03/11/2026
❤️They may have a new home, but they are also experiencing a whole new world. 🏠
Moving to a new home can bring a mix of emotions for a dog, excitement, uncertainty, fear and everything in between.
🐾Today we are looking at canine emotions and how we can better understand and support dogs as they begin their new lives.
❓How often when faced with one of life’s many challenges do we convince ourselves that we will be able to cope when, suddenly, emotion knocks at the door and bang……. continuity and security fly out of the window and we are left feeling vulnerable and exposed.
Our little dogs too are also capable of strong uncontrolled emotions as they have to
sometimes navigate a journey of stress, grief and uncertainty with only us to guide them through difficult times with love, patience and tolerance.🥰
Perhaps one of the greatest life changes that face dogs is the rehoming process.
The grief that they probably feel when having to leave behind those who have cared for them, the environment that has become so familiar and maybe other siblings, turns their world upside down from one of security to one of uncertainty.
Dogs may display behavioural changes such as loss of appetite; excessive licking and
grooming; being rather vocal with barking; separation anxiety; withdrawal and hiding and some may even revert to wees and poos in the house. Sadly, these are often mislabelled as bad behaviours which had not been identified before rehoming simply because they did not happen before. These behaviours at these times need our compassion and understanding as often they are the only way a dog can express how they feel as they struggle to cope. 🐶🥰
New owners can help so much by gently and patiently setting a new routine. Dogs brains like ours like predictability and it’s this predictability which helps to reduce the stress hormone ….a few suggestions?.
• Stick to their known feeding times if known or, create new feeding rituals with regular feeding times.
• To begin with, keep walks to familiar routes so that dogs can get used to new familiar smells and they might even start to meet other people and dogs who take that route therefore helping to build up friendships.
• Have quiet times during the day and their special place where they feel secure and
able to relax.
• Talk to them and use familiar words – the ones they have come with if you know
what words have been used for what situation or slowly introduce new words.
• Be consistent as this is a key to helping dogs to settle
Often owners feel they should be doing more to help their new dog settle and cope with their new situation such as more games, more training or more stimulation but how about “less of doing and more of being?” Space to just sit beside you; a moment of stillness, a gentle word or a loving stroke 🐶
😎In this fast-paced world of ours where time is ever rushing and hardly pausing for breath it is often difficult to sit back and let things flow but giving our new family member time to settle is the greatest gift we can give to help them cope with such major change to their little lives.
🐾❤️Over the years we have been incredibly lucky to share some heartwarming and rewarding stories from families who have opened their hearts and homes to a little Dachshund through Suloti.
Every adoption is the beginning of a new chapter and seeing these dogs find love, security and happiness in their forever homes is what makes everything we do so worthwhile.🐶🏡💕