[Saphire]

I have signed a contract with a breeder to pick up a standard puppy next month. Puppy will be 8-9 weeks old, is located 10 hours away and I will most likely fly both ways and bring puppy in the cabin with me. The trip involves a 2 hour drive to the airport from the breeder (tempted to drive back with a one way rental but the air is cheap). I plan to go alone. If anyone has opinions one way or the other as to whether I should fly back or do a one way rental, I am open to hearing them. Note the cost is the same, the one way rental may be slightly more since I cannot fly in and out the same day but the price difference is negligible. It is more what you think is easier on me and the puppy. I might be able to get one of my older kids to meet me and drive back but since he is over 21 but under 25 I would be doing all the driving most likely. I have driven more than 10 hours in one day on several occasions over the last year. Although I do not love it, it does not scare me. I am leaning toward the plane but will decide as I get closer

What carrier should I get for the plane? Brands or types. I believe the maximum size is 17Lx 11Hx11W. I will most likely be flying American or possibly (but most likely not) Delta in the US if that matters. The plane will most likely be one flown by Republic Airlines (they fly for both airlines as their regional carrier), a regional jet an Emb 175. The flight is under 2 hours. I will keep the puppy in the carrier during the drive to the airport. Do rental companies care if you bring a dog in their car? How hard is it to deal with a puppy on a plane? Anything I need to be alert for? Any special needs I should consider or bring something for? Planning to bring pads in case of an accident and a change of clothes for me. This is my second standard so I am not new to the breed.

Once I get home, should I be restraining the puppy in the car? Since the puppy will obviously grow a lot I would have to buy more than one harnass? My late dog would get very car sick in the car so never took anyplace in the car for fun. Other than the trip home was never in the car for more than 20 minutes so if this dog has the same problem I do not think I want to invest in a harness but if this one likes the car and will be in it with the family that is another story. Another issue is when the whole family comes every seat except one is taken so I cannot use a restraint that requires the dog to stretch out on the seat. I would like the puppy to get used to a restraint so that it becomes second nature but I want the dog to be comfortable on long car trips. A full size standard would be too big to crate in the car, especially if I have the family along since it would take up 3 seats. I was watching a video on another thread and it seems like many harnesses do not work anyway

 

[Michigan Gal]

Call the airline and ask for their recommendations. The puppy will have to be in the carrier the entire time he is on the plane. Rescue Remedy may be a good idea.

Take off and landing will be awful for the puppy, just like for a baby. Bring a chew toy.

In the car, you might be able to use a larger carrier than on the plane. Just make sure you get him tired out before jumping into a two hour car ride.

 

[MaizieFrosty]

Definitely fly both ways! Waaaay easier.

Congrats on your puppy!

 

[Skylar]

I would fly. Do you have the option to send the carrier to the breeder so the breeder can get your dog used to the crate?

When we picked up our dog, she was almost a year old and a minipoo. We considered flying home but decided with an older dog that was at the limit of size for flying, driving was a better option for us. We flew to the breeder and rented a car to drive home. I think it was a 9 hour drive.

We flew early in the morning and I brought a suitcase filled with cleaning products and thick towels to cover the car to protect it from any damage. My dog did throw up and we were prepared to clean it up leaving the rental car clean. We didn’t check the rental car agreement to see if pets were allowed.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

An acquaintance was recently stuck at the airport with her dog with NO doggy toilet option.

They were delayed for something like 12 hours after passing through security!!

And then they still had a cross-country flight.

At one point they even boarded and then had to deplane. Her poor little girl held it the whole time. I can't believe they didn't provide any options for her. Security reasons, I guess?

Moral of the story: Bring a puppy pad or two and some clean-up supplies.

 

[Saphire]

Thank you everyone for the suggestions.

I had not thought of the possibility of the puppy actually throwing up (after 2 dogs and 5 kids it does not occur to me! but I have never had anyone throw up in a car except for one kid who did it but never in a car that I owned or was responsible for), I will bring plastic to protect the rent a car and extra doggie pads to line the crate. I will have to use the same carrier for the car and the plane so I guess better line it.

I can always send the carrier to the breeder since I have to buy one anyway, I can have it sent along with some toys from an online place, this way I do not have to carry it on the way there. I can probably send some pads too or whatever else the breeder recommends. The only difficulty is since there is only one puppy available I will not know if we are a match until they do temperment testing at 7 weeks so not a lot of time to get ready but I guess that is why they have 2 day shipping

 

[MaizieFrosty]

I had not thought of the possibility of the puppy actually throwing up (after 2 dogs and 5 kids it does not occur to me! but I have never had anyone throw up in a car except for one kid who did it but never in a car that I owned or was responsible for),

Ohhh yes, spoos are notorious for getting carsick. Both of mine got carsick, but fortunately they outgrew it. Hope your pup is one of the lucky ones who doesn't get sick!!

And, I hope the temperament testing goes well and this pup is meant to be yours!

 

[Charmed]

Saphire, I would like to be one voice advocating for the drive home. Over the years, my girls and I have made two puppy trips. The memories we made far outweigh any hardships created by the long drive. On one trip my oldest daughter had just received her driver's permit, and she begged us to allow her to be a driver on the trip. We still laugh about some of the things that happened... like me having to make her pull over in a vineyard because I had no idea how to tell her where the speed control button was on the car. I knew where it was with my hands, but not to tell someone else. We have some great pictures of my younger daughter holding her Airedale pup surrounded by beautiful grapes! The second trip was from Michigan to California. Flying would have been so much easier, but my younger daughter wanted another puppy trip. She grew up listening to "Travels with Charley", and was so excited about making her own travels with a Standard Poodle. To add to the excitement, it was really travels with two service dogs, and two poodle pups. More than once, people compared us to a clown car when we all piled out of the van when we made out stops.Yes, we did have the luxury of time, and it was worth every minute.

 

[Saphire]

Thank you Charmed. I hear what you are saying and I do have fond memories of our trip to pick up our late Standard. It was supposed to be 4-5 hours each way but took much longer due to recent snow. I took 4 of the kids and it was interesting for them seeing where she came from but it put more pressure on me to accept the dog. Plus they would have chosen one that I did not want (was very nippy and had an odd conformation in my non breeder opinion), it took me about 2 hours to convince them that the one I wanted was the one they picked!

This time of year I would most likely be going alone as two just started high school and the one that might be able to meet me is in college and may have assignments which he will not know until the week before. Plus he is in an intramural sport and may have competitions

MaizieFrosty, is car sickness really more common in poodles than other breeds? Our late standard was very not good in the car. She would start drooling immediately, the back seat would be soaked on a 20 minute drive when she was younger. She never drooled at any other time. I thought it was just her. I would think show and performance lines would breed away from that since they need to be in a car for long periods to get to shows? At what age do they outgrow it?

The irony is that I get carsick although not as bad as when I was younger, H does not, you could hand him a book to read in the trunk, none of our 5 kids get carsick but our dog did. Our terrier does not and like the car

 

[MaizieFrosty]

MaizieFrosty, is car sickness really more common in poodles than other breeds? Our late standard was very not good in the car. She would start drooling immediately, the back seat would be soaked on a 20 minute drive when she was younger. She never drooled at any other time. I thought it was just her. I would think show and performance lines would breed away from that since they need to be in a car for long periods to get to shows? At what age do they outgrow it?

I would say at least 50% of spoos get carsick, but most outgrow it with proper training (e.g., conditioning them to gradually accept longer rides, starting with just sitting in the car, medications, etc.). There is no way to breed it out. It is just luck of the draw. Half of the puppies in Frosty's litter got sick on the drive home and half did not (he was the sickest of all of them, poor guy). But, he outgrew his sickness around 10 mos.-ish? And Maizie at 8 mos. I gave them Cerenia because we were going on a long road trip each time and it worked like magic. After that, zero sickness! I can take them anywhere now

 

[Eric]

We recently received our spoo puppy via a plane trip. In our case, our breeder had someone that takes the dogs on the plane and delivers them. So for not much more than the cost of a plane ticket for myself ($450), all we had to do was meet the person at the airport to pick up our puppy. In our case she was 8 weeks old at the time, and was carried in a standard nylon airline carry-on crate with mesh sides. I would definitely bring extra puppy pads and something to clean with. Our puppy seemed happy to get out of the carrier, but was otherwise just fine with the experience. I have also traveled by air with a small adult dog using one of those carriers, and had no problems.

I can see the appeal of driving - it can be less stressful, the dog doesn't have to be so confined, and you can stop and take breaks anytime you want. The downside is that with a puppy with probably only its first vaccinations, you really can't take the dog out for a walk anyway. So if it were me, I'd probably opt for flying, just to get the dog home more quickly and get the travel over with. And if your breeder knows someone who can do what ours did, that's the #1 method for sure!

 

[Saphire]

What is Cerenia? Can or should I give something to the puppy if carsick? Our prior standard did great on the 5 hour car ride home, it was every other trip she ever took when there was no novelty that she was unhappy

Eric,

Thank you. I do want to see where she is from and meet the mom but I do see the merits of having a flight nanny. I will talk to the breeder and see if she has someone lined up who can come to my area. I have tons of miles on American which is why it would be relatively cheap for me to fly plus since that part of the midwest is not a hot spot the mileage is even cheap (7k each way). I suppose I could use the mileage to buy the nanny a ticket?! and then pay her fee?! Certainly something to think on