katjo84

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation...

Im planning to move to oz at the end of the year, the nly dilemma I have is deciding whether to take my beloved dog or not.

I will be going alone and so its difficult to know if I will have time to look after him on my own without knowing what my work pattern will be, I wont know this until I get there and so if I cant afford time/money I need to rehome him before I go, on the other hand I dont want to rehome him and then arrive and realsise I could have taken him.

Sorry if this doesnt make sense, but has anyone else experienced this and what did you do?

Thanks

Vegemite Kids

what kind of dog is he and how much looking after does he require?

katjo84

Hes a cocker spaniel, at the moment he has 20min walk in the morning and between 30-60 mins in the afternoon/evening. He is used to being on his own but it may be longer now im on my my own and with only one wage. is it costly for dog walkers etc?

Vegemite Kids

Are you planning on living in a flat or house?

what is he used to at the moment (eg, do you have a house at the moment and leave him in a dog run in the garden? or is he used to being locked in one room?)

Don't have dog myself at the moment but I believe prices for dog walking are $20-30 per 30 mins. Less if you are happy for him to go for a 'group' walk with other dogs.

katjo84

would have to be a house, he would need at least a yard to relieve himself, he has free run of the house at the moment, he mostly just chills out on the couch when im out.

Im also concerned regarding my social life lol.

Thanks for the advice

CollierFamily15

Hi,
We are moving out to Oz in Dec also and our only dilemma is the dog!! he comes to work with me every day and is never left alone for more than a couple of hours a day. We have decided not to take him as we feel it to be not fair on him. Like you our work patterns will change once in Oz and he will be left alone from about 8 in the morning till after 5! He would be so unhappy and not used to this at all.
It has been a very hard decision, but for the cost of £2500 and to know he will be unhappy, its not worth it.
Hope that has helped, we do understand your dilemma and wish you the best with your decision and move to Oz.

katjo84

Thank you, it does help knowing other people are having to make this decision, some people I have spoken to say 'hes just a dog' but everyone who owns one knows they are so much more than that and its heartbreaking, especially when they give you those sad eyes lol.

Did you take yours to the rspca or rehome him privately?

CollierFamily15

We are looking at the moment, it will be either family or family friend and we have a few people interested but no one has given a definite answer as yet. He is a Shitzu and very spoilt. They are more than just a dog!! He is our baby, knowing we are going to be leaving him is heartbreaking, bless him, but for the good!

Lois1

i understand your dilemma, we have 2 cocker spaniels, one 11 and the other 18 months! We have after a very long debated decision not to take the older one

they are 2 very different characters and think the older one will find it too distressing on the flight and quarantine, sadly though no one wants an 11 year old dog.... im desperately trying to rehome her.

If we end up anywhere near each other in that vast huge country i will walk your dog for you !!

katjo84

Lol thank you! Mine is only 2 so I know he would be ok with flight etc. Just trying to do the right thing by him and not let my heart rule. Do you know how easy it would be to send him once I'm settled out there? That way I would know if I could take him, I have a friend who is willing to have him a couple of months if necessary but if it is too difficult to do that then I would need to make my mind up before then and find him a good home.

Lois1

We looked into that too and providing your friend doesnt mind doing the leg work for you its pretty straightforward, we are using Jets4pets, and apart from taking him to get his jabs etc, they do all the paperwork etc. His recently had his rabies one and follow up blood test and now just waiting for those results! There is a time scale involved from when his had jabs to when he can travel but i cant recall it off hand, jets4pets are guiding me (holding my hand!) through it all.

If the friend can only have him a couple of months, it might be worth getting all jabs etc done first and selecting an agent, only downside is if you dont take him after all its an expense you could probably do without!

Such a tough decision isnt it.....

jothefw

Totally feel for you! We left our cocker (aged 11) and springer (young but a working dog) behind when we came.

No regrets but that said, Oscar (the cocker) went to live with my OH's mum and dad so became their replacement for the grandchildren, I suspect he was always the first choice grandchild anyway, less answering back but probably equal crying!

Toby, the springer, went to a lovely couple and I still get Christmas cards from them (I didn't know them but advertised in the shooting press).

I bought a labrador within 3 weeks of us landing, she's an angel and we now have a cocker again in our lives.

After sharing my life story - my point is this - I suspect if you can make time to do the walks in the morning and evening now, you will when you move. If your social life survives now, why wouldn't it here?

chris955

We are doing it in the opposite direction but there was never even a question whether the dog would be coming with us. my wife would leave me here before leaving the dog

Bermudashorts

No question for me either, I would not be leaving a beloved pet behind. When we first got offered a job in Bermuda and had no idea about whether cats could come with us. There was no debate for us, we both knew from the outset that if the cats couldn't come with us we wouldn't be going.

darren01443

Hi we to had the dilema off fetching our 2 cocker spaniels they were left with a friend in the uk for the first 2 months when we left and im so glad we now have them here they were none the worse for their journey and now enjoy swimming in the indian ocean everday as for your social life most off the friends we have made have been through walking our dogs