Long Car Trip...how to make it easier for my pups?

So this weekend I will be loading up Hunter and Layla and driving down to Tampa to spend the holiday weekend with Josh. It's at least a 7 hour drive from where we are, and because I can't get off work, we won't be leaving until around 7:30-8:00 at night. Unfortunately this means I come home from work, let the pups out of their crate briefly to potty, and then put them right into the car without much chance to play and work off some energy.
I'm planning to stop at all the rest areas between here and there (I know of at least four) to let them potty and walk for a few minutes, and I'll of course bring some toys for them to play with in the car, but is there anything else I can do to make this long trip easier for them (and, in turn, myself??) They are usually GREAT in the car, but this will be their longest drive ever.

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Permalink Reply by Charlie on May 23, 2008 at 2:17pm

Ivy's comment about taking plenty of water and treats reminded me of Charlie's and my Thanksgiving Day adventure. I planned to drive to my parents' house, 2.5 hours, spend about 3 hours having lunch and visiting, and drive 2.5 hours home before sunset. I didn't take any dog food or water. The car broke down in the middle of nowhere, and leaving out the details, we got to my parents house after dark and stayed overnight and half a day the next day calling mechanics. Charlie ate turkey and cheerios...not completely nutritious. Anyway the moral of the story is always take enough extra kibble for a day or two longer than your planned trip.

I know you're going to have a ton of fun this weekend. We'll all look forward to your trip stories. Don't forget the camera...you know we'll all want pictures! : - )

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Permalink Reply by CassieD44 on May 23, 2008 at 3:13pm

Oh no! Well I will be sure to bring plenty of kibble and bottles of water! I'll definitely take pictures too. Josh is buying them little doggie life vests (our house is on a lake) so they can swim with us, so I know we will have some awesome, Kodak-worthy adventures!!!

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Permalink Reply by CassieD44 on May 24, 2008 at 11:24am

I just wanted to let everyone know we made it safely to Tampa!!! Got in about 3:30 this morning. The puppies had a GREAT time in day care yesterday, and it seemed to affect the desired result - they slept the whole trip!! We stopped in Macon to see my parents for a few minutes (and put new windshield wipers on my car - nasty weather!) and I let them walk and pee for a few minutes. That is the only time I let them get out though, for safety reasons. But we made it! Thank you everyone!

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Permalink Reply by DR, Nala & Simon on May 24, 2008 at 1:49pm

Thanks, I will be driving to North Carolina soon (8-9hrs), and this thread has given me good ideas. Thanks again.

Glad you guys made it safe, and everyone is ok. Have a great weekend!

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Permalink Reply by Ju Lo on May 25, 2008 at 3:25pm

I just took Theo on a 10 hour car ride last month. He was only 4 months old at the time so I was nervous, but he did great! I have a sedan so we put his crate in the back seat with some toys. He ended up sleeping most of the way, but when he was awake, he cried and cried to be let out of his crate. But that's just because being two feet away from us was too far. While my husband was driving, I had him on my lap, and he was fine. Actually, he preferred to squish himself on the console between the two front seats, that way he could be right in between us. At first we had to stop every hour or so, but that's just because we were paranoid about him having an accident. After we all got used to the car, we only had to stop every 2-3 hours for short breaks.

I don't know about your dogs, but Theo didn't really need anything in the car that was different from a short car ride. When he got bored, he just went to sleep.