Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 1:16 pm Post subject: Moving house, would like advice please
Im moving house at the start of april. Daisy was a bit sick when i took her home and she was a bit stressed out. What can i do to make the move easier on her. The only car ride shes had was 15 mins and we are moving 6 hours away.
daisy will be 16 weeks when we move. Just to make things interesting, in the car there will be a 5 year old, 8 month old twins, the cat and daisy. How often will i need to stop to let her out to pee etc?
Alfie was almost 5 months when we moved, it was only 2 hours away though but i kept his routine as much as possible and had all his toys, bed, crate, bowl etc in my car so i could put that straight in the new house so while all our furniture was being delivered he was safely in his familiar crate with his bed and toys and he was fine, he loved all the attention from the men who were moving us and then when everyone had gone, we let him explore his new home we took him out that evening for a walk and he was absolutely fine He wasn't fazed by it at all
She will need to be in the boot whether its with a dog guard or in her crate (if it fits) The twins are in the back, the cat will be in his carrier in the middle and my oldest will be in the front. If i were to put her in the middle id worry about her pawing at the twins or being sick over them (yuck). Like i said its gonna be a very interesting move lol
We moved with Indi when she as 5 months old. We did UK to Germany!!! Around 15 hours in the car in total!!! We got her up peed/pooed her and didnt feed her until she had been in the car a while and gotten use to the motion. Then when we got to france we fed her. We also before the journey used the Travel Anxiety drops from P@H (ive recommended these before on this site and cant speak highly enough) we also went to the vets and got some tablets for her called Cerenia we gave her both about an hour before travel and they made her a little sleepy but kept her calm. Just a calming remedy advised by the vet. I wouldnt use it on any other journey than the one that we have to do though - she has done 5 hours in the car fine prior to the move! We stopped roughly twice on our journey and mainly on the continent for a leg stretch/bite to eat. I would recommend once or twice if necessary but push on through. Indi slept most of the way (bar the bit where she chewed through our reversing parking sensor cable and our back was full to bursting! Very handy!) I would just advise getting her in the car as much as possible between now and then - down to the shops with you, to fill up the car, pick up the kids from school. I was told it takes a dog a trip to edinburgh and back (We lived in the south of england) for a dog to get use to travelling in the car. As long as you have toys and a nice bed in there she will be ok! Indi tends to lie down now or peer out the back and be a nosey madam!!!
Cernia may be useful.. speak to your vet about this. It can really help if she vomits due to the motion of the car. If she is sick is due to stress, then you must get her used to travelling in the car as much as possible before you move. Travel in the car to take her out on nice walks/to go a friends house etc, that way she'll associate the car with positive things. Settle her in car with blankets from home so she has a familiar smell with her. Also makesure you include circular journeys, to prevent her from, in time, getting over excited expecting to end up somewhere fun everytime. A DAP (dog appeasing pheomone) collar may also be useful for the journey as well as the general stress of moving home, again speak to your vet about this. It bascially releases a artificial pheromone, mimicking the pheromone her mother would have released when she was a puppy, which can help to create a calm atmosphere and in turn a more relaxed pup!! You should prob put this on atleast a week before travelling to gain the full effect from this.
I hope this helps you in some way... Good luck!!
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we took him out that evening for a walk and he was absolutely fine 
