Moving House

Snabe

hey all

i moved house a couple of days ago and i'm wondering how i can best help my dog to adjust

so far i haven't left the house without the dog so that he can get used to new smells while i'm around and associate the house with me. when i have to leave him in the house alone, i'm hoping he won't get too anxious since he'll know its his house. wondering if this is the best way to help him adjust?

also, he's taken to growling and barking more frequently. in our old house, he'd occasionally look out the window and growl at passing dogs, but nothing major. now he growls a lot more and sits at the window barking at people or dogs walking by.
is this his way of telling people that this is his patch? is there anything i can do to help? will he grow out of it when he gets more settled? i'm guessing if this will be a permanent reaction to people/dogs, my neighbours will start to get annoyed, which i obviously would like to avoid.

my dog is 2 btw and a labrador collie, if that makes any difference.

any advice appreciated!

fishfoodie

On the growling; have you moved from the town to the country or vice versa ?

He may be just reacting to a different set of sights & sounds from his old home. Don't forget he can hear, see & smell a whole range of things that you are completely unaware of

Snabe

moved from one suburban area to another suburban area, so its not hugely different. i'm hoping that this is just a phase of adjustment and that i haven't psychologically scarred him!

apart from a bit of pacing around trying to find out which place is best to lie down and snooze (which is fair enough!), and the extra barking/growling, he's pretty much normal.

has anyone any tips of how they helped their pet adjust to a different house?

star-pants

Well I'd say it's like taking in a new dog/pup, they're in a new home that they don't know (bar you guys) and don't know the layout or the sounds.
I'm sure after a while with reassurance he'll adjust.

Has he got his old bed and blankets/toys? He'll get comfort from those, and if you go about your business as always, ie don't over react to him maybe barking etc, he'll be thinking 'oh things are normal' sort of thing.
Let him sniff around out the back and front (with lead out the front with you maybe), mark his territory and try and keep his routine the same. It'll take him a little while to get used to his bearings, hearing different dogs from before, different cars/people.

If you have to leave him alone, do whatever it was you did in your other house (whether you left him in Xroom etc) and maybe a chew stick or kong toy to keep him a little preoccupied when you go out. Don't coddle him too much or he will get anxiety when you leave because you'll have gotten him used to being with you 24hrs a day if you get me?

Snabe

actually that's really great advice, thanks!

i never thought to treat this change as pretty much the same as when we got him first. yes he has all his toys and bed etc that he knows and loves.

i'm currently studying in the kitchen and he's just wandered off to have a snooze on the sofa in another room (he wouldn't leave my side before now) so hopefully he's getting used to everything.

have tried to ignore the barking/growling so hopefully if i take no notice he'll get the message that it won't get him attention and he'll stop soon

thanks for the advice, hopefully it won't take long for him to settle in

Germag

Are you the pack leader or is he? If you are, then all you need to do is tire him out by longer and faster walks about the area and let him sleep in the same place. By your body language let him know that you do not aprove of his growling or barking. Get between him and the window and nudge him gently away and a sharp comand of NO. As long as he knows that you are in command then he will settle down o.k. Best of luck and enjoy your dog.

lorebringer

I think routine is key to getting dogs adjusted to anything different. If you can, leave the back door open for him (weather allowing!) to have some time to go in and out of his own accord, so he can sniff around and mark if he want to. With regards to the barking, correct him - let him know it's not ok. If he forms the habbit of barking it will be harder to break, but if you nip it in the bud he should stop pretty soon. It really sounds like he is a bit more anxious in the new house and is reacting by barking etc. Give him time to settle (with some correction) and this should stop once he is more relaxed.