Moving takes a huge toll on your pets and your children and you need to be aware of the emotional effects it can have on them. Pets and children often feel apprehensive about an unfamiliar location, worry about meeting new friends (yes even pets can miss relationships they have built with other animals) and feel a deep sense of loss for their current location. Whether you are moving to Montreal or somewhere else in the world, it can take time to get used to your new surroundings.  While most will adjust quickly, there are some pets and some children who simply fail to do so and this can cause long term emotional problems if untreated.

9 Moving Tips:

To avoid this kind of emotional trauma here are some valuable tips for helping your entire family ease into the move.

1. When searching for the new location bring all family members with you as it will be their new home too. Allowing your family to assist in the choosing of the new location will create excitement for the move and make them feel less insecure about it.
2. Before moving day, take a few trips around the new location (if possible) to familiarize them with the local area. Visit parks, schools and plan a dinner date at a local restaurant. If you make it fun, they will want to go back because they will remember that it was a pleasant experience.
3. Try to contact family or friends who live in the area to organize a play date or BBQ so the child can have a chance to meet new friends before they move.
4. Arrange to have current friends and “furfriends” over for a visit within the first few weeks of the move, this will allow them to feel a sense of security knowing they have moved away but are not gone forever.
5. Encourage your children to use social media to stay in contact with former school mates and friends.
6. If you are moving long distances or overseas it will be a bit more difficult for your children and pets to visit the location before hand, however, you can encourage them by creating a culture day to experience the local food and traditions or by helping them to search the internet and finding out about the local area.
7. Adjusting to an entirely new culture or location can be difficult, it is imperative that you make this transition as positive as you can by introducing family members slowly into it. Forcing a child or pet to totally change his lifestyle overnight is stressful, they need time to adjust to the new surroundings and create their own sense of security and space.
8. Allowing a child to fix or decorate his own room is a great start and will give them a boost of confidence knowing they accomplished something.
9. Purchasing a new toy for your pet will allow them to focus on something other than the move. Let them sleep in the crate or animal bed in someone’s room until they feel more comfortable. If you leave them outside or in the basement away from the family during this time, they may feel left out and show signs of insecurity.

Tips for Moving into a Rental

When renting a new location, please be sure to find out before the move if your pet is allowed because there is nothing worse than signing a lease and moving to a new location only to find out that your pet is not allowed in the building.   No responsible pet owner would consider adoption as an option, therefore you would have to place the animal in a temporary location until you find other arrangements, this can create abandonment issues in the pet.   Moving to a new location can be an exciting, but it can also be a frightening experience. When planning a move do not only worry about how a moving company will ship your goods, but remember to think about how you are shipping the people to that new location too!