10 Tips For the Car Ride Home With a New Puppy

Bringing your new puppy home is such an exciting time! But how do you prepare for the car ride, especially if you have a long way to travel?

When we prepared for a long car ride home with our new puppy, our goal was to make sure she was comfortable, happy, and safe. And we knew we’d need to pack the right puppy supplies to help make that happen.

We’d made many road trips with our adult Goldendoodle. But traveling a long distance with a 10-week-old puppy? It was going to take extra preparation, travel supplies, and some ingenuity.

Whether you’re making a trip across town or across the state to pick up your new puppy, you may be wondering what to expect on the drive home. I hope that by sharing our own travel experience, you’ll discover some helpful tips and ideas to make your own journey a wonderful adventure for you and your new puppy.

10-week-old cream Goldendoodle with paws on steering wheel as if ready to make a long car drive home

Before the trip

1. Make a list and gather all your puppy gear for the car ride home.

First, let’s start with a comprehensive packing list of supplies for your trip home with your new puppy.

Since we were traveling a long distance, we didn’t skimp on supplies. We included items for every part of the trip including potty time, meal time, bedtime, and travel time.

Depending on your situation, the puppy gear you need could be different. However, this list below should make a great starting place to help you get organized…

Crate — We brought a small travel crate that would fit in the backseat of our vehicle. We placed a towel in the bottom of it for our puppy’s comfort.
Towels—Towels can come in handy for a variety of situations. It rained during our drive home, so we used towels to dry our puppy’s wet coat. While our puppy did not get car sick, a towel could come in handy in this situation, too.
Water for puppy—Having plenty of drinking water already packed in the car was a definite.
Water bowl—Remember to pack either a water bowl or a collapsible water bowl so it’s easy for your puppy to drink water.
Potty pads—We packed potty pads to use in the car if there was a potty emergency and we couldn’t get to a location where we could stop the vehicle.
Paw wipes—As an extra precaution, we brought paw wipes to clean our puppy’s feet after being outdoors for potty breaks. Since our puppy was too young to be fully immunized, wiping the paws was an extra safety measure even when we’d chosen remote, unpopulated potty spots.
Nature’s Miracle—Bringing clean-up supplies like Nature’s Miracle comes in handy if you need to wipe up potty accidents.
Small trash bag—In case of potty accidents, you’ll have a bag to put everything in until you get to a place where you can properly dispose of it.
Paper towels—To wipe up any accidents.
Blanket—Always a good thing to have on hand for comfort.
Poopy sacks—For puppy potty breaks on the way home, you’ll need waste disposal bags for quick pick ups. (Read on to learn why we chose out-of-the way locations for potty breaks.)
Collar and leash—For those stops for your puppy to go potty, you’ll definitely want your pupper on a leash. We used the “2 fingers under the collar” rule of thumb to ensure the collar fit properly and wouldn’t slip off.
Food—Make sure to learn what kind of food your puppy is currently eating and buy the exact same kind. While most reputable breeders or shelters will supply you with a small amount of the puppy’s current food, there’s no need to take chances on not having adequate food for your new puppy to last until you get home.
Measuring cup—It wasn’t until our puppy’s first mealtime that I realized I hadn’t thought to bring a measuring cup to measure the correct amount of puppy food. I made due using the palm of my hand to estimate the amount. However, I’d recommend bringing a measuring cup for accuracy. Of course, this only applies if your trip home with your puppy is a long one and spans mealtimes.
Puppy-safe toys—We chose the Kong binkie and the Kong classic as two toys for our puppy’s ride home. They both gave her something to investigate and chew on during the trip.

Things that you might need for yourself:

Umbrella – Puppies need to go potty regardless of the weather. In our case, there was a torrential downpour during our trip home. We’d packed an umbrella, which made our potty breaks in the rain a little bit easier.

Goldendoodle mom with umbrella and new Goldendoodle puppy under her arm

Wet Goldendoodle puppy getting dried off from the rain during a long car ride home

3. Plan on carrying your puppy in your arms and avoid public areas.

Bringing your puppy home may seem simple. But more than likely, your puppy isn’t fully vaccinated. And that’s where it gets more complicated. Unvaccinated puppies need to be protected from potential diseases that are very, very serious.

This means your puppy should not be around other dogs who may not have been vaccinated, nor should your puppy walk around in public areas where unvaccinated dogs may have walked or pottied.

Here’s what experts say about keeping your unvaccinated puppy safe:

American Veterinary Medical Associaton (AVMA) says, “Until your puppy is fully vaccinated avoid taking it to parks or other areas where it has uncontrolled exposure to dogs with questionable or unknown vaccination histories.”
Lakeland Animal Vet says, “Yes, you can take your puppy outside to go to the bathroom, however, it is best to only take your puppy out to places that do not get a lot of foot traffic such as your backyard.” And this, “…it is a good idea to avoid most public places until your puppy has been fully vaccinated with their core vaccines. If you do need to take your puppy into a public area such as the veterinarian, picking them up and carrying them will prevent them from coming into contact with harmful pathogens.”
AAHA accredited Phoenix Veterinary Center says, “Additionally, it’s important to avoid high-risk areas during the vulnerable period when your puppy has not yet completed their vaccination series. These areas may include dog parks, pet stores, or other public spaces where unvaccinated or potentially infected dogs frequently gather.”

The best source of information is always your veterinarian. If you’re planning to pick up your puppy and have a long car ride home, speak with your vet about ways you can ensure your puppy’s safety.

For our family, we carried our puppy in our arms, kept our puppy in a crate, found uninhabited grassy areas for potty breaks, and carried our leashed puppy to the spot rather than letting her run through the grass. Then we wiped the paws after the potty break. Also, we kept our focus on getting home, and having all our supplies with us so we didn’t need to make any unnecessary stops.

2. Use the buddy system.

Bring a friend or family member along with you for your trip home with your new puppy. This tip is so important. By having two people traveling together, one person can focus on driving and the other can focus on the needs of the puppy.

3. Puppy proof your vehicle before your trip.

Even if your puppy is in a crate for the ride home, you’ll want to puppy proof your vehicle before your trip. Give your car a once over and look for anything that might look like a fun chew toy to a curious puppy. This may include tissues, crumbs hiding under the seats, etc. Also, check to make sure you don’t have any gum or candy in the car where your puppy can get it. Many sugarless gums contain xylitol (a.k.a. birch sugar), an artificial sweetener that is highly toxic to dogs.

4. Puppy proof your home so that it’s ready for your puppy’s arrival.

When you arrive home with your new puppy, you will want to focus on him or her! By puppy proofing your home before you depart, you won’t have to scramble to get things put away or put in place when you get home.

10-week-old Goldendoodle puppy lying on a wood floor looking curious

5. If traveling a long distance, make pet-friendly accommodations ahead of time.

If traveling includes an overnight stay, remember to make reservations at a pet-friendly hotel ahead of time. Pro tip: Ask for a room near the exit so that you’re close to the exterior door and you can quickly carry your puppy outside for night time potty breaks. This will save you from making a long trek carrying your puppy down multiple hallways to get outside.

During the trip home

6. Make the drive home comfortable for your puppy.

Give your puppy lots of sweet talk and love. This may be the first time your puppy has been exposed to a vehicle, new smells, and even the movement of a car. Allow your puppy to sniff the inside of your car and take in the new experience without rushing. Take your time and give your puppy lots of positive praise. You want your puppy’s first exposure to the car to be a positive one, so you’re setting your new bestie up for happy future car trips. And of course, never ever leave your puppy unattended in a car.

7. Make frequent stops.

You’re probably excited for your new puppy to see home! However, plan for the drive home to take longer than the drive to pick up your puppy. This is because, unless you’re just traveling a across town, your puppy will need frequent potty breaks in low-foot traffic, out-of-the-way locations.

8. Give yourself and your puppy time to settle in if your trip includes an overnight stay.

If like us, your drive is long, you may need to make an overnight stay. Allow plenty of time for this new situation for your puppy. Also, check out where the exits are ahead of time so you have a plan to carry your puppy out in the middle of the night for potty time. Or, request a room near the exit for extra ease. As mentioned above, we carried our puppy since she wasn’t fully vaccinated.

This was one of our middle of the night potty breaks!

For bed time, we placed our puppy in her crate next to our bed so she was near us. Also, we put our hands in the crate so she could cuddle up and feel us near her.

Arrival home

9. Allow your puppy time to go potty before heading inside.

You’re home! Before you head inside, allow your puppy time to check out your back yard first. We gave our puppy time to stop and sniff our backyard so she could learn about her new surroundings. Also, she could go potty outdoors at her new home. This helped set her up for future potty success.

If your puppy does go potty, remember to give verbal praise to reward the behavior. Also, make a mental note of where your puppy went potty. Identifying a “potty spot” often helps the puppy because he or she may want to go in that same area again.

10. Remember to set up a new puppy visit with your vet.

Once you’re home with your puppy, if you haven’t already done so, make an appointment with your veterinarian for a new puppy well check visit. This is important not only for your puppy’s general health assessment, but also to get properly set up with a puppy vaccination schedule. Also, you can ask your vet for all sorts of advice about things like Goldendoodle puppy potty training, nutrition, and crate training.

For more helpful tips on preparing for the first days home with your new puppy, check out my article on bringing a Goldendoodle puppy home.

Enjoy every moment of puppy parenting

This is the beginning of a lifetime of adventures with your new puppy. Hold your new puppy in your arms and enjoy every moment.

By planning ahead, you can create a wonderful car trip home for both you and your new puppy. I hope that by sharing our own journey bringing our puppy home, you picked up a few tips and ideas that will help make your journey go smoothly. By being prepared for your trip home, you can help start your puppy’s life with you off on the right paw.