How to successfully move with a chow?

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jessica0309
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How to successfully move with a chow?

Post by jessica0309 »

Hi everyone,

Does anyone have any advice on how to successfully move to a new home without stressing your chow? I am the proud owner of Thor, a 9-month old neutered chow chow. I just bought a new house, and have spent two nights in it. In our previous apartment, Thor did not have any bathroom issues. He was a very good boy and always alerted me to take him outside. He loves routine and I am worried that the move is really stressing him. He was left alone for four hours yesterday (no cage, free to roam the house) and I am thinking the cage-less abandon of him wasn't a good idea because when I came home he had taken a poop in the living room.

He has free access to the yard whenever he wants, and I don't think he desperately needed to poop while I was gone and couldn't hold it (he is a pretty good holder). Do you think the empty house that he didn't know really stressed him? Should I crate him again? He pooped again in the same spot while I was sleeping last night. I don't know what to do, other than put up a gate so he can't access the living room, which leads me to think he will just go poop somewhere else. How do I stop the pooping??? I want him to enjoy our new home too, but not by pooping all over it!I will be spending the entire weekend keeping him company and helping him get acquainted, but I would LOVE some advice that anyone may have.

Thanks!!
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Sarahloo
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Re: How to successfully move with a chow?

Post by Sarahloo »

jessica0309 wrote: Do you think the empty house that he didn't know really stressed him?
Yes, that's probably it. It was too early to leave him alone there for such a long time. What I did when I moved with my Chow is I always took him to the new house with me while I was getting it ready for habitation. So by the time we actually moved he was already quite familiar with the place.
But even though: the first time I left him alone there was to make a quick run to the bakery which took five minutes. I gradually eased him into it, just like I did when I first taught him how to stay home alone.
Try to show your dog what he stands to gain from the move. Make your new home a great place for him to be. Loo loves the quiet here without the rest of my family; maybe there is something your dog has lacked and can have now. You being able to spend all weekend with him is great: that will be a huge step towards normalcy! Help him discover the place: I just threw Loo's favourite treats everywhere, which worked nicely. If you both do a good job, maybe come Monday everything will be fine already.
What I did do as a concession to my dog: I put the furniture (almost) exactly where it was in our old house, so that my bedroom looked basically the same way it did before. That helped A LOT! He could just go to sleep in his usual corner, which I know he appreciated.
Ab. the poop: just pick it up and don't say a word. De-odorize the spot and pretend it never happened. You don't want him to get even more stressed than he already is! Good luck & keep us posted! :D
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merlinsmom
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Re: How to successfully move with a chow?

Post by merlinsmom »

I have moved successfully several times with chows. Granted, most of the time, it was 4 chows so they were not lonely. As long as they could smell my scent, I had no problems. My husband is retired USAF and we moved 7 times with 3-4 chows. When I moved to Alaska (retirement), I had 1 chow. He was 18 months old. I did not have many problems as I was home for 2 weeks before starting a new job. I had more problems when I added a puppy about a year later!

I have found if the dog (s) has his blanket or one of my sweatshirts to sniff, I have no problems. I also establish a scedule of events (feeding, bed time, sleeping space) as soon as possible. Usually within the 1st day. The dog will be happier that way.
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Re: How to successfully move with a chow?

Post by merlinsmom »

As for the poop, clean it and ignore it. I have also found that sprinkling the area with borax (won't hurt the dog and more effective than baking powder), hleps the dogs lose interest in that spot. Sprinkling the whole carpet may also solve the issue.
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jessica0309
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Re: How to successfully move with a chow?

Post by jessica0309 »

Thank you to you both! Yes, I ignored the poop (well, I cleaned it up of course!but I ignored the incident and Thor Thor did not get in any trouble for it) since I felt so bad that my poor baby was upset! I did put a gate up to keep him out of the poop room, and then took out ALL of his toys and spread them out all over the house (great idea!). After spending the weekend together he quickly adjusted and is happy. Now that we are completely moved in with all our furniture he has found new places to hide and sleep, as well as new places to guard.

I do believe he will be a digger (already has created a few holes) and I appreciate all the posts already here that I searched for digging solutions. We may create a sandbox for him to play in. He LOVES his new yard, and has happily begun guarding the new birdbath now that Chicago is finally thawing.
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