[swestypants]

Hey! New here, I believe this is the best place for me to ask this question, as I didnt notice anywhere else for it specifically?

I will be driving the ridiculous 1200 mile trek from Pensacola Fla to Iron Mountain Michigan (in the Upper Peninsula) on July 1 with two will be 8 and a half week old puppies.

I'm splitting the trip up into two days, 7 hours to Nashville on Monday, and 12-14 hours to Michigan on Tuesday.

I was curious what I need to do to prepare the pups for this kind of car travel? The place I got them from was 3 hours away and they did great, hardly any whimpering.

They currently eat in the early morning after they wake up, around noon, and early evening. How should I approach feeding them while on the trip?

How often do I need to stop to keep them as comfortable as possible without sacrificing a crud ton of time?

I will have a second driver so while we can switch off puppy duty while we each use the restroom. My goal is to leave around 6/7am from Nashville so I can hopefully get to my destination before 10pm

They are being crate trained, and will each have a kong to keep them busy.
I am staying with a friend in Nashville, and his 5 month old mix will be more than happy to help me wear the pups out before we set back out on Tuesday.

When I was younger we made this trip with older dogs, and it was no big deal for them, however I am completely new to traveling with puppies.

I'm open to suggestions, and tips for anything that I havnt thought about asking. tips for rest area etiquette and such.

Oh, and I'm driving a '98 Mustang.

 

[Galathiel]

I think you can probably figure you will need to stop every 2-3 hours. You will also need to find a relatively 'safe' place to potty, i.e. not normal potty areas, since your puppies are not safe from diseases such as parvo. I fed my pup 4 times a day at that age (actually still do until 12 weeks), so I would plan in one or two longer stops each day for food/potty breaks. Be sure to stock a lot of towels, paper towels/wet wipes, plastic bags and probably jugs of water .. just in case.

 

[swestypants]

I think you can probably figure you will need to stop every 2-3 hours. You will also need to find a relatively 'safe' place to potty, i.e. not normal potty areas, since your puppies are not safe from diseases such as parvo. I fed my pup 4 times a day at that age (actually still do until 12 weeks), so I would plan in one or two longer stops each day for food/potty breaks. Be sure to stock a lot of towels, paper towels/wet wipes, plastic bags and probably jugs of water .. just in case.

Thats what I was thinking for how often to stop.

I didnt even think about towels and wet wipes!!

I have baggies and jugs of water prepped though.

 

[kaeseybadger]

I agree with Galathiel! We actually traveled to TX to get our puppy (we live in Jacksonville, FL). We stayed in MS on the way back to break up the driving time. As long as they're in their crates they should be fine. We stopped about every 2 to 3 hours. The hardest part was finding safe areas for breaks. They will do a lot of sleeping!

 

[swestypants]

I agree with Galathiel! We actually traveled to TX to get our puppy (we live in Jacksonville, FL). We stayed in MS on the way back to break up the driving time. As long as they're in their crates they should be fine. We stopped about every 2 to 3 hours. The hardest part was finding safe areas for breaks. They will do a lot of sleeping!

Ah okay phew. I just know how absolutely energetic they are right now, and I'm just worried that they will be super miserable on the way up!!

 

[Galathiel]

Not saying they won't be miserable .. it just depends. We travelled about 2 1/2 hours with ours .. he did a good bit of wailing...like the practically the whole drive. I hope yours sleep much better!