Moving House with Dog - What to expect?

If anything??

We'll be moving house in a couple of weeks and bringing our fox terrier cross with us (obvs )

I know he'll absolutely love the new house once he gets used to it ... huge garden, stairs! And we'll bring him over a few times to have a good sniff around ... there are two dogs there at the moment.

I'm just wondering if there's anything I need to prepare for/be aware of to make the transition as easy as possible for him?

Hooked

Are the two dogs that are there at the moment going to be there when ye move in?

What are your dogs current sleeping arrangements. And where does he stay during the day.

These would be points of interest... in my offering advice.

Hooked

Hooked wrote: »

Are the two dogs that are there at the moment going to be there when ye move in?

What are your dogs current sleeping arrangements. And where does he stay during the day.

These would be points of interest... in my offering advice.

No! We're buying the house, the two dogs are living there at the moment but will be (physically) gone when we get there.

At the moment the dog sleeps on my son's bed, which will be the same arrangement. He has the run of the house during the day.

Maybe it'll be a doddle, I'm just wondering should I be expecting him to pee everywhere in order to "own" the new place, particularly since there are dogs there at the moment. :pac:

But mainly I just want to avoid too much stress for him. I'm probably over-thinking it since his routine won't change, just the house.

aonb

as long as his humans are with him, I wouldnt worry too much
The only think I would say is that he will need to be contained on the property until he gets to know his new area. Imagine if he got out and got lost because he couldnt find his way home :eek::eek::eek:

I moved house with my dogs. They were very interested in exploring from the moment we arrived. I was terrified they would get off the property, and were VERY interested in getting out (thankfully, never did!) to explore. Walks were bliss for the first few weeks - all new places/smells!

If your dog has full access around the house, he will have fun scenting out the other dogs - watch him like a hawk in case he does try to 'mark' for a day or two. Make sure you supervise him outside until you ensure that there are no places he'll find to get off the property - gaps/holes in fences etc

Congratulations on your new home - I hope you all settle in quickly and love your new place!

Cheshire Cat

Have done a house move with two dogs. One got really stressed about all the boxes and packing. The other one thought it was great fun.
For the actual move they were in kennels. Picked them up a day later. They had a good sniff around, once they saw their beds and bowls they were happy and things settled very quickly.

Hooked

Great! No dogs to complicate things, and a house all to himself.

We've rented a few holiday lets over the years, dogs in tow... So it's all about familiarity for us!

Similar bedding, maybe your sons familiar duvet is the link here... He'll have all the familiarity he needs when sleeping in the new house.

Our 2 have always settled in strange places - because we're there, as are their crates, Kongs, blankets and cushions

I'm not sure if you have the option to visit the house before ye move (sans dogs)? I'd be introducing him in stages - like kennelling, but maybe I'm a bit 'over' cautious!

Your fella will be fine. Plenty of treats, praise and hugs in his new home. Great to see owners being proactive like this!!!

tk123

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.ie/2010/11/dogs-dont-understand-basic-concepts.html

bikedude

We have moved a fair bit with our Dog 4 times in total, what I leaned based on the most successful ones.

There is a hormone smell that you can buy on the vet, if you have access to the house before moving in, buy and plug it on the wall for a few days, it helped her to calm down.

Used clothes from the family, again if u have access to the house, leave a few around the house before moving.

The last time we had a overlap of 2/3 weeks and we did sleep overs with the dog, and day trips, so she would get used to the new place.

Don't wash any of her beds or blankets, just move then over, no new beds just their old usual one until they settle down.

Walks, and more walks that helped her o know the smells and the dogs around.

We always moved with the dog in the car, doing multiple trips a day and I don't think is have stressed her out.

The one she got more stressed was the one we moved over on a day, the ones we managed to do over a week or so was the less stressful ones.

Don't think there is any guaranteed way, the above are only suggestions based on what worked for us.

aonb

Good advice, thanks folks.

aonb wrote: »

The only think I would say is that he will need to be contained on the property until he gets to know his new area. Imagine if he got out and got lost because he couldnt find his way home :eek::eek::eek:

Jaysus, my dog's a constant flight risk, he'd throw himself under a bus to get across the road to play with another dog! So he's never off the lead and we're very careful about containing him.