Moving house...

So.. I should be moving 200 miles north within the next few weeks.

As Kestral is a bit of a sensitive little dog does anyone have any tips or advice regarding moving or settling her in to a new house?

I am hoping to have it as set up as possible before taking her so she doesn't freak out with boxes etc around the house.

Also, she has visited 4 or 5 friends houses and is generally fine but does not tend to settle down.. a couple of days away and she sleeps non-stop to catch up when she gets to the flat so I want to try and enable her to relax.
She has stayed at my parents numerous times (including whole weeks over holidays) and still finds it hard to settle, although I don't think the cats help!

Thanks

We are thinking of moving next year.
I think we will take our dogs to my parents for a couple days while we move, so they won't be freaked out by different surroundings and lots of moving and people etc around.
Would this be an option for you too?

When we are set up, we will collect the dogs and already have their toys, beds and food bowls set up where we intend them to stay and just introduce them to each room and outside etc and leave them to explore on their own. (2 out of 3 of mine are quite confident so I don't think they will have a problem)

As long as Kestral has things she sees as familiar she should be fine.
Bribe her with her favourite treats and toys. Don't wash her bedding, just put it in her new place and let her settle in in her own time

Thanks Good luck with your move!

I can and probably will have to take her to my parents. Sadly after being there she always comes back a bit more sensitive and grumbly and reverts back to barking at people for a few days until she settles down again so it's not perfect.

Would you walk the dogs before going in to the new place to tire them out a bit?

Perhaps I should be working on a settle command of some sort before I leave.

Teach her to settle on a bed or mat in various places? I found that helped massively with Rupert, we could take his bed to someones house and he would happily settle on it. Planning on teaching Spen to settle on something a bit more portable like a towel though.

Whenever I moved house Rupert came in at the same time as us. We didn't make a big deal out of it, just acted as normally as it's possible to act in those circumstances. He tended to get upset when the furniture was being packed up as opposed to when going into the new house.

Ok I will have a go at that, it would be good to teach her to relax in a new place rather than pace and whine.

Hope it all goes ok !

I think myself I will just get them out of the car take them into the house and let them wonder round themselves. As long as the garden is secure I would also just let them wonder in and out of the house of their own accord.
Going for a walk beforehand is a good idea.
Does she have a favourite bed and treat?
Maybe stuff a kong with yummies and let her have that on her bed

Are you excited about the move?? x

If I can I will probably take her for a walk before as it's a long drive so she will probably have lots of energy anyway and she will probably be happier tired.
Poor Kestral is a bit dim and finds the kong a bit too challenging, but I will give her a tasty treat to settle down with when I get in, turn on some music and hopefully she will relax eventually.

I think I will be excited when I find a place to live which is tomorrows job..I've lined 10 places up to look round. At the moment I'm a bit apprehensive about being able to find somewhere that allows dogs!!

I want to get everything right from the start and not allow bad habits to get in, like listening for noises to be scared of, grumbling at the sound of neighbours, becoming scared of bins and floors etc so I'm trying to plan how to make it all work, but I guess I will just have to wait and see!
Not sure whether I should do loads of clicking and treating for all sorts of situations to build up positive associations or just leave her to it and see how she gets on?

Can't offer any more than that that has already said, Sadie and Benjie are fine anywhere and Louie grew up in two different houses and now lives in a totally different one..

But - where are you moving too?

That's good yours are so relaxed in different places

All going well I'm moving to Cheshire! You can take dogs to work, but I'm not sure Kestral would enjoy it

i moved in june and phoebe found it quite stressfull. I had her in kennels while we did the move, once new house was set up i brought her home. i made a point of not washing her bedding ect so something felt safe and familiar. she became a velcro dog for a few weeks but it got better every day. i did it the same as when there are fireworks - i just ignored her and let her follow me around and she was sleeping outside my bedroom door. Each day she followed me around less. I also didnt leave her at home alone for a few weeks she came to work with me. I found acting totally normal was the best i just behaved as though nothing changed she settled quite well.

Hope that is of some help. Good luck with the move