Wondering how to travel with a new puppy? You’ve come to the right place. Almost two months ago (on December 27th, to be exact), I hopped on a flight from NYC to ATL to pick up my new frenchie puppy, Souffle. She is the SWEETEST, MOST PERFECT little girl in the entire world… but I’m sure you all already knew that if you follow me (or her, lolz) on Instagram. Then, two weeks after flying to Atlanta to pick her up, the two of us drove the 11 hours from Connecticut to Charlotte together (almost twelve hours including stops, especially with a puppy requiring to take potty breaks).
Since my airport/road trip escapades, I’ve received quite a number of messages asking about the process of flying/driving with a new puppy. I didn’t realize this was such a relatable topic that so many people had questions about! In this post, I’ll do my best to share everything you need to know about how to travel with a new puppy.
Flight
Souffle was so good on the flight. I was so impressed! I imagine she was terrified, which is totally understandable. After all, she had just been separated from her momma, siblings, and her breeder! She did whine a bit in her carrier, but she fell asleep once the plane took off.
I’ve gotten a few questions about going through Security with a puppy. Going through security was basically normal, with the exception of having to carry Souffle in my arms. You must put the puppy carrier through security to get scanned, while holding the puppy to walk through that area where you lift your arms up to be scanned. I’m sure there’s a better name for it, but I honestly have no idea what it’s called haha!
Another thing to note: I flew Delta, and they have a $125 fee for bringing a puppy onto the flight. You are required to check in at the front/ticket counter when you print your boarding pass, and it is at that time that you pay the fee. I’m sure all airlines are different, so definitely double check with your airline before flying to figure out if there are any specific rules they might have. And ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS fly with the puppy in the cabin with you. Never, under any circumstances, place the puppy in the overhead compartment or under the plane!!! I cannot stress this enough.
Things I brought with me:
- Carrier for Souffle
- Potty pads packed into carrier
- Blanket (mine has frenchies on it, hehe)
- Travel water bottle
- Nylabones
- Keys (every puppy I’ve ever met has LOVED these!)
12 Hour Drive
I received a ton of questions from people about what it was like to drive nearly twelve hours with a new puppy, so here we go. Souffle was SO GOOD in the car! I was so impressed. She slept almost the entire time, making the ride a lot less stressful than I thought it was going to be.
I will say, however, I think she was only so well-behaved because she was so young. These days, now that she is a bit older, she is definitely a lot more hyper and a LOT crazier. She doesn’t really stay seated in her car seat anymore, but we are working on that. Training is tough! So I guess that would be my only piece of advice. If you’re going to drive that far with a dog, definitely ensure they are already used to the car. Either that, or make sure they are a brand new baby that sleeps all the time no matter where they are (like Souffle was at the time).
Things I brought with me:
- Car seat – hooks into the car and buckles around her harness to ensure she is safely secured in the car. This made me feel very relieved that she would be safe during the car ride!
- Potty pads – I lined the car seat with potty pads in case she had to use the restroom without me knowing. We stopped every couple of hours so she could go outside, but she was still so young that she hadn’t had all of her shots yet, so I still placed her on potty pads outside on the grass to make sure no bacteria/germs could touch her.
- Food and water bowls – this one is pretty obvious, but the drive was twelve hours! So of course I brought her food and water bowls to feed her along the ride.
And there you have it. How to travel with a new puppy, whether it be by plane or by car. I managed to do both in a one-week time span! I hope this post is helpful for anyone with any future travel plans with a pup.
xo,
Ashlen