Aww great pic. Great desk too...

my dream puppy to go with my itty bitty shih tzu! Nice office!

It sounds like you're doing everything just right for little Beatrix. She's adorable, btw.

If I had to move with my dog, I'd do everything you've been doing. I'd also make sure that she (my dog) got some extra exercise to take the edge off any nervousness. A worn-out dog is a quiet, contented dog. :)

I'd also allow a bit more cuddle-time than usual.

Oh yeah, and I recommend having at least one room clear of boxes/moving debris for pups to just hang out in, best if it is the room they sleep in. They really hate the disorder of unpacking and maneuvering through the mess.

THAT DOG IS TOO CUTE! You have to bring her next time you are in NYC.

I've put my poor cat through numerous moves and found that scooping the litter box clean, but not emptying and disinfecting it, works great on move-in day in the middle of all the chaos. That gives her a familiar scent and spot in a new unfamiliar place, which I'm sure she appreciates because the more nervous she is, the more she goes.

I also put out her bed, water and food dishes out immediately.

And your dog is adorable!

Cute dog! And a great space!

I think the best thing to do for your pet is just act as if everything is normal.
As soon as you are used to your new home an act as is nothing is different, they will be happy, because they trust you.
However, when you treat the new situation as if it is weird and uncomfortable, your pet will notice it and feel restless.
But in the end everyone knows what is best for their pet and what their pet can handle.

Wow - I guess my family were just awful dog-owners...
(tho not as bad as Mitt Romney)
...we'd just pile the dogs in the back of the car with us and drive cross-country with them - As long as they were fed, watered, walked and with us, they seemed pretty much OK.

One of our dogs loved to stick her nose in the AC vents, another liked to curl up in the passenger-side footwell - and they both enjoyed licking the glass when it was cold outside (Guess who's job it was to clean the windows inside and out and walk the dogs at each gasoline stop?)

I moved twice in 2 months with my dogs last summer. In the wretched rental (which fortunately had concrete floors), the older one had lots of accidents, which he never, ever had before. He didn't like it at all. My other one acted more jumpy and nervous.

But once we got into our permanent abode, they immediately settled in. Maybe they picked up on my stress in the other place. At this house, they were totally relaxed and not following me everywhere. As I was unpacking, they were both sprawled on the hardwood floors snoring.

Beatrix is sooo cute! We also did these things for our pup. We moved 3,000 miles away though, and she spent days in a giant moving truck with us. She was a real trooper. At every motel we stayed at the first thing I did was get out her toys, food and water, and her bed, then I'd take her out on a walk. We'd also always ask for a room away from other guests, otherwise she'd freak out at every voice she heard. We left the tv on all night to drown out any other odd noises that might upset her. She acclimated pretty quickly to our new home and the new climate. When we arrived she knew this is what all the long hours in that big truck were for, and she took off running in circles around her new giant backyard.
I know for our dog a must have almost immediately is a spot where she can hop up and look out the window. It makes her feel better when she can see what's going on outside.

Whatever you do DON'T feel sorry for her! These emotions are translated by dogs as weakness and all hell can break loose. Behaviors can change in a heartbeat to some pretty lousy things. Just keep everything matter of fact, dogs adjust in no time.
I agree with artichokesoup. My cat's 10 and I've moved him 4 times with no effects whatsoever. The only accommodation I gave him was what a.soup did...leaving his scent in the littler box. Plus an unwashed fleece through on my bed with my scent on it. Other than that no special treatment and I never had any bad behavior.

My cat, Circe, wedged herself behind the refrigerator during one move, and the next she crawled into the fireplace (she looked like a little chimney-sweep!). She gets really stressed out, needless to say, and a laundry basket hideaway helps her calm down.

My other cat, Pleiades, is the exact opposite. He loves commotion and is always under foot during moves or furniture re-arrangements. I usually keep a bed for him in the room that gets the most traffic, so he can watch it all happen.

Ok, tiny dog in a basket = adorable.

I agree that an old, dirty piece of laundry that smells like you for the dog to cuddle up with is a good idea.

I took the cats to the groomer the day of the move (we didn't move far, and the groomer agreed to keep them all day). It may have added a little bit of stress to their day (getting groomed AND coming home to a new place), but it was worth it to not have to worry about them escaping or getting trampled. Plus, when they got home, the new place was all set up. They didn't have to deal with the stress of loud noises and people coming in and out. They adjusted to the new place within a day. I may have created an extra fear of the groomers, but luckily, we rarely get them groomed.

I can't add any advice. You are doing everything you should be doing. You have one lucky little dog!

My dogs have tended to get a little nervous around moves, and when we pack boxes the oldest one often looks spooked and has a few housebreaking accidents, but otherwise they're pretty much fine with a move.

For my cats, I try to block off any hidey holes where they may disappear BEFORE beginning packing (very very important! when we bought our house, it came with a cat in the basement ceiling because she went into a hole and refused to come out, and we spent weeks trying to trap her so that she could get returned to her loving owners), pack them and their stuff up last, get them to the new place first, and lock them in whatever room will have their litter pans. I lock them in until they show a desire to come out. It seems like once they've settled into their litter pan room, they know that they're gonna be okay. Then they're ready to come out and explore the rest of the place, knowing that they have a safe spot to run back to.

I've moved several times with my cat who's stress prone and here's what I do:

I use feliway spray and plug-ins, I can't say enough good things about this product. If your cat has any scratching, soiling or stress issues get this!

She rode in the back sit in a large carrier (big enough for a boston terrier) so she could stretch and move around.

There wasn't much I could do when we got to hotels, just look for hidey-holes she might get stuck in and be calm.

Once we got to the new place we put her in one room far away from the commotion with her food and bed.

She uses the toilet so we showed her where that was.

She's moved better than we have.

OK, that dog in the basket is just too darn cute...

A 5 lbs. Brussels Griffon.... in a basket... you're killing me, you know that? Killing me with the Ewok cuteness.

LOVE THE PUP!! I too have a Brussels griffon and recently moved... he is very attached to me (and my husband too :) the way we did it, is that we brought his bed and toys with us asap to the new place and that was helpful that he had his stuff.

we also made a point not to leave him alone at the new place at first at all and then for short amounts of time and then eventually he was fine.

but I LOVE THE BRUSSELS!!! TOO CUTE!!!

I found with my cat that the easiest move was when I moved in with my boyfriend. She knew him - loved him - and his place probably already smelled like me from when I would stay there. I was a little concerned because it was going to be the smallest apartment she had ever lived in. But instead it was the only move where she didn't slink around for a couple hours trying to figure out where she was. She checked the apartment out, and was immediately at home. It probably didn't hurt that she hated my previous roommate's cat and now she knew this place was hers and only hers.

i moved 3,000 miles from los angeles to philadelphia and insisted on driving because i couldn't bear the thought of putting my dog on an airplane in the cargo section underneath. she loved being in the car! she curled up and slept most of the time and got walked and watered whenever i stopped for gas or to eat. her favorite part was jumping on the motel beds--i traveled with a friend, so we always got a room with two beds, and she loved jumping from bed to bed.

however, when we did finally arrive at our final destination, she had a few accidents (peed on the bed and on the floor) which was highly unusual behavior for her. but within a couple days she seemed pretty adjusted. dogs just want to be with their people, wherever that is.

Awwww. I have that exact basket and my dog was terrified of it for months until I started putting his toys in it. Now it's his little toy basket and he takes his "pick of the night" out of there when we settle down for the evening. He even sometimes put the selections BACK IN.

He did decide recently when we returned from vacation to make our open suitcase in the laundry room his new bed.

I am so happy to have read this. In September I will be moving to Connecticut from Alabama. I am so worried about driving long distance with my dog. Also, a new apartment and friends, family and snow will be such a change for my little one..

What an adorable little pup!!

Abbey Cat hasn't moved anywhere just yet, but we are excited for when we do move in a year or two because we will hopefully be getting her a friend of her own! We can't now for lack of room, but I can't wait until she can have a friend to snuggle with!

I think we shut our GSP into the kitchen while the movers packed stuff up otherwise she would have got in the way, or worse, escaped out of the door. She had access to the garden this way too. I think when we got to the new place she just loved the huge garden so much more than the tiny one she had before that she never looked back! The potential chance that a squirrel may one day appear seems to trump all and sundry!

She had a rough time that year though as she also spent three months at my MIL's place (with my GF), two weeks twice in kennels, and lots of time at the family holiday house, as well as moving 200 miles away. She's pretty resiliant though.

I'm freaking out about this exact issue... groan. We have moved 4 times in 3 years. Our kids love it, new houses new rooms new stuff... I'm worried about the pets though...

we have 3 cats. They have seen it all, been to Texas, New Mexico, and all over Ontario Canada. We have been in our corporate rental for 9 months now. They have settled in, and its a great house. But since we're settled now, we bought a house about 4 blocks away. It's much larger, and instead of 3 floors, its one floor, plus basement. Which is good, because 2 of our cats are getting older. We don't move them in crates, because they FREAK OUT if seperated from each other, but fight like crazy if in the same carrier. So, they get stuffed into the car, where they cry and wail like banshees until we reach our destination. This time, even though it's 4 blocks, I'm giving them some Rescue Remedy about an hour before we need to put them in the car.

NO FOOD for about 4 hours before the move. One kitty gets so worked up he throws up in my lap in the car EVERY time he's in there.

If there is room and it's a long move, try to squeeze in a smal litter box somewhere in the vehicle. Sounds nasty, but think about it- its either a litter box or your upholstery.

For the dogs... oh lawd, the dogs. I am stressed about it. We have a 12 yr old Black Lab, who has moved so many times she's totally fine with it. She just sleeps wherever its comfy. We also have a 17 month old Chocolate Lab. We got her about 9 months ago, and she DOES. NOT. DO. WELL with change. or with car rides. She's going to be a mess. so, Rescue Remedy it is for her, too. We have a friend coming to walk the dogs over to the new house- instead of stressing them in the car with a bunch of stuff. They're going to go for a walk during van packing, then over to the new house, then a walk when we unpack... that way they're out of the general hustle and bustle, and don't get TOO stressed out. Also, no food for them for a few hours before moving too-- the older dog throws up when stressed, too...

I'm not worried about packing (move in 2 weeks and have packed like 4 boxes, oops). Not worried about actually moving. Quite worried about moving the animals. oh and the fish. Oh man, the fish! I forgot about him! LOL

I've never had issues with moving with my pets. They are happy as long as we were all together. I think it helps that the pets sometimes come with me on vacation too...so they are used to being in different locations.

The pets are happy if the owner is calm. My poor kitty has had to fly several times over the past year as well as moved country twice and he's still not only alive but happy while doing so.

I considered trying Feliway, which is a pheromone for cats to keep them calm, but never got around using it; comes in two types, the spray one for traveller boxes and the globe one that lasts for about two weeks after it's been opened (transmits continuously) and is suitable for when furniture is moved around or moving whole households even. Will look into it when next moving chaos is at the door.

Such a cute picture!

I recently had to drive about 13 hours with my two cats, both of which have issues with UTIs and can't be enclosed without a litter box for long periods of time. Crazy as it sounds, I got a pet gate for the back of my car and gave them the freedom to move around as much as they want. I laid down a cover on the floor, set out their blankets, some food and water and a small litter box and, sure enough, they were quiet most of the trip... except for the occasional instances where I would hear the scratching of the litter box :) I'm moving back up to Chicago next month (another 8 hour drive) and plan on doing the same thing. Might sound crazy to have a litter box in the car but it saved me hundreds in vet bills by avoiding any issues :)

Getting to the destination, I pretty much do what everyone else mentioned. Put out their food and water right away, their litter box, toys and give them lots of lovies to make sure they were comfortable.