# Driving to pick up a puppy?



## gabyeddo (Aug 14, 2013)

Anyone here drive across states to pick up your puppy?
If there's a case that you live in west coast and you know that there's a litter from dogs that you really want a puppy from. ( dog sport)
Do you prefer to drive there or have a puppy ship to you?


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## CindyMDBecker (Feb 22, 2013)

I drove 5 1/2 hrs one way (from NY to ME) to get my dog from the breeder (twice). No real reason other than I don't fly (scaredy cat) so couldn't bring myself to put a puppy on a plane.


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## gabyeddo (Aug 14, 2013)

I live in CA. I'm doing my research on Schutzhund dogs who owners are living on east coast. I'm expecting puppies from these dogs to have high drive and do excellent in Schutzhund.
Do you guys think that I should drive to get a pup and drive back? Or have the breeder ship a pup to me?


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## lauren43 (Jun 14, 2014)

You could always fly and drive back. 

Or just fly. Puppies are usually small enough to fly as a carry on.


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## lauren43 (Jun 14, 2014)

That being said my breeder assured me that shipping a pup is 100% safe. I know that I personally would have an anxiety attack knowing the pup was flying all alone!


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## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

cross country? i would ship. across the state? i would drive.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

I drove 2 hours for Draven (IL).

I drove 2.5 hours for Sinister (IL).

I drove 5.5 hours for an insane Husky puppy (MI).


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## GatorDog (Aug 17, 2011)

I drove 18+ hours each way to pick up my puppy when weather was too unpredictable for shipping


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

We had Halo shipped from Connecticut to San Francisco, Keefer was shipped from Portland Oregon to Oakland, and we flew to Portland and drove 10 hours home with Dena. 

With Dena we wanted to meet the breeder, and my husband has relatives in the Portland area, so we flew up on Friday, hung out at the breeder's house for a few hours playing with Dena, then spent the night at his aunt and uncle's house. The next morning we went back and picked Dena up and drove home. I had ordered a crate and had it shipped directly to the breeder's house, so it was waiting for us when we got there. 

We got Keefer from the same breeder, so we felt comfortable having him shipped. We're 15 or 20 minutes from the Oakland airport, and it's a short flight. 

We were anxious about Halo being shipped that far, but she arrived just fine. This was in January, and the weather was terrible that year. The breeder drove 2-1/2 hours to put her on a direct flight from Newark to SFO. It was a long day, she didn't arrive until around 8 or 8:30 at night, and then we had a 35 or 40 minute drive home. We tried to keep busy so we wouldn't worry, going out to lunch and then a trip to Costco, but once we got home I was obsessively checking her flight status online, lol. It had to be culture shock for her, she'd never been outside without snow on the ground, and we were having unseasonably warm weather, around 70 degrees.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

I have driven to WI, TX , IL and VA for puppies (I am in MI). Also had puppies shipped from CA and TX. I have shipped puppies to CA, TX. I had a woman in AZ fly to MO, meet a friend, drive here and then drive the full 2000 miles home. Sort of depends on what you want to do. A cross country drive with a pup would be more than I would want to do.


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## zetti (May 11, 2014)

I've driven from one end of the state of CA to the other for a puppy recently--9 hrs each way.

I have also had puppies shipped to me from out of state & an adult from Europe. None the worse for wear, thankfully.


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## gabyeddo (Aug 14, 2013)

Wow!


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