Soon-to-be doodle parent

[Melissa Bissell]

Hi-

I am new to this site, and very excited to be a doodle parent very soon!  We will find out which puppy is ours in a few days, and meet him or her on Saturday.  Our doodle puppy will come home on March 15 - we can't wait!  I have been looking around this site for a few days and found a lot of the forums and discussions very helpful so I thought I would join.  I do have a question.  What do you all recommend for transporting our puppy by car?  We have a 90 minute drive from the breeders, and then we will need to take our puppy for short drives around town.  

Thanks! 

[Amanda]

You seem to have enough advice on transport but the best thing I did for my doodle pup was doggie daycare. If you can't exercise your doodle vigorously daily starting around 4-5 months (after all the shots of course) you will have a ridiculously hard to manage puppy. Daycare + doodle = happy home ;) congrats on the new doodle!

[Melissa Bissell]

Thanks - good advice!  I only work part time so I think I will have enough time to exercise the pup.  And I have a 12 year old son who is very excited to play in the yard with him.  But I will keep that in mind if in need of more exercise.

[Gem's Jewel]

You might try to find a used crate as your puppy will outgrow it quickly. There are some great travel harnesses that attach much like a child's car seat available also.

[Melissa Bissell]

Would you be able to recommend a size?  I am very confused on how to choose.  My pup will be 8 weeks and will be 40-50 pounds when full grown.  So should I be looking for a crate that maybe fits up to 25-30 pounds to get us through the first 4-6 mod months?  I would like it small enough to fit in the seat, but want it to still be comfy for puppy without being too big so that we can avoid "accidents".

[Rosella T]

Hi Melissa, thanks so much for posting this question. I am soon to be a doodle parent as well and my puppy is coming home on March 10th. I have a 7-hour drive with him so this thread is very informative. I hope you update us after Saturday when you find out which puppy will be yours! I'm sure everyone here on Doodle Kisses will want to know. I'm very excited for you!!! :)

[Tammy and Violet]

I always use a crate.. always... call me overprotective.. but........

[Melissa Bissell]

What size and style/brand do you use/recommend?  Your dog is super cute!

[Kristin and Sophie]

I also love the Midwest crate with 2 doors that John Wang referred to below.  It doesn't limit you as to where you can place it because you have a door on the front and also on the side.  I also bought and use the Midwest exercise pen every day.  When Sophie was a puppy, I'd put her in that so that I knew she was safe, but had more room to play with her toys.  It's nice because it can be configured into different shapes.  Sophie is a year old so she doesn't get into that much now, but it was a life saver during her 1 year.