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How to Upkeep Training When you Move to a New Living Space

As a professional Salt Lake City dog trainer, I love to share my personal experiences with dog training.  Salt Lake City is a great place to live and relocating can happen.  I personally am experiencing the moving process now. As result, I thought it would be helpful for my Salt Lake City dog training clients to receive feedback on creating dog training success during a “move”.

Below I am listing obstacles and solutions that will be helpful for you during the moving process. I will also explain how I resolved these issues personally with my dog.  Please remember that even though you are moving, you must commit to dog training and consider how moving affects your dog to create obedience!

1.) Territorial barking may occur as people move objects / boxes in and out of your previous living space to your new living space. You can help reduce this or eliminate this problem by using management.  One way to do this is to have your dog stay at someone else’s living space while you move.  You can also consider a safe doggie daycare. Also, consider keeping your dog in an enclosed room or crate. Give your dog a food oriented objects to chew on such as a bully stick or a frozen kong with peanut butter to relax him.

When we moved, I shut Seiki in my bedroom and gave him two frozen Kongs to chew on.  As a result he was very quiet.

2.) Also some dogs will bark when people knock at the door.  Consider leaving your dog unlocked if you live in a safe neighborhood and allow the helpers to quietly enter without having to knock.  If this doesn’t work for you because you don’t live in a safe neighborhood, consider management as suggested above.

During my move, I texted all of my helpers and let them know that it would be very helpful if they walked into my apartment and did not knock.  I also told them in the text message that my door was unlocked.  As a result, Seiki’s obedience was amazing and he was pretty quiet.

3.) There are many dogs that will want to run out of the door as objects and boxes are moved in and out.  Remember to consider safety first and think ahead so you can create good solutions to prevent this.  Management again is a good option put your dog in enclosed room with a sign that requests that your helpers do NOT open this door. You can also lock this door.  As stated above crating and having your dog stay somewhere else can be helpful.  Another option is to delegate someone to support you with dog training.  The person is in charge of your dog during the move so that if an accident does occur with a door being left open etc. your dog is immediately redirected to perform ultimate obedience by being requested to “come,” “stay,” “wait,” or leave it.

I had Seiki enclosed in my bedroom. Most of the boxes were outside of my bedroom. However, there was a point when I had to move some items out of my bedroom  As a result, when Seiki wanted to follow people out the door, my roommate and I trained Seiki with treats and the clicker to help him stay indoors.

We hope the above suggestions support you with dog training.  Salt Lake City has many opportunities and places to live. Moving can be fun experience if you are proactive and support your dog in performing obedience.

Immediately after you move dog training needs to continue in order to create ultimate obedience.  There are many things to consider after the move.

1.) You will have boxes that your dog may want to get into and chew on.  Make sure you use management with this especially if you have a puppy.  Any boxes that have food items should be emptied ASAP or put in a place high up where your dog cannot reach them.  When you are not at home, if your dog chews frequently or has had significant chewing issues in the past I would highly recommend that you do not leave your dog alone with the boxes.  Consider crating your dog or putting your dog in a room.  Give your dog plenty of to do as well so that he doesn’t get bored (bully sticks and Kongs are options).

When I leave my new place, I put Seiki in my bedroom or I gate him away from the boxes. I also give him a bully stick, a Kong, and / or  his buster cube.  So far he hasn’t chewed up anything!  Yea to obedience!

2.) When people come to your new place let go of perfection and continue training.  Your dog will need to generalize his quiet and settle behaviors in this environment so consider re-training a bit on settle (lessening jumping), going to his “place,” etc.

In the past and at my new place, I have people text me when they arrive and them have them knock quietly.  I then ask Seiki to go to his “place” to help him settle.  Because my place isn’t currently organized Seiki’s place is not in the perfect place right now. I have it near the door and that is good enough for now. It is more important to be consistent with dog training than to be attached to his place being in the perfect spot.

3.) Be prepared that when you take your dog out he may bark more or pull on the leash more.  This is partially because you are in a new area and the quiet and loose leash walking behaviors need to be generalized.  Breath take a step back and re-train.

In my new place, Seiki wanted to pull me down the stairs.  We immediately began retraining loose leash walking with clicks and treats.  In just a few days, he began walking on the leash nicely. There is more people traffic at the new place which leaves him more opportunities to bark.  To lesson this, I am re-training his “Look at That” command.  He is definitely remembering the command and settles quickly.  However, he needs the reminder frequently here.

4.) Your dog may not generalize “wait” at the door in your new place.  I would advise that you retrain this command to help your dog generalize this command in his new environment.

Seiki ran out the door, at our new place and barked at our neighbor.  He immediately came back with his “come” command.  I have now been leashing him before opening the door.  I also have been reinforcing his “wait” command more frequently when the door is open.

Consider hiring a professional Salt Lake City dog trainer if you need additional training support in your new place.  We personally love supporting our clients with dog training. Salt Lake City is our main training area.  We also have upcoming group obedience courses!

Your Turn! We want to hear from you in a comment below!

What training or behavioral issues are you having during your move?  What are some actions you can perform differently to create ultimate obedience?

Namaste!
Johanna Teresi, Professional Trainer and Owner of Four Legged Scholars LLC, Dog Training, Salt Lake City

Blog Archives

Britnie Sorensen
Britnie Sorensen
18:11 06 Apr 24
This is our second round of training with Johanna! Our Bullmastiff Abbi is different from our previous dogs, and we knew Johanna would be able to help us. We reached out and were in excellent hands! Johanna was able to redirect our training efforts, majority of sessions were held virtually and supported with videos of us training Abbi. We will keep using Johanna no matter where life takes us. Her love and compassion for our puppy, and us, come through in every interaction. We are in a much better place and understanding of Abbi after working with Johanna!
Roberta Bonnell
Roberta Bonnell
01:37 24 Mar 24
My Australian Shepard had moderate separation anxiety and Johanna was able to help me get him to a point where I can see him being able to be home alone before the end of the year! Very grateful for all of her training expertise.
Karen Mara
Karen Mara
21:19 21 Jan 24
I recently met with Johanna for help with my rambunctious teenager, Roger. We worked on coming when called, leash walking, and staying calm around other dogs when on leash. After two sessions, Roger made huge improvements, and he continues to improve as we practice on our own. Johanna really understands dogs and is very good at communicating with people. She knows how to make dog training fun. I've worked with other trainers, and Johanna is by far the best.
Wendy Nighswonger
Wendy Nighswonger
18:47 08 Jul 23
I have known Johanna for 13 years. She has helped me with several dogs, but she recently helped me train my new black lab puppy, Raven. I have moved to another state so all of my training with Raven was done online via Zoom. I believe that the one-on-one training I received through Zoom was more personalized and thorough, especially with the way Johanna placed every ounce of training and recommendation on a board through an app that I can refer back when I need. Johanna is very intuitive and knew when stress was on overload for me, therefore tailoring my training for that day around making Raven feel good while simultaneously taking my stress load down. Johanna has years of experience and while her knowledge is a gold mine, it is her gentle patience and love for her clients that make this training so perfect. I would hire her again and again. She is a true canine whisperer. Thank you Four Legged Scholars and thank you Johanna!Wendy N. ~ Oregon
Christina Richards
Christina Richards
18:13 10 Feb 23
Johanna at Four Legged Scholars is great. She tailored my program to fit my needs and was easy to work with. My puppy responded very well to what she taught us together over Zoom. She's patient and understanding. We're still utilizing the things we learned and he's a well-behaved puppy. Thank you!
Karyl Bennion
Karyl Bennion
19:49 05 Feb 23
I adopted Frida as a companion that I could travel, walk and hike with. She loves to hike and walk but pulled on the leash and jumped at distractions. I learned how to be calm and talk in a non threatening way to her. She responds to this much better than yelling at her. The click and treat method that I learned works so well in getting her attention as well as the "target" training. Frida has improved greatly with these methods. I will continue the knowledge I have learned with her. I did the live on-line training and it was very successful. I am so happy we signed up.
Rachel Giddings
Rachel Giddings
02:57 12 Dec 22
My dog was abused in his previous home and has always been afraid of strangers. I wanted to train him and help him to be more confident, but I didn't know how to do that if he was afraid of his trainer.Doing online training with Joanna was perfect for both of us! Joanna helped me learn how to read my dog and understand his triggers. We then worked together on BAT training, which taught him self-soothing behaviors and showed him how to confidently and safely handle difficult situations. I never thought I would have fun doing homework with my dog, but he and I benefited from it tremendously. Working with Joanna via Zoom was perfect for my dog and me.
Shawn McMillen
Shawn McMillen
02:09 24 Oct 22
My 2 year old doodle was struggling with people walking by the house, barking incessantly, tugging on walks, improving recall when off leash and , for me, how to be a better more engaging human for my buddy. The personalized, online sessions exceeded all my expectations. The review of video homework sessions was awesome. We saw improvement in each of the priority areas and I developed real, tangible, lasting skills/tools to be a better pet person. Thanks Johanna!
Courtney Daniels
Courtney Daniels
19:59 12 Sep 22
12 years ago I got a puppy and quickly realized I was in over my head. I wanted to have a good, well trained dog, but I was overwhelmed by methods and my puppies behavior.I joined the four legged scholars puppy training with my little 4 month old puppy Bowie, and saw immediate understanding with the clicker work. It gave us this incredibly ability to communicate and she excelled.We went on to take several courses that established general obedience, helped me turn a STRONG leash puller into a loose leash master (I took that course twice because it was a huge issue for us and I NEEDED help and reassurance from Johanna that I could do it) as well as skill class, that helped solidify a beautiful relationship between us. Learning clicker shaping allowed me to confidently teach complex and unique commands on my own as well, like waving hello and closing kitchen cabinets.My Bowie has climbed to the top of mountains for me staying right by my side never pulling on her leash. I've targeted her off trails to protect her from startling a mama moose and her baby. She's loved on my kids without jumping on them and knocking them over. She's allowed the neighbor girl who has always had a fear of dogs to walk her without pulling at whatever pace she was comfortable with. She shows off with all her fun little tricks Johanna gave me the tools to train my dog into an amazing companion.I feel so lucky to have found your training program and to have the relationship I do with my Bowie girl. These courses have a profound and lasting impact on the lives of families and their pups, thank you for that gift.
Megan Pond-Maxwell
Megan Pond-Maxwell
16:02 18 May 22
I am so grateful to have found Johanna. She was with us every step of the way as we tackled separation anxiety training and reactivity training with Daisy, my Mini Australian Shepherd. As a first time dog owner, I felt at a loss about how to manage my very vocal, scared, stressed, yet loveable dog. She had all of the typical puppy behavior, such as jumping, nipping/biting, leash pulling, as well as barking. On top of that, she was also not able to be alone without feeling terrified, as well as vocally and behaviorally reactive to other dogs, adults, and kids. I felt completely overwhelmed and Johanna created programs that felt manageable and doable. Each training session, I felt understood and empowered working with Johanna. Over the course of our programs, I felt that we accomplished the steps of the training process, strengthened the dog-human relationship, and increased my own awareness of my dog's emotional cues so that I could better work with her. My dog can now be on her own feeling relaxed and playful, her problematic puppy behaviors have significantly improved, she can walk on her leash loosely, listen to commands, and she can better tolerate other adults, dogs, and children as compared to where we first started. Our online experience was very positive. I look forward to continually implementing the tools and skills we have learned along the way to move forward in a positive direction that strengthens our human-animal bond and reduces distressing behaviors and emotional stress and overwhelm. Thank you Four Legged Scholars! I highly, highly recommend working with Johanna.
Emily Harward
Emily Harward
03:36 24 Apr 22
Our rescue dog is sweet and playful with us, but her behavior around other dogs and people could be unpredictable. She would act aggressively around adults (lunging and barking), and would sometimes be aggressive toward other dogs. We chose to do online training with Johanna. I was skeptical that online training would work, but it ended up being very effective. Johanna taught me the skills I needed to train my dog, and provided resources that I could use throughout the week as I worked on the assigned tasks. I was also able to send her videos of me working with my dog, so she could provide feedback and help me improve. Johanna personalized the program and made changes as needed to ensure that I could meet my goals. Since working with Four Legged Scholars, neighbors have commented on how much better behaved my dog is, and I don't have to worry about her lunging and barking at people or other dogs when we are out for a walk anymore. We still have a lot of work to do with our dog, and I feel like doing the personalized online sessions with Johanna has given me the knowledge, and resources to continue training my dog.
Angel Lanoy
Angel Lanoy
15:22 16 Jun 21
We have a large family, including three big dogs. So when our biggest dog Obi, the Rottweiler, started showing aggression we panicked. The vet suggested we put him down after an experience in the office. He then said we could also try training and gave us Johanna's business card. Just a phone call with her made us feel like there was hope. We signed up to do the online sessions with FourLeggedScholars. The process from the first contact to the last was well oiled and very helpful. Obi gets to stay with our family now and we feel like meting with her has given us the guidance and knowledge we need to keep our family, friends and him safe. I was a tad worried about doing the training online, but it really worked out great and we were able to fit such a big task into our busy schedules. I feel like she set us up for success from the very beginning. Thank you.
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2 Comments

  1. Star

    Thank you for the tips, Johanna. I am considering moving and this is very helpful. If I get a new home, I would hope that the property has a fenced in area before I get there! And make sure the tags are updated as soon as possible.

    • fourleggedscholars

      I am glad that was helpful for you! Please let us know if you can support you any further and best wishes on your move!