How should I introduce my new house to my yorkie?
 

Currently, we live in a house with a basement, first floor and top floor. My 8 year old yorkie Mickey is free to roam the whole house. We will be moving into a new house that is fairly bigger than the one we are currently in.

Tomorrow, Mickey will be dropped off to his babysitter for a few days so that we can move our belongings as quickly as possible. A day or two after we settle into the new house we will bring him to his new home!!

Personally, I don't like this idea, because I'm afraid he'll be going from one place that isn't really home to the next. He'll be very confused and stressed out. I tried to get my mom to take him to the new house at least once so that maybe he'll remember it, but since it is an hour away and my mom is busy with other things, it is not possible :(

So since I can't do that, is there a way I can keep his stress levels as low as possible when Mickey gets to his new home?

This house we are moving into is the same as the one we are in now, only larger. Should I introduce Mickey to the house one area or floor at a time?

Thank you!

I recently moved to a new house as well. I took Duchess to the new home before I moved in and honestly she probably thought she was just visiting. She wasted no time in christening it though :p took a dump right on the living room carpet:eek:......but other than that, she was not stressed at all.

One of the things I did was showed her where her potty pad was going and where her food bowls will be. I thought I would have to potty trained her again but I didn't have too. One of the things I did was take a soiled potty pad and put it in the new home and fortunately for me, she took right to it without me having to retrained her

I don't think he will be to stressed. They adjust really fast. If Duchess was stressed, she did a good job of hiding it. Within a few hours of moving in, she was chasing the cat around the house and "helping" me unpack. In fact I think she was actually excited, there was a fenced in dog across the street she could bark at, there were little bunny rabbits every where and the occasional stray cat she could bark at......I'm guessing she loved her new home.

When you do move, just be sure to give her a "tour" of the house, making sure he knows what spaces he is allowed to go in. I just closed the doors to the rooms Duchess was not allowed in until I was sure she would use her potty pads consistently. But I think we stressed more than they do worrying about if they will be stressed. As long as I was around to help with the transition, Duchess was fine during the move and has adjusted quite well.

When I moved I just had my one girl and I brought her over before we moved multiple times and let her run the house. I used a play pen the day we moved in to keep her safe and after the movers were gone she was free again. Is he prone to stress?

Thank you for your reply!! Hopefully he does adjust quickly. However he has always been anxious in places that are not home. He is not potty trained either, we almost got it down when he was a puppy but I guess it didn't stick. We are pretty good with taking him out to pee, but when we trust him to be alone for a few minutes, it backfires on us. Haha.

I will be sure to do a tour of the house, and since we don't have doors leading into some major parts of the house I'll make sure we go out and buy some more gates.

Thank you :D

Thank you for your reply!

Yes, he has always been prone to stress :(. If we bring him on a car ride with us, Mickey will breathe very fast with his tongue out. If we turn into a neighborhood and he sees houses, he will begin to yelp. This happens every time. In the few times we've brought him over to my cousins house, he was very anxious and was running around and exploring the whole time. Even if I sit with him to try to calm him down, he will still be very anxious. I feel so bad for him.

I'm really hoping Mickey will understand that this new house is his home now. When he was a puppy he was not anxious when he first came to our house. He was a shy little baby. It's not gonna be like that this time and I am so worried for him.

You might want the vet to prescribe an anxiety medicine and use it for a few days until he starts to settle in.

That's a good idea. Thank you. I'll talk to my mom about this and see what we can do.

Don't make a big deal about the move - have confidence in Mickey
 

Honestly, I think the best approach is to NOT make a big deal about the move. Dogs adapt very well when their family members are secure and confident. I suggest moving Mickey's bed, toys, food bowls, etc. to the location in the new home where he will be using them. Bring him home calm and confident and show him where his things are and then give him a chance to explore. If he is outside potty trained then be sure to show him the doors and take him out extra to help avoid accidents. If he is indoor potty pad trained then be sure to remind him where his toilet area is and do lots of praise when he "does his business" in the right place.

Once again, it is vital that you have confidence in Mickey that he can make the transition seamlessly to his new home. Any stress on your part will be relayed to hi through your body language and scent.

I take my two precious yorkie girls to my daughters, on vacatiton, etc. and they never ever have problems, but I believe in them :)

I agree. Don't stress and worry about his move too much. They'll sense it from you and then worry out of your worry for them.

This reminds me of my past dog when we moved from a small home into a much larger home. It was super cute - she was a little nervous at first and followed us everywhere. I think she was afraid to get lost (I didn't mind because it was so cute; it had been a while since she last followed us so closely). We made sure she knew where her potty area and eating area was. She adapted pretty quickly!