Taking a puppy on vacation

[Chelsea Herman]

Hi All!  I just joined this forum, but it has already been a wealth of information!  I've been reading non-stop for the past week. :-)  We will be bringing home a standard goldendoodle puppy, Sierra, in just over 5 weeks. I feel like I am preparing for a new baby! haha.  We are experienced dog owners (have had Great Danes in the past), but this is our first doodle.  She'll be joining our 2 Bengal cats.

Anyways, my question is regarding car trips and vacations with a young puppy.  We typically drive up to our family lake home in Michigan every summer.  It's about a 13-14 hour drive.  We were planning on still going up this summer, but I've been reading about how many doodles get carsick, and wondering if maybe this is a bad idea.   Sierra will be about 11 weeks old. I've never dealt with carsickness in a dog- is it really that common?  I was planning on bringing potty pads for her to use at stops when we are driving (instead of the rest areas- yuck!).  We are staying at the family lake house- no other dogs, hasn't been used as a rental, etc, so I'm not worried about parvo there.  It's typically a really laid back trip- mostly relaxing at the lake, on the boat, etc.

On one hand, I think it might be good to expose her to some of those things for socialization purposes. On the other hand, I wonder if it might result in set-backs in potty training, etc.  What do you all think?  Thanks!

[Robin and Libby Louise]

I have never taken such a young pup on a vacation, so I can't really speak to that.  But Libby doesn't get carsick and never has.  I think it depends on the individual dog.  As to the rest - if the choices are to either take her or go without her - I would say take her, all other things being equal, as long as she has had whatever shots she needs and the vet thinks it's ok.

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

My girl has been riding in the car, both short and long trips, since the day she came home.  Never any carsickness.  It is purely an individual thing. 

  I would start her out on short trips around town....you will soon know if she is prone to being sick or not. Some do better riding up front, rather than in the back...especially if it is a SUV or Van.     Build up the time spent in the car.  Enzo usually just crashes  and pops up every once in awhile to see where we are. On long trips, she basically sleeps the entire time.     Should you decide to take her, frequent stops, since she will so young and yes, the puppy pads is a great idea re the Parvo!

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Its true, its a very individual thing. We took Lucy a lot of places as a young pup in the car and she never had any problem until we took her on a 2 hr trip to the beach at 4-1/2 mos. She started vomiting about 1-1/2 hrs into the ride and continued vomiting multiple times. Each time we stopped and attempted to clean it up with towels and wipes we had brought for that very purpose. On the ride home from the beach several days later, we let her nibble on fresh ginger and she didn't have any problems. Never a problem after that series of episodes that one trip. Oscar, on the other hand, never vomited, even on long trips. He just laid down and slept. Now, using a pee pad at rest stops might be a bigger concern. Unless the puppy is accustomed to using pee pads at home, I'd think that would only confuse him/her.

[Chelsea Herman]

Thanks for the input! Just to clarify, if I decide it's not a good idea to bring her, I will stay home with her. I would never leave a puppy that young behind with a dog sitter. My husband thinks it will be good for her and that I'm just overthinking things. Perhaps! Haha

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

Some dogs get car sick and some don't and I have one of each.  My Oliver grew out of it.  If you do decide to bring her make sure you start out on a empty stomach, and what helps is keeping them facing forward.  I've read that looking out the side of the car contributes to the sickness......  Good luck with your new puppy and it will be a great vacation for her.