Taking dog to Oz?

[JSummer]

Hi,

We are planning a move to Oz soon (partner is Australian, I have permanent residency) we live in the UK with our dog and are currently battling the decision on whether to take him with us. We will be moving to Queensland and are looking at Bayside areas East of Brisbane.

Our main concerns are:

1.) Due to some our plans falling apart due to covid we will now be moving into rented accommodation when we arrive and plan to stay there for hopefully no longer than 6 months, but all depending on how long it takes us to find and purchase our own home.  - How easy will it be to find a rental which accepts a large breed dog (over 30kg)?  He is very well behaved, but worried this will put us bottom of the pile when it comes to applications for properties.

2.) As he is a large breed he will have to fly cargo, he does suffer some anxieties and can be reactive to other dogs. Has anyone shipped a large breed dog - how did they cope with the flights, quarantine etc. Will it all be too much for him?

Outside of our concerns with finding somewhere to live with him we also want to be sure were making a decision that's best for him.

If we weren't to take him it would mean rehoming him in the UK (we have lifelong rescue back up, so would be a very carefully considered home).

This decision is tearing me apart and I just want to make the right one. Any help and advice would be hugely appreciated.

Thank you

[Marisawright]

I wouldn't worry about the flight.  Yes it's stressful and it would be wonderful if you could avoid it, but most dogs come through OK.  Ask your vet what they think and take their advice.

A big dog would be a problem in many rental properties but it does depend where you're going.  You'd probably find more tolerant landlords if you're willing to go a bit further out of town. Mind you, I only know the Melbourne and Sydney markets, I'm sure a Brisbane resident will drop in with some views.

Your first task should be to contact a pet shippers and find out when you might be able to bring him anyway.  Quarantine is booked out several months in advance, plus you also have your rabies shots etc to get in order. 

With the current uncertainty with flights getting cancelled and the high risk of getting bumped off, could you leave him with someone until you're safely settled and then fly him over?  

Edited July 4, 2021 by Marisawright

[JSummer]

Thank you so much for your response!  We would be looking to move next year so planning quite far in advance. We did speak with a pet shipper who said we should start the process around 7 months before so we do still have some time to plan thankfully.

Unfortunately I have no-one I'd be able to leave him with in the UK  I was thinking I could leave him in long term kennels here but with the quote for shipping him already at £5,000 I just don't think we could afford that on top of everything else.

I will definitely speak to my vet, I think I'm probably worrying a bit too much about him on the flight!

Thank you x

[Tulip1]

46 minutes ago, JSummer said:

Thank you so much for your response!  We would be looking to move next year so planning quite far in advance. We did speak with a pet shipper who said we should start the process around 7 months before so we do still have some time to plan thankfully.

Unfortunately I have no-one I'd be able to leave him with in the UK  I was thinking I could leave him in long term kennels here but with the quote for shipping him already at £5,000 I just don't think we could afford that on top of everything else.

I will definitely speak to my vet, I think I'm probably worrying a bit too much about him on the flight!

Thank you x

Many rent with dogs so whilst it won’t be as easy with one it’s certainly possible.  Don’t just look for the rentals that say they accept pets.  I know of two people who rented with dogs and the ad didn’t have a tick against pets allowed.  They both just explained that the dog was very well behaved,  mature (not puppy) etc and both were accepted.  As for will the flight be stressful.  Yes it will be and no doubt a bit terrifying but it’s one day in your dogs life and he like thousands of other dogs will be running around enjoying life within a few days and for the rest of their life, it will be soon forgotten.  Your dog being left in a rescue centre/long term kennels/with new owners will be far more stressful, there is no comparison.  They may pine for the rest of their lives, who knows.  At minimum it will be a very traumatic time. I don’t have a dog but if I did they would be moving with the rest of the family.  One stressful trip in cargo verses the rest of their life without the owner they love is very much worth it.  

[JSummer]

Thankyou for your reply! That's really helpful to know that it may be possible to rent properties that aren't only ticked with 'pets accepted' as we've mostly been looking through those and not finding much. Aw yeah, you're probably right, he's just a very sensitive soul so I worry about him a lot being in that situation. Thank you for the vote of confidence, definitely helps to know we are making the best decision by taking him with us

[Tulip1]

As it’s only a temporary stop, I’d look at slightly less desirable properties that are perhaps not as fussy about a well behaved dog.  Someone who’s just spent thousands on a refurb may be less inclined to want animals which is fair enough.  It’s just a stop gap until you go on to get your permanent place so it’s not a big problem if it’s not quite what you’d want.  Having the dog onboard is more important.  You don’t have to say what size your dog is unless they ask of course.   Best of luck. 

Edited July 4, 2021 by Tulip1

[Marisawright]

6 hours ago, Tulip1 said:

.  You don’t have to say what size your dog is unless they ask of course.   

This is a good point.  Don't let the real estate agent see the dog. If he's big, even if he's as sweet as anything and very quiet, they'll worry he may not always be like that, and they'll refuse you.   If you've got no one to leave him with, that may mean one of you has to go house-hunting on their own!  

[MacGyver]

10 hours ago, JSummer said:

Thankyou for your reply! That's really helpful to know that it may be possible to rent properties that aren't only ticked with 'pets accepted' as we've mostly been looking through those and not finding much. Aw yeah, you're probably right, he's just a very sensitive soul so I worry about him a lot being in that situation. Thank you for the vote of confidence, definitely helps to know we are making the best decision by taking him with us

We've rented many homes with a dog - as others have said, dont limit your search to properties that say dog friendly as it limits the search results on domain/realestate. The only ones I avoid are the ones that specifically say "pets not permitted/possible". All other properties I just contact them and ask if dogs are considered, most of the time they say yes (although considered doesnt mean accepted!). I think it very much depends where you look to rent, family suburbs seem to accept that their target demographic comes with a dog, so allow it - whereas inner city properties target a different audience, so generally dont permit dogs. In WA you have to pey a pet bond ($260 I think) so that might be a feature in QLD too.

The transport of dogs internationally is very expensive and very stressful (for the humans), but ours came out the other side as if nothing had happened.

[HappyHeart]

How old is the dog? This is a consideration. We rehomed our dog before we came over. She’d had one stint in kennels and couldn’t cope. When we collected her she cried the whole way home and was very affected. She didn’t eat. On reflection we would do so again (rehome) I feel that dogs are very adaptable and if confident a good permanent home can be found I would go that way. What is in the dogs best interest? That’s a good decider. 

Having heard of the stressful and arduous journey a dog in transit takes I know I would not put my (sensitive) existing dog through that. If the dog is sensitive and reactive it will be very stressful and confusing for them. They are in the same crate for many hours without being let out to toilet. Loaded up hours after drop off before the plane departs and again waiting for unloading and transfer to the terminal and their carrier to arrive. All the sounds and heat/cold must be very difficult for them. I hate to be negative but this is my experience (having an insight into cargo practices) 

 

[Parley]

But most people consider their dog as an integral member of their family.

They couldn't rehome their dog any more than rehome one of their kids.

I might delay my move until animals have passed away.

[Eera]

2 hours ago, MacGyver said:

. In WA you have to pey a pet bond ($260 I think) so that might be a feature in QLD too.

 

Nope, in QLD you can only charge maximum 4 weeks' rental for bond and you cannot charge anything more than that for pet bond, key bond etc - if they are going to be held then they have to be integrated into the total maximum bond. - up to a weekly rental of $750 (or was last time I looked), it's fair game what you can be charged for bonds after that amount.

[Jon the Hat]

We brought our GSD over from Perth and he was fine.  Very happy to see us at Heathrow and a little bit stiff but otherwise no after affects.

[JSummer]

14 hours ago, HappyHeart said:

How old is the dog? This is a consideration. We rehomed our dog before we came over. She’d had one stint in kennels and couldn’t cope. When we collected her she cried the whole way home and was very affected. She didn’t eat. On reflection we would do so again (rehome) I feel that dogs are very adaptable and if confident a good permanent home can be found I would go that way. What is in the dogs best interest? That’s a good decider. 

Having heard of the stressful and arduous journey a dog in transit takes I know I would not put my (sensitive) existing dog through that. If the dog is sensitive and reactive it will be very stressful and confusing for them. They are in the same crate for many hours without being let out to toilet. Loaded up hours after drop off before the plane departs and again waiting for unloading and transfer to the terminal and their carrier to arrive. All the sounds and heat/cold must be very difficult for them. I hate to be negative but this is my experience (having an insight into cargo practices) 

 

He's 5 years old. We have had him since 5 months old. He has stayed in kennels a few times before and seems to have been okay, maybe a little subdued for the first few days but soon comes back to his normal self. The flight for sure concerns me and the thought of something happening to him fills me with dread although it's been good to hear on this thread of others who have shipped their dogs and had good experiences!

[JSummer]

13 hours ago, Parley said:

But most people consider their dog as an integral member of their family.

They couldn't rehome their dog any more than rehome one of their kids.

I might delay my move until animals have passed away.

He is 100% an important member of my family, So I want to make a very careful decision on what is actually best for him and don't want to selfishly take him with me if it could negatively affect his quality of life.. If it was a case of him sitting on the flight next to me the thought of rehoming him wouldn't even enter my mind, I hate the thought of him being in cargo . As we are moving for some personal reasons unfortunately waiting until he has passed just isn't an option as he's only 5 and will live for many years to come.

I think from reading some of the comments on this thread I'm feeling a lot more confident about taking him, and hopefully the stressful journey will just be a small blip in what will be a fab life for him in Australia  x

[JSummer]

5 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

We brought our GSD over from Perth and he was fine.  Very happy to see us at Heathrow and a little bit stiff but otherwise no after affects.

Oh amazing! I'm really happy to hear this especially with yours being a big dog too. Thank you  x

[Dusty Plains]

On 05/07/2021 at 13:23, HappyHeart said:

How old is the dog? This is a consideration. We rehomed our dog before we came over. She’d had one stint in kennels and couldn’t cope. When we collected her she cried the whole way home and was very affected. She didn’t eat. On reflection we would do so again (rehome) I feel that dogs are very adaptable and if confident a good permanent home can be found I would go that way. What is in the dogs best interest? That’s a good decider. 

Having heard of the stressful and arduous journey a dog in transit takes I know I would not put my (sensitive) existing dog through that. If the dog is sensitive and reactive it will be very stressful and confusing for them. They are in the same crate for many hours without being let out to toilet. Loaded up hours after drop off before the plane departs and again waiting for unloading and transfer to the terminal and their carrier to arrive. All the sounds and heat/cold must be very difficult for them. I hate to be negative but this is my experience (having an insight into cargo practices) 

 

We put a young fox terrier into cargo with Virgin for a flight from Sydney to Perth. All up the dog was in the crate for more than 6 hours. Our family members at the Perth end were horrified when picking up the dog. It was nearly dead from dehydration even though I had provided a pet bottle in the crate, but the dog had chewed the container.

Never again.

[HappyHeart]

5 hours ago, Dusty Plains said:

We put a young fox terrier into cargo with Virgin for a flight from Sydney to Perth. All up the dog was in the crate for more than 6 hours. Our family members at the Perth end were horrified when picking up the dog. It was nearly dead from dehydration even though I had provided a pet bottle in the crate, but the dog had chewed the container.

Never again.

Now imagine UK to Australia

[Jon the Hat]

17 hours ago, JSummer said:

Oh amazing! I'm really happy to hear this especially with yours being a big dog too. Thank you  x

They make a bespoke crate the right size for your dog, and they have water in with them all the way.

5 hours ago, Dusty Plains said:

We put a young fox terrier into cargo with Virgin for a flight from Sydney to Perth. All up the dog was in the crate for more than 6 hours. Our family members at the Perth end were horrified when picking up the dog. It was nearly dead from dehydration even though I had provided a pet bottle in the crate, but the dog had chewed the container.

Never again.

Fortunately when shipping internationally there are professionals involved.  Our GSD could not have chewed the water if he tried, it was on the outside, and the pipe was metal.

Have a chat with PetAir, I am sure they will assuage any such concerns.

[Dusty Plains]

28 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said:

They make a bespoke crate the right size for your dog, and they have water in with them all the way.

Fortunately when shipping internationally there are professionals involved.  Our GSD could not have chewed the water if he tried, it was on the outside, and the pipe was metal.

Have a chat with PetAir, I am sure they will assuage any such concerns.

This was domestic, but in Europe it would have been an extended flight across central Europe, Belarus and beyond Moscow, The dog chewed through the restraints as they were looped through the cage. Yes the container was on the outside. I am certain that the dog, being young just freaked out during the flight.

Thanks for the advice re "Pet Air" I prefer no pet air ever again.

Edited July 6, 2021 by Dusty Plains

[HappyHeart]

1 hour ago, Dusty Plains said:

This was domestic, but in Europe it would have been an extended flight across central Europe, Belarus and beyond Moscow, The dog chewed through the restraints as they were looped through the cage. Yes the container was on the outside. I am certain that the dog, being young just freaked out during the flight.

Thanks for the advice re "Pet Air" I prefer no pet air ever again.

I know of stories of dogs who have chewed their way out of crates in the cargo hold in a desperate bid to escape. Blood everywhere. Others soaking wet on arrival as nowhere to do their business but in the crate. I just don’t think it’s wise or kind to transport any animal by air for any purpose. 

[OzinEire]

Our dog is flying out from Dublin to Melbourne tomorrow! It's been a long process but we couldn't have left her behind. She's my husband's shadow. 

She's crate trained since a pup so shouldn't be too distressed from that end. We've made sure her hair is short for this side in the heat and the 12 hour stopover in Doha where they're let out for a break, stretch their legs and a small bit of food.

We have the vet bedding in the bottom of the crate so that if she does have to pee then the wet will be wicked away and she'll have her last meal tonight and then we'll walk her early tomorrow so hopefully she's pooped before she takes off. 

We also have the water bowl just inside the door. I've seen people use the water pipe things used for guinea pigs and the like but unless they're trained to drink from them then they're pretty useless on the crate. 

We saved some money by doing the rabies and PEQ booking ourselves but they constantly bring in new rules so if you're not confident with lots of paperwork then you're better off paying a pet shipping company I think. Good luck!

[HappyHeart]

10 hours ago, OzinEire said:

Our dog is flying out from Dublin to Melbourne tomorrow! It's been a long process but we couldn't have left her behind. She's my husband's shadow. 

She's crate trained since a pup so shouldn't be too distressed from that end. We've made sure her hair is short for this side in the heat and the 12 hour stopover in Doha where they're let out for a break, stretch their legs and a small bit of food.

We have the vet bedding in the bottom of the crate so that if she does have to pee then the wet will be wicked away and she'll have her last meal tonight and then we'll walk her early tomorrow so hopefully she's pooped before she takes off. 

We also have the water bowl just inside the door. I've seen people use the water pipe things used for guinea pigs and the like but unless they're trained to drink from them then they're pretty useless on the crate. 

We saved some money by doing the rabies and PEQ booking ourselves but they constantly bring in new rules so if you're not confident with lots of paperwork then you're better off paying a pet shipping company I think. Good luck!

I expect it makes a massive difference when your dog is crate trained. They will feel much safer and less distressed. A free range dog will have a much harder time being confined if they usually sleep where they please. A period of crate training could be a good thing for those pups not already used to it. 

That said, a lot of racing greyhounds are exported overseas and interstate (who are used to confinement) and often don't do too well at all....I guess it depends on the dog. 

[MacGyver]

Just an alternative experience to some of the comments above. The crate our dog was transported in would be impossible to chew its way out of and had a water container connected to the outside of the crate which was also impossible to chew or destroy. The bottom of the crate had absorbent padding in case the dog couldn't hold its pee and food intake was limited prior to the flight with the aim of preventing the need to do other business during the flight. Of course there is stress involved in the process as it is an alien environment and experience for them, but with Emirates they are last on the flight and first off the flight and have a mandated stop in Dubai for several hours (cant remember the exact length of time). So after flight 1, they are taken to the pet centre in Dubai airport, checked by a vet, fed and watered and given the opportunity to stretch their legs out of the crates. The process then restarts for the second flight where they are given fresh padding to the bottom of the crate, fresh water and last on flight and first off again. 

The international transport is long but broken down as above and very professional, the issues often referred to on here and in the media seem to be the domestic travel/transport where untrained staff leave pets on the tarmac in the heat and seem to not care about the pets welfare. Our dog was completely fine, but if he was a very anxious or nervous dog we might have felt the process was too much for him and made other arrangements. 

Its a pity there are no cruise liners that allow pets on board for the long journey as I'm sure (pre and post covid) it would be a very popular option. We researched it and the only route for pets by sea was USA to UK, with spaces very limited and th eopportunity to see your dog once per day. If that had been an option to Australia we would have paid any crazy price they demanded, but in the end the flight was fine.

[HappyHeart]

6 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

Just an alternative experience to some of the comments above. The crate our dog was transported in would be impossible to chew its way out of and had a water container connected to the outside of the crate which was also impossible to chew or destroy. The bottom of the crate had absorbent padding in case the dog couldn't hold its pee and food intake was limited prior to the flight with the aim of preventing the need to do other business during the flight. Of course there is stress involved in the process as it is an alien environment and experience for them, but with Emirates they are last on the flight and first off the flight and have a mandated stop in Dubai for several hours (cant remember the exact length of time). So after flight 1, they are taken to the pet centre in Dubai airport, checked by a vet, fed and watered and given the opportunity to stretch their legs out of the crates. The process then restarts for the second flight where they are given fresh padding to the bottom of the crate, fresh water and last on flight and first off again. 

The international transport is long but broken down as above and very professional, the issues often referred to on here and in the media seem to be the domestic travel/transport where untrained staff leave pets on the tarmac in the heat and seem to not care about the pets welfare. Our dog was completely fine, but if he was a very anxious or nervous dog we might have felt the process was too much for him and made other arrangements. 

Its a pity there are no cruise liners that allow pets on board for the long journey as I'm sure (pre and post covid) it would be a very popular option. We researched it and the only route for pets by sea was USA to UK, with spaces very limited and th eopportunity to see your dog once per day. If that had been an option to Australia we would have paid any crazy price they demanded, but in the end the flight was fine.

It’s not just domestic flights. The wait time for the dogs (and cats) involves often many hours in cold and draughty (or hot) cargo sheds awaiting loading. The staff have varying degrees of animal experience. Standard plastic animal crates can be destroyed by a determined animal. Dogs can dig their way out of garages and through walls when distressed. 

I hear there’s plans to allow dogs on planes in the cabin? Can only be a good thing but limited to small dogs that can fit under a seat in a crate I believe? 

[Marisawright]

On 06/07/2021 at 03:26, JSummer said:

 He has stayed in kennels a few times before and seems to have been okay, maybe a little subdued for the first few days but soon comes back to his normal self.

If he's coped with kennels then I don't think you need worry.   I don't know if it's an option to buy your own crate and get him used to it for some weeks or months before the flight?  I know a couple who travel a lot, their dog's bed is in the crate and that's where she sleeps every night, so that if they need to go travelling, she doesn't see anything odd or scary about getting into it,  it feels like her safe place.  However if you're thinking of doing that, talk to your pet shipping company first.