Driving back with puppy

[user1489844432]

Hello

I am collecting my puppy in couple weeks time. It will be an hour drive back from the breeder mostly on a motorway. Unfortunately I will be on my own. What are the tips/suggestions to keep puppy safe and happy during the journey? I have no option to get someone else to go with me.

Get a cage for your car and transport them in that, much safer for you both.

As per pp and expect it to be covered in poo and possibly vomit when you get home….but it will be worth it.

Yes to a cage. Try and get a blanket, or something from the breeder that smells like mum and the litter mates, to go in the cage with them.

I wouldn't allow a young puppy to travel anywhere without being crated. It's just not safe.

However I would really try your best to get someone to come with you. Mine travelled on my lap and cried the whole way home - others will be sick or pee and poo everywhere. You'll find it very distracting if you're driving along the motorway and your dog has had diarrhoea all over your car!

Take a blanket,rub It on mum,and lay the puppy on it. Definitely a crate,small puppy I would go for a small animal carrier,I use one for my toy. It's illegal to have a dog in a car without a seatbelt harness or crate.

I’d see if I could pick up another time and take someone with you

not to be dramatic but it’s traumatic enough for the pup leaving its parents but you will find it distracting driving with a puppy crying it’s heart out.

Agree with crate if you're alone. But, just to say my puppy didn't cry, pee or poo on the way home! We had taken a blanket to the breeder a couple of weeks before and it was in with pups and Mum, and he had that on my lap with him. Good luck, how exciting!

Our puppy slept all the way home (3 hours) with no pee, poo, vomit or crying

More MN drama! You’ll be fine!

Always best to prepare for the worst and have a smooth drive

its great so many people had perfect puppies but not all are…. Better op goes in eyes wide open surely

I had a vomiter! Be prepared. Crate is best.

Put it in a washing up bowl so as to avoid accidents ruining your car interior

Another vote for a crate, it can start to recognise it as its secure, safe space.

aw I’ve done 2 car journeys home with a puppy on my lap (as a passenger) and it’s just magical! But I think a little crate strapped into the front seat would be your best option. Maybe see if any ones got a cat or rabbit carrier you could borrow.

It's not dramatic to tell OP our experiences 😂

Some puppies might well sleep for three hours straight. However, it's not being dramatic to say that others will do a combination of scream, cry, poo, wee and vomit for three hours straight either.

It's always best to prepare for the worst-case scenario. What will OP do if she's driving alone down the motorway and her puppy is crying, being sick and having accidents and she can't stop or comfort them?

This time around, I bought a little car booster seat that fixes in with the seatbelt and then restrains the puppy with a clip to a harness. Tucked her into that with the bedding from the breeder and it was by far our least traumatic puppy collection ever. I can't say if it was the seat or her disposition, but she was very calm and settled no crying or other issues (in the past we've had a weeer a pooer and a vomiter). My DH drove, so I sat with her in the back, but when I took her to the vet a few days later, I was alone and put it in the front seat, so I could reach across and pet her if she got upset, which worked well.

Mine was sick. Which she then ate😑

They really are disgusting sometimes 🤣

She’s a lab. I would have thought something was wrong if she didn’t eat it 😂

Are you going to crate train? If so take the crate with towels and paper to catch any accidents.
When I collected my puppy he had a flight home to contend with. I took a fold down fabric crate he went it that and sat on the seat next to me. No noise from him but he did pant a bit.

A week ago we brought our puppy home, 1.5h drive. I sat in the back with him. We had a harness and a carrier (big enough to stand up but canvas not metal. He wouldn't stay in the carrier so we used the harness. We had 1.5h of crying and frantic scrabbling, digging etc. He didn't wee, poo or vomit and only 'settled' for 30mins. I would say crate puppy and ignore crying etc

We are going to have a 4/5 hour drive with ours I am worried about stopping because pup can't exactly go down on the ground for a wee at services because of vaccinations so I'm not sure what we'll do? Anyone brought a puppy home this far? What did you do?

Bring puppy pads with you to use in the car. I hate them normally but they're the only safe way of doing things in public if the puppy hasn't been vaccinated.

My lab puppy cried for an hour in a weird high pitched whine that I never heard from him again. He was on my lap with husband driving. He wore himself out eventually and fell asleep.
When he woke up he seemed to think I was his new mum and was ok with that. Dogs are quick to adapt (especially placid breeds like labs) but I think he was a baby who really needed to be cuddled all the way home. Please try to take someone with you to comfort the puppy.

@Sunflowers765 We recently drove 10 hours home with ourGolden Retriever puppy(in Australia) We had a large crate, a smaller crate, pee pads, towels, baby wipes, seatbelt restraint, pram the whole works. She ended up sleeping in her bed on either mine or my DP lap. We stopped when she woke up and let her pee and poop on some grass then back into the car. She slept 95% of the time, no crying or wee or poop in the car. We managed to find little safe spots by the side of the road where it didn’t look like dogs had been. Not what we had planned on doing but it worked. The breeder did say not to be worried as she was on her mothers milk until the day we got her.