Moving Abroad

[Michele]

Some friends of mine are seriously looking into emigrating/retiring abroad. They are up to their eyeballs with so many different things to cover, but one of their concerns is being able to take their 2 cockers with them.
What they want to know is, is there an upper age limit to exporting a dog overseas? Lucca (who is a son of my Meg) will be 8 next January, and Ella (Neneh's half sister) will be 6 in July. They are a little worried that the powers that be may think they're too old - they wouldn't if they saw them, as fit as a fiddles                      

[*Jay*]

As  far as I'm aware, as long as the vet declares them fit to travel, they can be exported. We had one client who took their 14 year old cat to Spain last year. I don't think they experienced any problems regarding the cats age.                    

[Katina]

It's not hard at all to move abroad from UK. It will be much harder moving back, as the import laws are quite strict. There is now age limit, and I personally think cockers at the age of 6 & 8 are still very young!                    

[Jane S]

Some people we know took their 13 year old Cairn to Spain under the Pet Passport scheme with no problems at all when they retired over there a year or so ago. Like Gill says, as long as a vet says an animal is fit to travel, it will be fine

Jane                    

[dave d]

We are moving to Thailand next week and we are taking Charlie our pet Cocker with us . He is on the same flight as us but will be in the hold as cargo which has been arranged by Airpets Oceanic. Charlie is 4 years of age and we are wandering how he will react to living in Thailand does anyone on the forum have any experience of moving their Coxker to S.E Asia? Airpets are doing all the paperwork and arranging of flights vaccinations , the only thing we have had to do is arrange the Import Licence which we have to get before he leaves UK,                    

[Chrissy]

Hello Dave

I'm sure you will have no problems with your move.  One thing that I have found through research (I'm sending a puppy to a hot country soon) is to be careful for quite a while after arriving to ensure the dog adjusts to the change in temperature and humidity as there will be a high risk of heat stroke.

As it’s going to be very much warmer weather I suggest you prepare for a hot/dry dog on your arrival.  I would check with your vet to seek their advice but this is what I would do. I would take a carry-on bag with some ice packs and cold water (ice packs to keep the water cold) and I’d take a small towel (to soak in the cold water).  When you collect your dog from Customs I would take him into a shady or air conditioned area, offer a cool drink of water and soak the towel in some cold water and place this on the dogs head/neck.  Personally I would also take a digital thermometer to check his temperature if I was at all worried about him.  If he appears at all unwell I would treat for heat stroke automatically and if there were no improvement in a short space of time I would take him to the nearest vet.

The trouble with flying with dogs is that they aren’t always taken off the aircraft in a timely manner.  Whilst they will be in a controlled temperature during the flight as soon as you land the cargo hold will become very warm.

I would also watch him very carefully during the first week to 10 days because heat stroke can often affect dogs during the acclimatisation period.  He should be kept in an air conditioned room during the hottest part of the day and only allowed out to exercise and be walked during the coolest part of the day/night.  Gradually you can increase the time outside until a happy compromise is achieved.  Make sure the dog has access to water and a shady spot in the garden. Knowing England in June the temps. won't have got over 75 F and if they do they don't stay this warm for very long (5-6 hrs per 24 hrs max) and generally there isn’t any humidity!

Hope that helps, enjoy your new home.

Chrissy                    

[dave d]

Chrissy
          Thanks very much for your advice , I will certainly watch out for heatstroke , we are now into the monsoon season in Thailand but it is still very hot , your advice will come in usefull.  I will share my experience after a couple of weeks to let you all know how we are getting on,

      Dave