I drove from Colorado to South Carolina with my English bulldog puppy when she was 5 months old, because all the airlines had restrictions for bulldogs of her age and weight to fly (they can have problems and maybe even die because of their short snouts.)
I put her crate in the backseat, and left the door open so she would have the option to sit on the seat next to the crate and look out the window if she wanted. I brought along lots of chew toys, and made sure we took many potty and food and water breaks (she had a history of UTIs and still couldn't hold her pee very well at that time.)
Charlotte ended up only wanting to be in her crate sleeping the WHOLE TIME the car was moving. I split the 30 hr trip into three 10 hr days, and stayed in hotels along the way. Since she was sleeping like a rock the whole time in her crate, the drive was super easy and I hardly noticed she was there. BUT...after sleeping 10+ hours all day, she wanted nothing to do with sleeping at night!! It was zoomies like crazy in the hotel room lol. I think that was the hardest part for me, because I needed to get some rest in order to be able to drive safely the next day, but she would cry for attention most of the night.
I think a lot of this depends on what your dog is like in the car, I had it pretty easy since she didn't get sick, and just slept happily in her crate. If you have a sleepy dog and someone coming along on the trip with you, it might be wise to wake him up periodically so you don't have a zoomie boy when it's bedtime for the humans!
Have a great time in CA!
I put her crate in the backseat, and left the door open so she would have the option to sit on the seat next to the crate and look out the window if she wanted. I brought along lots of chew toys, and made sure we took many potty and food and water breaks (she had a history of UTIs and still couldn't hold her pee very well at that time.)
Charlotte ended up only wanting to be in her crate sleeping the WHOLE TIME the car was moving. I split the 30 hr trip into three 10 hr days, and stayed in hotels along the way. Since she was sleeping like a rock the whole time in her crate, the drive was super easy and I hardly noticed she was there. BUT...after sleeping 10+ hours all day, she wanted nothing to do with sleeping at night!! It was zoomies like crazy in the hotel room lol. I think that was the hardest part for me, because I needed to get some rest in order to be able to drive safely the next day, but she would cry for attention most of the night.
I think a lot of this depends on what your dog is like in the car, I had it pretty easy since she didn't get sick, and just slept happily in her crate. If you have a sleepy dog and someone coming along on the trip with you, it might be wise to wake him up periodically so you don't have a zoomie boy when it's bedtime for the humans!
Have a great time in CA!
