# Road trips and Vizslas



## lilyloo (Jun 20, 2012)

We are going on our first vacation next week since having Ruby, and she's coming along! It's about a 5 hour drive down to the coast where we will spend 5 days in a house on the beach.

Ruby goes on short car rides frequently, so she knows basic car etiquette and I know she won't get motion sickness. I've never had her in the car longer than an hour, however. I am wondering if I should ask my vet for a mild sedative to keep her calm? We do plan on making a stop or two for potty breaks and leg stretching.

Thoughts/and or tips?


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## Carolina Blue (Sep 20, 2012)

Kiya's longest trip in the car for about 4.5 hrs. She slept for most of the ride, but I made sure I had something for her to chew on (that did not smell too bad!) just in case; and a couple of her favorite toys.


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## Nelly (Feb 7, 2013)

I would say don't go down the sedative route. From what I have gathered on here and from other Vizsla owners is that they are excellent travellers in general.

A nice comfy blanket, a good few stops and something good to chew on, as Carolina Blue mentioned, should be just fine if she is already good in the car.

Good luck and have a good holiday!


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

Jasper regularly goes home with me to my parents' house, and it's about a 5 hour drive. He sleeps most of the way! Like Ruby, he'd gone on plenty of short drives, so I was worried about his first trip back home--but it was not a problem. 

We do usually stop at least once for a mutual potty break, to stretch our legs, and to get a drink. I also usually leave some water out for him the car, but he doesn't usually drink it while in the car, and he doesn't usually play with or chew on toys either. He just stares out the window or naps! Going for a run beforehand is helpful too! I would consider sedatives unnecessary if she doesn't have a problem with car rides in general.


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## Oquirrh the V (Jun 24, 2011)

A good, long run before your car ride should make Ruby sleep the whole way there. I travel TONS with Oquirrh and he has always slept in the car. Just wear her out before you leave and the ride should go smooth. You could also take a chew toy if you think she will need something to do.


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## Big Rick (Apr 14, 2009)

We travel a lot in our motorhome with our two. Dexter's first trip was a nightmare because he like to go out to pee a lot and would stand at the door whining until I could find a place to pull over. He actually pushed the door open (it wasn't latched properly) and was headed out when Sandy grabbed his back leg and pulled him back in. This was in Cincinnati on I75 during rush hour. Since then he's been a great traveler. Scarlet has always been a good traveler. Usually one of them lies on the engine hump between our seats and the other settles into the recliner behind the co-pilot seat.


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## GarysApollo (Nov 27, 2012)

My boys sleep in the back or look out of the window.


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

Miles was very confused his first road trip. He assumed we were going to the beach or a nearby park and he stood the entire 2 hours! Since then he has relaxed and will sit in the back seat. He love to chew but isn't interested in the car. The longest he has been in the car is 3hrs but he has an 8 hour trip coming up next month. 

What has helped us is getting him out for an hour or two exercise session before leaving!


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

We'll be doing out first big trip with Haeden this year too. It's about a 12 hour drive to the South Carolina coast which will be the longest drive we've taken with the pup. As an 8 week old pup he rode 6 hours home with us and does hour or two trips with us to see family and to my parent's lakehouse. So far no big nightmares, but I'm still worried too.

Our plan is to take him to daycare the day before so he's good and tired out from that. Then we're going to leave around 4AM and start driving so he should sleep for most of the drive. Of course we'll do our stops for him and try to find a nice place along the way to take a quick hike to let him stretch his legs. We plan on doing bones in the car (specifically those peanut butter filled bones) and probably a kong to keep him busy should he start to get restless. I think if you tire them out before you start the drive that will really help you out. Based on our experience with sedatives, if they want to to "override" them or are overly anxious then the sedative won't kick in and the dog will still be awake. I think a good 'ole fashion romp is probably the best medicine for a V and is exactly our plan of attack.


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## FLgatorgirl (Mar 11, 2013)

Ellie is a great traveller as well. Her longest trips have been a 10 hour trip and most recently about a 15 hour trip. We find that she is more settled if travelling in her crate. She will sit up and look around some, chew on a bone once in awhile, but mostly relax and sleep. If we leave her out of the crate, she seems to get a bit more wound up and cannot always find a comfy spot since she is now too big for my lap. We are trading in our truck tomorrow for a gigantic SUV so she will have more room on road trips  .

We use the bowls that attach to her crate and give her stuffed kongs and odorless bully sticks in there as well. We try to stop every two to three hours to let her out to walk around and use the bathroom. I continue to be amazed at how well she travels considering how busy she normally is. We hope to take her in our RV soon and that will be interesting. She is scared of big diesel engines and air brakes and we have both. Hopefully, she will have a great experience and it will help her get over the fear of those noises.


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## lilyloo (Jun 20, 2012)

Wow, thanks everyone! I feel much better. We will probably leave mid-morning, so we'll take her on a nice long walk around the duck pond in our neighborhood beforehand. It's about 4 miles and always wears her out. 

I'll definitely do the kong and frozen peanut butter as well. 

Typically, she gets a bit excited when she's in the car. It's probably because anytime we get in the car she's going to a friend's house to play or it's on the way to a park or trails. I agree that she'll settle once she realizes she isn't going anywhere for a while!

We did buy one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Outward-Hound...8635305&sr=8-2&keywords=dog+back+seat+hammock

She has a habit of hanging out in the middle and if hubby brakes too suddenly she sometimes falls forward and I always put my arm up to catch her. This hammock should help a lot.


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## marathonman (Jan 15, 2013)

On a recent 4 hour trip we did, we found a dog park to stop at along the way. It gave our pup a chance to stretch his legs and play. You could see if there is a park in a town 2-3 hours into your trip and stop for a little while.


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## mlwindc (Feb 8, 2013)

Ditto the big exercise before hand - helps a lot! Wilson has been in the car for just over four hours and did swimmingly. We do about 2-3 hours max before getting out to stretch and take a break. It's slow going, but everyone is happier. Wilson doesn't usually get sick in the car, but stop and go traffic can make him vomit. I now bring a pail with me, just in case. He usually gives us some warning that he's going to throw up, so I plan to reach back and hold the pail up to him next time instead of having it land all over the floor!


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## FLgatorgirl (Mar 11, 2013)

Lillyloo,

We have the Hound Hammock as well and it worked for a month or two, but then she figured out she can kind of climb over it to stand in the middle. I think Ellie understands that no crate means short ride and somewhere fun, crate in the truck means long ride and she needs to stay settled. With the new monster SUV, I am going to have room to give her the option of the crate or moving around some with room to lay down outside of the crate. It will be interesting to see what she chooses. 

We have an app on the iphone that shows dog friendly places wherever we are traveling through in case we want to stop at a park, state forest etc. Definitely bring special things to keep her busy. We put Ellie in the crate with old tube socks that have been tied in knots with tiny bits of treats tucked inside the folds of the knots. She loves nosing and pawing the knots to get the treats out. We have been doing this since she was a puppy and she has never torn up a sock (nor does she otherwise have a sock obsession).


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Lily - if your pup has never gotten motion sickness - a road trip is just another adventure in a V's life - if you are 1/2 way there - keep going - PIKE's big problem is on a trip to town or 20 hours out west - turn on the turn signal and he thinks we'er there LOL!!!!!!!!


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

REM, that reminds me! If Ruby is like Jasper, and having most of her car experiences being short trips...just a warning...EVERY time you slow down (to get gas, at a stop sign for an exit, whatever), she will think that the car ride is over and it's time to get out. Jasper can go from dead asleep in the back seat to jumping all over the place just because I'm decelerating on the ramp getting off the interstate. It is hilarious. And also ridiculous. So don't be surprised if that happens!


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

FLgatorgirl said:


> We have an app on the iphone that shows dog friendly places wherever we are traveling through in case we want to stop at a park, state forest etc.


gatorgirl, any chance you can provide which app you use? Bring Fido?


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## lilyloo (Jun 20, 2012)

redrover said:


> REM, that reminds me! If Ruby is like Jasper, and having most of her car experiences being short trips...just a warning...EVERY time you slow down (to get gas, at a stop sign for an exit, whatever), she will think that the car ride is over and it's time to get out. Jasper can go from dead asleep in the back seat to jumping all over the place just because I'm decelerating on the ramp getting off the interstate. It is hilarious. And also ridiculous. So don't be surprised if that happens!


Ruby already does this! Whenever we stop at a light she thinks it's time to get out and gets excited.


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## FLgatorgirl (Mar 11, 2013)

KB87--
I believe the app is DogGoes.


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## adrino (Mar 31, 2012)

I've got an old thread I pulled up for you. Although I understand you don't have issues with Ruby in the car the DAP spray can still be useful. 

http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,4574.msg32867.html#msg32867

Last year we had that 2100 miles journey all together and this year we are doing it again in July. One thing I have definitely learnt is no food before long journeys. If its only an hour or so it's ok if she has breakfast but over 5 hours she gets sick once for some reason. She usually doesn't like to drink while travelling and we stop every few ours for a quick break for all of us. We give her some soft toys and an antler for the journey and use the air went on high too. She does better with fresh air blowing on her. I advise you to use a harness and a doggy seatbelt for protection like that she can't fall forward in case of hard breaking. We didn't even give her a walk before the journey and she still did well. It's your energy too that matters. If you get anxious she will too, don't worry about the whole thing. Give her one break in the middle if its only 5 hours.


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## newenglandfarm (May 15, 2013)

You will be fine, they will let you know when a potty break is needed, or just stop every couple of hours. My dogs have one to two big trips a year 7 /8 hours sometimes longer. I don't bother with chew toys anymore they don't seem to use them in the car, but we always pack the bed.... if they see the bed go into the car they no its a long trip.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

Ruby just sleeps, I put her crate in the pick up with her mat and she's fine, she's not too keen on travelling in the cab section though,,,,probably a bit scared when I start cursing other road users lol!


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## yheywood (Feb 20, 2013)

My partner and I live in Wagga, which is 5 hours away from Sydney. We often travel back and fourth (every second week or so) with our 18 week Astro, and he absolutely LOVES the car trips. He spends probably 99% of his time sleeping, and the other 1% moving around to change positions. We always have him strapped in with his car harness in the back seat, just incase if we should ever have an accident, we would hate for him to go flying through the windscreen. Plus I'm pretty sure it's against the law to have an unrestrained dog. We take breaks every couple of hours to have a stretch and rehydrate.


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## MCD (May 4, 2013)

My puppy comes home on July 13. The first day of our week long vacation. She/he has one night at home and then we are driving for 3 hours to my parents house. I'm contemplating getting the puppy tired, baby gravol just in case and the crate or my lap. I also have 2 cats that travel in crates very well. Will have to wait and see........


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## lilyloo (Jun 20, 2012)

Well, we're headed out! I took this about fifteen minutes ago, she's already curled up onto her bed in the back seat.


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## lilyloo (Jun 20, 2012)

Ruby did beautifully in the car! Don't know why I was ever worried. 

She has been having a blast on the beach. She chases the waves as the tide rolls in. Quite hilarious 

This was her earlier today, exhausted from playing all day.


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

Looks like she's having a great time!! 

I'm taking my dogs on a 5 hour car ride to the beach this weekend and I'm meeting my friend and her three kids there. It should be a fun chaotic week.


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## JoanTheJet (Oct 24, 2012)

I didn't read the entire thread...just want to share our experience. When our girl Joan was only around 2-3 months we drove from Colorado to Ohio straight through (21ish hours) She was great! We kept her in her kennel as usual. She was close to us so we could keep an eye on her. She would potty when we stopped to get gas, and then back in she went. It was a fantastic trip!


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

I'm getting ready for my road trip with the dogs tomorrow and I've spent the evening packing things into the car and I got out the dreaded suitcase - as soon as Cash sees the suitcase he knows something's up and it usually means that I'm leaving somewhere. He's been stuck to me like glue all night and won't let me out of his site. He's going to be so excited tomorrow when he realizes that he gets to go too!


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

We just finished our first big road trip with H- 13 hours straight through 5 states and through some mountains. I'm proud to say my little man acted like a seasoned traveler and was a total gem! He slept almost the entire drive except to potty, give us some quick kisses or figure why we were stopping/I had to hit the breaks suddenly. After the extremely long drive he now gets to enjoy a fenced in back yard with a private pool (we'll see if he swims) all while 500 feet max from the ocean. Plus lizards to hunt in the back. I don't think I could be any more excited to have him here with us


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## CatK (May 29, 2013)

We just got home from a weekend trip to the in-laws down South (UK) and we had to drive in a van from Sheffield (North UK). It was our V's first long drive (15 weeks old) and although he has been great on short car journeys and even up to an hour and a half has been great I was really pleased he wasn't bothered at all.

As we had to move a load of stuff he was in my foot well, which he alternated with snoozing across me and the length of the front seat. He got a little bit desperate for a pee on the way back last night, gave us a little whimper at which point we pulled over and he did the biggest pee I've ever seen him do. I was so proud of him for holding it!

He saw the sea on Saturday for the first time, he discovered beach zoomies and digging giant holes in the sand. Then he passed out Saturday evening, most of Sunday morning, we went for lunch at an old airport which has little one/two man planes flying in and out of it, we sat outside in the sun and watched them all take off and land and he just snoozed through most of it, even backfiring little bi-wing planes! They were all only metres away. Then back in the van for 5 hours home with only one stop, he slept the whole way. We got home at about 10pm, I thought we'd never get him to sleep he was so excited to see our house, and he was so excited to see his crate back in its rightful place! He climbed straight in and fell asleep, slept the longest he's ever slept last night! Still snoozed this morning after breakfast.

He truly is the most chilled out pup ever (only 15 weeks!). Adore him.

How can he not be scared of any of that, but is massively nervous of the road near our house?! I figure it's a temporary thing and we just have to keep walking him past it calmly...

Anyways, glad your trip went well too KB87


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