The Very First Trip With Your Puppy

     The very first trip of a puppy’s life is also the most nerve wracking.  This is the trip from the breeder’s to its new home.  If possible, pick up your puppy in the morning.  It then has the whole day to get used to the new situation.  Ask the breeder not to feed it that day.  The young animal will be overwhelmed by all kinds of new experiences.  Firstly, it’s away from its mother; it’s in a small room (the car) with all its different smells, noises and strange people.  So there’s a big chance that the puppy will be carsick for the first time, with the annoying consequence that it will remember riding in the car as an unpleasant experience.

     So it’s important to make this first trip as pleasant as possible.  When picking up a puppy, always take someone with you who can sit in the back seat with the puppy on his or her lap and talk to it calmly.  If it’s too warm for the puppy, a place on the floor at the feet of your companion is ideal.  The pup will lie there relatively quietly and may even take a nap.  Ask the dog breeder for a cloth or something else from its nest that carries a familiar scent.  The puppy can lie on this in the car, and it will also help if it feels alone during the first night at home.

     If the trip is a long one, then stop for a break (once in a while).  Let your puppy roam and sniff around (on the leash!), have a little drink and, if necessary, do its business.  Do take care to lay an old towel in the car.  It can happen that the puppy, in its nervousness, may urinate or be sick.  It’s also good advice to give a puppy positive experience with car journeys.  Make short trips to nice places where you can walk and play with it.  It can be a real nuisance if your dog doesn’t like riding in a car.  After all, once in a while you will have to take it to certain places, such as the veterinarian or to visit fiends and acquaintances.

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