Cute Puppy Dog Newsletter, November 28th, 2005 edition
Moving : the impact on your dog
I did it, I just moved to my new home, in the
countryside. I now have a beautiful view
from my office window : the ski slopes, and
lots of trees.
This has been a very long process. We first
got the keys to the house about 2 weeks
before we moved. This was great because it
gave us time to do all the painting and
renovations we needed before the furniture
was moved in. This was the good side. But the
bad side is that I am sooooo tired! I feel
like I have been working on the house for way
too long. Lucky me I had a lot of help
before and during the move, which is nice
because I am mostly unpacked already.
Now, the boxes left are the ones you just
don't really want to unpacked because
you don't know where to put the stuff
LOL .
Now, about Skye, my Golden Retriever. I think
she is the one who found it the most
difficult, all this packing/unpacking period.
First, she saw her entire house change,
everything going into boxes, moved from one
room to another. And then, it was emptied.
And she was taken to a brand new place. She
lost her best friend, Freedom, the next door
Lab lady with whom she used to run around
all the time. She now has to create a new
environment for herself. I know she will love
her new home, because I now have a larger
house with a larger garden, lots of trees and
branches she can play with, and there will
be a lot of squirrel to play with as well.
But she needs time.
What I have done to help her through this is
to make sure her beds were already in the
new house before she arrived, so she could
feel that her smells were there. She stopped
eating for 2 days, so I gave her a little
more treats then usual, played with her more
then usual. Of course, to don't want
to over-compensate with treats, but it is a
reassuring thing for the dog. Also, I gave
her a natural relaxant that was recommended
to me by Dave, an online friend who also
owns a very popular dog site. This relaxant
was a great help : Skye could live the
actual moving day easily. (this is a good
product to have if your dog is stressed or
anxious when you go to the vet! It is called
Today, I am writing this letter to you in my
brand new home office and Skye is relaxing
on my side, in her comfortable dog bed, with
her 2 favourite toys by her side (in case
the envy to play comes suddenly!).
I think she will survive the move, she has
already started to eat more normally again,
and she has explored her new backyard,
sniffed every corner, ate a lot of snow, and
seem very happy!
The conclusion : always take extra care of
your dog if you have to go through a
stressful time like moving, because they need
you and they need to know they won't
be left behind.
Stephanie
Cute Puppy Dog Editor
