Behaviour Advice: Moving House and the dog can’t cope?
Moving house can be really bloody stressful. So much packing, organising, planning, decluttering and just general brain power involved. At least for the humans involved we can comprehend what’s going on. But, what about our dogs?
The dogs see us stressing, moving items and making strange sighing noises. Running up and down the stairs multiple times, and loading various items into strange places.
Here’s our tips to help you and your dog cope with that big upcoming move.
Keep calm and carry on
It’s cheesy, but it’ll work. There’s nothing wrong with being as prepared as possible, so that you can keep your mind focused. You do have to put yourself (and your dog) first sometimes. Something we strongly recommend is exercise.
Exercise is key for your dog, but also for your mental (and physical) health. Exercise however suits, a long stroll in the evening, HIIT work out with The Body Coach, or perhaps some more chilled Yoga with Adriene.
We’ve found through doing Yoga ourselves that dogs love it too!
That calm, deep breath on an exhale is guaranteed to get your dog doing the same.
‘Dogs imitate our energy’, which means if you are stressed, snappy and unstable then you can guarantee that the dog will follow suit.
Time away is okay
Dogs aren’t babies. They don’t need to be attached to you 24/7. What we mean by that is, if it makes sense for your dog to go to a friend or doggy day care on the day of the move then we absolutely support that decision.
This will allow you to navigate the boxes, removal men and the deep cleaning without having a dog under your feet!
Don’t make a big deal out of it
When there’s a change in circumstances, we as humans react with (sometimes) over the top emotions. And then we anthropomorphize our emotions onto our canine companions.
Introducing them to the home by using a strange high pitched voice, or tip toeing the dog around the house and making everything just seem very weird.
Dogs will pick up on that instantly, and will react by either avoiding or becoming nervous and flighty.
Just keep it normal and don’t make a big deal out of it. Show your dog the garden, let them have a sniff around the house and leave them be.
Act as if you’ve just entered the old house.
Your dog will settle much quicker.
Yard Rules
New house, new rules.
Or perhaps just new house, same rules.
Either way… the boundaries you set in the last house must stay the same in the new house. Examples of this could be:
No barking at the door or window
Don’t jump on the furniture unless invited
Sleep in your bed in the designated part of the house
Toilet in the garden not on the kitchen floor
Whatever the rules were before, they should absolutely still stand.
The consistency of what your dog can expect from your behaviour will help with the psychological transfer and understanding to the current very different situation.
And of course, once the kettle is plugged in and you’ve had a cuppa and a mooch around the new gaff, it’s time to ask your dog to sit, wait - pop the lead on, and head off for a little walk.
This will encourage you and your pooch to decompress, get used to your surroundings, and have a little normality in amongst the chaos.
Scout your local playing field, beach or woods and let your dog have a blast (off lead, if applicable).
Then when you arrive back the house, you enter first, they follow.
By following these simple mindset steps your dog will transition into its new home without any significant troubles.
And you’ll reap the benefits of that as well.
Jessie - @theanimaldays
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