Your Guide to Moving with Pets

Buying a home and moving into it can be both an exciting and stressful time for a family. This can be especially true when you are moving with pets. As pet owners know, their furry friends enjoy familiar comforts and moving into a new home comes with a whole lot of unfamiliar surroundings. While it can be exhilarating to explore at first, it can also be confusing and uncomfortable for your pet. Luckily, there are a few tricks you can implement to make moving with pets as streamlined as possible.

Organize Paperwork

Whether you are moving to a new neighbourhood, city, province, or even country, it is always important to organize your paperwork and documentation to have on-hand in an emergency. Pets are notorious for getting into trouble and the last thing you want to worry about in all the moving chaos is finding their documents if you need them. Set aside your pet’s vet and vaccination records somewhere they can easily be found, and secure the proper health certificates if you are moving to a new country.

Set Things Up in Advance

One of the best ways to mitigate stress when moving to a new home with pets is by creating a plan for when you get there. Get to know local bylaws and register your pet with the city or municipality, if required. Find a new vet and have your records sent over from the old one directly, if you can. And have a look around for neighbourhood essentials, like dog parks, walking routes, or pet care programs that you may need!

Update Identification Tags

Identification tags are your pet’s lifeline to you should they ever be lost and it is crucial to ensure they are up to date when you are moving. Update their tags with your new contact information and, as an added precaution, consider having them microchipped at your vet before you leave.

Make a Comfortable Travel Environment

No matter if you are traveling by car or plane, you want to make sure your pet is comfortable during your move. If you are using a carrier or crate, make it cozy with bedding, favourite toys, and consider including an item that smells like you if you will be apart for a while. Don’t forget plenty of food and water, and plan for bathroom breaks and a little bit of exercise every day to keep them satisfied. And don’t be afraid to let them enjoy a couple of extra treats—create as many positive associations with the process as you can!

Show Them Around

When you make it to your new home, take some time to show your pet around so they can get a lay of the land. Show them their important spaces, like how they will be getting outside to use the bathroom, where their litter box will be, where they will eat, and where they will sleep. Remember to keep them in a crate or secure room while you are bringing in boxes, though, to prevent any panicked escapes.

Get Back to the Routine Quickly

If your pet is used to a routine, it is important to keep things consistent and get back to it as soon as possible. Get back into the habit of feeding, playing, and exercising on their usual schedule and help them settle into what they already know—just in their new space!

Moving into a new home can be a nerve-wracking experience not just for us, but for our pets, too. By making it as comfortable as possible, however, we can hopefully eliminate most of the growing pains along the way. No matter what we do, though, transitions can be hard on our furry family members—so remember to be patient and offer plenty of love and comfort along the way.