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Traveling with Puppies--what should I get??

1K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  chevysmom 
#1 ·
Hi! We'll be leaving in a couple days to go to our family cottage. It's a four+ hour trip there. I'm not too worried about the pups in the truck since they don't mind going for rides and we will be stopping often for potty breaks and so they can stretch and move around a bit.

The cottage is lake front property and there is no fencing of course. I was thinking of getting them each one of those long training leads so that if they do start to run or get too far away, someone will be able to grab the lead. I was thinking of getting the 15 foot. I just don't want the pups to take off or get hurt (there is a public beach just down the way and a road). Their recall is somewhat good but I don't want to take any chances and they've never been off lead when not in a fenced in yard. I could also tie the leads to something and they'd still have room to roam around (with supervision of course!). And this will be their first time swimming in a lake sooo...would I leave the lead on (just in case) or ??

Opinions and suggestions are VERY VERY welcome!!
 
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#3 ·
I think getting the long-line training leads (15 feet or so) is a good idea. That way they have some room to roam but are always under control. When I take my dogs to the beach (where leashes are mandatory) I use long lines so that they can still chase toys and play in the waves and such. Another option might be a Flexi lead. Other than that I would say work on their recalls and don't take any chances letting them off leash in an unfenced area. Have fun!
 
#4 ·
We took Max to a cabin a few months back. We kept a close eye on him and had to go get him a few times. We didn't use a long lead because there was so much (trees and such)for the lead to get hung up on. It was like watching a two year old but we had a blast and were very glad we took him. He loved the lake, he was quite surprised that is swallowed him up, when he ran in he thought it was the ground until half of his body disappeared in the water now he loves the water!
 
#5 ·
I have those steel cable tie outs for my cottage. Rafi ended up never needing to be tied up this summer because he was never more than 2 feet away from me unless he was playing with another dog or chasing a ball. I have had to use them for other dogs though.

I did use the long line for Basu but took him off of it for swimming because I was afraid it would get hooked on something. He did fall off the dock once while on a leash and almost strangled himself!


Take really special treats like string cheese or hot dogs and use those only for recalls. I would start practicing before you go. I take Rafi to lots of off leash places around here and it really helped with his recall for the cottage.
 
#6 ·
Thanks! We ended up with the 20ft leads since they were only 40¢ more than the 15ft. There's not many trees around so I'm not worried about them getting tangled up. I want them to be able to run around somewhat freely but still be "safe".
 
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