Nervous about upcoming trip to Florida....

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Next Thursday, DH, myself, Peri and Tacky are hopping in the car for the drive down to FL for Xmas.  His parents live on Amelia Island (off coast of Jacksonville) and we are really looking forward to the trip (please keep your fingers crossed the weather cooperates and it is warmer down there!).

 

Last year we did not travel for a holiday.  Peri has never been in the car for longer than an hour. This is a 9-10 hour trip and I am sooo nervous. I know exactly what I need to bring - have all of the travel water bowls, food, poop bags, etc....

 

However, WTD (where the dood) is Peri going to sit?  We ALWAYS use a seatbelt harness everytime she is in the car with us. But it is usually for a trip across town and she rarely sits still. She puts her paws on our middle console and stares at us and smiles.  Taquito, on the other hand, is a gem. He just lays in his bed with the harness on!  So he is good to go.  He also traveled back in forth with me for 3 years to visit DH in law school.....he is used to this.

 

Don't you think I should consider bringing Peri's crate? She loves her crate, but has never been in the car in it.  Thoughts???

 

Many thanks in advance. I know there are other topics posted on this, but wanted your specific thoughts on our situation.

 

We will need to trade cars with my father to have enough room for the crate (no SUV!).

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

It might be worth doing a test drive in fathers SUV with the crate to see if this seems to make her more comfortable.  If she has to be further away from you (in the back) it might actually be worse.  Or, since she may have a comfort feel in the crate, she might just settle right down and go to sleep.  The one thing that I absolutely would not do is travel without her harnessed in somehow!  Be that in her regular harness or a crate, somehow secured.  Things can just go wrong so quickly when you are travelling.  Not sure exactly how big Peri is,  but maybe a booster seat that you harness her into.  That would keep her in a more confined space.  Possibly she is too big for that.  We have a van that we got so we could lay the back seat down and give the girls lots of room, but they prefer to be on the seat right behind ours so I just put down a blanket and some pillows to make it nice and soft and they ride great.  Sophie will sometimes prefer to be on the floor behind our seats, but her harness strap gives her enough room to do that.  If you do decide to use the crate, be sure you strap it down so it doesn't become a projectile in an accident.  Whatever you decide, travel safe and Merry Christmas.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Okay -good idea to do the test run. Another idea would be to bring her bed, which she loves, put that in the back seat and harness her in. She might like that best.  Decisions, decisions...

[Kelli, Fenway, & Dustin Pedroia]

I hear ya girl.  We don't have quite that far to drive, but we have one good rider (Dustin) who sits in the seat like a person and one bad rider (Fenway) who won't stay in a harness and is not happy unless her head is draped over one of our shoulders or she's looking in between our seats.  We've tried the kennel, which she does well in at home, but she hated it in the car.  Part of her issue is being able to see out.  I'm not sure how long she would cry in the harness or kennel but the stress of it after an hour was not worth it on that long of a trip.  The kennel also takes up a tone of room and makes packing a bit difficult, especially when packing Christmas gifts too.  I actually end up with her in my lap some of the time (she's only 25lbs).  I'm hoping you get some suggestions that I can use too so I'm going to have to follow this discussion.  Good luck!

By the way, I didn't know your husband was an attorney.  Mine too and boy was law school a beast.  At least he was close by though.  I don't know how you did it long distance!?! 

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

We did long distance for 4 years total.  One my last year of college while he was here, then we had one year together before he went to ATL for law school (4 hours drive), then 3 years in ATL, then the past 2 1/2 together and MARRIED.  That felt sooo long to me :) You are lucky your guy was closer.

 

Okay - will keep you posted. I am hesitating on the crate.....

[cheryl & oliver]

I agree, she definately needs to be harnessed or in her crate, I would try to do a trial run with the crate and the SUV.  If that is possible.  Well as far as the weather goes, today here in South Fl. it is 45 degrees, lol, it is supposed to warm up to around 70 during the day on thurs. And be nice for the weekend, sort of warm, definately not freezing like now.  we are all hoping that it will stay warm for the holidays, but this is Florida and there are no guarantees with the weather, sry abou that. and you are going to be in the North fl. area, so it might be a little cooler then here, but lets hope you get beautiful florida weather....But if it is cold, just enjoy the Holiday feeling, and have a safe and wonderful trip and time...

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

At least it will be the beach....Peri has never been to the beach.  Two years ago during xmas it was in the 50s, but sunny. The last day it was 70 and beautiful!  At least nice enough to walk Taquito on the beach.  Now we have crazy doodle - what will she do???

[Adina P]

If she is able to lie down while harnessed in, she'll most likely will lie down after she gets bored.  Thule and Cass were notorious for being backseat drivers who had to have eyes on the road and on you and help you drive if possible on any trips shorter than 1 hour.  But usually by an hour into it both of them would start to chill out and lie down.  So if her harness allows her to lie down, then I'm willing to put some money on the fact she'll relax within the first 1/7th of your trip and lie down and nap after that =)  I don't think you have a thing to worry about.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I am leaning more toward putting her bed in the car, harnessing her in, and I think she will end up lying down.  We are going to bring her crate, which folds down, with us just in case.  I think that is the way to go!  Thanks for all of the input :)

[Camilla and Darwin]

When Darwin was younger, he had a smaller crate that actually fit in our car (those were the days!). Well, always had him travel in his harness, but we were going to take a 4 hour trip and decided he might be more comfortable in his crate. He definitely was more comfortable. He slept the entire trip. His bed was in the bottom of the crate, and I think the familiarity of his crate made him much calmer than he usually was. Like Peri, Darwin doesn't like to sit still in the car, even though he is always harnessed. It was so nice! Now he is so big that his newer bigger crate could never fit in our car. :-(

[Susan and Sasha]

We travel monthly...12 hour trips each way...and Sasha does really well  traveling on these trips in her crate.

Not only is she safe...but...she is quiet and comfy for the entire drive.

Just in case you don't have a travel crate...or would be interested in one...they are great! (lightweight...fold flat when not in use...can be used in the car and in a hotel room...etc.)

Noz To Noz has a really wonderful Soft Side Crate that folds easily...so it's great for travel...and...even if you have to get in into the back seat of a car...you can actually fold it down 1/2 way...to get it in the car...and then pop it up.

It's unlike most of the soft side crates...in that it is extremely sturdy...has lots of air flow...and it opens on both sides "and" the top!

I did a lot of research...and found that this was one of the best out there.

 

Your trip sounds like so much fun!

I'm sure you'll have a Wonderful time...

Can't wait to hear how Peri and Taquito enjoyed the ride...

Merry Christmas To All...

 

 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I think harnessing her in with her bed to sleep on sounds like a great plan.  My guys were never fans of riding in the crate in the back.  I think they felt like they were too far away from us.  I hope you have a safe trip and a fun holiday with your family!  This will be a real adventure for the doggies.

[Shelby and Kev]

Come on down!! The weather is warming up here in Central Florida...We are down the road from JAX an hour.  It should be nice for your Christmas, weather wise.  On any long rides the Doodle Shelby usually lays down after a while until we slow down.  Good Luck on your journey!!