Collecting pup from 4 hours drive away - tips for journey please.

[kauri25]

Pup is a miniature poodle and will be 10 weeks old when we collect him at the end of this week. We have only just been offered him as previous buyer pulled out. What is the best way to keep pup safe and happy enough in the car? Happy to buy one of those car bed seats if they work well. There are 3 of us doing the pick up. And what about stopping for toilet breaks - pup has only had his first vaccinations so can we put him down outside?

Other random questions- do we need a no spill water bowl? And what is a good bed for a puppy? it’s going to go in the crate - 36 inch one that has a divider. Should I be looking at the cushioned sort of bed or a rubber type one to put blankets in?

Thanks - I’ve been concentrating on insurance quotes and registering with a vet so far...

We collected ours and had him on the passenger's lap on a towel. He slept most of the journey We bought a crate, but he was so little and he just snuggled in on the lap. He won't be house trained so you won't manage to hit it right with a loo break - so my husband was the one whose lap got peed on. Take towel to place him on. We took coffee and water for a break. And some water for him. Think about the time you go. Dogs find cars very hot. Early morning or late afternoon.

Have you visited the pup before?

Ask the breeder to feed the puppy quite a few hours before your journey - ours fed him about half an hour before we picked him up and lo and behold I was covered in puppy vomit on the way home

Good tips thank you. Sounds like spare clothes for us are in order!

Legally speaking you are supposed to restrain a dog in a car (harness on seat belt, crate or grille) but that seems very brutal with a puppy and not designed to set them up to enjoy the car as they get older.

Our last puppy came home the hour and a quarter on a warm lap with a towel on it in case she peed. She hadn't been fed for a while so didn't throw up. On a four hour journey I would stop to offer the pup water, but I wouldn't put him down outside quite yet (I think the current advice is 10 days after second vaccs). If your car has air con the heat outside is less of a worry.

How exciting! We collected our mini poodle at 10 weeks. He's 2 now.

We only had a half hour drive luckily and my mum had him on her knee in the back. He was in a little cardboard box with a towel in it but soon wriggled out onto her knee.
While he didn't wee in the car he did act like he was going to be sick all the way home (but wasn't actually sick).

So as others have said - definitely lots of towels and a water bowl.

Good luck. It will be worth it.

Thanks all. I have just bought one of those seat belt adapter things that fits onto pup’s harness. I’m not sure if there’s enough ‘play’ in that so he can be secured but be on DD’s lap.

Yes the car has air conditioning thankfully- it’s forecast to be hot. We’ll also take one of those USB desk fans that plugs into a power bank.

Here is a photo of the pup

I did this length of journey alone when I brought my puppy home, he travelled in a crate on the front seat next to me so I could comfort him. He screamed the first half of the journey but slept the second half.

Take plenty of baby wipes, bin bags, poo bags and spare bedding if they soil it. I was lucky he wasn't sick but my other dog was. I also took a larger crate for the boot to put puppy pads in it so he could go to the toilet safely.

Thanks sloth - just to be clear are the baby wipes for us or are they ok to use on dogs too? That is a good idea to take the large crate for toiletting in but we won’t fit ours in with overnight luggage as well (the overnight is before collecting). We can make some space which I’ll line with a picnic blanket and puppy pads.

We put our labrador puppy on my lap in the passenger seat on some towels with a scented blanket from his mum so he could smell her and i had his water bowl by my feet which i filled as and when. He cried for about 10 minutes but i was able to soothe him as best as i could. Four hours is a long time so the previous poster who mentioned puppy pads and a crate etc is bang on. We did stop at the services on our way home and there was a little grassy area that we let him have a wee on but that was it (we put him down and he squatted and then we scooped him up). You'll probably find he'll cry for a bit and then fall asleep! it'll be all so exciting and scary for him.

I would get water wipes if you're going to use them on him :) Good luck! Enjoy the puppy time, it really does fly by!

What a beauty! I wonder if I have your pup's sister?! She is the same age, looks the same and I heard from the breeder that someone had backed out from their puppy. He is not coming from the south west is he?

In our case, we drove for a little longer than you. I was super nervous about the journey but it kind of fell into place and she was really easy. We had a laundry basket lined with an old duvet cover - at the time she couldn't hop over, but that might be different now. In which case, you might want to take a crate as well as back up, as you may not want him scrabbling and climbing over the car.
The laundry basket was strapped in between my daughters on the back seat, it looked nice and snuggly to me.
She was shaking a lot at the beginning of the journey, probably for the first 20 minutes. She slept a lot and then at the end she was ok, and it turned out I had worried unnecessarily.
We had a bowl with water that we offered when we took breaks at service stations. Also we had wipes and pads and towels in case she was travel sick. Also treats.

Good luck, it will be fine I'm sure.