Dog Community

Senior Dog/Moving-How to prepare him

Posted : 8/19/2015 9:05:44 PM

I used to lurk alll the time, but life got busy! Hoping some of the old experts can help me out!

My boy, Yuki (husky/white shepherd) is 11. He has slowed down greatly over the past 2-3 years. He still loves walks and goes to a fantastic day care 1x a week. Most of the time, he is content to lay on the porch or the couch.

We will be moving in about a month. He has moved before with us (2x), but it has been 6 years. He was unhappy about it. Lots of pacing, panting and just not settling. I am just worried about how much stress this will put on him. We boarded him for a week this summer and it took him a long time to recover. What can I do to make this easy for him?

I plan to-have him go to daycare the day of the move, walk the property with him so he can get a feel for it, he will have a large fenced in area to patrol, put his bed in a place that is clearly for him. All our furniture is coming with us, the whole family will be around to pay attention to him (the whole family includes 3 kids (7, 5, 15 months) so things get pretty crazy).

Ugh! Out of the whole move, this is stressing me out the most. He just got over being sick and I think seeing how down he got really has me worried.

shadowsgin

Posted : 8/20/2015 9:59:09 AM

I don't really have much advise, but want to send you some "de-stressing" vibes. He may even sense your stress which will make it more difficult. Glenda has moved a lot, maybe she will chime in with some tips. Callie used to recommend the smell test for adding pets to your home. Maybe something from the new home that you could bring in to your current home so he could get used to it.

glenmar

Posted : 8/20/2015 12:24:14 PM

Silly as this sounds....TALK to him about the move. If possible take him ahead of time to see his new home, or at least to drive by it. Be really excited about the new house and communicate that to him. Theo gets upset about moves too, and packing boxes send him into a funk. He gets really clingy when I'm packing so I'm sure to make time to reassure him that he ALWAYS goes with us, and to spend special time with him just hanging out.

I'm not sure that having a stressed dog around children is a very good idea. Even if he really loves them, is good with them and them with him, if he is stressed, children can add to that stress. This is not a small dog and he can do serious damage without meaning to. I would leave him at daycare as long as possible and in his crate until the children go home.

You might want to consider using Valerian root. This is an herbal relaxant that doesn't MAKE him relax, but allows him to relax. My hubby uses this as a sleep aid, and all my GSD's have taken it during stressful situations.

shadowsgin

Posted : 8/20/2015 2:26:06 PM

Good idea about the Valerian root, I use it for Hot Shot 120lb Bernese Mtn Dog cause he is very afraid of thunder.

DougB

Posted : 8/22/2015 9:49:33 AM

Relax. Your dog picks up your stress. Walk him, so you're both tired and relaxed. I know-easy to say, hard to do. Letting him walk and mark the area first,.

Lizzy6

Posted : 2/6/2019 12:38:14 AM

is it possible to have everything moved into the new house before you bring him to it? that' is what I've always done or tried to do when I moved with pets and I have moved a lot. after he checks everything out take him for a walk around the neighborhood. dogs can become lost if they get loose but if they are walking around marking their territory they can find their way home. I couldn't get everything moved in first the last time so with my cats I set up a whole bedroom for them with their beds, cat tree, scratching post, litter boxes, toys, food and water and when the movers left I brought in a few boxes at a time to unpack and let the cats out to roam around. they seemed very happy right away. after that I put up a gate so they could in and out to get away from the dog when they wanted to and he couldn't eat their food.