Calm or CHAOS?! BIG Move with My Dogs!

[@KathleenMandell]

I was emailing you, but I hadn't watched this yet! We did the same thing! We moved 15 minutes away from our previous house, and I brought them over to the new place a bunch of times so they would be used to the new house. Walks are SO important. Not only does it help them feel more familiar, but if they (heaven forbid!) get loose, they can find their way back. As I told you in my email, six years ago, I moved from Mass. to SC with SIX pets! This time, we are down to three pets (RIP two cats and a dog) and only a few miles away, so it was a tad easier. Even with the 850-mile move, I did travel with one of my dogs from Mass to SC a few times before we actually moved. We kept the old beds, too!!! Anyway, great tips and I did them all on my own before I saw this video! YAY! LOL

[@spiritdogtraining]

Great work- I know we already chatted over email but that's quite a move!

[@corinnesmith5848]

I think these are good suggestions, too, for a dog going to stay with a friend or dogsitter if you have to be away. My dogsitter was interested in taking my dog to her home a block away while I was out of town last week. I encouraged her to do so and to take his night-time bed and favorite stuffed hedgehog to help him feel more at home. She decided to get him familiar with her house by hanging out there some during the day (like you did with your new home) but slept at our house every night. Next time she watches him, he should be more ready to be away from home overnight. Thanks for the video.

[@spiritdogtraining]

Yes! This would be great for anywhere your dog is going to be spending extended periods of time! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

[@BryanTeague-s4t]

When we moved, we moved almost 2000 miles from our previous residence. We knew we would not be able to travel with their crates, so their crates were one of the first things we broke down, but left their crate beds in the exact same location. Then we changed the furniture around in the house, while we worked to pair down what we were moving. When it was time to move, we made sure to place both of their dog beds in the back of our SUV, along with their oldest toys and a few blankets that they used alot. This helped with the 4 day journey to our new home. We arrived at our new city, and stayed in a hotel for several days while we went to settle on the new house. However, we were able to bring the dogs with us to the new house so they were able to get a little familiar with the new house. Once we moved in, they were able to settle in quickly as we made sure the first things set up and available to them were water, food and their crate beds, followed by their crates which arrived about 4 days after we moved in. We implemented a number of your recommendations (before you made the video, so yay us), and I have to say it helped the dogs handle the move much better.

[@spiritdogtraining]

That's wonderful to hear- great work! I'm glad that the move went smoothly for you guys ❤

[@sarab6912]

This was very helpful, thank you!

[@spiritdogtraining]

I am glad it was useful!! :)