how awful is an international move for a dog? Should we just not consider it?

[odaco]

Hello, please be gentle!

We are currently in the UK, and will be moving to the USA for two-three years in Spring 2012.

We would love to get a dog. We had decided to wait until we returned to the UK, as we couldn't put any animal through quarantine (having heard some awful things about it). However the rules are changing from January 2012.

There is no guarantee that they will 'stay' changed I suppose, and there's a chance that we could get a dog in good faith in the USA and find the old quarantine rules reinstated?

Putting that aside, would it be just too cruel to put a dog through an international move? I am thinking of the journey itself, as well as the new surroundings. Of course we (the human members of the family), will be a constant in the dog's life and that might help?

I have even looked into whether the QE2 allowes dogs (it does!) - but restricted to kennals and I think that being on a boat would be worse.

We would of course go carefully when selecting a dog (we intend to get a rescue dog), for temprament. He or she would need to be laid-back in any case. But being 'transported internationally' sounds horrible whatever.

Should we put it to one side as a selfish wish and wait until we are re-settled in the UK? Does anyone have any experience of transporting their dog internationally?

I don't think we could stand to love a dog for three years and leave him or her behind when we moved. I would rather we didn't have a pet at all.

Any thoughts appreciated.

I live in the Middle East and there's hundreds of dogs here which have been moved over from Britain. I think that as long as they are crate trained before the journey, they seem fine. I was playing on the beach with one the other day which had only come off the plane the day before, and he was running around as if nothing had happened.

I am sure the actual plane journey itself is hard on the dogs, but as long as they survive it (and you do hear of dogs with weak hearts not surviving the journey) then they seem to bounce back just fine after it.

The animal charity I volunteer for here regularly finds homes for dogs in the USA, Belgium and Holland and I've not heard of any being psychologically messed up as a result of being shipped overseas (and the journey to the USA from here involves at least 2 separate flights for animals being shipped).

I know people who've moved their dogs between north america and the UK, and it's worked out fine. Of course you wouldn't leave the dog behind - that would be like leaving a family member. And from the dog's perspective, a day's discomfort from travel is far less disruption than having to find a new family and home.

Will you be getting the dog in the US? There are lots of dogs needing homes in the states, as most pounds there only keep dogs for three days before they are pts. Luckily there are rescues that bust them out and keep them til they find them a home. Of course I would suggest you get the dog from a rescue not from the pound, as then it will have been assessed and you'll get advice and a guarantee that you can return the dog if you have to.

One of my puppies moved from the UK to Canada at about two years old as his owners emigrated. They say he was absolutely find before, during and after the journey. They made sure he was on the same plane as them.

Crate training is a must. I can't imagine how awful it would be for the dog if he/she isn't used to a crate.

Keep all the vaccinations and treatments up to date and keep an eye on the quarantine rules.

Save up a LOT of money so you can ship your pet.

We moved our dog & cat across the world. The cat twice. They were both fine, albeit a little stressed.

Thankyou so much all - it sounds like with the proper care it should be possible. It would be so wonderful if we could manage it. Am very excited that we may be getting a dog next year! Will research costs immediately.

We recently moved our boy from Dubai to the UK and it was incredibly smooth. He's fairly easy going anyway, but he just came out of the delivery van (still in his cage) and was absolutely fine. We had the crate at home for about a month before he was shipped and when the van came to get him, he jumped straight in.
So logistically, no problem - provided you don't get one of the restricted breeds (problems with short nosed dogs like pugs - check online) and you make sure your pooch is all jabbed up (regs are different in all countries). But it is VEEEERy expensive. our baby is a medium sized dog - weighs in at about 20kg and he cost about £2500 to bring - including the agents handling fees. You can save money by doing the paperwork and processing yourself, but we felt it was worth paying for a professional service. Also we wanted him delivered to Somerset and using the agent made the whole process hassle free.
However, don't let the international thing stop you getting, loving and enjoying a dog.

I moved my 3 cats from UK to USA, and back again, several times, during the period 2002 - 2005. I also know of a number of friends who bought USA animals into the UK.

It was all done on a pet passport, so no quarantine and we managed all the paperwork ourselves. We estimated that by the time we'd paid flights and all the veterinary fees/passport & paperwork costs, it cost somewhere in the region of £600 a flight.

It is actually relatively straight forward, providing you stay on top of the requirements and don't screw up the timescales for rabies vaccinations.