I had a feeling that moving to New York would be a transition. I had never lived in any city, let alone such a big and bustling one, and I was prepared to be outside of my comfort zone. That said, I definitely wasn’t prepared for Finn, my furry sidekick, to have a harder time adjusting than I did. When he met other dogs on the street, he howled – louder than any bark I’ve ever heard come out of him – for me to pick him up. In our apartment, he hid under the bed any time a siren passed by. And if you’ve spent time in New York, you know this meant he spent a lot of time hiding under that bed. Good news is I’ve come to realize that a little shake of his treat bag and he’d happily come running out from under!
And, I’ll admit, all of this made me feel a bit guilty. Who was I to move him from the little town he was so used to, to a city that moves about 1000 miles per hour on a slow day? Some nights, as I drifted off to sleep, I could hear him scratching at the door. I wondered if he was trying to run back to our old town. I didn’t know how to make him understand that my apartment was our home now. But I knew he’d get it… eventually, so here are my tips for moving to a city with your dog.
Find a comfortable pup friendly restaurant
The first time I noticed a change was when he recognized the waitress at our go-to dog friendly restaurant. He moved his tiny paws back and forth and licked her face when she held him. Finn was finally starting to settle in.
Look for some green spaces!
And then there was our first visit to Central Park. We got a little lost (but I’m happy to say that won’t happen again now that I know the handy GPS trick of following the lamp posts) which added some mileage to his usual walk. When we finally met up with my friend in Sheep’s Meadow, Finn napped in the grass while some guy played guitar nearby. A very New York moment, if you ask me. Or maybe it was just those extra steps. Who knows? But when you’re moving to a city with your dog, finding some grass for them to run around in is key!
Create a routine
We’ve been here for about two months now, and things are looking up. Some days I get a text update from Finn’s dog walker to let me know he was doing his classic howl on the streets. Other days, he sits at my feet outside at coffee shops and greets everyone that passes us by, taking in his new city one head pat at a time. We both fall asleep a little easier, and if he wakes up in the night now, he curls up on my pillow instead of whining.
He finds home the same way most of us do in New York – not just in our apartments, but in all the places we visit that become familiar to us – parks and restaurants, bars and shops, and in the warmth of the people we meet; strangers leading busy lives who happily take a moment out of their day to pet the tiny dog looking up at them with his big, eager eyes.
Just made a big move to a city with your dog? We’d love to hear about it! Any and all tips are welcome – send them over to us at whatthepup@spotandtango.com.
