There are many challenges you’ll need to overcome when moving. While pets can bring a lot of joy into your life, they can also be sources of stress on a moving day. However, if you’re able to find solutions to these problems ahead of time, both you and your pets will be able to adjust to life at your new place.

Talk to Your Vet About Transferring Records

If you wind up moving a long distance, you may have to find a new vet for your pet. It’s essential to bring this up with your current vet ahead of time. You’ll want to schedule an appointment and make sure that your pet gets any shots that it needs ahead of your long distance move. You’ll also want to ask your vet to transfer your old medical records to your new vet.

If you take care of this ahead of time, you should have a virtually seamless transition. However, if you put this off, your pet’s new vet may have to request copies of your animal’s records, which can take time. Set up a general appointment now so that you can get this figured out.

Pack Your Pet an Overnight Bag

You won’t want to pack up the items you know your dog will need right away. Instead, you should put together an overnight bag that contains a lot of essentials. This bag should have basics, like pet food and a food and water dish. It should also include items that your pet needs for comfort, like toys.

Imagine you were taking your pet on an overnight stay. What would you pack for them? Put together a bag that contains these types of items. That way, you won’t feel pressured to unpack everything immediately. Instead, you’ll be able to get your pet the items that it needs right away.

Get Your Pets Out of the House on Moving Day

While long distance moving with pets, you should try to avoid keeping your pets in your house on the day of your move. Not only can it be stressful for pets to be around all that commotion, but it can put your animals at risk. It’s normal to prop doors open during a move, which means it’s easy for an animal to escape from your home.

If you have friends or family members, you can trust to take care of your pet, talk to them and see if they can help you out. If you can’t find someone to watch your pets for you, you might want to look into boarding them for the day.

Keep Your Pet Comfortable As You Bring Them to Their New Home

When you are ready to take your animal to your new place, you’ll want to do everything you can to bring them cozy and comfortable. Living in a new place can be stressful for humans, and it can be even harder for animals that don’t know what’s going on.

If you’re going to be driving to your new place, you’ll want to keep your pet with you in your car, so they’ll be with you every step of the day. If your animal gets stressed at new locations, you may want to put a blanket over their carrier during the drive.

Invest in Pet Gates

Even before moving day, you’ll want to make sure you can get your pet out of the way when you need to. Pet gates are something that can come in handy. You can use these gates to keep your pet out of a room if you’re packing or unpacking. Your pet will be able to see you even when the gate is in place, which means they shouldn’t experience much anxiety.

If you don’t have pet gates already, this is something that you’ll want to pick up before you move. Once you have gates, you’ll find yourself using them even after you’re all settled in.

Pets can make moving a little more complicated, but thankfully, all of these challenges are easy to overcome. Keep these things in mind and take a few extra steps so that you can keep your pets safe during your move. You and your pets are going to love living in your new home!