# Travel poo



## Lozzie (Apr 1, 2012)

When Willow was a pup she was out in the car pretty much everyday and only messed in her crate once. Bracken on the other hand messes every single time she goes in the car. The set-up we have in the car is dog guard across the top of the back seats, crate with Bracken in the boot with Willow loose next to her. They both whinge a little bit when in the car (which is new for Willow because she very rarely whined in the car before) and as Bracken is in the boot without stopping every time she whines I can't work out if the whining preceeds the poo or the other way around. 

Does this sound like travel sickness to anyone? It could just be that she's so little and isn't housetrained yet. We obviously try taking her out before we go out in the car to do her thing, sometimes she does, sometimes she doesn't but this doesn't seem to effect whether she messes in the crate or not. 

She aso has the occasional blood and sometimes mucous in her poo which other new puppy owners have mentioned. When I asked our vet about this he said to give it a week to see if it settles and then pop back in for the probiotic paste (whihc Willow had to have when she was tiny too). 

I remember reading on the packaging that it can be prescribed for travel sickness- is it worth popping to the vets and trying that to fix both problems? 

The other thing is that Bracken came from the breeder on three meals so I've continued with that but the vet (and other forum posts) recommend 4 if they're having problems- any tips on how to switch from 3 to 4? Currently we feed at 7sih 12ish and 5ish. Sorry for the long post, putting all my queries in one place!!


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## S.Claire (Sep 1, 2011)

Hi Laura

Nacho pooed in the car each time when he was little too. It would stink!! I think he must have done this at least half a dozen times. I would have to pull over and clean it up and would just say 'no' quite loudly at him. I then got a car harness so he could come up front with me in the passenger seat and i've never had a problem since. He can now happily go in the boot too (if i have a human passenger in the car with me too). I think it might just take a little time for him to get used to it so keep persavering. I would make sure he knows it's not ok to do this though rather than the ignore approach. 

As for the blood and mucas, i can't help you here but would keep an eye on it. Nacho was fed 4 times a day until he was about 12 weeks, then i reduced it to 3 until he was about 6 months old and now he is on 2 meals a day (breakfast and evening).

Good luck xx


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## designsbyisis (Dec 27, 2011)

Dexter used to always poo in the car (he was & continues to be crated in the back). Some days we couldn't even get to the end of our road before he did it. It did seem like nerves - we just persevered with going out in the car and eventually after about 3 months it stopped. 


Sent from my iPhone 
Lisa - mum of 3 boys, Dexter Cockapoo & 4 hens !


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## wellerfeller (Jul 12, 2011)

It could just be the stress of travelling that is causing her to empty. It sounds like they get stressed by it, with the whining etc. 
I would try to make sure she has had a toilet break before going in the car and try making little journeys to get her used to it. If possible get a friend to travel with you and cuddle your pup on their lap. I know this isn't the safest way to travel and it's not forever. It's just to comfort and make her experience of the car a pleasant one while she learns to cope with it. She will get used to it. It just such a new experience and turning it into a positive experience now will prevent it becoming a real car travel problem that stays with her for life.


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## loopyloo (Aug 18, 2012)

Rafferty had his first trip in the car on Saturday after bringing him home on Wednesday(he was sick on that journey and was sitting on my lap) On Saturday he was in a soft crate strapped onto the back seat. I'm not sure whether we were out overlong or whether it would have happened anyway but we had poo and sick!!! Also we had a lot of whimpering, some very loud I felt terrible for having taken him out afterwards so I've been reassured by other people's tales. He is good at toileting normally-he poos in crate at night(he usually goes in the garden before we go to bed ) but that's to be expected as we don't usually get up to him unless we hear him whimpering. During the day he goes to the back door to be let out but I have been diligent in asking him to 'BE QUICK' after every meal and sleep. We've only had 3 wees on floor since we had him. It cracks us up when we're watching TV and all of a sudden he struts out of the lounge with such an air of purpose with his little legs lifting high and his tail wagging as if to say 'come on, I've got to go, hurry up!!' I don't know if he will be quite as good now that the weather is changing as, for the past few days, the back door has been open a lot because it's been so warm.
Forgot to mention-I also sprayed inside the crate with Adaptil to try to reduce stress.


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