I have a family that wants a puppy-they live 5 hrs away.
They are a great family-would you have issues with a puppy having to travel that long and, what advice would you give about the trip
Thank you to anyone who may have encountered this .

I would be so thankful that they're willing to drive that far and aren't asking you to ship it!!! My advice would be to not feed the puppy before the trip and to ask them to purchase and bring a travel crate. You (and they) wouldn't want a loose puppy in the car in case of an accident.

In my opinion, 5 hours, although long, is not unreasonable. If it is a home you would like to sell a puppy to I would not let the distance stop you.

I am sorry that I don't have any good advice to give for tips for traveling. I am sure that others on here will have some good ideas. I like to travel with a puppy in a crate (most pet buyers don't) and I don't like to stop for potty breaks if I can help it ( too many germs at rest stops and I am afraid the untrained puppy might get loose and run away). I wouldn't feed anything the morning of travel and just a very small amount of water.

good luck

When the puppy is 6 weeks old, begin short rides in the car. You will learn a lot about how well any one puppy will handle car rides. You will find that not all puppies react the same to car rides. Some are happy as clams. Some of them scream, vomit, pee, and poop. Some sleep and then scream, vomit, pee, and poop.

5 hours may not be a pleasant experience for the dogs or the humans. Frequent stops will be necessary. Bring lots of Nature's Miracle and paper towels and wear old clothes. On the other hand, maybe the puppy will simply sleep through the ride. Hard to tell.

I personally would not subject a 8 week old puppy and/or the humans to the risks that a 5 hour car ride would be miserable. I would wait until the puppy has some reliable bowel and bladder control (about 12 weeks) and has had some experiences (hopefully good ones) riding in a crate in a car.

Where other dogs may have been. Pull over on the side of the road to take the pup out for a potty break.

Best, as someone else mentioned, don't stop at all. If the puppy is in a newspaper lined crate it really won't matter if he pees or poops. Better an unhappy safe puppy than chancing an accident, IMHO. I have read so many stories of automobile accidents where the dog gets loose and runs away, or ends up being a flying object, I truly believe a crate is the only safe solution for ANY dog.

Yes, that is wonderful that they will drive and get the pup. I have had some come from alot further and be fine. Of course, educate them a little with walking areas. We do ask them to bring the crate. Pups ride so much better in a crate. Some think they can hold them the ride home. I give them a bottle of water if they forgot that. We have talked so many times by then they have everything.

Good for you! Someone willing to drive a long distance is someone who truly wants and loves the dog. The crate can be large enough to fit the dog for life, so it's not a huge expense over time. It just amazes me that people who wouldn't dream of holding a human baby in their lap going 65mph think nothing of doing that with a baby dog. Better safe than sorry!

I once traveled 18 hours over 2 days to pick up a 9.5 week puppy and stayed in a motel in between with the puppy. You can stop anywhere for a potty break IF it's even needed for a 5 hr trip. I put a leash and collar on the puppy for breaks. The puppy continually cried in the crate but was content to lay and sleep at the feet of the passenger. Crate training prior would help.

Been there, done that. :) We drove 5 hours one way for Caleb- twice. Once to see the litter & make our pick when they were 6 weeks old, then again two weeks later to bring Caleb home. Tips I can pass along- besides the crate, a disposable pee pad in the crate instead of newspaper (bring extras), a couple of good chew toys, water & dish, collar and leash. I put an id tag on the collar with our cell phone numbers. Also, I took a small towel with me that Caleb's breeder rubbed all over his littermates. Oh yeah- ear plugs. LOL Caleb howled like a Husky for the first maybe 10 minutes. Then he settled in and eventually fell asleep.

I would also make sure they have something really tasty for the puppy to chew on. I give my puppy people frozen marrow bones(with marrow removed) for the ride home/plane ride and everyone tells me the puppies settle right in and chew their bones and then fall asleep.

My pups are well on the way to being crate trained/ housebroken when they go home. I ask new families to stop every 2 or 3 hours and potty pup. I suggest areas rarerly used by other dogs such as the little strips of grass behind parking lots of banks or fast food restaurants, etc. I think it would be cruel to leave pup in a crate for 5 hours without pottying them - mine would cry terribly.

I've had people come to the east coast from as far as Iowa. I had them come the day before, get in around dinner time and we visited for the evening. They stayed at a local hotel. I was up by 4 am, exed, lightly fed and had pup "empty" by the time they got to my house at 6am. All the paperwork , etc we did the night before, so they scooped up the pup and hit the road. They were home at a reasonable hour and the pup slept most of the way home. I think they made two stops, but the pup did sleep well. Better than a hungry pup screaming in the car.
I put many layers of paper in the crate and they were able to remove just the wet layers during their stops, which turned out to be not very wet at all!

I have placed several puppies in other states and they typically travel very well. Most drive to me on day one and spend the night locally and pick up their puppy the next morning so they do not feel rushed to get home. I do not feed the puppy that morning, but do send food home with them. I do ask that they bring a crate, leash(I provide the collar and familiar toys), paper towels, towels, bowl for water. I also send home a gallon of my water. We also talk about areas that are better than others for walking the puppy. With some direction from you, and the puppy owner being prepared, it can and does work very well.
Julia

I have had people come in as far as 8 hours away.

I tell them to bring a crate, newspapers, baby wipes, towels, a bottle of water, water bowl and a leash. I send home a towel or baby blanket and a couple of toys with the mom and littermates scent on it. I also send them some puppy food. I stress to them that if they have to stop and walk the puppy to be sure to walk it away from as many public/pet area's as possible. So far I have never had any problems. I have drove 10 hours to pick up a puppy.

I've had people drive cross-country to pick up a puppy (twice!). They were prepared with hotels and frequent stops along the way. It's worth the investment of two days of discomfort for a great dog who will be with you for 10-15 years! I would rather place a puppy with a family willing to go through the inconvenience than to place him/her in a home across the street that may not be willing to make the effort.

Over the lifetime of the dog, things just work a lot better if the the dog is near the breeder. And being a "prophet in your own land" is a far bigger compliment that being an "outside expert."

I suggest traveling with two 200 crates. That way if the puppy soils one, I suppose I should say when the puppy soils the first one, you can pop the puppy into the clean crate while you empty the contents of the soiled crate into a trash bag, set the crate up clean again and be on your way. I have a puppy road kit list that includes rubber gloves, spray cleaner, garbage bags, paper towels, water, and towels. I use towels in the crates and wash them when I get home. I always suggest over packing for a puppy pick up trip as I would rather have everything I need than be stuck on the side of the road with a mess I'm not prepared to deal with.

The small crates are very cheap. Sometimes I give them the crates and let them donate them to their local shelter on their end. I found them for $20 at Walmart on a few occasions.