Advise please

[teddybearlover7777]

My puppy is 12 weeks old and in 3 days we will be going to Florida for a week. My puppy could stay in my back yard and someone would come and feed him everyday but the problem with that is that he dosen't really get along with the other dogs yet. So I don't think I'll do that. Plus, I give him so much attention I'm afraid he may get into trouble. I could send him to a friend but I'm still worried about that one. I don't know why. Or I could take him with me. But I'm afraid since he's so young he'll get sick on the trip or something like that. I won't put him in a kennel! Any advise would be appreciated.

[doggylover]

If you don't have anyone who can babysit, the next only decent option I can personally think of is to take him with you.  If the other dogs are bigger than him it wouldn't be a good idea imo to leave them unattended.  You could God forbid, come home to find him seriously injured or dead. 
Best of luck with your decision and have fun in Florida!
Ronda

[teddybearlover7777]

I haven't left him with anyone else before. I spend all my time with him. He's 12 weeks old so would it tramatize him? Has anyone left a puppy that young with someong else before?

[shangrila]

If you can't take him with you and you are afraid to let him go to a friend's house, I would try and get someone to come stay at your house to watch him.

I would try and avoid taking him to a kennel because he is too yound to be fully immunized.

I would also deffinately not leave him in the backyard. He is too young to be alone outside all day, let alone for a week. He could get hurt, sick, or even stolen if left alone outside ven with someone coming to check on him every day

[NoDogNow]

If you have a family member who's willing to take him, I think it's a great idea.  I recommend it be someone he's going to be seeing a lot of anyway--your parents or one of your sibs, especially if they have dogs of their own. 

My sister left their 14 week old shepherd shelter baby with my parents for 2 weeks a month after they got her, and came home to a totally house-broke, sitting, paw offering baby who loves my parents and who more importantly, knows how to kowtow to Max.  Squiggy's definitely my sister's girl, but she's very comfortable at my mom's if she has to be there for a few days. Demonspawn was never left with Mom like that when he was really small, and he can't get along with Max to save their lives.

I wouldn't go with a boarding facility at this age. If you don't have someone that you're going to want your puppy to be semi-bonded with to take him, take him with you.  Disney World has really nice day kennels. 

[BarkleysMum]

Personally, I think it would be more traumatizing to leave the dog alone in the backyard, particularly if he's used to a lot of human contact.  I'd be very concerned about his safety if you were to leave him alone in the back yard.  I dogsat the dogs next door for two weeks while their owners went away, and can tell you that even though we tried to spend a lot of time with them and were only next door, they were lonely and regressed in their behaviour and training.  I'm a huge believer that our pets need their people ... and if he can't have you, then he needs someone either staying with him - or he needs to stay with someone.

Good luck.

[newflvr]

I agree with everybody else about taking him.  We've taken our dogs with us almost every place and they have all done so well.  I think it's important for them to get used to being in all sorts of situations so that they learn to stay calm no matter what.

Second choice is to have someone come in to the house to stay.

[k2campbell]

I agree with everybody else about taking him.  We've taken our dogs with us almost every place and they have all done so well.  I think it's important for them to get used to being in all sorts of situations so that they learn to stay calm no matter what.

Second choice is to have someone come in to the house to stay.

I agree with nwflvr 100%, I would never leave him in your yard alone, it's way too dangerous and would only cause him stress.  It would be best to take him with you or have someone stay with him.  It would be great for him to go with you, he would learn lots of new things.  Please don't leave him in your yard alone.

[teddybearlover7777]

I would never leave Bear alone. Just the thought of leaving him makes me sad. I want to take him so badly. I know he would love the beach! He's only 12 weeeks though and he dosen't have all his shots. Would it be dangerous to take him since he hasn't?

[Saint and Mal mom]

If you decide to take him with you, make sure you take ALL your vet records with you of his immunizations, flea and tick drops, and any other medical records you can find! Even if he doesn't have every shot yet because of his age, you can prove that he has the necessary ones at his age with the records. I wouldn't worry too much about taking him if that's what you choose to do. If it makes you feel better, you can even find nearby vets where you will be staying on mapquest.com. I do that when our girls go with us! Whatever you decide, I hope you will rest easy with your decision.

[teddybearlover7777]

The problem I'm worried about is that it's a 12 hour drive. Too long for him??

[doggylover]

The problem I'm worried about is that it's a 12 hour drive. Too long for him??

ROFL, with many stops, it shouldn't be too bad for him.  I can GUARANTEE it will be a LONG trip for you with him along though!
 

[navarre1316]

I took my shepard EVERYWHERE with me, I am constantly on the road, even at 6 wks.  You just have to stop every few hours for him, he'll be fine and it will teach him how to travel well!!  Just make sure you have plenty of water in case you get stuck on the interstate for any reason.  Good Luck

[NoDogNow]

Twelve hours!  Ptah!  That's fine.

We used to drive from Idaho to Los Angeles almost every summer vacation to visit my great aunt and uncle, and always brought the dogs. We even brought Misty and her last 3 puppies one summer--my Aunt Pearl kept one of the girls and her daughter took the boy.  We went home with Misty and 1 girl!

Figure 16 hours instead of 12, with potty and run around breaks.  It's all about enough break times, and a good travel crate.

[teddybearlover7777]

Thanks, I feel a lot more at ease at making my decision now