New Pet Home

Question
Hi,

I'm adopting a one yr old maltese from a friend who can no longer care for him. I live in NY and my friend is taking a 2 hr flight from GA next week with the puppy to bring him to me.
I just want to know how you think the trip will affect him, being that it's his 1st time on a plane, added to that, he will be meeting new people and getting a new home environment. I know he will need transition time and I expect depression and seperation anxiety until he gets used to his new family. But is there anything I need to especially look out for or need to do to make this as comfortable for him as possible?

Answer
What a lucky dog!  Is the dog flying in the cabin or in cargo?  Maltese are usually small enough to meet the requirements for in-cabin flight.  If he must fly in the cargo bay, I would imagine it's a pretty darned scary experience from beginning to end.  That said, dogs fly in cargo every day with no problem. I have no way of being able to predict how it will affect your individual dog.

In my experience, most dogs are very resilient when it comes to settling in with a new owner.  Although we'd like to think they miss us terribly, they really get over it quickly.  Depression is not likely, especially if you keep him busy with walks, play, training and cuddle-time.

Many dogs move to new homes and have no separation anxiety as a result of it. If the dog already has separation issues at his current home, then he is more likely to have issues at his new home. Experiment, if possible, by leaving him alone for just 5 minutes at a time for a day or so, and gradually increasing the time you are gone. Greetings and departures should always be low key.  

You can help your dog transition to his new family by making sure some things are familiar to him - his crate, his toys, his food, his dishes, his bed, etc.  Dogs like getting new toys, so have a few of those for him, too.  

Be patient with him for the first couple of weeks as tries to figure out the new rules and what you expect of him. The more consistent and fair the "house rules", the easier it will be for him to adjust his behavior.   Sometimes, people make a mistake by taking a long weekend or vacation from work in order to spend time with a new dog.  Then, after days of attention and unstructured time, the normal routine comes as a surprise.

I travel quite a bit by air with my Yorkie and her hair quickly gets matted and tangled from being in the crate and carried more often than usual. I always have her groomed the day before the trip and cut her hair to a length that minimizes brushing out.  Saves time for me and more importantly, no additional stress of "ouchies" and grooming for her.