I started in pet transportation services while I was in college. There was a three-week period where I was in a different city at least four out of the seven days during the week. I think I had it figured out that I flew over 30,000 miles in those couple of weeks. Mind-blowing to say the least.
Being the travel addict that I was, I thought it was great fun. I’d be up at 4 am for the 5 am flight and would arrive back home on the midnight flight and do it all again the next day.
It did help that I lived five minutes away from the airport at the time.
Nowadays, I might die if I did that four days in a row. Okay, that’s a little overdramatic, but it sure feels like it when I do just one round-trip flight in a day.
I much prefer the road trip side of pet transportation as I’ve gotten older. A 13-14 hour day drive is much easier than a 12+ hour day plane ride plus the hour and a half I have to drive to get to or from their airport one way.
I don’t have nearly as many road trips with puppies under my belt as I do flights, but I do have it down to a science of what a puppy needs to make the trip a little less stressful.
Space
The first and most important thing when road-tripping with a puppy is making sure they have a space dedicated to them.
This is especially important if you are traveling alone. You don’t want the puppy crawling all over your car and potentially pooping somewhere they can smash it in a crack or crevice making it hard to clean and you then have to smell it the whole way to your destination. Sure, you do go nose blind after a few hours, but it still isn’t great.
You can create a dedicated space by setting up a crate.
Another way to create is by blocking off part of the car as I did in the photo above. Try as they did, the puppies were not able to climb over the backseats of the car.
When I road trip with a puppy I keep them in the way back of my Explorer. I have a WeatherTech floor mat for the back which is amazing for keeping liquid (pee or spilled water) contained in one area. I also have a seat covering that protects the cargo area and the backside of my seats.
Blankets
Puppies can be a mess, so I always bring at least two extra blankets.
One to start the trip and one for the second half of the trip if they make a mess en route. It’s better to have a second blanket on hand ready to go than it is to worry about cleaning up the mess while on the go. Just fold up the first blanket and lay the second one out while the puppies are playing in the xpen.
Training Pads
Training pads are a must when traveling with a puppy, whether that is on a plane or on the road.
When traveling with puppies on planes, I prefer disposable training pads. That way if they get gross, I can toss them in the trash, no big deal.
Training pads for road-tripping with a puppy is a different story. They don’t make the disposable pads big enough to cover the cargo space of my car. So I opt for the reusable waterproof pads. Sure I have to haul them around with me until I can get them washed, but they make cleanup a breeze.
Water
Puppies need to have water available to them whenever they want to drink it. I stop frequently enough to feel comfortable providing them with a small bucket of water. They are Newfies after all and I have had puppies swim in a bucket.
To keep the bucket stationary during the car ride, I like to take a divider panel from a crate and wedge it in between the seats and the wall of my car, this gives me a location where I can clip the bucket to something so they cannot drag it around the back of my car.
Exercise Pen or X-pen
The exercise pen is important for pups who don’t know how to walk on a leash yet. You can set the pen up and let them run around inside that space while you stretch your legs.
Food
Just like you, puppies get hungry throughout the day. Make sure you bring plenty of food they are already eating for them.
If you choose to feed your puppy en route, know that the odds of them pooping increase 100%.
Toys and Chewies
We once had a dog chew a golf ball-sized hole in a rental car without making any noise. After that, I always make sure to have some kind of toy or chewy available for the puppies to occupy themselves with.
Poop Bags
Don’t be that person that leaves your dog poop in the grass. Pick it up.
You can pick up poop bags just about anywhere.
Garbage Bags
I always have a couple of regular-sized garbage bags and large contractor bags in my car.
The regular-sized bags are good for the smaller things like wipes and puppy pee pads.
The contractor-sized bags are great for storing soiled blankets if you do need to stop and change them out midway through your trip.
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