oidara Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 We are finding it very hard to decide whether to take our dog along on this adventure or not. She will be just turned 6 when we go out to Oz next June and she's a big and quite boisterous black Lab. We don't have a lot of money so the financial element is certainly not insignificant, but obviously this isn't a decision that can come down to money alone! Our logical heads tell us it would be better if we left her behind. Aside from the cost, the stress of the flights and quarantine are a worry. We have 3 small children and we're concerned that, if the dog is traumatised by the experience, it may put our kids in danger - ie. If she became aggressive as a result (I've read of people saying this happened with their dogs). We're also worried that she might develop destructive behaviours that make it difficult to be in rental accommodation. We are currently staying in temporary accommodation in Austria and her behaviour here has been a little odd - rummaging through bins when we're out, stealing food, etc - things she has never done before. Aside from the fear that she might damage rental property, there's also the fact that it will make it harder to find a rental in the first place.Plus, she is a very gung-ho dog. It's quite possible that she will go after a big brown on day two and get herself into real trouble. Oh, and she hates the heat! So, logical heads on, it seems daft to take her. But it's very hard to make the decision to leave her. It feels like we committed to having her with us for her lifetime and that we shouldn't go back on that. The kids get very upset if we mention the prospect too - our 2 year old said "But she lives with us!". It seems like the fairest thing for the dog is to leave her with a loving family and not put her through the stress of flights, kennels, heat, etc, but the problem is that we can't get inside a dog's head. Who knows whether being abandoned by their "pack" leaves them scarred for life!? Any advice would be much appreciated! How did you guys decide what to do with your four-legged friends and do you regret your decision? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 From the reasons you have gave then it sounds like it might be best to rehome her, maybe others will disagree but you know your dog the best. Do you have family or friends that could look after her so at least you know how she is and your kids can get regular updates? if we move then we arent taking the dogs, its very hard but its just not a option for us, one is far too old and has a heart murmur, the stress would probably kill him. Hopefully some other people will be able to give you advice and their experiences Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyW Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Buy a cage and cage train her for when you go out in the day. The flight and quarantine isnt as stressful as you think,she will be ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PositivePixie Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Agree with Stacey - you know your animal best. We are breaking our hearts not taking our two cats, they really are surrogate children, however we know they would either be dead or thoroughly miserable within not very long and we don't feel we can do that to them, so they are staying. For other people taking them would be the best option, but in our case it isn't - one of them doesn't even like us very much I suspect :biglaugh: so will be fine with her new owners. With regards to a dog needing it's pack, my parents have had rescue dogs my entire life, and they have 99% of the time settled very well indeed, accepting my parents as the new pack leaders etc - only one it didn't work with as he had been rehomed from a very violent household where he was terribly abused physically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PositivePixie Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Buy a cage and cage train her for when you go out in the day. The flight and quarantine isnt as stressful as you think,she will be ok. With the greatest of respect Andy, how well do you know oidara's dog? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Yeah you just have to think whats best for the animal, its not fair to take them if they arent going to cope/be happy just to make ourselfs happy (if that makes sense!) Just have a good think about it x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 To be honest with you, if it were me, I would take her. Crate training can work wonders, and she could love it out there. However, you know her best; I know that money does come into it, it's a huge stretch for us to take our dog but I wouldn't eat for a week so I can bring her. Being a Lab and not too old she'd find a great home, I'd bet. Try getting into contact with the Lab Club of your country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oidara Posted December 16, 2011 Author Share Posted December 16, 2011 Thanks for the replies so far. Unfortunately she's not a pedigree so I don't know if strict Lab enthusiasts would take her on. But we do have one possible option for rehoming her nonetheless. If only not eating for a week would do it, but it costs so much to take a dog that it would have to be more like not eating for half a year! :arghh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bray Family Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Rehome her. we brought our lab out she was so stressed by the flight and quarantine.she had completely lost her voice and had sores on her legs. My vet in the uk had tried to talk me out of taking her i wish i had listened.she now hates being left when we go away on holiday and she hates the thunder storms here.If i had known i would of left her behind but shes part of the family and i didn't want to leave her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millers Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 We are flying out to Queensland in 7 weeks and are not taking our 2 ten yr old cats with us. Not only does it cost alot of money but i think the quarantine and the 4 flights will be too much for them and i think it will be in their best interests to rehome them here.......i will miss them as we have had them since they were 8 weeks old but i think it's the best for us all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pintpot Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 I think people project on to dogs too much, they're not humans who will miss their family for ever. If you rehome them well they won't pine away, they'll be happy with their new pack pretty soon. So the question should really be about you and your family and how much you will be impacted by taking the dog. It sounds to me like taking the dog would cost you quite a bit, not just financially. You also have to factor in how much harder it will be to find somewhere to live that will allow the dog as well as trying to settle the rest of the family (not going to be easy as it is juggling everything with 3 young kids) We rehomed our dog a couple of years ago for different reasons and whilst it was a hard decision, we don't regret it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oldmarried Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Heartbreaking post but thanks for doing it. It brings tears to me every time I have to think about our beautiful black lab. He will be in 11 in April and as this move has come out of the blue we would have to start at the beginning with the rabies stuff. So assuming we go beginning of March its going to be another 4 months before he can fly out and then a month in quarantine. He is very fit and "touch wood" has had none of the blights often suffered by his breed. But he has slowed down this last 12 months. His favourite spot is his bed in front of the Aga. Last night I encouraged him to come into the lounge and the next time I got up to go to the kitchen he decided it was time to go back to his bed again. He just comes for the occasional re-assurance and petting and then off he goes. We have had him since he was a puppy and as per the post above always believed we were making a commitment to him for life. So getting him re-homed feels massively like we are letting him down. But we are sure that it will be better for him at his age. We are praying that once everything is finalised we can find friends or family who will take him and give him the life he continues to deserve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest17301 Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Left our 7 yr old lab/collie x in the UK 3 years ago. She was 7. Couldnt afford to bring her and we were also unsure how she would cope with the trip/quarantine. She pined and was not in a good way the one time we left her in kennels. I think you know best in regards to your own dog. Whatever you decide it wont be easy. We wish we'd bought our dog with us but hopefully she's not affected by it as much as we are. Who knows. Go with your gut Id say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anlopa Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 We have a Black Lab she is only 5 and have had her since she was a puppy, the kids held her in their arms when we brought her home, they named her and love her like a baby sister. We sat down with them a couple of months ago and had to show them the cost of taking her and that we could not afford it realistically, we could but if neither of us found a job sharpish we would be on the streets and that is no way to start a new life. Normally if the economy hadn’t suffered like it had we would have had loads of disposable money to fund the move through the sale of the house but we are selling the house and only breaking even so unfortunately things have to give. The day our visa was granted we told the kids and they jumped with excitement, but this was short lived and attention was turned to the dog. It is a heart breaking decision not to take your best friend, your confidant. I have always had Labs and this is so hard, we are lucky in a way that I think my mum and dad and auntie will adopt her a co ownership mum and dad will be the main owners and when they venture on holidays she will go to my aunties who has several field and other animals to keep her entertained. Right not sure of the point to my post but talking about it has helped me. Do what is right for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supa Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 We're also worried that she might develop destructive behaviours that make it difficult to be in rental accommodation. We are currently staying in temporary accommodation in Austria and her behaviour here has been a little odd - rummaging through bins when we're out, stealing food, etc - things she has never done before. Just wondering if she has worms - may be worth checking as my dog did this. Sorry, back to thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oidara Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 Thanks again, everyone, for sharing your stories. We still haven't made a decision yet and it's really hard - I swing between taking her and not several times per day! Thanks also to supa for the worms tip. I doubt she has worms as we're pretty keen with the worming treatment because of our kids being around her. But I will certainly bear it in mind and ask the vet at our next visit quite soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basil Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 As others have said only you can decide, but from reading your post your main concerns aren't from how she is now as such but more what you think the journey/change might do to her. The fact is dogs are adaptable and the vast majority do cope and adjust with change very well, in fact it's usually us humans that interfere and impede their ability for them to cope! So whether that change is a move abroad or a move to a new family, she will likely be ok with both scenarios - the difficulty may be in finding her a new home at a time when rescues are already on their knees trying to find adopters. I also wanted to add that most of your worries would be manageable with adjustments ie crate training. I also have never heard anyones dog become aggressive from quarantine - I think that might be a bit of an irrational fear tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oidara Posted December 29, 2011 Author Share Posted December 29, 2011 Thanks. You're probably right - she will no doubt cope better with the change than we will. We'll see... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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