Settling In.

Well, we've moved!

The move went OK. We managed to do everything within a few days and now we're concentrating on getting Del settled in with his adopted brother and sister.

For the first few days Del was very hyper, following Ellie around like a lost puppy. Ellie is five years old, and very uninterested in Del, which seemed to spur him on even more. He was panting a lot too, and wanting to get out of the house. When we took him for a walk he didn't want to come back into the house. I think he was thinking 'when are we going home, mum?'

We tried to create a schedule from very early on so he would settle. We fed him separately to make sure he was eating, walked him separately and had him sleeping in our room so his old schedule wasn't completely abandoned. And, hurrah! It's worked. After a week, Del seems to have fitted in really well.

Archie and Ellie are slowly starting to interact with him more. Ellie has started to play with him in the day time which is lovely to watch. They chase each other around  for hours and seem to be getting on well. Del has even incorporated himself into their feeding time. He seemed to want to be involved, so it's so lovely to see them all sharing a feeding bowl together.

At night time, we all settle in front of the TV and the dogs all have their favourite nap spots. Then Del will know when it's bed time and take himself to our bedroom.

So, all in all, it's gone fantastic. Thanks so much for the advice my lovely blogger friends have offered. We followed it all and it really seems to have worked!

I haven't had the time to take many photos, but here is one of my favourites of Ellie and Del in our new bedroom:

From now on, you'll be seeing a lot more of Ellie and Archie (you can see Archie's paw in this pic!)

What have you been up to?

Moving House Checklist for Dogs

If you're a regular you'll know that I'm moving house soon, which means Del will have to pack up and come with us. I didn't realise that moving your dog with you would create so many little things to get organised.

I thought I'd put the list that we've got up on here. You never know, it might help someone else out who needs to move in the future.

1. Is your dog microchipped? Get the address changed.

It's important to keep your dog's microchip up to date, just in case the worst happens. It would be awful if your dog was located but had the wrong address.

You can do this pretty easily online here, or simply call the number on your forms. Changes should take place within 24 hours, so give yourself enough time to do so.

2. Change their ID tag.

You will need to put your new address/postcode/phone number on your dogs ID tag for their collar. It's compulsory that all dogs wear on in the UK (I'm not sure about the US), so this is important to get sorted so he can wear it on the day he moves.

I found a really nice and reasonable dog tag on eBay, which has really fast postage too. I'd recommend looking on there for good quality dog tags.

3. Put together a dog box.

Get a box together for all of the essentials you'll need on the big day, and for the few days after you move too. Think:

• Enough food to last until you unpack the rest of your things
• Food/water bowls
• Lead
• Poo bags
• Their favourite toys
• Treats
• Dog bed

Clearly mark the box and keep it at the front of your removal van. Having their creature comforts will undoubtedly make the move slightly less stressful for your pooch.

4. Will you keep the same vet?

Our current vets isn't that far away, but there is a good one around the corner from our new house which we think we'll be signing up to.  Del needs his annual vaccinations soon, so we'll be signing up to our new vet before we leave so it is less stress free when we take him.

The vet we have chosen has been recommended to us by my partner's mum, who takes her two dogs there. When you're moving, try and get good recommendations to see if you can get any good advice from people who use your newly local vet. 

5. Organise a dog sitter.

Moving is stressful enough, never mind having to cater for a dog in the midst of packing up your home. I'd suggest to organise with a friend or family member to have your dog for the day. Preferably, walking your dog for you too. This will mean that you have more freedom and hopefully your dog will be suitably pooped for the night time.


Have I missed anything? Please let me know and I can add it in.

Hopefully, this will be useful for someone :)

I realise this post is very word-heavy, so for good measure, here's a picture of Del being cute. Just because. Taken from our Instagram account.

Thank you for your advice!

Last week I wrote this blog post asking my fellow bloggers for some advice.

In the next few weeks we're moving into a house which has two resident dogs. They've met on numerous occasions before, but I was worried about Del adjusting to living in such a busy house, as opposed to just him, myself and my partner. 

Some of you left some wonderful tips on how to integrate Del into the new household, so I thought I'd put them together for anyone who finds themselves in this situation in the future...


Meet in a neutral place before making the move- suggested by the lovely Jackie from Pooches Smooches.



Although Del has met Archie and Ellie on a number of occasions (and has even slept over at their house), it's important that if the dogs haven't met that they meet beforehand on neutral territory. Take them somewhere different that neither dogs go frequently. This will be a good indication of whether they get on or not and should let you know how much work you've got to do.


The lovely Mindy from Noble Beast Dog Training, suggested:

"Off the top of my head, you do want the dogs to meet on neutral territory, have them engage in a fun activity together, then take them to the home.  Prior to that though, if you can, schedule as many outings as possible to allow the dogs to get to know each other in stress free environments.  Oh and before they meet face to face, be sure to walk them together and do some butt sniffing first.  Lots of praise and love for allowing each other to get so close.  This means you will walk ahead of the dog Del is going to meet, and then once the dogs has sniffed Del's butt,  you switch and allow Del to do the sniffing.  Then when the excitement of each other has died down you slowly start walking side by side.  

Once they are home, be sure to look for insecurities in the dogs such as resource guarding, showing anxiety in small spaces, or status concerns.  The best way for dogs to come together is SLOWLY.  Feed them separately, have them sleep separately, be very equal to the love and attention you give, even when it comes to Del.  Do not allow them to guard items, and if they guard something to the extreme where it makes others feel unsafe, don't let them have that object..."

This is really great advice. Mindy is a dog trainer, so certainly knows her stuff. We'll be sure to follow the advice about small spaces and status concerns. We will feed, sleep and walk separately at first like you suggest, just try and keep some normality for Del at the start. It's a lot of change for him. 

Mindy also recommending this webinar by Patricia McConnell. I'll definitely be using this more than once before the big move! 


Thank you so much to Jackie and Mindy for offering some advice, also those who left comments wishing us well.

Hopefully, if anyone else has to integrate their dogs with another household, these tips will come in useful. 

I will be sure to keep you posted about how we get on:)