First Road Trip With Your Puppy

What Do You Need For Your Puppies First Road Trip?

Your puppies first road trip from the breeders home should be a possitive experience. Remember puppies are impressionable during the first few months of life so any "scary" events that happen to them may stay with them for a long period of time. To avoid making this trip anxious for the puppy remember to BE PREPARED!

 

For the car ride home we recommend the following

• Plastic crate - medium or intermediate pet porter (19-23" tall)
• Chew toy - bully stick or kong filled with peanut butter
• Water bowl with water - We recommend carrying an extra bottle of water with you in the event of a delay
• Potty pads to be placed under blankets within the crate - this helps give a waterproof surface along the bottom of the crate
• Lots of blankets/towels and a teddybear in the crate - the puppy should have plenty to snuggle
• Blanket to cover the crate - this helps create a quiet den like area for the puppy. Note: make sure there is adaquet ventalation by leaving one of the sides of the crates exposes for airflow
• Extra blankets/towels/potty pads incase they have an accident and you need to replace bedding
• Paper towel, baby wipes and microfleece towel incase of an accident so you can clean the crate and puppy
• An xpen is recommended for travel greater then 2 hours - the xpen is a great tool for long travel because you can put the pen up outside your vehicle when you are at a rest stop or safe area and let your puppy potty off leash. Note: Many pups don't feel comfortable pottying on leash their first car ride

We highly suggest crating your puppy during travel because it provides them with a comfortable environment they can sleep in. Some pups will throw a tantrum when they are first crated away from there litter. It's important to not take our your puppy when they are screaming! By removing a puppy from a crate while they are screaming you are reinforcing the behaviour. By reinforcing behaviour you are telling the puppy this behaviour is what is acceptable and the puppy will have a hard time learning otherwise.

Once your puppy has settled in his/her crate let them sleep as long as they want to. If you have a planned stop and your puppy wakes up take time for a potty break for your puppy. Otherwise we'd suggest travelling until the puppy wakes up. As soon as the puppy wakes up find the next safe place to pull over and excercise your puppy in his/her pen. If you don't have a pen make sure you have a 6 foot leash and collar to excercise your puppy. Remember: Puppies under 9 weeks of age potty an average 8-12 times per day so if your puppy is awake you will want to plan plenty of potty breaks.

Snacking during travel is to be kept to a minimum (for your puppy). A bully stick or kong filled with peanut butter is good to keep your puppy distracted during travels. If you are travelling a long distance and opt for feeding your puppy treats or a meal remember pups typically potty within 5-15 min of a meal so make sure you plan a potty break too!

Some people choose to come as a family and opt to hold the puppy on their lap. You are welcome to do this if you choose so. If you opt for this keep in mind the best time to hold your puppy is when they are calm and ready for a nap. Pups who are anxious will want to keep busy and ones who are excited are very curious so your they will want to explore your vehicle. If you hold them on your lap make sure not to place them onto the seats or flooring because they may use this time to potty in your vehicle. Note: A loose puppy in your vehicle is extremely unsafe. Think of your puppy as a child; Would you have your child move around your vehicle while you are driving?!

Well that pretty much covers what you will need when you make your pups first trip. Remember to be prepared by keeping items in your vehicle you feel you will need for your pups first trip home and stay calm/happy during travels to make the ride relaxing and fun for your puppy. Keep in mind it's never a bad thing to be too prepared but not such a fun thing to be under prepared so take your time and remember your checklist. Happy Travels!