Calming aid for dogs before a house move

A house move with an anxious dog is genuinely stressful for everyone — and it's great that your vet is thinking ahead rather than waiting for the wheels to fall off. Anxiety in dogs tends to show up as separation anxiety, noise phobia, or more generalised stress triggered by change, and the right product depends on which pattern fits your dog and how intensely they react. To point you in the right direction: what does the anxiety actually look like for your dog — is it pacing, vocalising, destructive behaviour, clinginess? And does it seem tied to specific triggers, or more of a constant low-level unease?

That's really helpful — Monty sounds like a dog who's emotionally tuned in to his environment rather than one who panics acutely. The clinginess and off-food response to the building work tells me he picks up on disruption and carries low-level stress for the duration. That's actually a very good fit for a pheromone diffuser, because it works continuously in the background and doesn't need you to time a dose or pill. Your vet's advice to start before the move is spot on — you want it established in the environment before the upheaval, not as a reaction to it. Can I ask: will Monty be spending most of his time in one main room in the new house, at least initially?

Perfect — that approach of giving him one anchor room is exactly right, and it makes the product choice straightforward. I'd go with the Adaptil Calm Home Diffuser. It plugs into a socket and releases a synthetic version of the appeasing pheromone mother dogs produce with their puppies — dogs recognise it at a level below conscious behaviour, which is why it works well for generalised stress rather than just acute fear. One refill covers about 50–70 square metres for a month, so it'll handle an open-plan kitchen-diner comfortably. Plug it in at the current house now if you can, so Monty has a week or so of association with it before the move, then move it to the new kitchen on day one. It's widely stocked, available on Amazon UK, and a starter kit with diffuser and first refill costs around £25–30. It's not a sedative and won't make him dopey — it just takes the edge off background anxiety, which is precisely what Monty needs.

The diffuser does the heavy lifting, but a couple of things will make it more effective. Keep his bedding unwashed through the move — his own scent on familiar items is genuinely reassuring. Stick to his feeding and walking schedule as closely as you can in the first two weeks, even when you're surrounded by chaos, because routine is an anchor for a dog like Monty. And if he goes off his food again briefly, don't panic — it's normal for him based on what you've described, and it should resolve within a few days once he settles. If he's still not eating after a week in the new place, loop back to your vet, but I'd be surprised if it comes to that with the diffuser running and his anchor room set up properly.

That's the right call — starting it now gives it the best chance to work. Good luck with the move, and I hope Monty surprises you with how quickly he settles in. Flat-Coated Retrievers are resilient dogs at heart; he just needs the transition handled with a bit of care, which clearly isn't going to be a problem.