Dog Road Trip Essentials for a Big Puppy
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A large breed puppy will outgrow its first harness somewhere around the second month you own it, usually a week before a long drive. So this kit is sized for the stage rather than the dog. A harness that adjusts at four points, a nylon chew rated for a young mouth, a deep slow feeder for food in a strange place, and a leash for the stops.
The puppy this is built for
Four to seven months old, already heavy, still chewing everything. You are driving somewhere that takes hours, the puppy has never done it, and the gear that fit at eight weeks is now a collar you can barely buckle. Owners looking at chew options more broadly should read our rundown of treat dispensing toys for large dogs first, because this page is about one specific drive.
Two pieces that ride in the car and three that go out at every stop
The Freedom No Pull harness from 2 Hounds Design is the one item worth sizing carefully. 2 Hounds Design describes a patented control loop on the back that tightens gently when a dog pulls, a front connection ring, a Swiss velvet lined chest strap and stainless steel hardware. Sizes run from 5/8 inch XS at a 14 to 20 inch chest up to 1 inch XXL at 36 to 44 inches. 2 Hounds Design says to measure the largest part of the chest, right behind the front legs, then take the smallest size that still fits. For a growing puppy that rule cuts the other way, so measure the week you order and expect to size up once. 2 Hounds Design items are sold and shipped by 2 Hounds Design through Shopify Collective and arrive separately.
SodaPup's Diamond Ring is a nylon teething ring, 4.5 inches tall by 3.6 inches across, weighing 4.5 ounces, in red or brown, with facets that give a puppy several edges to work. SodaPup lists it for puppies and young dogs up to 45 pounds, which is the honest limit of this piece in a large breed kit. A shepherd puppy will pass 45 pounds before its first birthday, so treat this as the chew for the trip you are taking now, not the chew you own for two years. Supervise the chewing and retire it once an edge goes sharp. SodaPup/True Dogs, LLC items are sold and shipped by SodaPup/True Dogs, LLC through Shopify Collective and arrive separately.
The Flower eBowl is SodaPup's deep slow feeder, about 8 by 8 inches and 2 inches deep, holding 4 cups of food, with a petal shaped ridge maze pressed into the base. It goes in the freezer, the microwave and the dishwasher. On a road trip its job is dinner in a motel room or at a rest area, where a puppy that inhales a bowl in nine seconds then has nothing to do for three hours. Fill it with the same food you feed at home and let the maze slow it down.
Our freeze dried cheddar cheese bites are one ingredient in an 8 ounce bag, with crude fat listed at a minimum of 50 percent. Freeze drying leaves the cheese crunchy rather than soft, so it rides in a pocket without going greasy and it holds a young dog's attention at a rest area better than kibble does. They are the only treats in the kit.
The 2 Hounds Design reflective leash finishes it, made in North Carolina with a sewn fixed handle, in 5/8 inch and 1 inch widths and six lengths running from an 8 inch traffic handle to 6 feet. A 4 foot with a traffic handle is the sensible pick for a puppy you need close at a truck stop. Skip the 6 foot until the dog stops hanging off the end of it.
What we left out
No car harness or seat tether. Nothing in this kit is a crash rated restraint and we will not describe it as one, and a walking harness clipped to a seat belt is not the same product. If you want the dog secured in the car, that is a purchase to research on its own terms. We also left out a soft plush toy, because a four month old large breed puppy will have it in pieces before the first fuel stop.
How the drive goes
Feed the slow feeder before you leave, not at the first stop. A puppy that has worked for its breakfast rides better than one that has been sitting in a crate since six. Put the harness on at the house so the first fitting is not happening in a parking lot with trucks going past. Stop every two hours: leash on, harness already on, walk the grass, pay with cheese for coming back to you. The chew comes out only when you are moving and the puppy is settled, and it goes away when you stop, which keeps it interesting for the length of the trip.
What this replaces
A flat collar you are about to replace, a bowl from the kitchen and whatever chew was on the shelf at the last gas station. The harness is the piece that pays for itself twice, since a front clip gives you steering in a busy rest area that a collar does not. The slow feeder replaces both the travel bowl and the thirty minutes of enrichment you were going to have to invent at the other end.
Questions
These come up from owners of big puppies more than anyone else.
Should I size the harness up for growth?
Measure now and order the size that fits now, then check the fit every two or three weeks. A harness ordered loose to last rides forward on the shoulders and teaches a puppy it can lean into it, which is the opposite of what the front clip is for.
Can I use the slow feeder for water in the car?
Not well. The ridges hold water in the maze, and at the first turn most of it ends up on the floor. Keep a travel bowl for water and use this one for meals.
What else do people add?
Our freeze dried beef liver, usually. It comes in 1.5, 3 and 6 ounce bags with crude protein listed at a minimum of 53 percent, and it outranks cheese for most puppies when you need the recall to work near a road.
Measure the chest the week you order, take the smallest size that still fits, and check the fit again the morning you load the car.
Related guides
The rest of the road trip cluster is listed on our bundle guides hub.
A puppy that tires of cheese has options in freeze dried dog treats, and Explore filters them by life stage and protein.
