# Puppy pickup... Travel advise



## Eddiemoto (May 4, 2013)

Our Puppy was only recently born and we need to make our travel plans to pick him up. Any advise for a *12 hour* drive with a puppy? I'm even debating on simply flying, but I'm not sure that would be any easier on the puppy or not.


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## hcrowder (Dec 26, 2013)

As the puppy will be quite young I would carry them on my lap in the car. Not sure about the road rules where you are but this might be possible. 

As your pup will not be vaccinated I would not stop and let them out for bathroom breaks. There are puppy pads you could put in the back to give them a place to go when you stop for your own bathroom breaks. 

Honestly, once the puppy gets over the shock of leaving mom and then the nervousness of riding in a car it will probably sleep most of the time. They sleep a lot at that age. 

Good luck. Sleep now in preparation.


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## OttosMama (Oct 27, 2011)

We flew to Chicago from Boston to pickup Otto. It was a pretty quick flight. We flew JetBlue and were able to keep Otto in the cabin in a soft crate for a small fee (the attendant let me keep him on my lap). He was fine during the travel. The next time around, if we have to travel, we'll drive to bring Otto with us (I think). But if it is just us, I'd fly again. If you decide to fly, just pack very light and try to go with one other person. Going through security got a little tricky and if my dad hadn't flown with me I don't know how I'd juggle it all with a puppy.


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## mrrrosswife (May 11, 2013)

We also had to drive 12 hours to go pick up our puppy.

My husband drove while I was holding Ziggy in the backseat. 

We brought a small dog bed, old towels, toys, paper towels and cleaning products in case of a potty accident (which didn't happen, yay!), water, and the breeder gave us his food.

Ziggy ended up sleeping a lot and playing quite a bit with the toys. When he was getting "sharky" and restless, we would stop to let him go potty, avoiding the crowded areas so he wouldn't catch any diseases. It was every 2 hours or so.

It was a very long trip (kuddos to the hubby who drove the whole way ~ he wouldn't trade places with me though 😮) but it helped create a strong bond with my puppy.


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## Cakegirl (Mar 28, 2014)

We drove 10 hours to pick up our puppy this morning. On the way back, we are breaking it up into 4 hours the first day, 6 the second. We just got done with the first leg and it was pretty easy - he slept most of the time. When he was awake, I had a kong he chewed on,and also his puppy food and water. It isn't as hard as I thought (so far)!


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Best advice bring a friend that loves pups - a lap is where they want 2 V - water - pups dehydrate quickly - the truth is - the trip is harder on the new owner than the pup - good luck !!!!!!!!!!!


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

We had a similar drive. Just make sure you have someone else who can hold the pup on their lap and you'll be fine. Our guy slept pretty much the whole way. Make sure you give yourself some time when you get home to play though. We were exhausted after the drive, but Dexter was a wild man when we got him home after sleeping so much in the car. The drive is the easy part, it's the night after the drive that's tough! I wouldn't plan on starting crate training until the following day/night.

We were worried about accidents, car sickness, etc. but we found when he'd wake up and start licking, it was time to stop for a potty break. We didn't have a single accident! Definitely stay out of a populated areas though or where stray dogs might roam. Wiping paws after might not be a bad idea.

Bring food, water, bowl/dish, collar/leash and something for him to chew on if he wakes up and gets feisty!

We debated flying and I'm soooo glad we drove. The bonding time was priceless! And puppy snuggles for 12+ hours = the BEST. You won't regret it!!


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

Also, we had the option to pick our pup up the night we got to where the breeder was, or the next morning. We decided to wait until the next morning so we could get a full night's sleep before the drive. It was so hard to keep waiting when he was just a couple of miles away, but boy, were we glad we did. You'll want that night of sleep before the drive... and before the puppy craziness begins!


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## Eddiemoto (May 4, 2013)

This cements it. We will drive. I know we have about 7 weeks before we go, but didn't want to wait too long before buying plane tickets. 

The bonding time alone will be worth the extra time. Also, thanks for the tips. Open for any others. 

Good point on staying over the night before. That is definitely the way to go.


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## Chaos911 (Oct 30, 2013)

I took newspaper and laid it out for Blaze to potty on to avoid picking up some unwanted virus etc. I felt the drive in the scheme of new puppy days was the easiest. Def get good night sleep first as Dextersmom suggested. As home time will be sleep deprived for a while :0 So worth it . I made fleece blankets for all the litter pups ahead of time so they had their scent on blankie to take home. Buy Himalayan chews. A Godsend! Enjoy, it goes sooo fast!


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

You've already gotten most of the advice I would give. I also had a long drive. The drive back with the puppy will be a good bit longer just because you'll be stopping so frequently for potty breaks and play time, so plan on that. For a 12+ hour drive you may want to stay somewhere or bring an extra friend to take a driving shift.


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

And decide before you leave where you want the puppy to potty when he gets home. When you get home, put the puppy on the ground in the designated potty place FIRST. Wait until he pees before you take him in the house. That way the spot will already smell like the designated function when you start your every-two-hour routine.


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

einspänner said:


> The drive back with the puppy will be a good bit longer just because you'll be stopping so frequently for potty breaks and play time, so plan on that.


Yes, do expect it to take a few hours longer with the pup. I think we had an 11 hour drive, but it was more like 14 with the pup on board (although we were also racing to stay ahead of as well as behind tornadoes and had to make it through Chicago at rush hour...)

But it's SO worth it.


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

Wow 12 hours!! And here I thought 4 was going to be a haul 
Although we did go yesterday to check them out. Then back again on the 26th to pick him up


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