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Advice for travelling with a dog...

cecily

Well-known member
In two weeks we'll be heading over to pick up our new arrival :rah:
He's a real live wire apparently!

Anyway it's a bit of a trek. Driving from here to Belfast. 2 hours on the ferry. Just over an hour from Stranraer to our destination.

The dogs must be kept in the car during the ferry (although I also see that they have kennels on a first come first served basis... might be good for Tandie on the way over? Although I wouldn't put dougal in it as he won't have had all his shots).

Just wondering if anybody had any practical advice for this much travelling with dogs. Obviously when driving we'll be able to take breaks but on the ferry I'm not sure what the story is? Can we stay down on the car deck with the dogs? Can we walk them around on it? I haven't been on a car ferry since I was little :) It's a 2 hour crossing but Dougal could be confined to the car for up to 3 hours between getting on and off... what about toiletting?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions :thnku:
 
I would think your dog would be happier on home territory in the car and you won't have the worry that the kennels may carry infection. With a good toilet walk before the ferry, Tandie will probably sleep the journey away.
 
Cecily,

You could put some puppy pads on the floor/in the car so if the baby needs a wee he has somewhere to go if needs be (if he has not had his jabs). Our journey was 2.5 hours to pick our boys up and both of them slept all the way home so I don't think you'll have a problem. I'm sure Tandie will sleep most of the time too. As long as she's had a wee and a poo she'll be fine.

I don't think you can stay in the car deck, i think there is some health and saftey reason for it.
 
Thanks! That's a great idea for the puppy pads... we've never used them before. What's a good brand, or does it make a difference?

Actually I was reading in a puppy book that siad to include them in your puppy's xpen but to rub some grass on them if that's where you eventually want your puppy to eliminate. In fact it even suggested that you could put down a litter tray with a roll of grass or whatever. I thought that seemed like a good idea. It would ease the transition between indoor and outdoor, if that's what you were doing.
 
Hi Cecily,

I use the puppy pads as well as paper. I sort of mix the two up so when some wee has soaked into the pad I put paper over the top to encourage Oakley to go to the paper/pads. That way, when we move to outside he is used to the pad so I just put a a used pad down in the garden with some stones scattered over it to encourage him to go one one spot more or less.

Merlin will very rarely poop in the garden, he likes to find a bush to stick his bum in so that mum has to fight her way through branches to pick up poo! :roll:
 
Forgot to answer your first question - I use the simple solution pads from Pets at Home - £5.99 for 14 - so you know why I mix them with paper at that price!
 
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