Article By International Van Lines
Tips For Moving Home With Your Pets
Moving to a new home can be an exciting yet stressful time, this is only made worse when you have children and animals to also care for. Today we will look at some of the best ways to keep your pets calm and safe when moving home.
Moving Day Tips
Even with the most planned move, moving day is stressful and your pets can pick up on that. To keep your pets calm you should set up a temporary room for them to stay in until it's time to move. In this room, you should keep food, water and their favourite toys.
Having them kept away from the moving crew will allow them to be shielded from loud noises and all of the commotion that moving houses generally entails.If your pets are getting agitated because they can hear this commotion either see if you can move them further away from it or put some calming music on low volume in the background.
After the moving team has emptied the house and you are ready to leave you can then go collect your pets for moving.
Looking After Your Pet During The Drive
Before moving day comes you should try to make your pets familiar with getting in the car and driving. You can start by doing shorter distances and slowly increasing them.
Ideally, you should have your pets being crate trained as this is the safest option for them, if they aren't crate trained you can learn how to do this on Youtube. If your pet won't use a crate there are always safety belts and harnesses that can be purchased to help with their safety in the car.
When driving dogs and cats can become motion sick so try to minimise any sharp movements, keep the volume down on the radio in the car and make sure that your car is well ventilated.
If you are moving long-distance be sure to take plenty of breaks and let your pets out of their crates when it is safe to do so. These small breaks can make a huge difference in your pets welfare and as a result, will make the journey more pleasant for everyone.
If you have smaller pets secure them and make sure they are not in direct sunlight. All of your pets should also have access to food and water.
Your New Home
It will take time for your pets to become familiar with their new home so be patient with them and also give them space to relax. Over time they will become familiar with the home and the area and will be content again.
If you are only moving locally your pets won't have to adapt much. You can even walk by your new home a few weeks before the move to get them familiar with the place quicker.
As it is a new home you should lock all of your gates and doors so your pets won't run outside until they have adapted to the situation.
Let Your Neighbours Know You Are Moving
Sometimes your pets are so familiar with your current home that they will return to your old address after moving.
Let your closest neighbours know about your move and if they see your pets return to give you a call. It's much easier for a neighbour to phone you to let you know your Dog or Cat has shown up at your old address than to have to visit the local pound to get them back.
Hire Help
When overwhelmed be sure to hire help. You can hire someone to sit with your pets while everything else is going on or you could hire a storage unit to put some of your stuff in before the move so you have more room in your car to transport all your pets at once.
Hiring help is a great way to get through a move with the least amount of stress. Hiring a moving company to transport your exotic pets is also an option, just be sure to let them know they are transporting live animals as seeing a snake move around in their container without warning may make the moving crew's hearts flutter.
Register Your Pet At The New Location
When you have moved and everything has settled down you will need to register your pet at your local vet centre.
Conclusion
Moving can take its toll on anyone, but if you have pets it can be stressful for them too. On your moving day please consider this as they may get nervous or feel unwell when travelling. Preparation is key and if you put the time in a few weeks before your big move it's going to pay off in the long run.
Article by International Van Lines
International Van Lines is a leading domestic and international moving company. Our services include long-distance and international relocations. We cover the entire United States and over 150 countries.
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