# The final countdown...to our pup!



## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

After first talking to our breeder over 3 months ago we are FINALLY 11 days away from picking up our little Haeden. Not quite single digits but I can't hold the excitement in anymore!

This will be our first vizsla and we couldn't be more excited to bring him home! Our biggest concern is that we will be facing a 5 hour drive from the breeder to get home- any suggestions as to how to keep him calm (or some variation of "calm") in the car? I expect full of rioting for the first part of the drive considering we're taking him from mom/brothers/sisters and I wouldn't really blame him. We will definitely be taking a blanket to rub on mom and the remaining pups and have already gotten him one of the petstages heartbeat pillows which we hope will help, but I'm skeptical. (Has anyone tried the pillow, by the way?) I know he'll cry but we want to make the separation and drive as easy as possible for him. Any input or suggestions is appreciated!


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

A soft blanket - crate - hot water bottle -and some company to sit next to him - frequent potty breaks - if the breeder uses straw for bedding get some of his and put in crate - find out the breeders feeding cycle and if one comes up on your trip and the pup is awake feed him - use the same food as the breeder - play with the pup before leaving ( a tired V is a happy V ) leave late in the day and if lucky the pup will sleep all the way home - hope this helps - I know more post are on the way - good luck!
PS welcome to the forum


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

How exciting for you and we will eagerly await photos of the little guy.

We picked up our puppy two months ago (can't believe we've had him that long), and had a 41/2hr drive. The breeder had a little blanket for us to take with us that had been in with the mother, She suggested we didn't feed him during the journey in case he was car sick. She gave him a ginger buscuit/cookie to eat before travelling which also helps prevent travel sickness. We took a small crate with a little toilet area and a cosy vet trap bedroom area.

My husband drove and I had Boris on my lap with his blanket and as long as I had him with me he never cried. We stoppped for a coffee and we put him in the crate hoping he would take a potty break, but all he did was scream.

So I think if someone can cuddle him he will be fine. He went 5 hrs without a pee and wasn't car sick. We took him in the garden as soon as we got home and then fed him and we haven't looked back.

Hope you have a good trip home and I look forward to seeing some pictures.


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## mollys mum (Feb 3, 2012)

We picked Molly up two months ago for a four and a half hour drive, same as hotmischief. My husband was away so I took my friend and I was really glad I did, definitely not a journey I would have wanted to do on my own.

The breeder sent her with a little towel and a cuddly toy but she screamed, howled and made noises like a cockrel being strangled for an hour and a half! We nursed her, put her in a crate but nothing would console her. Eventually she fell asleep in her crate and I just carried on driving without a stop to get home as soon as possible!

She spent the first week sleeping in a bed in a play pen at the side of our bed so that I could get up and put her out in the night if she needed to go. After that we moved her into a crate in our room and a few days later into her own room.

With the noises she made on the journey home I felt like the worst person in the world for wrenching her from her family, but within 24 hours she had got over it and very quickly became a happy little pup once more. 

What I'm trying to say is, don't worry too much if you're pup seems competely traumatised when you pick him up, he'll soon adjust to his new home - and then the fun begins! Enjoy you're last few nights sleep and tidy home whilst you can


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

My male did a some howling on the way home.
He wanted to sit in my daughters lap and would
howl at any passing car.
Both the females acted like they had always been with us.
This is June on the ride home with her big brothers.


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

My Mac only had a 45 min journey home. He sat on my lap while my wife drove. He actually loved it! The whole time he was perched up with his front paws on the window just watching the world go by. We have been lucky as he has never cried or been car sick. He just sits in the back now looking around.  Every pup is different so let's hope your new edition is great in the car. Enjoy your new pup.


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## dmp (Jan 23, 2012)

Will the pup bond more-strongly with whomever is holding him/her for that first trip? 

My pup is a sister to KB87's little boy.


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

dmp said:


> Will the pup bond more-strongly with whomever is holding him/her for that first trip?
> 
> My pup is a sister to KB87's little boy.


Might have a stronger bond on the first day but not in the long run. That depends on personality and amount of time spent together amongst other things.


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

Thank you all! I needed the peace of mind that we won't be scarring him for life if he screams/cries on the drive home! Luckily my boyfriend and I will both be going so we can both drive and hold our new little guy. I think we have decided to just drive with him up front with us and make a little puppy lounge in the back seat for when he's ready to nap. Hopefully all goes well on the drive and he doesn't favor one us more than the other too much (unless it's me of course ).

We're down to puppy proofing the house and have an entire dining room table full of toys/blankets/beds for the little guy. I don't think he'll be spoiled at all!! There will definitely be pictures up here within hours of picking him up. The hardest part will be the wait...


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## hobbsy1010 (Jun 4, 2011)

Wwhhoooohhh........

Not long to go now KB, bet you just cant wait!!!   

How your lives are going change ;D ;D.

Sounds like your ready for your new little arrival 

Enjoy your last few days of 'Freedom', 

1. Go for a meal together!
2. Go to the cinema together!
3. Have a 'lay-in' past 8am together!
4.Enjoy your nice 'Green Lawn' (for the last time!)
5.Enjoy all your black clothes before they get 'Ginge'd'!
6.Get an IKEA furniture catalogue!
7.Enjoy all your white 'T's' before they get pawed!
8.Rember to do all those 'DIY' jobs you promissed to do before he turns up!! ;D

Your whole 'Lives' are about to be turned UPSIDE DOWN,
but your going to LOVE IT I'm sure, just as much as he is!! 

Embrace the 'Journey', and don't forget his love is unconditional  

Hobbsy


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## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

Congratulations on your new little guy! I bet you are sooo excited! I know I was! 

We just recently brought home our newest V. addition, and she traveled all the way from Hungary. It was a long trip for her, but seems not to have left any impact on her! I drove by myself a little over 4 hours to NY to pick our little Pacsirta up from the JFK. I would suggest to bring a crate with you even if you think you'll be holding Haeden all the way home. Little Pacsirta was sooooooo excited when I put her in the car and crawled all over the place sniffing and just checking out the new place. I had put a bed for her on the back seat because I really felt bad for putting her back in the crate after such a long trip. However, at the end before taking off I decided that the safest thing for both of us would be placing Pacsirta in the crate. I put the seats down and placed the crate right behind me in the middle so she can still see me. She did whine a little but then fell asleep. I did a few stops on the way home, let her run and roll in the grass, took my time to play with her. She did a fantastic job with this long journey! So, I have no doubt that Haeden will do great on his way to new home! 

On the other hand, when we brought home or oldest V. Sophie, it was the longest hour ever.... She barked and barked... and barked... and then at the end threw up! 

Good luck and keep us posted how it went! Just make sure you take your time when bringing the little guy home


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

hotmischief said:


> She gave him a ginger buscuit/cookie to eat before travelling which also helps prevent travel sickness.


How did the ginger biscuit work? My concern is our little guy will get a little sick in the car. I've never heard of these before so I'm curious!


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

Yesterday was the day! After months of waiting and looking forward to it, yesterday was finally the day!

Our biggest anxiety before we got the pup was having to pick between the remaining two male pups the day we went to pick him up. After playing for quite some time and trying to figure out their personalities we went with the bigger, bulkier pup instead of the smaller pup that remained. The bigger pup was clearly more dominant in the way he interacted with the other pups and the breeder said that from the get-go he was one of the first pups to mom for milk. He also took more interest in my boyfriend and I than the other pup- he wanted our attention rather than the other adult pups in kennels or the other puppies running around. After quite a bit of deliberation we picked our Haeden!

The drive home ended up being 6 hours of which he slept probably 5 1/2. We probably couldn't ask for him to have behaved any better in the car. The minute we arrived home Haeden slowly inspected the first few rooms (with his tail up), then found the living room with his bed and tons of toys laying on it waiting for him and took a running leap into it! Of course of all the things waiting for him he decided he loved a small blanket and proceeded to pounce on it, run through the house with it and shake it like he was trying to kill it. He never hesitated to check out any room and did so with his head held up high like he owned the place. From minute one he's been confident and seems like he trusts us 100%- following us through the house, coming straight to us when we sit on the floor to play and staying right with us when we take him outside. He's already starting to understand his name and will come probably 75% of the time when you call him over. He's only had 3 accidents in the house which was due more to us not taking him outside right after drinking than him not understanding the concept of going outside. Tonight he even went to the door to ask to go out so we're making progress!

Last night he crawled into his crate on his own free will and went to bed and woke up about an hour and a half later. We put him back in his crate and he was able to sleep another 2 1/2 hours in there before he had to go outside. We decided to let him sleep in the bed (I think I was a little too tired when I made this decision- I might regret it tonight when we try to put him back in his crate) and he was able to sleep another 3 hours on my pillow with his paw in my face before whining to go out. Tonight we'll try the crate again and see how it goes. When he went into his crate before it's been on his own free will or he's immediately gone straight to sleep. We're extremely encouraged by this!

All in all things have gone almost tooooo smoothly. He's learned quite a bit in the last day since we picked him up- we're proud parents! He's learned to go up and down the 3 steps from the kitchen into the living room and is understanding "come" and his name. We're proud parents!! Hopefully the progress continues. Things have been too easy thus far so we're waiting to see what the hitch is! Either way- we have a beautiful pup who cannot stop wagging his tail. I'll try to post pictures soon!

Here's my question- I feel like if we let him sleep all day he would- is this a normal experience with an 8 week old vizsla? He does have his play/romp sessions but they're maybe a half hour at a time and then literally just curl up into a ball and crash to sleep as long as possible like someone hit the off switch. It could be that he's still tired from his trip home yesterday but I just wanted to make sure this is normal for a vizsla.


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Congratulations!

Naps are good. Enjoy the respite while you can. All too soon you will be actively trying to tire him out.


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## hobbsy1010 (Jun 4, 2011)

Sounds like an almost perfect transition to his new home!  

Sleep never hurt anybody to my knowledge  

Great name, enjoy him, loads of photos please 

Hobbsy


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

At 8 weeks he will sleep up to 20 hours a day. Just let him get on with it. Sounds like things are going good.


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## dmp (Jan 23, 2012)

Where's that sleep people speak of!! 



Congrats, KB - so happy for you. Your boy is doing great!


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## karoun (Mar 29, 2012)

KB, are you picking up a Widdershins vizsla in Maine by any chance? If so, our puppies will be siblings!


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

karoun said:


> KB, are you picking up a Widdershins vizsla in Maine by any chance? If so, our puppies will be siblings!


We actually got our pup from Sunrise Vizsla in Michigan. dmp has a beauty from the same litter!


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## finch (Sep 19, 2011)

karoun said:


> KB, are you picking up a Widdershins vizsla in Maine by any chance? If so, our puppies will be siblings!



Karoun - 


Are you from Maine or just coming to get your pup? I live on the coast of Maine, near Belfast. Where is your breeder located?


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

I finally have a few pictures of Haeden! Some of them are a bit blurry since I'm using the camera on my phone and since he hasn't slowed from mach 3 since he got home.


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## OttosMama (Oct 27, 2011)

Your little boy is adorable! Congrats! Haedan and his sister's eyes are so similar!


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

New pictures of our little guy 

It took 2 weeks but he slowed down enough that I could take a picture or two with my phone of him resting.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Kb - ? is that a Bourbon and coke in front of that beautiful PUP - here in KY - it's served neat or with branch water LOL


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## dmp (Jan 23, 2012)

Of course he looks like his little sister...bigger though. Maybe even older? Definitely more Bubba Duke than Maggie.


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