zims500

thanks for this Rudi
i must admit i have been very concerned for my precious
little minature schnauzer!!.
We are heading for Adelaide, so not knowing where you are ,
I hope i shall be in luck with my doggie as you are with
your animals..?? Any clues where you are?

Louise M

I lived In South Africa for 15 years. We had spitting cobras living in our garden, several large ones. We also had button spiders, related to the black widow spider and others. My 4 dogs and 2 cats were never bitten. And they did come across nasties fairly regularly. They were treated monthly with a tick repellent and only one of my dogs became sick after being bitten by a tick. He ended up with cerebral tick bite fever but did survive although it was touch and go.

My dog is a bit of a poof so we intend to adopt a streetwise oZ dog from the pound. As well as a bit of company, he'll hopefully learn which creatures to leave alone.

Lou

annqldau

But by the same score anyone coming to Aus should also be aware that in some areas of Aus owning a dog can be a lot different to the UK and it is not anywhere near as simple. If owning a dog wasn't normally a positive experience I wouldn't have one and still have one despite all the threats around. Think in Aus there is a bigger tendency for people to keep them as yard dogs or lap dogs that never get walked... never seen as many shih tzu's and chiwawa's in my life. For a rough country they sure like poncey dogs... .


Take for instance the simple process of walking a dog off a lead, it's a major logistical nightmare to finding somewhere that allows you to do it at all. Often places that you would have been able to walk a dog no problems in UK have a 'no dogs at all' policy as well. I have spoken to numerous Expats who miss that simple experience of going for a long walk in the country with your dog running around within your control.

As for the toads I'm sure there are cane toads coming to an area near you soon as they have steadily marched down from the Northern end.
http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/servlet/p...FINALMARCH.HTM

It's up to you readers to take all the info and come to your own decisions on the pet ownership.

arkon

Equally you need to be carefull about making out that there are little or no problems having a dog here as opposed to the UK. It's a fact there is a lot more to content with and it's irresponible to make out there isn't.

christinabell

And its also a dangerous statement to make out the WHOLE of Australia will cause problems for your pets. I think Rudis post puts a lot more perspective onto this subject and whilst I commend the OP's intention to warn people of POSSIBLE dangers to their animals, it is not a blanket statement that can be said for ALL of the country. Cane Toads are NOT all over Australia nor do Snakes live on every street corner. Yes dogs CAN suffer from the heat, but one would think an animal owner would be aware that as Australia is in the tropics, it is to be expected that it will be hot, not only for their animals, but also for themselves. Yes we do have heartworm here. This is a disease spread by mosquitoes, so again, like all countrys in the tropics, we do have mosquitoes which will not only cause problems for animals, but also for humans. I totally agree people should be aware that if they live in rural areas or those areas prone to dangers, their animals could be at risk. However, they shoud also be made aware that not every town in Oz is crawling with dangerous creatures that will cause harm to their pets. I make this statement based on over 40 years of living here as a dog owner and not once have I, or anyone I have known in that time, ever had an animal killed or harmed by a cane toad or snake. Thats not to say it CANT happen, but thats not to say it CAN happen either.

DrWho

Well said...

Wendy

I don't have any pets, but I do live in Adelaide and out of the 20 houses on my street I am the only one without a cat or dog. Most of the ones who have dogs leave them outside, and most of the cats are let out at night time. I have no idea how wise that is, I personally wouldn't do that but then that's an individual choice for you to make.

Here is a link that may prove useful to you.
http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/ani...companion.html

arkon

No one is saying these pests are everywhere, but to make out there is no more danger to your pets here than back home is leading people into a false sense of security.

So far on my farm we have only found cattle ticks, and I spend $50 a month keeping one big paddock trimmed and neat so the boys have somewhere relatively safe to mooch around. BUT last month 11 dogs in my very immediate neighbourhood died from paralysis ticks. So what message should I be spreading?? We havn't personally been affected by them so come on over it's all rosey. OR make people aware there is a huge problem with heartworm and paralysis ticks that does not constitute a problem back home?

I have a family member who lives in Hornsby, Sydney and in the last 2 years has had her dog at near death and in intensive care twice, with paralysis ticks, despite taking EVERY precaution that it's possible to take. At about $600 per vets bill to rescue the dog, not only is it not cheap but you could lose your dog too.

By the way we don't have cane toads here so how lucky am I. We do have eastern browns and red bellied blacks, heartworm and paralysis ticks though plus the heat which makes the older dog go doolally if he is out in it for more than a few minutes. Then there is the thunder which is worse than november the 5th every few weeks.

christinabell

The message u should be spreading is : -

" I live on a farm in a rural community so obviously I have problems with snakes and ticks, afterall I am living in their natural habitat, so it is to be expected. People should be aware that if you choose to live in these types of areas, you will have problems, so research your town/city you will live in before you get here and then you will be prepared.

However, there are pet owners who live in various parts of Australia who have never even seen a snake, let alone have their pet harmed by one. Also, most animals who live in the cities and suburbs do not have problems with ticks as they simply dont exist in the suburban backyard.

So be prepared everyone. Do your research BEFORE you get to Oz. Know that dangers to your pets do exist, but it is not nationwide as it does depend on where u live. Dont come here and expect owning a pet to be the same as in the UK, because quite simply, it is Australia and NOT the Uk, so therefore will be completely different"

There you go. A nice well balanced report giving both sides to the argument

mumomonty

Hi Arkon and all,

I have to say that (could be wrong) but most of the people that move to Aus do not move rural or live on acreage. Bit of a generalisation, but what that would mean is they just wouldn't be exposed to the amount of things you are where you are. I lived on the Central Coast where it was extremely bushy and beautiful but the reason I got a short coated Jack Russell rather than a Border Collie was the dear paralysis tick. I have friends not far from where you live and I know they experience what you do but they're dog's a bit of a lap dog and their cat has an aviary due to the fact that the birds woudln't last 5 mins if Frodo was let loose.
I currently live in NZ where there aren't any snakes, ticks, leeches and it is heaven for the animals here if you have acres. (we only have half an acre garden but it is great for the dog and a relief to know I can leave him out there and he can hunt about and I dont' worry what he'll find, unlike in Aus when he came up to me with a wriggly 12 inch baby brown snake! I nearly had kittens but said the drop command and he did). I still like Aus though (go figure).
As my OH and I prefer to live rural, rather than Colorbond Hell Lego Land (no offence) then the risks increase so people need to be aware of it.
That's not to say you can't manage it by (like you say) keeping grass to the minimum, checking daily for ticks, (Frontline was rubbish for me too and I used a tick collar (stinky) and rose geranium oil as it's a tick repellent.

So I see all perspectives on this one. Bring your pets but please be aware of the little annoyances. I still think the UK is the best place for dogs and horses with access to the countryside. NZ's not much b etter for access than the UK - we just have some lovely walks where I live but you still have to get the dog in the car to enjoy that freedome we all take for granted. At the end of the day, if your dogs are anything like mine, they'll be happy that they're with you - wherever that may be.

Sandra

This is the leaflet distributed by my local council area

http://www.kmc.nsw.gov.au/index.cfm?...A6B0A512DD4BED

Please have a look and note that it is not just about dogs and ticks you need to be aware that they need removed from yourself and children as well.

OK if you never go walking and stay in the urban burbs then possibly ok - so much for the outdoor lifestyle

Just for balance we used to go camping in the new forest and spent a few nice evenings picking ticks from the children after a happy romp in the woods and grass.

We only got our pups last year but I was already an expert tick remover getting them off the kids, hubby and me. I think we got so many from the garden because we do live near bush in St Ives suburb and the possums carry them. Also the kids go into the bush but have also got them from the beach areas near long grass etc.

Cheers

jad n rich

Cheers[/QUOTE]

Cant believe this threads turning into an argument. Having dogs here is a tiny bit more work than in the UK due to daily check for tics, (if your in tic area) we are and its not rural.

However we have less work with mud and the general UK thing of dogs being inside more, here with the climate they live outside, muddy/wet is not a big problem.

Dont decide not bring your dogs because of tics, snakes, climate, as someone else said if that was the required you would not be bringing yourself or your kids. Just be aware of some different rules to follow.

And there are loads of places for dogs off leash, dog parks, dog beaches.

Rudi

Hi Lou

I am in a suburb called Glenhaven in NSW. It's a semi rural suburb just north of a large town called Castle Hill.

Good luck with your move

Rudi
x

mumomonty

It's not an argument. St. Ives is lovely.

annqldau

Now now lets all behave like animal lovers

Cant believe this threads turning into an argument. Having dogs here is a tiny bit more work than in the UK due to daily check for tics, (if your in tic area) we are and its not rural.

However we have less work with mud and the general UK thing of dogs being inside more, here with the climate they live outside, muddy/wet is not a big problem.

Dont decide not bring your dogs because of tics, snakes, climate, as someone else said if that was the required you would not be bringing yourself or your kids. Just be aware of some different rules to follow.

And there are loads of places for dogs off leash, dog parks, dog beaches.
[/QUOTE]

2nd that it was supposed to inform people coming who had never heard of any of the Aus risks to dogs that there were some here that you would never come across in the UK or even dream about.

Thanks to those that have inputted both positives & negatives of Aus dog ownership inc. Arkon and sorry I didn't think to mention the heat & the thunder and the risk to the owner from ticks. I have witnessed this myself as in her first day on my property my friend somehow managed to get a tick on her eye lid whilst taking the dog for a walk, luckily removed it no bother and she wasn't paralised at all.

[QUOTE=mumomonty]
As my OH and I prefer to live rural, rather than Colorbond Hell Lego Land (no offence) then the risks increase so people need to be aware of it.
QUOTE] Risk in Lego Land I would suspect is same as UK of dog hating nasty neighbours and cars escaping to be mowed down by cars or grass cutters or terorised by horrible kids.


To quote mysef I did point out in post 1 that dog owning is still a positive experience but different...

Think all of us as dog owners know the positive side of dog ownership or we wouldn't have them... .