We're Moving!

Helping your dog adjust to a new home can be challenging. Anne Stauff discusses the stress of moving and how keeping your puppy active and engaged can help them transition to a new living space.

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We are moving! After 15+ years, countless memories, and 2 children, we are moving. The only member of the family I wasn’t worried about was Eddie.

I had enough on my plate between finding a rental, packing a lifetime’s worth of memories into boxes, purging everything we didn’t need, and packing two kids’ college things into storage for the summer. Then a well-meaning friend asked, “How are you preparing to transition Eddie to her new home?” Well, I had planned to put her in the car, drive to our new house, and say “Welcome Home, Eddie.”

A Change of Plans

Then, the buyers asked us to move up the closing date so they could be in before Memorial Day, 2 full weeks before our rental was available. Oh no!

There weren’t any rentals available for those two weeks. Luckily, my son wasn’t done with his sophomore year of college until the last few days before we moved. My daughter, a senior in high school, bounced around from friend to friend. My husband got a hotel room right next to his office in Connecticut. That just left me and Eddie. We headed out to spend the week at my brother’s place.

My brother and his wife live on a lake in Connecticut. They also have a dog: a 6-year-old Labradoodle named Niko, who is very used to being their only child. Please, oh please, I prayed, let him at least kind of like Eddie.

A New Playmate for Eddie

Eddie and I got to their house at 8pm on a Saturday night after a full day of moving. Oh, did I mention I was also auditioning for a new job (spin instructor) at noon the same day? Nothing like doubling up on the stress! (I got the job btw.) We arrived tired, dirty, and starving. We looked the way I imagine people look when they get voted off Survivor. According to my friend, I was supposed to “show Eddie around” and “get her comfortable with her new surroundings.” I collapsed into bed instead. Sorry, Eddie.

The next 7 days were full of swimming, barking at kayakers, and trying to get Niko to like Eddie. We also had several playdates with a neighbor’s 6-month-old herding mix puppy. This dog was like lightning! She ran forever and tired Eddie out in about 15 minutes. I didn’t give much thought to “transitioning” Eddie because we were both putting in full days and felt exhausted!

Eddie’s Time to Shine

After that great week, we went to a swanky hotel near where we would be renting for the summer. Five days with a dog in a hotel room? Yikes.

Fortunately, this hotel was awesome. When we checked in, there were plenty of treats at the ready for Eddie. Everywhere we went, Eddie was the star. Our room came with custom dog bowls and mats and there was even a park to hike through right across the street. Again, no time to “transition,” just time to plow ahead.

I feel like Eddie was the one preparing us for the move. She rolled with it all. Her sweet, silly face always seemed to say, “This is going to be fine.”

After our stay, it was finally time to move into our rental. More on that next time.

Check Out Past Puppy Diaries

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The Stauff Family was compensated for their participation in this series by PetPartners, Inc., an indirect corporate affiliate of PetPlace.com.