Pets like routine, and when everything in the house begins to become disorganized to them as in when boxes are everywhere, and strange people are in the house, they become nervous and worried. It would be helpful to your pet if you are able to bring him to the new location and let him become a little familiar with his new surroundings before you move. He will want to go outside and mark this territory, and don't be surprised if your house trained pet even decides to mark a spot on the new carpet. They are laying claim to this space, and it's not unusual.
There are several suggestions regarding what you can do with your pet on the actual moving day: You can put him in his trusted crate where he feels safe; close him in a room that is quiet at the time with his toys; put him in Doggie Day Care for the day; or leave him with a known friend where he will feel safe and not anxious.
Smokey came home one day and told Jodi that the papers on the new house had passed and we were moving. I had no idea what that meant. All I knew was that Smokey and Jodi were taking us for a ride that day to see a new place and they seemed very excited.
I happily jumped into the car with Star and Cinders and we went for our ride. I loved riding in the car, as it usually meant going to the park or some new place where I would be sure to have fun. We stopped at a new house and all went in to this empty building. We all ran curiously through the rooms checking out all the new smells. Then Jodi opened the door to the fenced back yard and we all ran out there to explore this new space. No grass, only dirt, but so many new smells!
As soon as we were outside, we all began to mark our territory. I, being the only boy, had to be sure I left my scent all over the place, so I would recognize it if we ever came back there. And.... I wanted to block out Star's scent and Cinder's scent, so I was sure to mark right on top of their scent also. Even though my name is Jessie, Jodi laughed and called me, "Two Drop Tony," as I was running out of urine and only had a few drops left for the last few spots.
Wow! This looked like it was going to be a fun place to come and play. Lots of new nooks and crannies to explore, and a few new critters in the yard. Very interesting.....
The next day, Smokey took us to our favorite Doggie Day Care center where we got to go for a visit every now and then. We loved it there because there were so many new canine friends to play with.
Little did we know that while we were playing at Doggie Day Care, our entire home and everything in it was being relocated to the northern part of the town called Pinnacle Peak which was up about 3,000 feet from sea level.
In this part of town, the homes didn't have grass for yards, but instead kept the terrain natural to conserve water. Everything up there blended in with the landscape. All of the homes also had 6 foot block walls with one side in the back made out of iron bars so you could see through half-way up from the block. This type of fence served two purposes: 1) for privacy, and 2) to keep out the wild animals that lived up there such as coyotes and Javelina wild pigs. It did not keep out the venomous snakes which I would soon learn.
At the end of the day, Jodi came to pick us up from Doggie Day Care and took us back to that new place we had visited the day before. Only this time, I found my crate, toys and food dish were there also. It was a little confusing at first, but after a while, we figured out that this was going to be our new home. Both Star and Cinders had been through this before, but this was my first time. I slept with Star that night, and she told me not to worry - that everything would be just fine. I soon fell asleep dreaming of all of those new nooks and crannies that had to be searched really well. Tomorrow.
