Simple Tips for Moving Home with Your Dog

In the first part of this topic, we gave you some tips about moving houses with your cats. However, when buying a hot property for sale in Malta or Gozo and you have a dog or other types of pets, moving home with your dog can also be stressful. Therefore, the main focus of this article is to provide you with some tips for moving home with your dog. 

Moving house with a dog

Unlike buying real estate or any type of hot property for sale in Malta, moving houses with a dog is a different matter than when moving property with other pets. This is because once a dog is with his master or mistress, it will settle happily enough, where possible. But still, it is best not to under-rate the level of stress that a house move can place on a dog. 

Let your dog get familiar with the new place before moving

It would be best to take the dog along with you to visit the new property in Malta or Gozo before the move itself happens. A good opportunity would be when the old owners have vacated the place and you are allowed to visit, perhaps in the presence of your real estate agent. Let the dog sniff around but keep it on a leash to make sure it does not injure itself or jump over fences. The dog will find it important to look, smell and learn to recognise the boundaries of the new property under your vigilant eye.

Get a dogsitter the day of the move

It is generally not recommended to have your dog or dogs around on the day of the move. For one thing, the dishevelment can be distressing for the dogs, confusing them unnecessarily. They will probably bark at the movers, thinking they are intruders. They may run away, get locked behind doors, or run over ….. You will have strangers walking in and out of the house and you will have to coordinate things as cartons are moved from one property to the next. A howling or barking dog will definitely not help. The best solution would be to have a friend or dogsitter keep your dog for you throughout the moving day.

First day at the new home

Once the movers are out of the way, pick up your dog in your own car or have it picked up by somebody familiar to you, for instance, your friend. However, make sure you collect the dog in the evening of the move, so it sleeps in the new home in Malta with you on the first night. Make time to show it around, feed it in the new property and let it settle on its new bed. It will feel comforted by your presence and the smell of its own things. So, for instance, it would be better to bring the old, worse-for-wear dog bed with you to the new house so the dog will recognise it and feel safe. You can always buy a new dog bed after a few days.

Some dogs may become confused after the move, finding it difficult to reassess their routine, especially when they have to be walked in a new neighbourhood which their noses still have to examine and catalogue. There might be neighbours’ dogs barking in the vicinity, there may be cats in your neighbour’s garden which will sit on a common fence and cause your dog to bark loudly. The dog will need to customize itself with the new house that you have just bought, its new smells, new sounds and limitations.

When you move to a smaller space

In the case of moving from a larger to a smaller property, be aware that both dogs and cats may feel hemmed in. Consider a dog or a cat which had the run of a large house or garden, suddenly finding itself having to live in a two-bedroomed apartment with no outdoor space. Try to give the cat a place on a window ledge from where it can look out onto the world. And take the dog for longer or more frequent walks to compensate for the limitations imposed on its lifestyle.

Moving with other type pets

Even other pets can suffer from the stress of a move. When buying a hot property for sale in Malta and moving houses with birds, for instance, keep them in their usual cage but cover it with a cloth to avoid the bird seeing too much going on from inside your car. Once in the new house, try to locate the cage in a space similar to the one it had in the old house.

Fish in fish tanks

The same things apply to fish in fish tanks. Since fish are such delicate creatures, it is wise to seek advice from a trusted aquarium store, so that you transport the fish in the best conditions and water temperature to avoid them dying on you.

With a little bit of forethought and planning, the move can be smooth and pleasant even for your beloved pets. In Malta we are fortunate in that distances are short, and pets will not be required to travel for long before they reach your new and lovely home. Read more other articles about buying real estate and moving houses with your children.