Pet Ambassador: How to Acclimate to a New City with Your Dog

Moving to a new city can be overwhelming. While the excitement of a new adventure can be thrilling, there’s always that moment—prolonged or fleeting—when you realize that it’s Sunday afternoon at 2:30p.m. and you miss the comfort of an old-shoe friend—you know, that person you can just relax with, let your belly hang over your jeans and admit that you often have a sink full of dirty dishes. These are the kind of relationships that take years to cultivate and without them, pangs of loneliness can fester into serious regret.

Unless, of course, you have a dog. Because the only thing that dog owners love as much as their pups is other people who have them, too. And, just like their humans, dogs benefit from a little extra socialization as they get to know their new home.

Here are a few ways that you and your pooch can break the ice together in a new city:

1. Walk daily to expose your dog to his new home and the different people who live there. It’s also a great way for you to meet your neighbors and get a feel for the dog-friendly (or not) vibe of the place.

2. Set up doggie meet-and-greets through new friends and neighbors to introduce your dog to other people and their pups. This is a great way for you to grow your social circle, too!

3. Seek out the nearest off-leash park. Doggoes has a searchable database of dog parks all over the U.S., along with a dog park etiquette guide and even tips on starting a new dog park in your area.

4. Meet up! Breed-specific meet-ups and Facebook pages are probably the most efficient way to arrange meetings with like-minded dog-friendly neighbors. Go to meetup.com, plug your dog type into the topic bar and add your location to find out where other Chihuahua or Siberian Husky lovers are meeting next weekend. It’s a free service that can really pay off.