Moving With Pets

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First Make A List

Consider what should be done before the actual move, like installing a dog door in the new house, constructing a new enclosure, blocking off rooms in your new house that will be off-limits to the pets, etc. Below is a sample list for ideas to help you plan. For me, it was extra important to plan ahead and have a list because we were moving cross country. Packing up a whole house, two vehicles, six cats, and a dog. It was going to be a two-day drive straight through, roughly 36 hours, longer if we stopped overnight at a hotel. The animals’ mental and physical comfort for such a long drive depended heavily on my being diligent to consider all details and scenarios before potential situations arose.

  • Make certain all pets are current on licensing and vaccinations before the move
  • Stock the car with ample food, water, pee pads, and wet wipes for the trip
  • Hire builder to install pet enclosure and dog door at new home before moving date
  • Locate new veterinarian in new neighborhood and gives heads-up records are coming
  • Ask current veterinarian to send records to new veterinarian and print a copy for yourself
  • Have crates clean and ready with food, water, and pee pads, to load pets before movers arrive
  • Cover pets’ crates with lightweight sheet to remove visual stimulation – will help to calm them
  • Move pets/crates to a place where they can’t see or hear the house being packed up
  • Harness pets before movers arrive and keep harnesses on at all times till move is complete
  • Be sure harnesses have name tags with phone number(s) in case pet should bolt
  • Keep crates covered with a lightweight sheet during travel to prevent panic or motion sickness
  • Put pets/crates in a quiet room with door closed at new house during unloading
  • Anchor crates in car so they don’t shift and toss pets about
  • Put pets in same crate only if they get along and won’t fight

Start Your List Early

I’m a Type A personality when it comes to preparations, so probably you’ll look at my list and think – wow, is that overkill! And that’s cool. Make your list your own – whatever details are unique and important to you and your pet family. The important thing is to do as much as possible before moving day, and to minimize the chaos and stress for your pets through the whole process. These little details, like covering the crate with a light sheet, can make all the difference to keeping your pet calm. They’ll fall in love with your new home much more easily and quickly if you can prevent as much trauma as possible beforehand. And don’t forget – the better prepared you are ahead of moving day, the less stress you’ll be putting on yourself, so the better it is for you, too!

Good Luck and Happy Trails!

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God Bless and Happy Pet Parenting!

With love and good wishes,
jeannie. 

About jeannie:  I’ve been pro-actively involved in pet rescue all of my life. I founded Milagro Senior Pet Refuge© (Phoenix) in 1998, and BareFootPets (TM) in 2008. Animal welfare has always been and will always be my heart’s work. If my only legacy is that I save a handful of precious souls that would not survive otherwise, I’m good with that.