# New pup and a holiday?!



## TootieBootie (Jan 5, 2013)

Hi All,

I am looking for some advice and hoping you can help.

We don't yet have a pup but are on the list for one wich would be due to be taken at the end of April. We would love to take one as we would LOVE a pup for during the summer holidays (I'm a teacher so will be off and want to do lots of lovely walking - my daughter is due to start school in September so would love for us to spend some quality time together). BUT we only have one cockapoo breeder on the small island I live on and they are VERY good. She does not know when she will have another litter of pups (she is going away on holiday so not planning any yet).

Anyway, to cut a long story short, we have a problem because we are going away for a holiday on 3rd June  This means that the pup would be approx 14.5 wks old and we would have pup approx 6.5 wks. 

Is this too soon?! We are booked in to centerparcs whinfell We could add a dog to the booking - it would mean us moving to a different location due to lodge availability and having to travel for longer (to Elvden) which is much further but we could do an overnight stay in the midlands at my sister's house or a travel lodge maybe.

Is this a good idea? How would a 14/15wk old puppy be with this? 

Or we could look at leaving him/her with someone near where we live - not sure about this though because it would be either kennels (not keen and don't even know if they would take them at this age!!) or a place where they take dogs into their home - a sort of home from home kennel.

What do you think we should do?! Can we take the pup with us? Would you leave your pup behind and go on holiday? Should we take ourselves off the list, not knowing when we would get another chance? 

Thanks in advance x


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

I left mine in kennels when they were 5 months and they were fine. I was advised it is the ideal first time to leave them in kennels. They were in a special puppy area where they got lots of extra love and cuddles. Personally I wouldnt have left them after having had them only 6 weeks I would try and take them on holiday too. Your puppy will love Centre Parks! Good luck with your decision.


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## Kody&Beau (Aug 18, 2012)

Hi there,
Center parcs is brilliant, i took Beau to Elveden last year with my family and we had a lovely time however my two children are 13 & 15 and we took a couple of friends with them because the only thing I will say is if you want to do things as a family it can be a little restricting, we didn't find that because the boys did their own thing with their mates and had a great time having their own independence, hubby & me are not into the pools etc so we were quite happy just going for leisurely walks or chilling at starbucks or the apartment. You will find apart from sitting outside restaurants dogs are not allowed in any of the indoor venues so you will find that unless you leave your new puppy in the apartment you are going to find it difficult to get around and do things with your other family members. We saw a few dogs left in the apartments looking out of the windows bless them but they appeared older and not too worried but im not so sure how you will find a young pup will react to being left in an apartment on its own if you need to all go out. We did not leave Beau once on her own as we knew she would hate being left but we managed to eat out everyday...weather was kind to us and we managed to eat outside everyday and of course Beau got loads of fuss while we were there. Hope this helps you decide x


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## TootieBootie (Jan 5, 2013)

tessybear said:


> I left mine in kennels when they were 5 months and they were fine. I was advised it is the ideal first time to leave them in kennels. They were in a special puppy area where they got lots of extra love and cuddles. Personally I wouldnt have left them after having had them only 6 weeks I would try and take them on holiday too. Your puppy will love Centre Parks! Good luck with your decision.


Thanks so much for your reply!! I was starting to think that we couldn't get a puppy because of our holiday  But maybe we can!!! I would LOVE to take him/her with us as we would go out for lots of walks and explore the area and s/he wouldn't be left for long at a time as we stay on site and very much treat it as home.  Feeling a little more positive about it now. Thank you.


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

Bet your new pup would love centreparcs, she/he would be so tired from the excitement of it all that to be left for a couple of hours in a crate (if you use one) would be fine.


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## Von (Nov 1, 2012)

We took our puppy Meadow away on holiday to the Isle of Wight when she was 10 weeks old. We had a wonderful time, she was introduced to loads of new experiences which has stood her in good stead. Our older dog also got the chance to get to know her new little sister in neutral surroundings.


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## femmedufromage (Oct 20, 2012)

We had a week away just before Christmas in Suffolk with the family. We had a great time, our pup was 15 weeks and we have had him since 7 weeks old. He did the journey in one go, it was about 2 1/2 hours and stuck to me like glue in the house for the first few hours and then relaxed a bit more. He slept in his crate in our room and had a wonderful time exploring the grounds and all the new smells etc.

They do fit in with you, we are going to Centre Parcs in April. Good luck with whatever you do.


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

If you don't want to take the pup with you I would talk to the breeder - she may be happy to have the puppy back while you are on holiday...


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## JoJo (Mar 2, 2011)

Your puppy should be fine to be left .. have you thought about leaving your puppy with a family member or close friend so training can continue etc. All puppies are different and you will know when you actually get your puppy what is best for him/her.. also talk to your breeder about this as many good breeders will offer to take the puppy back whilst you are on holiday 

I am sure you will love your new puppy and miss him/her whilst you are away  lovely to read you are already talking puppy ownership seriously prior to even meeting your new bundle of fluff/curls


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## TootieBootie (Jan 5, 2013)

Yay!! Thanks for all the replies! I am SO excited!

We are changing our plans now so that we have the option of taking pup with us - if we decide not to then it wont matter anyway 

I would like a little advice on crates if that is ok.
I was thinking of getting a fabric crate so that we can take it with us. I'd like it small enough to carry and take to places where space may be limited but just big enough for occasional use when visiting people, even when our poo is bigger.

I will move on to a 36" wire crate for home when the poo is bigger.
So what size would be ok for travel and the odd night? On amazon I've seen a 23.5" and 27.5" which look good. I'm thinking the 27.5 should be ok. http://www.amazon.co.uk/FlamingoFac...UTF8&colid=39VKUPFR48QJ1&coliid=IISITYE8YE83J

What do you think?

I am Sooooooooo excited :jumping:


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## JoJo (Mar 2, 2011)

Exciting hey  

A small crate will be ideal for your travel plans .. cockapoo puppies are only small and puppies like to feel cosy, warm and secure in the early days  

Lots of puppy info here and ideas of what you may need: 
http://www.mydogslife.co.uk/category/puppy-buying-care/

I can feel your excitement .. it is fab xxx


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## TootieBootie (Jan 5, 2013)

JoJo said:


> Exciting hey
> 
> A small crate will be ideal for your travel plans .. cockapoo puppies are only small and puppies like to feel cosy, warm and secure in the early days
> 
> ...



Thanks very much for the info!

Now I am even more excited!! I phoned up to change our centerparcs holiday anyway - we have not even chosen a pup but I am sure we will have one so have added it to our booking! 

AND, things might be moving forward a little... the breeder has 3 pups at the moment ready to go next month!! We are going away for 5 days in March (end of) but the breeder said she would have pup back for us for those few days! 

This is great as it means that our poo will be with us sooner so will be even more settled when we go to centerparcs in June so we will all have an even better time!! YAY!!:jumping:


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

really excited for you, when we booked our last summer holiday we put our pup on the booking before we had him, makes it feel more 'real' doesn't it, such an exciting time. I had a 24" soft crate but our boy had just outgrown it when we went away (he is quite large though) - he was just 5 months then.


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## TootieBootie (Jan 5, 2013)

DB1 said:


> really excited for you, when we booked our last summer holiday we put our pup on the booking before we had him, makes it feel more 'real' doesn't it, such an exciting time. I had a 24" soft crate but our boy had just outgrown it when we went away (he is quite large though) - he was just 5 months then.


Thanks - I'm even more excited now!!!

We went to look at pups tonight and have chosen our boy!! We have chosen a chocolate poo and have named him Dougal!  We will be bringing him home on 10th Feb which is great as it is the start of the half term holiday (I'm a teacher so will be off) and the breeder will take him back for a few days when we go on hour holiday and he will, of course be coming to centerparcs with us on our other holiday!! It has all turned out just great and I'm so excited!! 

Have been thinking about the crate thing and am now wondering if I should get a bigger folding crate for Dougal to grow into? The 32''? http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0043VONOG/ref=gno_cart_title_1 
Plan to just use it at home anyway and see how we get on (instead of a wire crate) so if we travel away, it will be easy to transport and Dougal will be used to it. Hoping it is suitable.


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

How exciting!
Can't wait to see some pics of baby Dougal!
Sorry can't help with crates as didn't use one - but you are obviously researching all of the options!


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## MillieDog (Jun 1, 2011)

Exciting news congratulations. Feb 10th will come round so quickly.

I used a similar crate for taking Millie in the car, but didn't use it in the house, she has a metal crate. You don't need a big one as chances are, once Dougal is house trained you'll think about doing away with the crate.

I did sometimes bring the car crate into the house and Millie would happily curl up inside it and sleep. However, over time, she would nibble on the car crate and eventually gnawed through some of the mesh, so its really long lasting.


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## Sam1 (Mar 6, 2012)

Your pup wouldn't need massive walks at that age but think of the awesome socialising he/ she would get! Sounds like a great idea to take him with you! Enjoy how exciting! X


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## Tecstar (Apr 17, 2013)

We are going to southern Ireland in August, and are weighing up whether or not to take Ollie. We are not sure about driving and taking the ferry or flying and how well he would cope with either option. Can anyone offer their experience?


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

I took both of mine to the Isle of Wight this Easter. They went on the ferry and were absolutely fine. There was a floor on the ferry where you could take your dogs and a 
special pet area with water for them to drink. We stayed in a dog friendly cottage. They even came on a boat trip with us round the Needles!


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