[This is another post in Misha’s Birthday Progress report.]

I was reading Ruth’s post on the Dog Pawsitive Tidbits blog about moving. It reminded me of when Misha and I moved.  We were living with my dad at the time.  His health was deteriorating, and then, after a two week stint in the hospital and emergency surgery, he passed away.  That was May 2010.

We moved in with my mom two months later.  The time between was one of grief and an unsettled household.   Family members were in and out, boxes were packed, rooms were emptied.  It was tough on the humans, so it is only natural that my dog would be affected.  She turned 1 year old right after my dad died. As I’ve written several times about how this affected Misha emotionally, I won’t go into it today.  Let’s just say that it was upsetting for us all, the dog included.

Misha was reasonably trained by her first birthday.  She was a fast learner, got her commands down easily, and was housebroken.  Before we moved, I did little things to ease the transition like taking one of her beds and leaving it at our new home.  I also took some toys so she’d have her smell in the house.  I took her over a few times before we moved so the place would be familiar.

However, once we moved all that changed.  She was difficult to housebreak (taking months, not days or weeks), but she was fully housebroken when we moved.  All that went out the window.  She was peeing everywhere indoors.  It was like I hadn’t trained her at all.

I went back to training mode, taking her out every hour.  Eventually, she got the message.

The next problem was far more difficult to solve.  My cute, little dog who had good manners suddenly became very destructive.   She became obsessed with the wall to wall carpeting.  Any piece of yarn that was sticking out a bit too far or leaning over an edge had to be pulled out.

She’d get this look in her eye which meant she was about to sneak behind the couch or into the spare room to attack the carpet.  Sometimes she’d do it right in front of you! She made a nice little hole near my mom’s closet.  I am sure my mom was having second thoughts about letting this dog live in her home.

The next time Misha chewed an area, I sprayed it with Bitter Apple.  When she came back, she gave it a lick and made a sour face.  If she could say “Ewwww!”, she would have

This dog is a quick learner and never forgets a bad moment–or so it seems.  It only took a few times before she sniffed an area cautiously before chewing.  It wasn’t long after that she decided that chewing the carpet wasn’t such a good idea after all.

It took awhile to work through all the quirks.  Eventually the nervous habits subsided and Misha became comfortable in her new home.  Let me tell you, it makes for a better home all around.

Just like humans, change affects our canine companions.  Just like humans, they get stress out.  And, just like humans, they grieve.  I know science is out on that one, but I’m convinced that they do.

We don’t always think about how a death in the family or moving might impact our pets.  If we’re emotionally upset, chances are our dog will pick up on that.  If you’ve noticed your dog’s behavior has changed for the worst, stress could be a factor.

If destructive chewing is a problem and Bitter Apple hasn’t worked for your dog, there are other products you might try.  Each is designed to make the object being chewed taste disgusting.

In the long view, I learned quite a few things, and hopefully, that will aid me the next time around.