Vehicle Travel
During lockdown don’t forget to get puppies used to being in the car. While you can’t go on any journeys with your puppy you can sit on the drive and start the engine and get the puppy used to the noise. You can also build up a positive association with the car by feeding your puppy one of its meals in the car, giving treats and even playing with a toy.
Think now about where your puppy to travel as an adult dog and get the puppy used to being in that place. It might be cute for your 8 week old Rottweiler to travel on the knee of the person in the front seat, but trust me it’s not cute when it’s a 50kg adult dog still wanting to do it! Think about safety and where will be the most secure for the puppy in the event of an accident.
A little tip from me with many years’ experience of this – Travel Sickness – I cannot recommend a crate enough, line the tray with newspaper and have a supply of fresh air, don’t feed the puppy before travelling and bring with you kitchen roll, flash wipes and a bin bag then you have everything you need for a quick clean up ready for the return journey. The crate contains the vomit and there’s an old wife’s tale that ink in newspaper helps reduce travel sickness.
