Pets
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XP: Dogs adjusting to new home/training (long)
Just wondering if anyone who is a new homeowner had dogs with problems adjusting to a new environment. We have 2 dogs that we rescued about 8 months ago and they have lived in the same place with us ever since. I'm worried about introducing them to the new home. I guess I'm mostly worried they will pee everywhere trying to mark their territory on our BRAND NEW carpet. I'm also worried about the rules we want to try.
FI and I have decided that we want to have new "dog rules"in the house. We are at a loss of how to teach these rules to our pups. We want to do the following:
- We have decided that the dogs will not be allowed upstairs (they have been sleeping on the floor next to our bed and driving us crazy for the past couple of months)
- We also want to designate one couch in the living room as "the dog couch" (they have had full reign of all furniture in the apt).
- I also want to teach them how to not act like freaking maniacs as I'm preparing their food (they jump all over me/bark and I usually end up spilling the food/water).
- Lastly, we are getting a doggie door installed so they can go in and out when we are not home. We will be putting a baby/dog gate keeping them restricted to the kitchen so they can't wander anywhere with carpet. (They have been crated the entire time we aren't at home since we got them).
Does anyone have any tips or tricks for making this adjustment easier? Or suggestions on how we should train our pups? Thanks for reading!
Re: XP: Dogs adjusting to new home/training (long)
We have a baby gate in front of the stairs so the dogs can't go up there.
Do your dogs know the command OFF? I would teach them that first regarding the furniture. & jumping on you at meal times.
Do they know STAY? Have them sit & stay while you prepare their meals, then release them to eat when you're ready.
Maybe they need a basic obedience class?
I would google Nothing in Life is Free and start implementing it now. I also would not have a doggie door and allow them outside unattended. Its unsafe for the dogs not to mention unsafe for you as things can get into your house. Someone posted on here one time when a raccoon got into an acquaintance's house and the dogs killed it in the house with blood EVERYWHERE. Talk about ruining carpet.
Our dogs adjusted to the new house fine, a foster marked our carpet but he was potty training so I don't hold that against him. My own dogs have no interest in peeing on new carpet. I wouldn't move them, change up all the rules and expect them to magically adjust, I would start setting better boundaries and having them follow expectations NOW, then just transition those rules to a new house. Do you crate train? I'd crate them at night if you want them to sleep downstairs and be quiet.
IMO saying "we will have all these new rules in the new house b.c. the dogs are out of control!" is probably why you have the problem in the first place...procrastinating the work of training your dogs to be good family members.
Oh gosh, that doggie door thing is scary! I never thought of that. Our dogs are crate trained. The only reason I was thinking of doing the doggie door during the day is because I didn't want them to be crated all day while at work and then crated all night since we are not adjusting well to them sleeping in our bedroom. They scratch at their collars and shake and keep us up sometimes. And we aren't implementing these new rules because we think our dogs are out of control. We just want to make a few adjustments to things we've realized don't work for us. Really, the only thing that truly bothers me is the going crazy while I make their food. And NOTHING calms them down. (They know sit but never listen when I am making food). They are house-trained now and don't mark, but they marked when I took them to my parents' house for the first time. I will look into nothing in life is free. Thanks!
Marking can happen any time they are in a new place. I would just keep them on leash for a few days and watch them like hawks until you relax a bit.
I also wouldn't be comfortable with a doggie door for the same reasons everyone listed above. There is so much that could go wrong while you are gone during the day.
As for the furniture, just be consistant. every time they try to get on the furniture get up, tell them off and redirect them to another area and reward there. It sucks to have to jump up so many times but with consistant re-direction they should figure it out.
Going nuts at food time. I trained my crazy nutter dog to go to one spot and stay there. I started with rewarding in one spot without the distraction of the dog food. I also would crate her away and put the food there so started driving for the "eating spot" to get to her food. now that we are in a smaller space I feed in the crates. As soon I reach for the bowls she bolts to her crate in anticipation. Getting them used to that kind of routine will help take out the crazy antics at dinner.
Poe: Here we go once again with the "I was a wild stray..." story. Blah blah blah *eye roll*
Blog: The Misadventures of Jackson and Poe
Thank you, thank you for such excellent advice. I am going to try the crate/food training first thing when I get home! Same for the furniture training. I've definitely been talked out of the doggie door. NOT my best idea!
Ditto others on nixing the dog door - too many dangers for your dogs outside as well as what could get inside. I've also heard that dog doors can actually hurt the resale value of your home since most people don't want them (that may or may not be true).
I also ditto the NILIF recommendation. One of my dogs (Teddie) has moved twice (from NYC to Boston and within Boston between an apartment and our current house), and the other has moved once (apartment to house). We have had zero trouble with them adjusting, and I think NILIF really helped. Other things that helped included introducing them slowly to the new space (i.e. only allowing them in certain areas of the house at first, then gradually expanding the areas where they are allowed) and tethering them to us for the first 5-7 days so we can watch their every move (so if they try to mark, chew, or otherwise destroy, we can prevent it).
Regarding feeding time, it will take patience, but you can absolutely have them sit/lay down while you prepare the food. Ask them to sit before you even get out their bowls or food. Once they are sitting, get out the bowls and food. If they get up at any time while you are doing that, stop what you are doing until they are calm and sitting again. Do this until you have the food prepared (stopping every time they get up - walk away if you have to unless they could get at the food). Then, don't put the food on the ground unless they are sitting calmly. If you bend down to put the food down, and they get up, pick the food up and don't put it down until they are sitting. My dogs lay down until the food is on the ground and I release them. Sometimes I wait a few minutes after I put the food down to release them if they are acting anxious/jittery. At this point, they lay down automatically when they see the food bowls come out.
Ultimately, all of the things you listed (not allowing them upstairs, only allowing them on one couch, and the feeding stuff) will take time, consistency, and patience. You have to enforce the rules every single time, or else they will think they can get away with whatever they are doing (jumping on the wrong couch, etc.).
We had Tyson for almost a year when we moved. Our landlord (who lived in our house before us) had dogs. Tyson never tried to mark his place in the house. Is it a brand new house? If not, maybe take a black light and make sure their is not a place where former pets have peed as your dogs may smell that and think they should mark or pee there.
If your dogs will be created at night away from you in the new house maybe give them something with your smell on it to sleep with? Being in a new place at night and not being with there people may be scary for them. Your smell may help.
Good Luck!!