WWYD? Take or leave your beloved pet, honest opinions needed

[xkayxwx]

Hi All

 

I’m hoping for some honest advice from those that have taken or left behind their beloved pooch. We are due to move from the U.K. in Jan/Feb time and I am really wrestling with taking my 9 year old shitzu or leaving her with my grandparents who love her as dearly as I do.

 

Just to be clear I’m aware of all the necessities and she has had her rabies and blood sample and import cert etc and we are about to book her flights with petair, who’s great expert advice I have received. I’m looking for honest experiences on whether it’s in her best interests to put her through the move and quarantine and adjustment to life in a strange country and the heat.

 

She’s a very timid, nervous dog who gets anxious easily. She won’t cope with quarantine well. She suffers with separation anxiety but loves being at my grandparents where she stays regularly if we go out/on holiday etc. They have recently offered to have her which has now thrown my plan of taking her as I’m wondering if she’d be happier staying here with them. I’d miss her terribly as would my 2 young sons, but also thinking of them and taking them out in Oz, I wouldn’t have my grandparents house for her to go to and so she’d be left on her own if we go the beach or on a day trip etc.

 

I’m completely torn and it’s making me think I don’t want to even move at all. My 2 sons are 2 and 7 and their social life is increasing and we are more and more active outdoors, social clubs etc. I keep thinking I couldn’t take her with me due to park restrictions, heat etc.

 

Can anyone offer advice if you’ve been in similar circumstances?

 

Thanks in advance

[xkayxwx]

Just to add, we’re moving to Brisbane

[VERYSTORMY]

I can only comment on the issue about how they cope with the move as we don't have children, so can't comment on the aspects associated with that.

We moved the other way, Oz to UK with our little chihuahua. He is a very nervous little thing who has never spent more than 30 minutes away from his mum. He also has a number of medical issues. So, we were obviously very worried. He arrived fine, just hungry and a bit jet lagged. It was a big difference in things as we moved from Perth to central Scotland, to a place notorious for cold weather and snow and he never got on with even the Perth winter. But he is loving life and having as much fun as ever - he was running around in the park yesterday even though it was 0c. 

[Bobths]

My brother & his wife have a Staffy, which they flew over to NZ with them - she's a rescue dog, not good with other dogs, very nervous, very strong separation anxiety and they estimate she was 7/8 years old when they flew her out. 6 years later she's still going strong and they don't regret it for a second - she was fine on the flight and got back into a routine in no time after quarantine. 

We just flew our two French Bulldogs (7yo & 1yo) from UK to Melbourne. Even if I could've stood to leave them behind, I wouldn't because we have two daughters (5yo and 3yo) who would've been devastated. Our 3yo talked more about missing the dogs than any of her friends and when my 5yo said she was feeling sad she said it was because she missed the dogs (we flew 6 weeks before the dogs because of the rabies timeline). We got them back on Sunday (yesterday) and they've not left the dogs alone, cuddling them and stroking them and they keep telling me how happy they are to have them back. 

Because our two are Frenchies, we just walk them in the early morning and late evening on hot days - the beach is so much more peaceful then anyway. I don't know what the rules are like in Brissy but in Melbourne dogs are welcome lots of places - in parks (unless a specified off leash park) they just need to be on a lead and kept out of playgrounds (which is sensible). My girls love taking our dog to the local off leash dog beach (really good on hot days!) so sure there will be somewhere like that near you. I take my dogs to cafes, on the train, parks, farmers markets and even the outdoor cinema - lol you're even allowed them in Bunnings (equivalent of B&Q).  I believe it's pretty easy to fly them within Australia too, so no worries about leaving them behind for holidays if you want to take them with you - or you can get a housesitter/dogsitter. 

**We lived in Melbourne from 2011-2016 then tried the UK again for 18 months, had enough and came back to Melbourne this October so our older dog has done Melbourne-UK and UK-Melbourne.

[xkayxwx]

Thanks so much to both of you for your reply. That really puts my mind at ease. I know that she’d be spoilt rotten at my grandparent house but we’d all miss her terribly and I’d be devastated if she became ill and I wasn’t there. I was just trying to think of what’s in her best interests, even though as a family we’d be devastated leaving her behind. It’s good to know they are welcome in most places, I read somewhere Australia has really strict rules around allowing dogs in most public places.

[Bobths]

6 minutes ago, xkayxwx said:

Thanks so much to both of you for your reply. That really puts my mind at ease. I know that she’d be spoilt rotten at my grandparent house but we’d all miss her terribly and I’d be devastated if she became ill and I wasn’t there. I was just trying to think of what’s in her best interests, even though as a family we’d be devastated leaving her behind. It’s good to know they are welcome in most places, I read somewhere Australia has really strict rules around allowing dogs in most public places.

Rules do differ in different states for most things - I can only tell you about Victoria. My main bug bear is that dogs aren't allowed in National Parks (but can go in State Forests) and lots of caravan parks/campsites don't allow dogs in high season. Having said that, we did a 3,000km road trip up the East Coast from Melbourne to Kiama over Christmas without pre-booking any campsites and we were perfectly fine even with our dog. I have two young kids so I'm not particularly bothered about taking the dog or kids in pubs, so outside at cafes is fine by me (most serve alcohol anyway!). I can't think of any parks near me where dogs are banned. I'm sure your dog will be fine