People seldom realize that a move, whether across the street or across the country is as stressful to their best friend as it is to them. Many people will simply get rid of the dog, taking him to the pound or giving him to a friend rather than go to the trouble or expense of moving him.
Then there are those of us who would rather leave the car behind than the best friend, after all a car can be replaced. You need to realize that to your dog, his home is his territory, his security and leaving it can be very upsetting to him. How many stories have you heard about a dog who traveled hundreds of miles to get back to what he knew was his home? There are even movies about this, and regardless of what you think, these things really do happen.
It is important that as soon as you arrive at your new home, regardless of what else is happening, you let your dog know this is his home. Accomplish this by bringing along his personal items and setting them up before you unpack the dishes. Spend 15 or 20 minutes in the yard with him before entering the house, allow him to explore and mark his territory, this is reassuring to him.
Teach him his boundaries by tying a long lead to his collar, and allow him to explore, each time he starts to cross out of your property line, give a gentle tug on the lead and give the command back. My neighbors love the fact that my dog will not step foot on their property without my permission, and we have no fence between our yards.
And it is very rude to allow your dog to use your neighbors yard as a bathroom. This training should continue several times a day until he recognizes his boundaries. Before moving to your new home, decide where his area in the house will be, put his bed, water and food dish and his favorite toys in this area and show him where it is.
For several days he will spend all of his time checking out the new scents, but will realize that he is home because you are there with him along with his personal items.
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2 comments:
That's so true. My dogs had the trauma of moving with us. We just moved last month and we just got our new dog last month right before we moved. So I know he was confused as to where his home was. Especially when we moved him back and forth with us when we cleaned the old place.
I think they're settling in now. Only barking at strangers and neighbors. I wish I could fix that habit. :)
What a great blog.
I've been really worried about my dog. She's so delicate. She's an Italian Greyhound and we've had her longer than we've had children... she's like a first child.
We moved four months ago. Though she seems as though she like our new lifestyle (we moved from a rural town to the heart of a city) she's been really sick. We've spent so much money at the vet and have even taken her to our old vet twice (it's 3 hours away) because they know her. She is allergic to something. They don't think that it's food. I keep my house so clean... I can't imagine what it would be. But I'm scared. She got these little scabs on her back and legs and then the hair fell off of these. She's on special sulphur shampoo, antibiotics, children's benadryl... and I feel AWFUL for her.
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