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5 Ways to Minimize Your Pet’s Stress When Moving

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When your pets sees their family throwing things into moving boxes, they will start to wonder what is happening to their world. They not only see physical disruption, but also, sense your excitement, anxiety or stress. You may not have given them the regular attention they crave due to your extra busy schedule. And, it’s about to get worse.

On moving day there will be noise, commotion, strangers, doors or gates left open and all kinds of stress. The risk is high for your pet to become ill, start acting out, panic, run away or get lost.

A friend’s pet cat loved to hide in the bottom of a box spring. In preparation for the move, the box spring was picked up by a charity. It was an anxious few days with repeated calls to the charity before they looked more closely for the missing feline. Sure enough, he was eventually found, hiding inside his favorite box spring at the charity’s warehouse. This story had a happy ending but it is a reminder of the potential for disaster at moving time.

Here are some tips to help keep your move as stress free as possible for both you and your beloved pet.

Will You Need a New Veterinarian?

If you are moving out of your current vet’s service area, consult them at the very beginning or your moving plans. They can help you make sure your pet is fit for travel. If you are traveling out of Province, State or Country you will need health certificates and vaccination records. In some cases the required shots must be administered six months in advance so plan early.  The topics of International Travel and Air Travel with Pets are beyond the scope of this article.  However, even for a shorter move you may need copies of the pet’s records and a recommendation for a new vet.

How Will You Get to Your New Home?

Household movers are not allowed to take live animals in the moving van.

Buses and trains often prohibit animals other than service animals. Here is a site with more information about pets on public transportation in various jurisdictions. http://www.pettravel.com/passports_pubtrans.cfm

Air travel restrictions are complex. Consult your preferred transportation providers as early as possible for details. If you will need your pet to be shipped consult the International Pet and Animal Transportation Association (IPATA) at http://www.ipata.com/ to find a member pet shipper.

The simplest way for you to move your pets to a new home is to travel with them by automobile.

How Can You Minimize Their Stress?

    1. Prioritize pet care. Do not neglect it or disrupt their exercise and feeding routine during this time. It might make them sick or cause them to ‘act out’.

 

    1. Packing - Leave a couple of empty packing boxes out on the floor so you dog or cat can become familiar with the strange objects which are soon going to be a prominent feature in the house. Start your packing early so you can do it a bit at a time and leave moving day relatively stress free.

 

    1. Designate a Pet Room. At some time during the selling, packing and moving process, the physical disruption, excitement of new visitors and the unusual activities can become overwhelming for a pet. Setting aside a small room as a pet room can help. Move everything not pet related out of the room. Put the pets with their open kennels, their food, water and toys all in the room. Shut the door and label it “Pet Room – Do Not Disturb”. The idea is not to create solitary confinement; it is to keep the excitement manageable and to keep things feeling secure and normal for them. On moving day, they can be kept undisturbed and safe in their pet room with the door shut.

 

    1. Consider boarding the pet with friends, family or a good kennel or pet day-care. This is the preferred option when the home is being shown for sale and is worth continuing during the hectic packing stage.

 

  1. Get your pet used to anything new. If you don’t have a carrier cage, get a properly sized one now and get your pet accustomed to it. Carrier cages should be large enough to hold food and water bowls plus a small litterbox for cats. Unrestrained animals in a vehicle are not safe. A Doggie Seat Belt or Canine Auto Safety Harness is an alternative to a kennel for traveling dogs. http://www.pettravelcenter.com/products/detail/180/3If the pet is not accustomed to traveling in a vehicle, take short rides to gradually get them used to it. If you don’t have a leash for your cat, get one now and get them accustomed to using it. You will need to have them on leash for exercise during the trip and until they settle into their new outdoor surroundings.

    If your animal is not used to wearing a collar, they may need to get used to wearing one with identification and license tags in case they become lost during the trip. Do not use choker collars. Breakaway collars are recommended for cats.

Prepare for travel.

    • Allow extra travel time so you will be able to stop every two hours and allow your pet to have a little exercise, some water, and perhaps a bit of food.
    • Arrange for pet friendly accommodation if your trip requires overnight stops. To find pet friendly hotels, search your location on this site: http://www.pettravel.com/
    • If the pet has long claws that can be trimmed it is good to do so in order to avoid claws being stuck on their crate and hurting the pet.
    • To minimize odors, have the pet bathed and groomed before the trip.
    • Prepare travel tags. These should contain information to reach you if you become separated from your pet – your cell phone number, address and phone numbers where you will be staying while away from home.
    • Prepare your vehicle. Be sure cages will be restrained securely in case of sudden stops.Are heater and/or air conditioner working properly? Pets, especially small ones, are sensitive to temperature extremes.
    • Assemble travel supplies and records. Below is a checklist of things to bring.

 

Pet Travel Checklist:

Include enough supplies for travel days and at least the first day at the new home.

  • collar with identification tags (Pet should wear this at all times.)
  • a recent photograph of your pet
  • identification tattoo numbers, microchip numbers, license numbers, spay-neuter certificate
  • vet records, health and vaccination certificates
  • current vet’s phone number
  • emergency pet hospital numbers in areas where you will be traveling
  • rags, paper towels for spills
  • plenty of water from home
  • their usual food
  • familiar water and food dishes
  • toys, treats, an object with familiar smells
  • leashes
  • grooming supplies
  • poop scoop and plastic bags
  • cages, kennels, restraint harnesses
  • beds, crate liners, litter or shavings
  • medications
  • pet first aid kit
    (Here is an example with a list of what to include: http://www.pettravelcenter.com/products/detail/126/5 )

Traveling With Pets:

Restrict food for a few hours before the trip, and restrict or feed lightly on stops during the trip. Don’t feed them in a moving vehicle and reserve their main meal til end of the travel day.
Exercise a dog well before the trip.
It is not safe to let dogs hang their heads out the window (it subjects them to flying objects, inner ear damage and lung infections) or to ride in the open box of a truck.
If you have to leave pets alone in the motel room keep them in their kennels or cages. Put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door. Don’t leave them alone for any longer than you have to.
Birds, reptiles and rodents – cover their cages during travel to help calm them and protect from drafts. Take out the water between stops to avoid spills. Be sure that they can still get air and don’t get overheated.
Fish – longs trips are impractical. For short trips they can be moved in a plastic bag filled with their water.

This site has numerous articles about travel with pets: http://www.pettravel.com/news_letter.cfm
Here are two excellent sites on driving with pets: http://www.pettravelcenter.com/page_items/viewSingle/18
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/pet-care-tips/car-travel-tips.aspx

Settling In At the New Home:

Set up a new Pet Room so they can feel secure while the movers are coming, furniture being moved, etc.
Keep to the exercise and feeding schedule.
Don’t let them run free until you have carefully checked the yard.
Is it fully fenced and are there no spots they can escape?

  • Is there adequate shade?
  • Are there any hazards such as sharp objects?
  • Are there any poisons or poisonous plants in the yard?
  • Do the neighbors have pets and how will they react to yours?

Supervise them closely until they are used to the new place.
Keep your cat indoors the first few days. Introduce them to one room at a time.
Be careful not to open windows on upper floors unless they are securely screened and the cat cannot fall out, or birds fly out.
If your pet has a microchip register a “change of address’ for the contact information.
Find a new veterinarian and transfer your pet’s records.

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In the Kingston, Ontario region, you can call upon Martha Stanton-Smith of Rearrangements Home Staging for all your home staging needs. Visit the Rearrangements website at http://rearrangements.ca. Be sure to download your free Special Report “Get Off The Home Selling Roller Coaster: 5 Reasons Houses Don’t Sell and What You Can Do About Them.”

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What To Do About Cats and Litterboxes When Selling Your Home

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Cute but deadly

About 4 out of 10 people like pets, but not all of those pet lovers like cats. By keeping your cats in the house while trying to sell it, you are “turning off” well over half of your buyers.

Allergies are becoming more and more common. In some cases, allergies can be so extreme that the sufferer will be unable to tour your house, let alone consider buying it.

Also, you don’t know whether your pet will find some of the viewers extremely threatening and ‘freak out’ unexpectedly. The safest solution by far for you, your pets and the home buyers is to find friends or family who will temporarily adopt the cats until your house sells. Putting them in a good kennel is also a wise choice.

If you are determined to keep them in the house, then, to ensure that they do not get outside and are not bothered by viewers, you should put them in secure cages. You can locate the kennels in the basement, a mud room or the like.

If you refuse to cage them, then you must confine them to one of your less important rooms. Keep the door shut and put a sign up indicating the cats are inside. You could put up a picture of the inside of the room so people will feel less need to enter. If you do this, the litter box obviously has to be in there with them if you are out for any length of time.

I have seen litter boxes everywhere, but, the locations which really gross me out are anywhere near where food is stored, cooked or served. The least offensive place for the litter box would be in a basement a furnace room, utility room or laundry room. If none of those are a possibility, then it has to be a bathroom but please don’t make it the master ensuite or the guest powder room as those are important rooms for selling.

You should also do everything possible to make sure the litter does not smell. That might involve using a more expensive deodorizing litter and changing it daily whether it’s all ‘used’ or not. A deodorizer in the room would help with the immediate smell when the kitty is using the box.

In the Canadian Staging Training program, students are trained with how to broach the difficult topic of offensive smells in the home and given some practical suggestions as to home the smells can be removed. Christine Rae, founder of CSP, recommends an electronic air cleaner.

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In the Kingston, Ontario region, you can call upon Martha Stanton-Smith of Rearrangements Home Staging for all your home staging needs. Visit the Rearrangements website at http://rearrangements.ca. Be sure to download your free Special Report “Get Off The Home Selling Roller Coaster: 5 Reasons Houses Don’t Sell and What You Can Do About Them.”

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Space Sells – 10 Down-to-Earth Ideas for Staging a Spacious Look

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Living room with furniture barrier

Before Staging: Sofa is a barrier to flow

Living Room opened up

After Staging: traffic and visual barriers removed

A little extra square footage usually adds to the value of a home. Most of us won’t be building additions just to sell, but we can add value by making the home feel a little bigger using home staging techniques. Here are some space expanding ideas for sellers.

Let the light in. Wash the windows. Open or remove heavy window coverings. Make sure there is plenty of artificial lighting for even lighting. Use light reflecting surfaces and mirrors. Mirrors reflecting the floor visually expand floor space.

Colour it cool. To create optical illusions of more space, choose receding colours, that is, cool colours with green and blue undertones or greyed shades rather than bright, saturated colours such as bright reds or yellows. The brights appear closer and make the room seem smaller.

Contrast cautiously. Choose colour schemes with lower contrast. Black against white or navy against peach are examples of high contrast combinations while pastel green against pale blue or charcoal against dark purple are low contrast. It’s not the particular colours which make the room seem smaller, as much as the contrast of various elements. Too much contrast can make a room chopped up, overly busy and smaller.

Add height. Use elements that draw the eye up, for example, light ceiling colours, long drapes mounted high on the wall, simple crown mouldings, vertical decor elements like tall sticks. Remove wallpaper borders since they are too personal for selling and tend to pull the room in as much as they draw the eye upwards.

Show a little leg. The greater the expanse of floor for the eye to sweep across, the larger the room feels. Have as few things sitting on the floor as possible. Choose tables with glass tops and upholstered pieces with open legs instead of shirts. If possible, keep flooring colours consistent between rooms.

Watch for intruders. Wall cupboards or shelving visually bring in the room. Counteract that by allowing lots of open space on the shelves so the eye can go right to the back. Use less colour contrast between the wall and the shelves so the unit appears to protrude less. Visual barriers such as furniture pieces, screens or shower curtains also divide and shrink your space. Try to make what you can’t remove more see through Try a clear shower curtain in a small bathroom. Use armless chairs so you can see beyond them.

Try texture. A low contrast colour scheme still needs interest. Introduce that excitement by using a contrast of textures instead of colours. Shiny surfaces are more light reflecting, but shiny paint on walls will reveal imperfections and too much of it can give an institutional feel.

Scale to suit. If your furniture is massive, try something smaller in your small rooms. That doesn’t mean everything should be miniaturized. One large piece of furniture or artwork can be a focal point in your small room – you just have to have to simplify and edit the rest to suit. Less is more.

Be the editor. Trim the clutter and edit your collections to only three of a kind — or even just one. Take everything off counters to show the maximum workspace. Purge items from closets so they look half empty and twice as big. You’ll be moving anyway, so start packing now.

Breathe and go with the flow. Traffic flow is critical in a small home when it’s being shown for sale. But, this doesn’t mean you should line all the furniture tight against the walls. Give some pieces breathing room by pulling them out from the wall a few inches for an illusion of added depth. Remove non-essential pieces and allow plenty of room for people to walk through the spaces. If items block the flow, try angling them a little.

Author, Martha Stanton-Smith, owner of Rearrangements, is a Certified Canadian Staging Professional who helps serious home sellers in Kingston, Ontario get full worth for their homes. She completed her staging training in 2006. Visit her profile here:

Don’t Let Rover Make Kibble Out of Your Home Equity

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Rusty the german shepherd dog

Rusty is a great dog, but not much of a real estate salesperson

Dogs are popular pets. A 2009 survey by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media reported that, in the US, 74% of people liked dogs a lot. In Canada it was estimated that, in 2002, 3.4 million households owned a total of 5.7 million dogs as pets. There is ample evidence of the therapeutic value of dogs as companions. Many noble canines make an undeniable contribution to human society as working dogs.

However, when selling your home you’ll add hundreds to your selling price if you send Rover to a loving friend, relative, or quality doggy camp for a little vacation. Here is my reasoning.

Dogs don’t clean up after themselves. Home buyers don’t like to buy other people’s dirt so if you want the best sale, you have to make an extra effort to keep your place spotless for showings. My dog, as lovable as she is, slobbers on walls and drops food everywhere. She tracks in dirt on her paws routinely and sometimes she rolls in the dirt and brings in an extra batch for good measure. Now, it’s hard enough to keep your house cue-tip clean when selling anyway. A dog or two just adds to your work.

Dogs smell up the place. Even pet owners and dog lovers don’t like wet dog aroma. My old pooch even adds the byproducts of her aging digestive system to the air every so often. Silent but deadly; need I say more. Since smell is such a direct link to the buyer’s subconscious and triggers lots of emotions linked to smells from early childhood, we risk arousing some primal anxiety. It could just transfer into an unease about the adequacy of your real estate offering.

Dogs trigger allergic reactions. It is difficult to state what percentage of the population is actually allergic to dogs, although some say 15%. Many people who are allergic to dogs still own them, and may not even admit the origin of their symptoms. However, when you want the buyers to experience only the best as they tour your home, why send them into sneezing, wheezing discomfort. More serious is the fact that 30 – 35% of people who are prone to allergies or have asthma will suffer attacks triggered by pet allergens. Nearly four out of five (77%) of people in America suffer from asthma.


Some people dislike dogs, even have strong fear of them. The GfK Roper study found that 2% dislike dogs a lot and another 2% dislike them a little. For those with a strong dislike or fear of dogs, their tour of your home will be totally useless if the dog is at home because their focus will be entirely taken up by presence of a dog. It doesn’t matter if the dog is confined, it will still be the main thing on their mind. For example, I watch my friend stop in mid-sentence and lose her entire train of thought when we approach someone walking a dog. It might not be rational, but, it’s overwhelming.

Some people like dogs. 74% like them a lot and 14% like them a little according to GfK Roper. How could this possibly hurt your sale? Well, if they love dogs, they will be thinking about the dog, perhaps playing with it, talking to it or petting it, wont’ they? You are not selling dogs, you’re trying to sell a house. You don’t want them thinking about your pet when you are trying to get them thinking about themselves living in your house.

If you are serious about getting the absolute best price for your home, my advice is to invest in a little vacation for your pooches. If you can’t bear to do that, then prepare to do extra maintenance and have someone take the dog out for a walk every time there is a showing. For homeowners who have more than one dog, take the negaitive impact of one dog and increase it to the power of the number of dogs in the house. If you have more than four and cannot see taking them out during showings, please consider marketing your home as a “dog lover’s delight” at a reduced price.

Author, Martha Stanton-Smith, owner of Rearrangements, is a Certified Canadian Staging Professional who helps serious home sellers in Kingston, Ontario get full worth for their homes. She completed her staging training in 2006. Visit her profile here:

15 Ways NOT to Prep Your House for Selling

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I decided to have some fun today and list 15 unsuccessful ways I’ve seem people try to sell their houses.   Here goes:

1. Just throw up a sign, sit down in the living room and chain smoke in front of the big screen while you wait for offers.

2. Hire the realtor who lives on your brother-in-law’s street even though neither of you have ever met him or seen any of his signs in your neighbourhood.

3. Keep the cats’ litter in the kitchen and make sure to clean it only at the end of the week when it’s 100% clumped.

4. Assume the 60% of people who don’t own pets will appreciate your two large smelly bulldogs when they give their usual loud, aggressive and slobbery greeting.

5. Leave your all purple dining room all purple and assume everybody will still be eager to offer full asking price.

6. Assume people will find your house without being able to see the house numbers.  After all they can interpolate from the neighbours’ numbers.

7. Leave 3000 square feet of dusty rose carpeting intact assuming any new owners would rather replace it themselves than settle for your choice of neutral flooring.

8. Set the asking price at least 10% over any reasonable expectation so there will be lots of room for negotiations.

9. Use cheap hand me down furniture and paint-by-numbers art to stage and hope it will make buyers think you have an upscale home.

10. Don’t worry about any non-Catholics being offended by the huge portrait of the Pope in the hall because the reason you put it there is only because it has a nice antique frame.

11. Take your collection of 80 owl figurines and distribute them throughout the house so nobody will notice them and be distracted.

12. Forget about having any lamps in the living room because you don’t sit there anyway.

13. Leave 30 years accummulation of stuff right where it is in the house because people should be able to see past it and only look at the structure.  You’ll deal with it when you are ready to pack.

14. Books add ambience, so why would the stager think having at least 3 full bookshelves in each and every room make the place look like a public library?

15. Show evidence of as many activities as possible in a room so the space will look more useful, and therefore more valuable.

If you wonder why some of these ideas did not work, then by all means send me a question.

Oh, and here’s a bonus one.  16. Leave all the Christmas lights hanging from the eaves so the new owners will be grateful they won’t have to decorate come this Winter.