Want to buy a spoodle in the UK to ship to my home abroad.

[sofato5miles]

Hello

I need some help. We live overseas but are heading home in 2 years. I really want a dog as i grew up with them and my children are missing out massively. We have 3 children, the youngest is 4.

After thinking for over a year, and talking with dog owning friends, we have decided that a spoodle would suit our family. The slight hiccough is they are none here.

I need help and advice from you lot, please. How do you recommend we go about it? What are your top tips.

I'm concerned about the flight but can come back to accompany the puppy if that helps.

Where are you travelling from? My dog came from Sicily and he has an amazing story about his journey to the UK! I couldn't afford to fly him (£500+ for travelling him by plane - sedation and staying in the cargo section) so he came over-land with a friend who hitch hiked with him lol.

The UK is awkward to get into with a pooch. You can't have them on the flight next to you like the rest of Europe so they have to travel in cargo. If you can get your dog to France easily, I'd recommend getting a ferry. Cheaper and much less stressful!
You will need a vet's signature to say your dog has been wormed a few days before entering the UK and the dog will need rabies vaccination and a passport.

Hope that helps!

Just realised you're not travelling into the UK... In which case it should be relatively easy to travel a dog with you if you're in Europe. Each plane company has different policies but i reckon getting out of the UK with a dog on a plane will be as difficult as getting into the UK. Still would recommend getting across on a ferry to mainland Europe as life will be much more simple to travel with a dog once you're there!

I presume a Spoodle is a cross between a Springer Spanial and a Poodle?

That you are aware that with a cross you could get anything from the very poodley end to the Springer end? Also that the parents would still need the relevant health checks for their respective breeds? I know poodles definitely need eye checks and hips in the larger sizes, not sure about Springers.

And that there are no guarantees? it may still shed and it may be unlike other crosses you have met and will not be automatically healthier by virtue of being a cross.

So firstly you need to find a decent, ethical breeder and then you need to look at all the practicalities of exporting a puppy.

Are there really no suitable dogs in your home country? What is it about poodles and Springers that you think will be improved by the cross?

Many good breeders are reluctant to ship abroad because of the impact on the puppy - not the moving, but the palaver that goes with it.

There are a series of jabs involved which need to be given, but can't be given to very young pups. You might find that a breeder of a cross breed would be more flexible though if you throw money at it; many of them are in it just for the money - they're certainly not in it to improve a breed.

It's expensive too - you'd have to fly the puppy there, and then fly the dog home in two years time. Can you not put your name on a waiting list and get the puppy when you come home? Good breeders have long waiting lists - I have full lists for my next two litters, one litter will be in 2016 and the next in 2017.

I am in Dubai. I don't want a rescue dog as they are mostly saluki mixes, which won't fit our family needs. We really would like a breeder that we trust is reputable and try and reduce worries about the parents' welfare and the puppy's early days.

We have been deliberating for yonks and really want a pet. My husband recently signed another two year contract and I just want a dog in our family.

Absolutely, I can understand a breeders' concerns about the travel, but that makes them the type of breeder we would like, IYKWIM.

I think it's actually quite hard to find good dog breeders and even harder to find good crossbreed breeders.

What is it about this particular cross that appeals? What are your specific family needs? You do know that poodle crosses often shed and trigger allergic reactions?

Echo the above concerns.

Firstly cross breeds are just fashionable mongrels so I'd question the motives of anyone breeding them.

Secondly you'd need a few trips before deciding. Decent breeders would want you to see the puppies at least once before choosing one and then you would need to come over to accompany the puppy on what will be a rather long journey.

I am not sure about import requirements for Dubai, but in general puppies have to be at least 12 weeks old before they can travel. If Dubai requires rabies vaccination or the stop over country requires rabies, that is another 21 days which will mean the puppy will have missed the crucial socialisation period.

Just to add, it seems a bit unnecessary to get a dog acclimatised to the heat in Dubai just to bring it back a short while later. Why not wait until you are back?

No responsible breeder in their right mind would let you ship a puppy to Dubai. I would be hugely wary of any breeder that agrees to your frankly ridiculous plan.
The UK restricts the import of puppies, because it is so stressful for them, so it should work the other way as well, and you shoudln't be allowed to take a young puppy out of the country, especially not on a long haul flight (you being sat in your seat would make not a jot of difference to the puppy alone in its cage for 10+ hours).
So you'd be looking at getting a young dog, probably 6 months+, and would then still have to decide if it is ethical to leave a high energy breed stuck in a crate for that length of time.

Given that poodles and springers are both very high energy breeds, how on EARTH would you be able to give it a proper amount of exercise in the summer months?

Agree with other PPs that you need to wait until you are back from Dubai before trying to find a designer puppy

Ah saluki mixes, sound wonderful, I love all lurchers and sight hounds, I bet there are some beautiful dogs on desperate needs of homes. A local mutt might not be a designer dog but who cares about that?

Thanks for the advice.

I have to agree with Booboostwo I'm afraid. Such a long way to travel a tiny pup, let alone all the other medical hoops they will have to jump through, then to only bring them back a short while later.

Also agree totally on the designer mongrel thing. Nothing wrong with a crossbreed, at all, but I am struggling with these designer dogs, with the hybrid names (they are cocker x poodle, etc. not cockerpoos!). I know a couple of people who recently bought cockerpoos, and paid a stupid amount of money for those crossbreeds, and they have had all sorts of problems, both health and training (training not due to the new owners being no good at it, but house training mainly not being taught in anyway by the breeders for the first 12 weeks). I too think that they are breeding for the sake of money as opposed to keeping a healthy breed going. Without meaning to be patronising (please don't think that I mean to be), but Springers are extremely energetic and Poodles are highly intelligent, and both are hunters, this generally equals a LOT of work, training and exercise - I don't know your family lifestyle but they don't seem like an ideal family mix to me. Sorry to be a downer...

Dubai is one of the least dog-friendly places I've ever been to. There's not only the heat to consider but also there's nowhere a dog can have a really good off-lead run, and as a lot of locals think dogs are unclean they're not often welcomed.

Why don't you get a cat? We have an ex-Dubai street cat and he is very 'dog-like' - he talks all the time, follows us around, wants to play and generally get involved with everything that's going on

Sorry, awful idea. Putting a young pup through that journey to go live in the heat of dubai, and looking specifically for a cross for that.

It sounds like you've looked at what your family would like/be suited to but given no thought whatsoever to what the dog would need or like. Also bear in mind there are probably few rescues there that would take your puppy if it didn't work out. If there are rescues there I would suggest spending your time in Dubai going helping and walking the dogs there and putting your own dog on hold until you return to a better climate.

You could have, with good luck and good health, a dog for 12+ years. Your plan sounds hideous for the dog. You'll be back in the UK in 2 years time, please consider waiting until then. And as PP have said, a good breeder will probably have a waiting list so the likelihood of you finding a pup any time soon is slim.

I'd feel sick with worry thinking about what the dog would go through just to get to you, it might not even survive the trauma. What would you do then, order another one? I don't think anyone on the Doghouse thread is going to support this OP, please please wait.