[Murph's Mom]

Hi! I will be picking up my 8 week old golden next week and want to ensure I have everything I need. For an 8 week old, should I purchase a collar or a harness? And any recommendations for either one? It will be a 6 hour drive home the day we get him so we'll need either the collar or harness for potty breaks during our road trip and also for when we take him out at night.

Extra question- when taking potty breaks on the 6 hour drive home, should I have him go on puppy pads or will this make it a challenge to get him to go on the grass once we get home?

Any help/advice/recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Rundlemtn]

This is an odd question. I am assuming you actually mean a collar + leash versus a harness + leash. I would definitely go with the harness + leash option. If your puppy gets spooked by anything along the way, this will be far more secure. It would be a nightmare if she/he slipped the collar on you, and endangered themselves.

I think the option to have them go on pads depends on if you will be stopping in areas highly frequented by other dogs or not and/or if there is many cases of Parvo in your area. Your vet should be able to tell you this. Either way it shouldn't deter their potty training to have them go on pads along the way. At the very least, you should wipe their paws with hypoallergenic sanitation wipes for dogs before getting back on the road. Try to not let them eat any of the grass etc. while going potty too.

 

[Murph's Mom]

This is an odd question. I am assuming you actually mean a collar + leash versus a harness + leash. I would definitely go with the harness + leash option. If your puppy gets spooked by anything along the way, this will be far more secure. It would be a nightmare if she/he slipped the collar on you, and endangered themselves.

Yes. Total typo on my end. I have edited to read collar. Thank you for your help!

 

[SRW]

Buy a cheap adjustable puppy collar and a leash.

 

[Brave]

Crate for in the car + slip lead for anytime they are out of the car (I like these slip leads). You can put a collar on with your info but an 8 week old will probably spend as much time if not all the time chewing on it or trying to get it off then going potty. Best to use a slip lead so they cannot back out of it (so you cannot lose them).

 

[Sammy's Ma]

I would go with the harness and leash so that puppy is safer if spooked suddenly and won't jerk the neck or risk slipping out of the collar. I would use pee pads to avoid any contact with grass other dogs have been on as you don't want to take any risks before vaccinations are completed. It shouldn't cause a problem with potty training if you start using the grass area in your garden when you go home and don't put pee pads out, he will soon forget the pads if he doesn't see them again.

 

[Megora]

Just plain old collar and leash. If pup spooks, pick him up.

Bigger issue is exposing your pup to stuff while pottying him.....