European road trip with a 8 month old puppy - possible?
Discussion
My wife and I want to plan a road trip to Italy in July, when our puppy will be just over 8 mths old. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She travels pretty well in the car - but so far only 1hr trips.
We're loathe to leave the puppy in a kennel or with a pet-sitter, so were thinking about taking her with us.
Has anyone done something similar? All advice and input appreciated.
We're loathe to leave the puppy in a kennel or with a pet-sitter, so were thinking about taking her with us.
Has anyone done something similar? All advice and input appreciated.
It's impossible to say.
We regularly do 14hrs with our two whippets without any problems.
For weird, whippet type reasons, they actually like being in the car.
We stop every coupe of hours, but they don't always want/need to get out of the car.
Other people have said their dogs only last a limited amount of time before getting sick.
Plan for the worst and play it by ear as you go.
We regularly do 14hrs with our two whippets without any problems.
For weird, whippet type reasons, they actually like being in the car.
We stop every coupe of hours, but they don't always want/need to get out of the car.
Other people have said their dogs only last a limited amount of time before getting sick.
Plan for the worst and play it by ear as you go.
BOR said:
It's impossible to say.
We regularly do 14hrs with our two whippets without any problems.
For weird, whippet type reasons, they actually like being in the car.
We stop every coupe of hours, but they don't always want/need to get out of the car.
Other people have said their dogs only last a limited amount of time before getting sick.
Plan for the worst and play it by ear as you go.
This. Neither of our whippets were great travellers, one in particular got really badly car sick. Tried all sorts but gave up in the end, he just got too distressed and it affected the other dogs too. Certainly would never have contemplated 14 hours with them, or the dogs we have now! Even the three we have now can be fine one day and not so good another. Took them on a 1.5 hour trip on Friday, no problems; took them on a 1.5 hour trip today, lots of whining, fidgeting. Different route but similar roads, etc.We regularly do 14hrs with our two whippets without any problems.
For weird, whippet type reasons, they actually like being in the car.
We stop every coupe of hours, but they don't always want/need to get out of the car.
Other people have said their dogs only last a limited amount of time before getting sick.
Plan for the worst and play it by ear as you go.
You'd really have to build your puppy up to it, I think, and see how she copes with longer trips.
moorx said:
This. Neither of our whippets were great travellers, one in particular got really badly car sick. Tried all sorts but gave up in the end, he just got too distressed and it affected the other dogs too. Certainly would never have contemplated 14 hours with them, or the dogs we have now! Even the three we have now can be fine one day and not so good another. Took them on a 1.5 hour trip on Friday, no problems; took them on a 1.5 hour trip today, lots of whining, fidgeting. Different route but similar roads, etc.
You'd really have to build your puppy up to it, I think, and see how she copes with longer trips.
Did they just need the toilet? Or a short walk beforehandYou'd really have to build your puppy up to it, I think, and see how she copes with longer trips.
What about his naps? With all the excitement of the journey didn't he not get as much rest as he needed and ended up being exhausted all the time? Sleeping in hotels was fine?
mcelliott said:
Took ours away for 2 weeks for a ski trip to the alps, he was 4 months old, he absolutely loved it, fine on the boat, then really good in the car, stopping every hour and a half for toilet breaks, in fact the frequent stops helped me with enjoying the drive more.
Thanks for all the feedback, everyone - much appreciated. I'll try longer car journeys in the UK first to see how she copes - but we'd stop every couple of hours to pee & poop her anyway.
Main issue is that she is on a raw food diet, so having to feed her something different during the holiday will mess with her digestive system a bit - then back to raw when back home again.
Main issue is that she is on a raw food diet, so having to feed her something different during the holiday will mess with her digestive system a bit - then back to raw when back home again.
wax lyrical said:
What about his naps? With all the excitement of the journey didn't he not get as much rest as he needed and ended up being exhausted all the time? Sleeping in hotels was fine?
Slept most of the time in his crate, didn’t use hotels, one night stops were air bnbs and rented a chalet when we got there, he is a barker at times so we are concerned about noise disturbances for other people, wee stops and treats worked well for us.mcelliott said:
Took ours away for 2 weeks for a ski trip to the alps, he was 4 months old, he absolutely loved it, fine on the boat, then really good in the car, stopping every hour and a half for toilet breaks, in fact the frequent stops helped me with enjoying the drive more.
wax lyrical said:
What about his naps? With all the excitement of the journey didn't he not get as much rest as he needed and ended up being exhausted all the time? Sleeping in hotels was fine?
Once he realises we're not just going somewhere local, our dog settles down and sleeps. He gets overexcited in the hotel, but they have a lovely garden and grounds, so that helps.mcelliott said:
Took ours away for 2 weeks for a ski trip to the alps, he was 4 months old, he absolutely loved it, fine on the boat, then really good in the car, stopping every hour and a half for toilet breaks, in fact the frequent stops helped me with enjoying the drive more.
He's also been fine on the ferry, but not every ferry crossing is dog-friendly, and those which are have grotty boats, so we use the tunnel. The advantage of the blat is you can do an overnight crossing, so effectively save some time.
I agree about the frequent stops. My attitude was always to get the drive done as quickly as possible, with a single stop for refuelling. But turning it into a series of shorter drives with a coffee, or a sandwich or even just a five minute walk every couple of hours makes it more relaxing.
BoggoStump said:
moorx said:
This. Neither of our whippets were great travellers, one in particular got really badly car sick. Tried all sorts but gave up in the end, he just got too distressed and it affected the other dogs too. Certainly would never have contemplated 14 hours with them, or the dogs we have now! Even the three we have now can be fine one day and not so good another. Took them on a 1.5 hour trip on Friday, no problems; took them on a 1.5 hour trip today, lots of whining, fidgeting. Different route but similar roads, etc.
You'd really have to build your puppy up to it, I think, and see how she copes with longer trips.
Did they just need the toilet? Or a short walk beforehandYou'd really have to build your puppy up to it, I think, and see how she copes with longer trips.
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