Crate or Guard?

[peggywho]

Need some advice! Picking up puppy (golden retriever) in April it's a 2.5 hour car journey. Am a little confused as what to put her in. A crate for a puppy for the car seems a waste of money when she will out grow it. We will be getting her a crate for the house to help train her. We have a Peugeot 307 car would a guard be a better option??

to bring her home you should have her on your lap, afterwards i would say use the house crate for car jounrenys and then when she out grows this use a guard.

I agree she will be happier on someone's lap if possible, there is plenty of time as she grows to accustom her to travelling either in a crate, behind a guard, or strapped in on the seat with a dog seat belt harness.

Excited for you though! I feel a bit broody at the moment

NOT on someone's lap - in case of accident, dog becomes pin-ball in a machine

Get a dog guard for the boot; you'll need it every time you take her out so it'll definitely be worth it and they are not that expensive.

Same as morethan and mitchy - lap then crate then guard.

what's wrong with it going in the crate straight away? it'll sleep, it'll sit up and watch the traffic go by, but most importantly it'll be SAFE. You'll be safe. The kids will be safe.

It won't come to harm being in a SAFE and SECURE crate (or the boot, with a guard)

I can't believe you're considering taking a dog - that moves - on your LAP in a car... what if she jumps off your lap onto the driver?

It won't damage it to be in the boot!

it can be a stressful event leaving the dam and littermates for the first time - I still vote for human contact all the way home if possible, it's such a long journey too

When I picked my puppy up last summer he pood within 10 minutes of leaving the breeder's house. We were on the motorway by then and I was very glad he was in a crate

Quick stop at a service station and he was all cleaned up and ready to go again...

Whatver you decide, take lots of baby wipes and spare towels.

All the best!

I'm still sure about the human contact too - it is terrifying for tiny pups to rocket off up the road in a crate with complete strangers.

Fear often leads to a lot of poo and wee ....

would you take a baby on your lap?

same safety rules apply!!

a child, a dog, a briefcase..... will all become moving missiles in case of an accident... do you REALLY want that risk on a 2.5 hour journey?

If you're that worried, put a hot water bottle and a ticking clock in a towel and lay the dog on that in a crate

Seriously - it will NOT damage the dog. It'll cope.

Have also had loose pups wee on my lap, so I don't really think the crate was to blame