Moving with Your Pet: Top Tips
Relocating is a challenging experience. Leaving behind the familiarity and memories associated with a place is tough, let alone the actual logistics of shifting your belongings from an old location to a new one. Such a move becomes especially stressful if one has a pet with us; while we humans can understand a sudden change in location, a pet lacks the logical reasoning required to do so. As your pet may experience stress due to the move, it makes sense to prepare accordingly. Here is how you can do this.
Advance Planning
Relocating with a pet includes a few more steps, compared to you moving on your own. The process of pet relocation has been described as cumbersome, so it is best to plan in advance. Any shortcuts during the preparation process can present themselves as problems at the date of departure, so don’t cut any corners. Make sure to book your tickets well in advance, schedule your vet appointment early, and make sure your pet’s vaccination records are up to date. Most of these health records serve as your pet’s documentation in place of an actual passport, so take meticulous care and complete them appropriately, like you would your own.
Crate Size & Measurement
The available modes of transportation when shifting locations are via roadways, railways, or airways. Regardless of what model you end up choosing, your pet will have to be inside a crate for their own safety. Your pet can only fly in an IATA-approved fiber crate, and if travelling via road, it is necessary to ensure their safety as well. To make the acclimation process easier, crate-train your pet before setting out on any long journeys. Give love and treats for positive interaction with the crate, and embark on smaller journeys with them while they are in the crate, so they become accustomed to the new environment. Add four inches of headroom on top of your pet's measured height to allow ventilation.
Vet Visit
A vet visit is crucial before any travelling. First, it ensures that your pet is healthy and the flight will be a safe one. Any risk or injury is only magnified during a high-stress situation for an animal, such as moving locations, so it is important to minimize such a risk and get a health checkup prior to any movement. Second, it is necessary to do so for documentation purposes. If you’re moving via airways, then your pet will need a fit-to-fly certificate to be allowed onto a plane, as well as their completed vaccination record stamped. These are only done by a vet, so ensure to get these done in advance. Even if you are not moving via air, it is prudent to get a checkup done.
Pet Relocator & Pet Friendly Airline
Most relocations are across longer distances, often on a plane. In such a case, to maintain the safety and comfort of your pet, it is important to select an airline which has a temperature and pressure-controlled cargo bay. These can be guaranteed by a pet-friendly airline with a good record of transporting pets. If you’re unsure about your airline, you can always hire an expert or a relocator to confirm whether your selected airline has a good track record of transporting pets safely, or if you should make alternative arrangements.
Pet Identification
Your pet needs identification while travelling, just like you. A pet microchip is the only form of identification a pet can have, and is essential while travelling to ensure safety. A microchip is tiny, the size of a grain of rice, and is implanted painlessly on your pet’s body. This microchip can then be used as identification, for pet export movements, at the vet, at a pet boarding, and so on. The ISO 11784/11785 microchips are standardized and used for pets globally, being necessary for pet export movements.












