Relocating With Dogs

By Pilar Kuhn

The past few months of our lives have been busier than usual. We bought a new house with land and we had to move. The upside? We would have plenty of room for a family and our dogs. The downside? We had to pack up everything and relocate. I don’t know many people that get excited about moving except for maybe the CEO of a moving company. I could only truly be excited once we fully relocated.

We never worried much about our belongings surviving the trip, but we most certainly worried about our dogs’ states of mind. We had a lot of friends and colleagues ask us along the way, “How are the dogs handing all the change? Are they OK?” We figured a few would go with the flow, but we knew a couple might be very upset by the changes with their space and especially their temporarily changed routine. Rod and I decided taking our boy dog and his favorite toy with us to the inspection would help him adjust well. He enjoyed playing around the entire new property for hours and left with a huge smile on his face. We knew he would feel right at home once we moved.

Our older Scottie girls were mostly un-phased by all the hub-bub and our Scottie puppy made the process a delightful game following us and exploring with a smile on her face. Danica, our Bouvier, rarely wears her “emotions on her sleeve,” but I could tell the extra activity upset her. Her mild obsession with her ball went to a whole new level and she was driving us crazy, but evidently our actions were also driving her crazy. One morning she jumped up on the bed and cuddled with me, looked right into my eyes, and sighed a heavy sigh. Her sigh said it all. She had been stressing and needed some reassurance. Oh sure, she trusted us, but in that moment she let me know it was wearing on her. Truthfully, the last several months had worn on all of us, but we were in the final stretch.

Familiarity works well for children and dogs, so we kept our bedroom set up mostly “as is” until a few days prior to moving. The dogs slept peacefully in their usual places. But when that furniture had to go, they resolved themselves that this change was imminent. The day we loaded everyone up to spend the first night in the new house our boy dog knew exactly where we were when we pulled in the driveway. He couldn’t wait to jump out of the car to play with his beloved ball. The others weren’t quite sure what to make of the new smells, but they ran and ran once they hit their new backyard. As we settled into our bedroom for the night, every dog had a smile and slept peacefully.

We had some final tasks at the old home to complete, so we chose to take our small pack with us. As they entered the empty house, they seemed to understand that their belongings had relocated. That same evening back at our new home, my husband said, “They watched us pack up the old house and saw it completely empty today. I hope they understand that we have permanently moved and this isn’t just a nice hotel stay for them!”

From the way the dogs settled in quickly, they figured it out. I’m certain all the dog shows they attend helped them make the adjustment. For shows, we’re constantly packing up, migrating, and sleeping in strange places. It’s the seemingly little things that make a big difference, though, like the smell of our bed in our room that first night and their toys all around. Moving can be a daunting task, but our move with the dogs constantly around made the entire process seem easier. We could hug them and laugh at them when the stress of moving became too much for us. Now establishing our “new normal”, we can comfortably call our place “Home, Sweet Home.”

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Posted by admin on Jun 4 2013. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.