# Travelling for the Holidays



## kristen (Oct 18, 2011)

We have a 6 hour drive to my family's cabin up north for Christmas this weekend. 
It will be me and our 4.5 month old lil guy in the back seat of a truck, so no crate option. He hasn't traveled for more than 15 minutes by car since we brought him home. :-\

Anyone have any preemptive tips/things I should bring? Will have his bed and some toys, and plan on taking him for a nice long romp off leash beforehand, but ANY other tips on how to make this less nightmarish will be greatly appreciated!


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## Looney (Sep 28, 2011)

xanex!!!!! and ear plugs.


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

You sure you can't fit a portable crate in there? It will save you a lot of sanity. Or at least a barrier to keep him in the back seat!

My suggestion would be bully sticks. One will keep my 16 month old Vizsla entertained for at least 45 minutes. They'd probably last yours at least twice as long. Nothing entertains him like a bully stick.

http://www.amazon.com/Large-Bull-Sticks-1-Lb/dp/B0009XSXZM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1324326212&sr=8-3

You might want to plug your nose, though. The smell will be pretty strong inside of a vehicle. Still, I'd take a bad smell over a free-roaming 4.5 month old Vizlsa in a truck any day.


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## tanners_mama (Sep 22, 2011)

I'll second the bully sticks.... and I'll add to it:

- Kong filled with treats/peanut butter (frozen)
- Merrick Corporal Knee Caps
- Hidden treats in backseat

We travel alot with Tanner, and as long as he has his bed and a blanket, he'll sleep the entire time. It may not be as bad as you think! Safe travels & enjoy the holiday


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

As long as it isn't car sickness, you should be able to convince him this is a way cool adventure. It may just take a bit of convincing. If you can, I would try to drive around for about an hour once or twice this week - maybe look at Christmas lights or something like that. Lots of happy voice ahead of time - ooo we're going to look at lights - ooo let's go on a drive - ooo this will be so much fun - that kind of thing. Keep up the running commentary as long as you can and provide intermittant treats. You might also try cracking the window at stop signs so he can get a quick sniff before you close the window. This weekend, do the same drill about the happy voice and the cabin - ooo so many new smells - ooo new people to meet - ooo space to run. Just keep telling him all the cool things - he will understand the tone of voice.

Savannah was worse in the car than my cat when I first got her. We drive for half an hour to work every day and after several days, she got over it. Our first extended trip (she was about 12 months) was a 12 hour trip with long drives around our destination and a 12 hour trip home. At the start, the toys didn't really help. Neither did the long walk before the trip. She was normal until about the 2 hour mark. Then we had to pull over for a potty break. We had another one about 2 hours later. After that second break, she sort of got into a travel groove. We stopped about every 5-6 hours and she either slept between pit stops, looked out the window, or just chilled.

Good luck!


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

Could you try a seatbelt harness? At the very least, it will keep him from trying to crawl upfront and be a distraction for the driver. I use something similar to this.

I found that if my dog is restricted (whether by crate or harness), something to chew/eat on is a good bet. If he's just allowed to roam free in the vehicle, he's not particularly interested in toys or food. He'd rather wander from window to window, looking at things.

Jasper's first long road trip (about 3 hours) is actually when he came home! That doesn't really count, though, since he had people to snuggle with and he was asleep 99% of the time. His next big trip was about 5 hours, and he was only 4 months. He slept for the first 2 hours, needed to potty, then slept for the next 2 hours.

At this point I've found that running off leash beforehand doesn't make a huge difference in the car. Mostly he's just curious for about 20 minutes, then he decides the highway scenery is kind of boring, and goes to sleep. He might surprise you and be a fantastic traveler! Have a safe trip!

Edit to add: We travel a fair bit, and it's usually for at least a few hours each way. I recommend that, especially if you ever are driving solo, you have something to restrain him with (harness or crate), as they do get all over the place. Jasper has a fun habit of standing with his back feet on the back seat, and his front paws on the arm rest. Thus, he completely blocks my blind spot on the passenger side. This makes it dangerous on the highways, so if I'm doing any driving that's more than a handful of blocks, he gets strapped in.


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## finch (Sep 19, 2011)

We had a 6 hour drive from Maine to Vermont when our girl was 6 months old and she did great! We had a bully stick, a squeaky toy, a rope, a blanket and one of our bed pillows for her in the back seat. We gave her a good run before we left and planned a good run for her when we arrived at our destination. We took a couple bathroom/stretch breaks along the drive. While we were in Vermont, we were able to bring her to doggie day care for 2 full days while we were visiting with friends and their baby, so she slept most of the drive back to Maine!


When I bring her to the office with me, she gets a frozen marrow bone which keeps her occupied for hours and it doesn't smell. This would be a good option for the car ride too if you cover your seats! If you do this, just be sure to reduce the amount of regular food she gets at meatime!


Have a great trip!


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## tanners_mama (Sep 22, 2011)

redrover said:


> Jasper has a fun habit of standing with his back feet on the back seat, and his front paws on the arm rest. Thus, he completely blocks my blind spot on the passenger side. This makes it dangerous on the highways, so if I'm doing any driving that's more than a handful of blocks, he gets strapped in.


Tanner does this too! It's strange but he loves to perch on very small spaces, and I hear you on the blind spot. Lucky enough he will sleep on a long car ride, but every once in awhile, I get that puppy breath in my face when he wakes up to come say hi!


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## Crazy Kian (Aug 10, 2009)

We used to take Kian on trips up to the cottage from Toronto to north of Huntsville a lot (still do actually). He was always crated at that age. Kristen, I am sure you can find a small crate to put him in, it's for his safety and yours.
The one time I didn't crate him I was northbound on the 400 doing about 120 and he jumped on my lap... not cool. I had no choice but to literally throw him into the back seat. Scared the you know what out of me.
Now that Kian is almost 3, he just sits in the back seat and usually is asleep once we get on the 400.
Good luck.


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## kristen (Oct 18, 2011)

Thank you everyone for the great advice!

I will restrain him for sure, wouldn't want him causing an accident, or anything to happen to him. I will be in the backseat with him, and hopefully will be able to preempt any major temper tantrums (he's a vocal lil fella!)

The tips on toys were a great help, ran out and got some Bully sticks last night! We don't own a car ourselves, so hence the not a lot of exposure to cars past taxi trips and his journey home. 

Will be an interesting trip for sure!


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## kristen (Oct 18, 2011)

Here's an update on how we did.

Turns out Odin has developed some car sickness, so it was a tough ride up. After getting sick, he was a suck, and just sat on my lap looking at me with his sad eyes as if to say "mean Mummy, what are you doing to me?". 
We gave him gravol on the ride home, and he slept the whole way without getting sick. Poor little guy.


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