch of grass would be OK. Alternatively I don't think its that bad if you just keep him in the car the whole time and throw out the box when he gets home. They just don't go that much when they are that tiny.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

We had a similar drive home with our pup. We had a small soft sided crate that he went in, but I left the door open and sat next to it, so he spent the time half on my lap and half in the crate. I wanted him to be just in the crate for safety reasons, but he was nervous and cried a bit and I gave in 

We didn't stop for a potty break for a trip of that length and were fine, but he also slept the whole way.


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