Dogs: Book doggy daycare (Dogdrop, DogVacay/Rover, or a trusted sitter) for the full move day. If the dog must be present, designate one person whose only job is dog management — not helping the crew. Keep the dog on leash or in a closed room with a sign on the door. Open doors during loading are a flight risk even for calm dogs.
Cats: Confine cats in a bathroom or closet with litter, water and food before the crew arrives. Put a sign on the door. Move the carrier in last — catch and carrier first, before any doors open. Cats ride in your car, in the carrier, with the AC on. Temperatures in a moving truck's cargo area can exceed 120°F in LA summer within minutes.
Small animals and exotics: Rabbits, birds, reptiles and fish need special attention. Fish transport (under 2 hours): battery-operated pump, no more than ⅓ water in the bag. Reptiles: warm, dark, quiet box. Birds: covered cage, no direct AC vent blast. Move these in your personal vehicle, not the truck.
If you're moving to a new neighborhood and need to transfer vet records: most LA vets accept email record transfers within 24 hours. Best Friends Animal Society has a pet helpline for moving questions. For temporary pet boarding during the move, Rover and DogVacay connect to local sitters; the Barkhaus and Zoom Room LA are established daycare options in multiple neighborhoods.
Set up a single room with all your pet's familiar items before they enter the new home. Close the door. Let cats stay in this room for 24–48 hours before opening the rest of the house gradually. Dogs: immediate leash walk around the new neighborhood, then supervised indoor exploration. Familiar scents (unwashed blanket, favorite toy) reduce anxiety significantly in both species.
Our crews know to do a final pet-check walkthrough before leaving any home. Call (213) 676-9460 to book your move.
Board them or have a trusted person take them off-site for the day. A moving house is a stress-induction machine for dogs — open doors, strangers, furniture rearranged, owners distracted. Doggy daycare or a dog-sitter for the move day is the single highest-impact thing you can do for your dog's wellbeing.
Never — moving trucks are not climate-controlled and temperatures in an enclosed truck in LA summer can reach 120°F+ within minutes. Cats ride in a carrier in your personal air-conditioned vehicle.
Set up a 'safe room' first — one quiet room with the litter box, bed, food, water and familiar toys, closed off from the chaos of unpacking. Let cats explore gradually over 3–5 days. Dogs benefit from an immediate neighborhood walk to start building scent-mapping of the new area.
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