If you’re moving soon, then you might not have considered what this will do to your little pooch. While it’s an exciting time for you, it can be a stressful time for your pet if they are not introduced to the new location properly, or if they notice the packing around the current house. Dogs have different routines and senses than us humans do, so if you’re planning an upcoming move, we have laid out all the information you need to make this a smooth transition as possible for your fur-child.

Preparing for the move

It is inevitable that with moving comes lots of boxes, but one thing you should keep in mind is that the boxes may throw off your dog’s routine. 

Dogs can sense when things are changing and with a big change like a move coming up, you should keep your pooch’s routine as normal as possible until the last minute. 

When dogs sense change they are unaware of, it can trigger their anxiety. While it’s not completely possible to keep every box hidden when it comes time to pack certain things, the mix of boxes and you not spending as much time with your dog because of how stressed you are trying to pack the house is a bad combination. 

Dogs are like babies in a sense that they have certain routines they become acquainted to. If you work out of the house, your dog has already adjusted to the schedule you have set for them for when you leave, when you come home, and the amount of time you spend together in the evenings. 

Routines are good and should be instilled once you prepare to move. Keep the routine as normal as you can and bring it with you to your new place. 

When it comes to time to load up the truck and begin the process of actually moving from your current place to your new place, put your dog somewhere out of the way where it’s quiet and less chaotic. It’s so easily to stir up a dog and when you have multiple people helping you move, or you’re carrying boxes from one place to another, they may get excited or even anxious. 

Everyone knows how crazy moving can be and the last thing you want to worry about is the stress of your dog, so prepare them beforehand to make the moving process easier on you!

Getting your dog accustomed to the new home

When it comes time to actually settling into your new place, your fur-baby is going to need some time to get acquainted with the new place. The territory will be unfamiliar to them but there are ways you can make this transition easier for your dog! 

First and foremost, you are going to want to keep your dog safe while you unpack. We don’t want Sparky getting into items they shouldn’t be getting into, so establishing a room for them to lounge in that’s blocked off from the rooms you’re unpacking is a priority. 

When you move into a new house, adopt the same routines that you had in the old place so your dog will become familiar to their old routine in the new location. This could provide a sense of normalcy. With that, establish to your dog where their bed and food bowls are. 

In order to get them familiar and comfortable with the new house, you will need to show them around. Using a light and happy tone and giving them their toys to play with can help establish the comfort early on. Sometimes when a dog is stressed they have a bad habit of chewing or possibly using the bathroom on the floor and I guarantee this is something you don’t want to deal with in a new house. 

Having your sweet dog getting comfortable with the new house is going to take some effort on your end to calm their nerves, but with these tips, your dog should feel the comfort in no time once their routines are established and they become familiar with where things are in the house.

How long should it take for your dog to adjust?

There is no set time for how long it should take your dog to adjust to the new place, but the sooner you start showing them where their things are and establishing routines, the quicker they will catch on! 

The trick to getting dogs accustomed to new surroundings is how you handle the situation at hand. Dogs look to their owners for security and comfort, so if you give them those things then you will have a happy dog during the moving process! 

Remembering our tricks for establishing normalcy and your dog’s normal routines will quickly comfort them to the newness of their unfamiliar surroundings.

Dogs are not fond of loud sounds. Fireworks are the most common loud noise known to scare a dog, but other sounds like loud gunshots and storms can scare them just as much.

If your dog isn’t fond of loud storms, then they probably whimper and snuggle up close to you. The loud sounds that come with storms can trigger your dog’s anxiety and luckily, there are ways you can counteract it!

If your love-able pooch experiences anxiety during storms, here are some ways to help keep them calm.

Why dogs have anxiety during storms

Unlike humans, dogs have incredible senses that can pick up on changes that may make them uncomfortable. When a storm is brewing, these senses are activated. 

Your dog can sense the drop in air pressure that comes with a storm. Adding in the darkening skies, rustling wind, and booming thunder, it’s a mix meant to freak a dog out. 

Another reason why dogs fear thunder is that they simply don’t know what it is. While dogs have the ability to sense the changes in weather, they don’t hold the ability to understand what a storm is, and sadly, we aren’t able to communicate it to them. 

If you have a dog that was rescued or previously owned, then they might hold anxiety from a past experience, especially if your dog was left outside most of the time. 

When a dog hears a loud, unrecognizable sound, its anxiety is going to raise. If your dog has more sensitive hearing and a skeptic personality, this could contribute to their sense of anxiety too.

How to know your dog has storm anxiety

There are many ways to tell if your dog experiences anxiety during storms. Dogs have different signs of anxiety that you can correlate to oncoming storms. 

One of the biggest tell-tale signs of pet anxiety during a bad storm is whimpering or shivering. Your dog may even get quiet. If your dog starts to shake uncontrollably, whimper, or get quiet after a loud boom of thunder, then they’re likely in distress over the bad weather. 

Another sure sign your dog may be experiencing anxiety during a storm is running away to hide somewhere in the house. 

It’s a natural reaction even for humans to run and hide when we become frightened, so it makes sense that our dogs experience this too. When your dog hears a loud noise they don’t recognize, they may run and hide somewhere in the house, like a corner or somewhere they feel safe. 

Along with this, if your dog begins to pant or pace around, then this is another sign that they might be experiencing anxiety during a storm. 

Learning the way your dog communicates anxiety is crucial for understanding their need to be calm when they’re feeling uneasy. In order to understand how your dog responds to storm, study them and monitor the way they react when they hear the loud claps of thunder. When you recognize their anxiety, use the following tips to help make them more comfortable.

Tips to keep your dog calm during bad storms

One of the most frustrating aspects of being a pet parent is not being able to verbally communicate with our pets when they’re in distress. While we may not be able to communicate verbally to them, there are things we can do to help calm their anxiety they may be having when there’s a bad storm. 

The best way you can calm your dog during a bad storm is to comfort them by being home with them. Are they hiding in the house? Shaking or whimpering? Then be close by to them!

Our dogs love it when we comfort them and wrap them in our arms, so just like our parents did for us when we were scared, we need to be close to our pets and comfort them when they need us, too. This will provide a calming environment that your dog will feel safe in. 

If thunder is still a challenge then you should look at our calming dog beds. A calming dog bed works to soothe to specifically minimize the anxiety your dog feels by providing a sense of security.

Calming dog beds activate orthopedic relief to your dog and create a cozy place for your dog to burrow while lying down. These beds can make your dog feel protected, which is exactly what they need when feeling anxious during a storm.

Comfort is key

No one likes loud storms and your fur-child doesn’t either. If they are experiencing anxiety in storms, use a combination of these tricks with a calming dog bed to help minimize the amount of anxiety your dog experiences. 

Remember, the best way to cure their anxiety is for their pet-parent to be right by their side! 

So you’ve bought or adopted a new puppy. You’re extremely happy and ready to bond with your new fur-child, but you need to teach them a few things in order to make the process easier. Cleaning up accidents, finding chewed-up clothes, and barking at neighbors can make you wonder if getting a puppy was a smart idea, but with proper training and inclusion of good habits, you can minimize the stress that can come with getting a new puppy. We’ve laid out some tips and tricks for you in this post!

First things first

There are several good habits to train your puppy to have and it’s important that you start that training immediately. Puppies require constant practice to get used to methods, so the earlier you start, the easier and better they will grow accustomed to them. It’s harder to train a puppy the older they get because they quickly establish a routine that you set for them.

First and foremost, training a puppy to have good habits takes a lot of patience on your part, so make sure you are fully committed to handle the stress before getting a new puppy.

House Training

House training is probably going to be the first habit you teach your dog. Let’s face it, your puppy is going to have a few accidents in the house at first since they are getting used to the new location, so it’s your job to teach them where to properly go. Just like babies, puppies use the bathroom on a schedule. If you want to avoid the annoying task of cleaning up after them, it’s important that you initiate this schedule immediately by working it into their routine.

When your puppy uses the bathroom in the house, quickly correct them by scolding them (not too harsh, though) and then taking them outside, even if they just used the bathroom. When you are taking them out on their schedule and they use the bathroom in the yard, reward them for it with a treat and a sweet voice saying, “Good job!” This repetition will help them to quickly catch on about where they need to go to use the bathroom.

Socializing

Right after house training, socializing is probably next on your priority list of good habits to teach your puppy. No one wants to have a puppy that scares other people from aggressive barking, and this is one of the habits that will be harder to break your puppy out of with the older they get. If you don’t spend time socializing your furbaby while they’re young, they can develop anxiety that results in barking and aggression once they’re older since they’re not used to other animals or humans.

You should socialize your puppy as often as you can when you first get them. A great way to socialize your puppy is to bring them to a relatives house or a friends house that has a calm, gentle puppy or dog so yours can become acquainted with other animals and humans. When you take your puppy out of your house regularly, they become used to other people and situations instead of being confined to their routine. If you live in an area where you can take your puppy out for a stroll, do it! This will help break them into new friends instantly.

Chewing & Biting

Be prepared to maybe have to replace a new rug, or items in your closet when you first bring a new puppy home. Unfortunately, this is a hard habit that puppies will need to learn to break out of. Puppies are curious little things. They are still getting used to their new surroundings and learning what they can and can’t do, so until they know what toys they can play with. Everything is fair game.

Some breeds of puppies will have a harder time with this than others, but you should always keep a watchful eye out for your valuables. Puppies can also have a habit of chewing electrical cords, so in order to keep them safe, you need to nip it in the bud really quickly by investing in chew spray (which sprays a taste on items your puppy will not like) or scolding them when they chew something that isn’t yours.

Correcting your puppy

If your puppy chews something in the house or needs to be scolded, there’s a proper way to do it. 1) You should never crate-punish a puppy because that will send the message that their crate is not a safe place. The right way to scold a puppy is by repeating terms like “Drop” in a harsh tone when they’re chewing something they shouldn’t, or by redirection, turning their attention to other things.

You should never yell or beat a puppy because this could make them uncomfortable and scared while they’re learning proper behavior. Remember, it’s key to have patience with your new puppy while they navigate their new surroundings.