I am happy to report that moving with your dog doesn’t have to be a nightmarish experience after all. With a little bit of research, planning and patience #doubledoodledose you can pull it off without pulling your hair out…
With the sale of the house and our daughter’s wedding occurring simultaneously, I was spinning around in circles. I had to get it together or my dogs would need therapy by the time the moving truck arrived!
Here’s what I decided to do –
- Maintain a positive attitude no matter how tempting coming unglued looks.
- Everyday I strived to create a calm environment for the Boys. I was determined not to get anxious or overwhelmed.
- The Bonus? By focusing on their state of mind, I actually helped myself in the process. #helloIyanlaVanzant
- I declared war on sadness and worked very hard to smile through all the goodbyes. #thisworks
- I adopted their attitude –
Live life for the moment.
I believe this helped the day camp staff also as they posed for a group photo on their last day…
I did come close to a mini-breakdown at the very end. #Imhuman The tears almost rolled down my face as we drove out of the neighborhood for the last time. Harley gave me that “don’t you dare” look from the back seat and I straightened up my act real quick… #toughdoodlelove
There are plenty of online articles with helpful tips about moving with your dog. To be honest, some are “no brainers” but there were a few that I wouldn’t have thought about –
If you can, have some familiar toys and other stuff (like blankets) available and ready to pull out as soon as you reach your destination. I placed a couple of items in their overnight bag because I knew our house wouldn’t be ready as soon as we arrived. Jax loved his ball and Harley was happy to see his ducky.
If possible, allow yourself some time at home with your pet before you start your new job. We’ve been taking the Boys with us to run errands this week, and once we move into our new home, we will start leaving them (in small increments) allowing them to adjust and feel comfortable.
I also found a video from a moving company that mentions many valuable tips when moving with pets.
Once we’re settled –
- I will increase the length of our walks to acclimate them to their new surroundings
- Get back into a routine as quickly as possible
I am not a novice to moving. As a military family we’ve moved over a dozen times. However, moving with Harley & Jax has been anything but boring.
Jax has already made a new friend…
And Harley?
Well Harley is catching up with his beauty rest. Someone call Mattress Discounters – he’d make a great model…
If you’re about to make a move to a new place, here are a few of the links I found worthy to bookmark –
- 6 ways to help your dog settle into a new home
- How to move pets
- 10 tips for moving your dog
- Moving with your pet
September 28, 2015
It looks like the boys are settling in! I hope you are as well, Cathy! This is great advice, thank you, I’ll be bookmarking it for future reference!
September 28, 2015
Glad it went well!
September 28, 2015
Congrats on a successful move! This is a great post, and I will keep it in mind should we or our family/friends decide to undertake a move! And, yes, Harley is a GREAT sleeping model!
September 28, 2015
I think most of the time, the stress for the dog comes from the human, not the move. We all move really well and don’t mind it a bit. It is fun having a new place to check out.
September 28, 2015
Those are some good tips.
Lily & Edward
September 29, 2015
Thanks, pass them on in the event someone else needs to move – they won’t feel so alone….
September 28, 2015
Awe! That sounds really overwhelming to have both of those things happening at the same time! I feel for you, too! When we moved from Oregon back to California I had a hard time not breaking down, too. We’ve moved a bunch of times with pets and it never gets any easier! Each time we’ve had a set of challenges. The cats were actually the hardest to deal with during the move. They were crazy and we had to keep them either kenneled or locked in the bathroom so they didn’t dash out the doors.. It wasn’t fun. The dogs were super easy in comparison. They were anxious about it but not as bad as the cats. I wish there was a way to explain to everybody what was happening!
September 29, 2015
I never thought about trying to move with cats! Sounds like a real challenge indeed. So far the boys are doing great. We’ve dedicated this waiting period (until we move into our new home next week) as their adjustment time. Everywhere we go, they are with us. So they seem to be experiencing everything with a positive outlook. I also had them spend the day and night at the pet resort when the movers came. So they never saw the house completely empty. When we picked them up – we stayed at our daughters house and then hit the highway. Now I’ve got to find the right groomer and day camp for them… #ugh!
September 28, 2015
Well done! I keep telling everyone to just bury me in my house, the thought of moving all my stuff is enough to send me into serious therapy with gobs of medication! Happy settling in to the new crib. 🙂
September 29, 2015
Girl I know exactly how you feel. I called this “serious purging” I couldn’t believe how much “junk” I had been holding on to. It actually feels better getting rid of all the excess “stuff.”
September 28, 2015
Aww. They seem to be settling in nicely. We haven’t moved with Mr. N since we adopted him but I think he would adapt pretty well. He’s used to new places and traveling.
September 29, 2015
Mr. N. would handle it like a champ. I am now a firm believer that they will feed off of whatever energy you give them. Both Harley & Jax are having the time of their lives because they are with us. That’s the important key.
September 28, 2015
Great tips! I’ve just moved with my hoomans as well! ~Shasta
September 29, 2015
Really? How did your move go? Smoothly I hope.
September 29, 2015
A positive attitude definitely helps all situations! 🙂
September 29, 2015
Mos-def Nicole!
October 6, 2015
I’m sure you and the boys will miss the kids from your old neighborhood. So glad to see Jaxson has already found a young lady to help him settle in to his new home.
For us, the most helpful thing we can do for Honey is to not leave her alone in a new place until after we’e all slept there together at least once. I think it helps her to understand that we’ll be back because it’s our den. 🙂
October 7, 2015
We will move into our temporary home tomorrow where we will live for a year while we renovate our other home. I’ve been taking the Boys with us when we’ve gone there for various reasons. They are adjusting well, but like you, I will continue to take them with us for a few days before leaving them alone.