We are moving in a few weeks, and we will now have a fenced yard. This is a change for us, as since Quinn was a puppy, we have taken her out on leash for all potty breaks, in addition to her walks, so she is never alone in a yard. I am planning to go outside with her still to make sure she goes, and likely wouldn't leave her to her own devices at all out back. I doubt she will like being out there alone anyway. Any tips on dangerous plants that could be lurking and how not to have a dog constantly wanting in and out? Any other advice on moving homes and making it less stressful on her appreciated as well!
I don’t have any advice but wanted to wish you well on your move. Are you staying in Ontario. That’s where we’re from too.
Maybe to begin with, you could still take her out on lead and then, once she's been to the toilet, take her lead off and have a quick play before you come inside. That way, hopefully she'll realise that she needs to toilet before anything else. With the plants, I'd watch her like a hawk and if she shows any interest in any particular plants, I'd either try to find out what it is or, if in doubt, I'd rip it out . I'm not much of a gardener though
Thank you! Yes, we are actually staying in our neighbourhood, only about 5 minutes away (in Toronto). Everything will be the same in terms of walks/parks/stores etc, except we are gaining more living space and a large fenced yard! Unfortunately, only Quinn will be able to enjoy the yard for the next few months!
Thanks...I think I will take her out on leash for awhile to keep her routine. I will watch her like a hawk...not sure about OH!! I don't think she would munch anything at this age, but you never know!
Murph has always had his own yard. We watch out for mushrooms around here. There are some plants to be careful of but you are in a very different climate than ours. A quick chat with your vet might help to make you aware of dangerous plants in your area. We never leave Murphy in the yard alone, well maybe for a few minutes while we get something from the house. My guess would be that Quinn will very quickly adapt. It may be a bit tricky at first, all that new found freedom so you will need to be patient. When he was a pup, we took him out on a leash for all the obvious reasons. When he was a bit older we went out with him and played. Interestingly enough, if he had not pooped and we wanted to go in, he would go poop all on his own, then come with us. Then he got in the stage of "nah, this is a lot more fun, so I am not coming in yet". That took real patience to get through. He is so attached to us that he cannot stand it when we actually go in and he cannot see us, so pretty soon there he was by the door. Now? We go out, play, he does what he has to do. I will look at him and say "Hey, you ready to go inside?" and he will start ambling over to the back door. One note, we are retired so there is really never a reason to get all in a hurry about when he does his business. So it is a bit different around here.
This is a great idea, I didn't think of that. I did notice some mushrooms, so we will remove those before moving in.
Oh! Important note, find out what all your ornamental plantings are. Some of them can be quite toxic. We have quite a few trees and border on a wooded area, so mushrooms are always popping up. Murphy leaves them alone but we still get rid of them when we see them.
