Pup comes home tomorrow

greatpyreneesmum

New Member
We are setting out tomorrow to bring our baby Great Pyr home. :dogcool:Our trec is 4 hours one way so, here's my question. What can we do to make our new addition's first ride not so terrifying? (again, 4 hrs. long):dogohmy:

Any response is welcomed, including--what we should take with us and suggestions for possible situations we might find ourselves in.

Thanks to all,

Denise
 

Jean Cote

Administrator
Staff member
Have someone in the backseat with the dog to keep him company. Have a bowl of water (preferably the same water that he is drinking at the breeders, you can bring a plastic bottle and fill it up at their house). If you can, stay at the breeders until the puppies are done playing together and leave at the nap time. That will give you a bit of time for the drive back home. Prepare the backseat of your car for potential urine and puke which may happen.

You will need a small collar for your dog along with a leash. I assume that your house is prepared for the dog? Did you stock up on supplies like a crate, dog bed, puppy food, toys, scott towels to pick up eventual feces. A nice thing that people don't think of is urine scent remover, when you use that after the dog urinates or poops on your floor, it will remove the smell and the dog will not be as tempted to go to the same spot.

Oh, and prepare yourself for a heck of a first night. If you are going to directly crate train your dog, he will bark and scream all night. Remember to only let the dog out of his crate when he is not making any noise. But you may opt to leave crate training for another day, which you should know that puppies can only hold their urine for about 4 hours maximum. So you will have to get up several times a night to let puppy outside.

Also, you should schedule an immediate trip to the veterinarian to make sure everything is fine with the puppy. Most breeders will only give you your money back if you bring the puppy back within days after you picked him up.

That is all I can think of right now.. Good luck with your new best friend.
 

snooks

Experienced Member
bring lots of towels and something if you can from the litter like toys or a blanket so the smells will be familiar. if you can't get a blanket or scent item from the breeder take ur own towel and wipe it over his mom and the whelping box - where clean and just get some comfort scents.

you may need towels and wet wipes, extra water to clean puppy up too. most of them get car sick. be sure not to over react when/if he does or he may associate puking with the car. be comforting and reassuring and calm. clean him up softly, cuddle, and clean his crate or bedding up and replace it. don't freak and say oh no!! are you okay and snatch him up. just pet and be there while he's sick then calmly gather him up and clean. don't feed him too much or let him drink too much. a little empty is better than really full.

take frequent stops to let him potty, this is very exciting maybe scary so he may need more stops. be careful with the leash if he's never had one on. most puppies at that age are very clingy and usually respond to clapping and puppy puppy puppy in a high fun voice, squatting and patting the ground and kissy noises all are preferable than having him panic at the end of a leash if he's never had one on.

be careful where you let him on the ground since he's not fully vaccinated don't go to a park or rest stop where other dogs surely have been. you could be exposing him to parvo, distemper, and many other serious things. i usually prefer to go down a side road way away from any roads and carry puppy away from anything dangerous to potty.

i would get a crate and some Kongs to fill with a little food and/or peanut butter and freeze them to make them last longer. just a little tiny kong though and mix peanut butter with maybe some canned food and kibble or chicken. these are safe ways to distract him from being all alone. make sure not to take him out of the crate while he's howling wait for a pause, even if it's to draw a breath. you don't want howling to be the signal to get out. be prepared to ignore it if ur sure he's potty'd and isn't hungry.

it often helps to sleep by the crate which i've done with many puppies the first night or two. that way he can see and feel you and not be totally alone. sometimes i leave on the tv really low and a nite lite so i can see and be sure they are okay and there is some noise as there would be with a litter of puppies.

have fun, i'm jealous!! pyr puppies are SOOO CUTE :dogbiggrin:
 

greatpyreneesmum

New Member
Our pup came home yesterday!!! We had no problems as he rode extreamly well. Thanks for your advice. The towel on mommy worked beautifully.

Denise
 
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