# Pups first ride in a van / crate



## Ted White (May 2, 2006)

Potentially picking up a pup in a week. It'll be the first car ride and crate ride. Any thoughts on how to make this less stressful, more pleasant for us all? 

It's a 6+ hour ride. Air conditioned. I can stop every hour. I'll have replacement bedding for the crate in case of whatever.

Anything like ginger to give him before the ride? Limit food before leaving?


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Ted White said:


> Potentially picking up a pup in a week. It'll be the first car ride and crate ride. Any thoughts on how to make this less stressful, more pleasant for us all?
> 
> It's a 6+ hour ride. Air conditioned. I can stop every hour. I'll have replacement bedding for the crate in case of whatever.
> 
> Anything like ginger to give him before the ride? Limit food before leaving?


Stopping every hour is *good.* I do this with a carsick-prone adult dog, and he does a LOT better than he did before someone told me to stop often and let him get out.

If it's the first car ride and a young pup, I'll just pass on what puppy owners in our training club have said. They say to use a Champion-type restraint rig and have the handler sit with and distract the puppy from the scenery out the side windows (part of what triggers motion sickness) while someone else drives. They don't want to combine two new stressful experiences (car and new crate) for hours, if they can avoid it. Just saying what I've heard.

Also, I've heard that if it's a young pup you shouldn't use rest stops for him to relieve himself because that's what other dogs do and it's a lot of exposure to possible puppy diseases.

I will check out the ginger, because I only know adult advice for that.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

The ginger (ground root in capsules from a natural foods store) has dosage on it. The human dose is figured for a 150-pound person, so you'd have to open it and put back in the appropriate amount. Also, the vet can give you a dosage amount on the phone.

I forgot to add: take lots of old towels and a heavy trash bag for the used ones.


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## Lynn Cheffins (Jul 11, 2006)

roll of paper towels
spray bottle of water
garbage bag to put the pukey items in if you need it
- put puppy in crate tired - and hopefully they sleep for the better part of journey
- I have never had a puppy that would stay still with holding it so would prefer a crate, as I think they are less freaked by the crate than by being restrained.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Lynn Cheffins said:


> - I have never had a puppy that would stay still with holding it so would prefer a crate, as I think they are less freaked by the crate than by being restrained.


That makes sense.


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## Mike Schoonbrood (Mar 27, 2006)

I'd crate the pup. 8 weeks old for 6 hours = LOTS of pee :lol: They don't hold it waiting for the next rest stop. When Lyka was 10 weeks old she was capable of peeing once every 6 minutes just to annoy me.

No food the day of the car ride.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Mike Schoonbrood said:


> When Lyka was 10 weeks old she was capable of peeing once every 6 minutes.....


Clever pup! :lol:


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## Mike Schoonbrood (Mar 27, 2006)

Tiko has what I call "The Deceiving Double Pee". He'll pee, then you put him in the crate and he'll pee again, so you gotta leave him out in the yard till he pees twice.


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## Ted White (May 2, 2006)

All good advice. Thank you all very much


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## ann schnerre (Aug 24, 2006)

also, if the crate is very open, you may want to cover it w/a towel/blanket. it'll help make it more "den-like" and cut off seeing the scenery going by. this also helps when crate-training at home, BTW.


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## Ted White (May 2, 2006)

That's a great idea Ann


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