The Great Dog Blog: The Move

Hey all! If you can't tell from the title, we have some exciting news: We moved!

Our new place is about 9 blocks north of where we were living. We downsized from a 3 bedroom place to a 1 bedroom, and it is so nice! Less cleaning, we were able to get rid of stuff we didn't need, but this new place has great storage space, so we were also able to keep the stuff we do need! The kitchen is huge, and there's an IN UNIT washer and dryer! (Best part is the w/d combo, IMO). Overall, our favorite perks, besides the kitchen and washer/dryer, are the flat floors, and the large bedroom. Our last apartment had a lot of fire and water damage, since the building was so old, which made the floors slope. I had to weight my bookshelves so carefully so they wouldn't tip over, and I had a hard time keeping balance doing yoga. Drop a pencil? It'll roll straight to the middle of the room. Lets talk about the bedroom, though. Roxie's kennel used to be in our dining area, positioned so she could see into the bedroom, but the room itself was too small for anything but the bed, a nightstand, and a dresser. Literally, that was all we could fit. Now, Roxie gets to sleep next to us! She doesn't fight going in her kennel at night time anymore. It's so sweet.

Roxie handled this move like a champ. She was super nervous while we were packing up our stuff, and moving day was a bit crazy. We kept her in her kennel in the new apartment, to stress her out less. She has an escape problem when she's too familiar with the place and is left alone in her kennel--We've found it easier to just leave her out of it when we go somewhere.

It took a few days, but she started to act much more comfortable here. She really liked the fact that food randomly drops on the kitchen floor here sometimes, too! She loves sleeping next to us. The floors here are more slippery than our old ones, but she found her balance. She can fit into the bathroom with us, and likes to lay on the bathmat while we are in there. There's only one door into the apartment now, so she knows which door to wait by when Mom or Dad come home. Downside: It's hard to open the door because she tries to stick her head out of it as it's opening. It's also a lot easier for her to sneak on the bed when she thinks we're not paying attention.

This new place has an elevator. We went from a 3 floor walk-up, to a 5 floor complex (living on the 4th floor). The most HILARIOUS thing about bringing Roxie here is watching her freak out on the elevator. While we're in there, she doesn't mind, but when the door opens to a new scene/floor, she gets the most befuddled look on her face. She would have trouble stepping out of the elevator. Like, was it doggy Narnia or something? She's definitely more comfortable with it now, but you can tell it's still a mystery to her of how it works, or where we might end up when the door opens.

We've now been here for almost a full 2 months, and she has only had one "accident" in that time. About a month into living here. We don't know exactly what caused it, as her routine had not changed, she had been out earlier, and she acted healthy. What we discovered around 4 the next morning was that a storm was coming in. She has never shown pre-storm anxiety, but who knows?

Our robot vacuum, which runs 2x/week usually, ran well for the first few weeks, then oddly died on us. Since he's been out of commission, Roxie has brought him her squirrel. Not sure if it was on purpose, or she just happened to drop it in front of him, but it was cute nonetheless.

Tips for moving with a dog: Maintain their potty and feeding schedule! Let them explore the place just a bit before actually moving in. Have their kennel handy for moving day. And give them lots of love (and some extra treats) because moving is very stressful for them, too.

That's all for now!

Mary