Changing Spaces

Moving to a new home is stressful for everyone. There’s so much to do and really sometimes our pets don’t get the attention they need to transition smoothly. I recently moved our crew to a new home so I’ve been thinking about this a lot.

All dogs will handle moves differently. Some are laidback and after the first 10 minutes are settled right in. Other dogs can take months to get use to all the changes. If possible take your dog to the new home or neighbourhood before the move to go for a walk and get use to the smells.

Also consider whether you are changing out rules for your dog. For example our new home has a dog run so we’ve gone from allowing the pups to use the yard for their business to asking them to walk across the yard to designated doggy area. This adds to anxiety and stress but can be managed depending on your dog. If your dog has a hard time with change then don't try to do everything all at once.

In addition to rule changes and a complete environment change we also threw out some old furniture and bought a new couch. This does affect the dogs as well so we tried to minimize it by throwing out the old furniture a week before the actual move.

 

 

Some things to keep in mind:

• Continue to exercise your dog and if possible increase your exercise regime
• Consider using a crate for your dog beforehand and after the move. This gives your dog a space that is his/hers and it doesn’t change. Their dog bed should not be washed right before or after a move. The smells are important to your best friend.
• Use bones and stuffed kongs to give your dog an activity that helps relieve stress.
• Monitor your dog for signs of stress that include: off his/her food, loose stool, panting, difficulty in relaxing or settling down
• Consider using DAP, a thunder shirt, rescue remedy, calming music or even good old lavender to help relieve some anxiety
• Try to relax yourself. Dogs do pick up on the moods of their owners and may need to be reassured by you. Stay calm, relaxed and take a walk together.

Why is my dog snarling in the window?: A Breakdown of Barrier Reactivity

My Aussie Marco is a really friendly and well adjusted dog. He came to me with a great temperament at 8 weeks old and through mountains of socialization he has continued to be my most trustworthy dog around other dogs, small animals, babies and of course new people. Marco however has a secret... he use to be extremely barrier reactive. What does this mean? 


Barrier reactivity is when you put a dog behind a fence, kennel door, window, leash, etc. and they see a person or another dog or small animal. An over reaction follows that might include lunging, growling, showing of teeth, barking, snarling, etc. Marco literally went from wiggling, happy puppy to full on vampire face. Even my trainer friends thought he was aggressive until of course I opened the kennel door and poof it vanished and my happy boy was back. 


Marco had a very specific form of barrier reactivity that occurred only when he was in his kennel and saw another dog. It also had to be a dog he didn't know well (the other dogs in my house didn't elicit any sort of reaction from him). I deduced that for Marco it occurred because he was extremely frustrated that he couldn't go meet the other dogs and he would blow up like a toddler having a temper tantrum until he got his way and was allowed to play. This behaviour first appeared at 6 months (right around when adolescence kicks in) and I had solved the problem before he reached 8 months. It did take some work though. 


So now that you have a good idea of what barrier reactivity is you're probably wondering how you can solve it? Well it depends on WHY your dog is reacting. A good trainer can help you figure this one out. A dog that is overly excited is different than a dog that is fearful. Both dogs can demonstrate barrier reactivity. I would address the issues quite differently though. An over excited dog needs to learn impulse control (Marco had to wait to be quiet before I would let him out of the kennel to play so he learned quiet, calm behaviour got him what he wanted instead of growling). A scared dog (like Heidi) needed a confidence boosting program to help her learn to trust not only me but understand that people passing by aren't going to hurt her. 


The good news is that barrier reactivity is one of those issues that can be resolved within a fairly reasonable amount of time and improve the dog's (and owner's) quality of life fairly significantly. 


Where's Your Sit? offers 2 fun group classes that can help both hyper, excited dogs as well as fearful dogs. Check out our Hyper Dog Program or our Confidence Booster Program to help your pup today. We also offer private, in home training that can address this issue.