Image credit: Unsplash
Pibbles & More Animal Rescue focuses on ensuring every adopted pet lives a long and happy life in their permanent home. However, forever homes are determined by people, not where they live, and sometimes those people move out. This process is a major stressor for humans, but it can even worse for our furry friends. After all, they don’t know what’s going on, and often struggle to adjust to major changes.
Fortunately, there are ways to help your pet move with less stress. Here are some tools you can use to keep them calm, help them adjust, and build their new home, their home:
Create a “Smells of Me” pack
Before you move, plan to keep a separate pack of items your pet will recognize as smelling like home. This could be the blanket they use to go to bed, the clothes smell like you, and favorite toys. If your pet tends to get excited about new toys, consider buying them something from a site like Tough about a month before you move out. This gives them time to identify it as theirs and cover up its smell, but it’s a small enough amount of time that they don’t lose interest in it.
Pack these special items in the end in a recognizable place. Make sure you know its location in the new home and unpack it immediately. These familiar items will help your pet begin to identify this new location as “home”. You may notice that they tend to use these items as a household basis for a while. Goldens perfectly explain that you can even encourage this by keeping them in pet crate so that they have a comfortable, safe space in an unfamiliar environment.
Plan a pet-focused move day
Moving day can be a seriously risky day for pets. They are at risk of injury, feeling stressed or escapethrough an open door when no one is looking. In addition, the act of moving on their own can confuse and worry pets, as they do not understand why all their familiar things have been taken away.
You can mitigate this by recruit a pet sitter or your furry friend for the day. Taking them out of the house can also be stressful, but you’ll know they’re safe. Furthermore, this will give you the ability to set up a safe space for them in their new home before you bring them in, so that they immediately have a comfortable place to live.
Set up a process
Make sure to stick to a routine from the moment you move into your new home. Feed your pet at normal hours; take them for a walk on your usual schedule; reproduce as much normal as possible. This will signal to your pet that everything is normal. They need this stability to feel safe in this unfamiliar space.
Show them around
You are the number one source for your pet comfort and safety. Take advantage of this when bringing them into a new home. Take them on a tour of all the rooms while maintaining a relaxed, casual demeanor and speaking in a soft voice. Your fearlessness in their new home will help them feel more confident and secure.
Finally, don’t be surprised if your furry friend takes a while to adjust to your new home. It’s completely normal to feel shaky for a week or so in a new space. Pets that hang out may get used to their new space more quickly, while shy ones may need a little more time to feel at home. Give them lots of love, and they’ll soon realize they’re at home.
Image Credits: Unplug
Author:
Cindy Aldridge
wedogfriends.org
