Moving can be hard on all of us. But for the furriest members of our family, relocating to a new home can be tough. Keeping our pets calm and happy during a move might seem easy enough to do, but the truth is that most animals don’t handle change, stress, and confusing situations well. Fortunately, there are ways to make the process easier on you, your pets, and everyone else involved with your local or long-distance household move. In this article, our team at Covan—a worldwide leader with over 100 years of experience in the moving industry—shares some of our best tips on how to plan a successful move with your pets.

1.) Getting Organized 

Every smooth and well-executed move starts with great organization, whether it’s a small, local moving project or a large-scale, international relocation. When our move includes pets, there’s more to plan—so getting started with a solid moving plan is essential to the process. 

If you’ve hired a good moving team, getting organized for your move is easy. At Covan, we’ll send one of our dedicated moving coordinators to your home to evaluate your needs for you, and to provide you with a no-obligation, free pricing estimate for your moving services. We’ll also help you to create a moving plan filled with important dates and things that need to be done according to your project and timeline. 

2.) Pay a Visit to the Veterinarian 

For long-distance moves, pet owners should visit their veterinarian a few weeks before moving for a last-minute health revision. You’ll also want to have any medications your animals are taking refilled for the next couple of months if possible until you can find a new veterinarian in your new location. Ask your doctor about travel regulations and other protocols for flying with your pets or shipping them to their new home. If you’re leaving the state or the country, you may need to show certificates of good health from your veterinarian to the airline or animal control department, so make sure to ask for these if necessary.

3.) Determine Your Travel Arrangements

A move across town may not require complicated travel arrangements for moving your pets, but if you’re relocating any further, it probably will. Check into your options for pet moving, which may or may not be a service that your movers provide. In most cases, long-distance pet moving will need to be handled by a pet shipping company, an airline, or by you if you’re driving a vehicle equipped for taking your animals with you. Don’t leave this decision up in the air for too long—once you decide how your pets will be traveling, you’ll probably have a lot of things you’ll need to do to prepare them for the trip.

4.) Kennels, Cages, and Crates

If your pet regularly uses a crate, a kennel, a cage, a terrarium, or another closed space, relocation will naturally be easier on them. If your pet is not used to confined spaces and you have to ship them or fly them to the new house, consider how stressful this could be on them on the day of the move. It’s a very good idea to get your animal used to being caged in the days and weeks leading up to your move. Give them time to get used to a smaller space, allowing them to stay locked inside for short increments of time—perhaps five to ten minutes at first. After a few days, increase the amount of time they’re inside by five or ten minutes a day. Hopefully, after a few days or weeks of consistency, your animal will begin to feel more relaxed inside the cage, kennel, or crate.

5.) Stay Calm and Relaxed 

Moving is stressful on the best of us—which is why it’s so important to make sure you have professional help and assistance to make the process easier. This is especially important for our pets, who are particularly sensitive to our changes in mood. If we’re struggling through a badly planned, chaotic moving experience, it’s a given that they’ll pick up on our emotions too—and can quickly become overwhelmed with negative feelings that will only further confuse them. If you’re having problems organizing your move, don’t hesitate to reach out for help. Professional moving services can take over and make your relocation easy—with full-service options that handle the packing, unpacking, debris clean-up, specialized moving, logistics, and so much more.

High-Quality Moving Solutions from Covan 

Planning a household move with your pets? We can help! Don’t let your moving project get out of hand—hire reputable, efficient, and affordable residential moving services from Covan to help you organize and execute your move.

For more tips on moving or information about our worldwide moving services at Covan, give us a call now to speak with an agent about your move. Or, if you’re ready to get started planning now, fill out our quick and easy online form to request a free, in-home pricing estimate with one of our dedicated moving coordinators.