One of the most common reasons dogs are given up is because their owners move. Whether home or country, the dog, sadly, becomes a casualty of the situation. But moving home with your dog doesn’t need to be hard. It doesn’t need to be stressful and there are ways you can make the process easier for you as well as your dog to keep your family unit together. After all, your dog’s loyalty is constant, their love is unconditional and so is their desire to be with you and start this new chapter in your life by your side. How to make the first few days in your new home easy.
Here’s how you can do this:
1. Stretch Out Your Long Journey By Making Stops
In your due diligence before you decided to move, you will have already checked out the area, local schools and practical places, such as its proximity to local doctors, hospitals, dentists, veterinary practices and so on. But if your moving area, consider finding places to visit along the way with your dog so you can stretch your legs and break the journey up on moving day.
- Before moving home, remember to update your dog’s microchip details.
All too often it’s something that slips through the net and should the worst happen and your dog goes missing, local officials won’t be able to contact you. - It’s all about making the move a smooth transition for all members of your family.
We all know how our dogs react if we’ve been out for the day and met other dogs, the interrogation can last minutes with our dogs sniffing every area of our clothing or shoes that reveals where we’ve been and who we’ve met.
2. Getting Your Dog Acquainted With The New Home
Sometimes, but not every time, you are able to visit your new home before the moving day. If you are in this position, remember there will be lots of new scents that we can’t necessarily smell, but our dogs can. Take some of your dog’s beds to their new home so they’re ready and waiting for your arrival and they can begin to take in the smells around them. If your dog is older, take note of anything you want to move or cover before your arrival, such as wooden (slippy) floors. There have been suggestions given by experts of introducing scents from your new home to your current environment that you will vacating from very soon. So for example, if you’re able take something like a doormat or newspaper from your new home to your soon-to-be old home, you can allow your dog to get acquainted by scents that mean when you arrive in your new home it won’t all be so new to him. Introduce the object in a fun way, give him time to soak it all in and make it a positive experience by stroking him, playing together or even giving some treats.
3. Stick To Your Dog’s Regular Routine
When you’re in your new home, try and keep to your dog’s regular routine. It’s all too easy to get sidetracked by the number of boxes still to be opened and unpacked, but if your dog is anything like mine, he will rely on his routine. In the case of my rescue dog, Danny it’s what makes him feel safe and secure.
4. Stress To You Will Also Stress Your Dog
They say moving is one of the most stressful things to go through, but remember, our dogs are highly tuned into our moods , if we are stressed, we are likely to make them stressed too. So, if you need to, put the kettle on and take a break, spend 5 minutes enjoying your new home and then banish the stress with a walk around your new neighborhood with your dog. It’s a great way to meet the neighbors and spend some quality one on one time with your dog.
5. Be Aware Of Your Dog’s Safety
Make sure you are comfortable with your dog’s recall before letting him off-lead.
Sometimes in a new area, a dog can more easily be distracted or spooked. Make sure you are happy that your dog knows the area well enough before you let him off-lead.
Remember, there is nothing so big that you can’t conquer together. Your dog doesn’t have to be a casualty of moving home. Through all the planning before moving day and stress of settling in, there is nothing so big that you can’t conquer with your dog by your side because whether you live in a mansion or a cardboard box, your dog’s love and loyalty is unconditional. They don’t ask we return it, but we should.
