Bringing pup home - help!

[YoureAllABunchOfBastards]

So, pup comes home with us in about seven weeks. The breeder lives three hours away, country roads and motorway.

We're going to pick up early in the morning so we are not rushed or hassled. How the hell do we transport pup for such a long journey? Last time we did something like this it was twenty five years ago and pup sat in a box in the backseat...

I really have no idea about the best way. He will be eleven weeks old. Help!

I sat on the back seat with the pup. Legally dogs should be restrained in the car. We had a soft crate which she settled in for a bit. She also cuddled up on my lap part of the way.
Take towels etc. if pup isn't fully vaccinated you won't be able to stop for pee breaks. And when you get home take pup straight to the garden and praise for any toilet action!!
Good luck.

Thanks

He will be vaccinated so should be able to stop. May have to fight off kids re: back seat...

Both vaccinations? There's a wait time after the second one before They can go out.

Your puppy won't wait 3 hours to pee vaccines or not you will have to set him down somewhere. Make it somewhere less likely a dog would pee:poop like a carpark. We had a 4 hour drive we put him in a crate in the back of our van he cried for a while but slept most of the way.

If a dog isn't vaccinate it shouldn't be out. Hence towels.

I'm pretty sure that the breeder said he'd have had his last jabs the week we collect. Not expecting him to last three hours!

The reason we are travelling so far is for a good breeder - had our name down more locally but the litter was too small. This has worked out better in the end as we collect the week before the summer holidays - DH has taken a week off and then I am around for six weeks (teacher) so we can settle him in. It's just the drive that worries me.

He will be fine with the Drive a pup needs lots of sleep.

We did three and a half hours. No stops. Pup only had first jabs by then. No accidents. But I was prepared for them. We too travelled for the breeder. Good luck.

We had the same length journey with ours and we didn’t stop. Pup was fine for wees but he threw up several times so i would have puppy pads that you can move away and get new ones out when needed. We did the journey ‘adults only’ as otherwise it’s just a long frustrating journey for the kids (with a puppy who doesn’t know them and they shouldn’t be fussing with) and a long pukey one for you. Dh drove and I sat in the back with the dog. Not crated.

We use this sort of pet carrier for bringing our puppies home (the small breed ones).

The on me we’ve got has a clip on the to for the seat belt to go through and then the lap bit goes around the front. One nice and secure (and legal) puppy.

I line the bottom with newspaper then a towel and have several spare sets in plastic bags in the car. Any accidents and it’s easy to change out. Take baby wipes as well - they’re really useful for cleaning up mucky puppies.

I drive and DP sits in the back next to the dog for company.

I’ve driven 4 hours before now with a new puppy and it’s all gone really well.

I wouldn’t recommend stopping for a pee break at all, young puppies can get very nervous out of the car, especially if it’s the first time on a lead. Much better to clean up any accidents as and when. Also, ask the breeder not to feed the puppy within 1hr of your departure time - this will help avoid vomiting and poo on the way home.

Sorry - forgot to add the picture oops!!

I held mine with a towel under him (mum drove - I was passenger). Drove the whole way without stopping. Pup 1- was 2.5hr journey away.

Both breeders I have purchased from preferred pup to be held on the journey - it's rather scary for them to be taken away from the only family they have ever known (dog and human) by somebody they don't know. They need comfort on that first journey.

Also since the common misconception that it isn't legal to hold puppy on way home has sort of come up, I think it needs to be made clear it is perfectly legal to have a dog unrestrained in your car. The highway code recommends restraining them but it is not law. The only time you can get in trouble for a dog being loose in a car is if they distract the driver or jump around and cause a crash. Obviously a little puppy being held by a passenger isn't going to do that, so it is perfectly legal to hold them on the way home.

We had about 2.5 hours and I sat with him on my lap with towels, expected accidents but were none! He seems to have the biggest bladder ever though

How exciting, what sort of dog is it?

Smooth Collie. We have waited a looooong time for this and are very excited

@SpanielsAreNuts
It says you need to have a dog restrained. Not doing so won't automatically get you in trouble but could lead to a case of driving without due care.
Thankfully we weren't stopped when on way home with giant pup!

Mine did a 2.5 hour journey with no issues. My mum came with me and sat in the passenger seat with him and a few towels. He cried for 10 mins, slept for an hour, woke and played in the foot well with a pot of treats for 10 mins then slept for the rest.

I took him straight into the garden when we got home and he peed immediately.

Very easy.

I did, however, take a travel crate with me just in case he did not settled and needed to be restrained.

you may also have to consider travel sickness. Ours is now 14 weeks and struggles with more than a very short car trip but is getting better.

Interesting. We're bringing our new pup home in 5 weeks, probably a three hour journey and I've been wondering about this. Last puppy we had was also a long journey and I think we did stop halfway back but I don't think he wee'd then, so a straight through journey would probably work better.

I'll be doing a 4 1/2 hour journey bringing my puppy home in 3 weeks! We've been advised that we can allow toilet breaks but to avoid where other dogs may have been recently. I was thinking of just placing him on a training pad to see if he'll use that instead.

We have bought a soft crate for him to go in, but he can sit on either of our knees (we are taking turns driving).

youreallabunch... we’re bringing our smooth collie puppy home in two weeks so I’ll let you know how it goes!

When we brought our older dog home he was 9 weeks old - he did a wee in the breeder’s garden before we got in the car and he hadn’t eaten for a few hours beforehand ... which didn’t stop him being very sick all over his crate and all over me ... he didn’t need a wee though! We didn’t take him in the car at all for a couple of weeks after that to give him a chance to get over the trauma - we reintroduced the car very gradually and he’s been fine ever since - that’s the only time he’s been sick in the car apart from when he went to stay with my sister when he was a few months old .. in both cases the poor little thing was literally homesick