Moving with Dogs: A Guide to Easing the Transition

We recently put an offer on what we hoped would become the long-awaited home base for UpSwing. This was the property where we could create an enrichment-focused haven for my incredible clients and their dogs to come, have an experience, and learn new things. Unfortunately, that offer was rejected, so we’re back on the hunt.

As I started imagining the chaos of packing up, I couldn’t help but think about what a move would mean for my own dogs, especially Tiangou, who’s called this place home since he was eight weeks old. It's all he's ever known.

There’s nothing quite like buying a house and moving to test your sanity: the bidding wars, the emotional whiplash, the existential dread of tackling your junk drawer, and that haunting realization that you somehow own way more stuff than any reasonable person should. While you’re busy purging closets and making endless piles, your dog is quietly watching, wide-eyed, as their entire familiar world gets boxed up and carried away.

For humans, moving is stressful. For dogs, it can be downright apocalyptic. Let’s unpack why this transition is so tough on dogs from a behavioral perspective and what you can do to make the process less terrible for both ends of the leash.

Why Moving is Weird for Dogs

Dogs are creatures of habit and environment. Their entire perception of safety is built around predictability: familiar scents, sights, and routines. When you start boxing up furniture and hauling things away, you’re not just redecorating; you’re completely destabilizing your dog’s sense of home, security, and safety.

Behaviorally speaking, most dogs are context-dependent learners. Their cues for behaviors like sit, stay, and mat are generally tied to familiar locations and contexts. When you change that context, especially suddenly, those behaviors can break down. Your once-perfect pup might start acting like they’ve never heard the word "sit" in their life. It's why I talk about using your dials to proof behavior!

On top of that, the packing process itself often involves disruption of daily routines, possibly strange people coming and going, loud noises, and the physical removal of everything familiar. Just like us, dogs produce stress hormones like cortisol in response to environmental unpredictability. Elevated cortisol can lead to reduced appetite, restless pacing, whining, reactivity, and even gastrointestinal upset. Moving can literally make your dog sick to their stomach.

Signs Your Dog is Stressed During a Move

If your dog could talk during this process, they’d probably say: "Excuse me, why are you putting my favorite toys in a box? Where’s the couch? Why does everything smell weird? Who are these people? What is happening?"

Since they can’t verbalize their panic, they show it behaviorally. Look for signs like pacing or inability to settle, excessive panting or drooling, decreased appetite or upset stomach, clinginess or constant following, destructive behavior, regression in housetraining, or heightened reactivity to sounds or people. These aren’t your dog being bad or annoying or trying to spite you. They’re coping with massive upheaval the only way their canine nervous system knows how.

Before the Move: Prep Like a Pro

Here’s how to help your dog handle the chaos a little better before the moving truck shows up. Preserve routine as much as humanly possible. Feed, walk, and play at the usual times, even if you’re drowning in cardboard. Predictability is your dog’s best friend.

Condition them to packing sounds gradually. If your dog startles at tape guns and boxes rustling, practice short sessions where they get treats while you pack just a little at a time.

Create a calm safe zone. Designate a quiet room as their retreat, away from the moving chaos. Stock it with familiar beds, toys, and enrichment items like lick mats or stuffed Kongs, and make sure any movers know this is the dog’s zone.

Maintain positive associations. Scatter treats around packed boxes so your dog doesn’t develop a negative emotional association with the packing process.

Crate train or refresh crate comfort. If your dog is crate-trained, reinforce the crate as their sanctuary now—it will come in handy during moving day and in the new home.

On Moving Day: Minimize Trauma

Moving day itself is peak chaos for dogs. Ideally, get them out of the house entirely. Can a trusted friend or daycare keep them for the day? Perfect. If not, confine them safely in that designated safe zone during the chaos. Last-in, first-out for their stuff. Their bed, bowls, and favorite toys should be the last things packed and the first things unpacked at the new house.

After the Move: Settling In

You made it to the new place. Congratulations! You survived; you leveled up! But to your dog, you’ve essentially kidnapped them and dumped them into an alien landscape where nothing smells right. Re-establish your routines immediately. Walks, meals, and playtime should all be the same as before. The new house might be weird, but if breakfast shows up at the same time, it feels a little less scary.

Start scent-marking the home canine-style. Bring their unwashed bedding, scatter kibble or treats in different areas, and let them sniff everything at their own pace before asking them to settle or stay. Limit free roaming at first, especially for anxious, nervous, or fearful dogs. Start with one or two rooms as their home base so they don’t feel overwhelmed by the whole house.

Expect some regression. Yes, housetraining accidents may happen. No, your dog hasn’t forgotten. They simply don’t yet know that this new carpet also counts as indoors. Be patient, praise them for outdoor elimination, and go back to basics if needed.

Watch for changes in behavior. If stress lingers for more than a couple of weeks, if your dog won’t eat, seems hyper-vigilant, or develops new fears, this is a good time to call in professional help.

Going Forward

Moving isn’t just about packing boxes and forwarding your mail. For your dog, it’s about coping with a total environmental reset, and they don’t get the privilege of understanding why it’s happening. Hopefully, by approaching your move through a behavior-savvy lens, you can help them transition without a total meltdown. Predictability, positive associations, routines, and empathy go a long way toward making this massive change less scary.

While you’re cursing the moving truck, remember: your dog’s watching you for cues. Be their calm amidst the cardboard. And if all else fails, treat yourself and your pup to a pizza and a peanut butter Kong at the end of the day.