I feel realy bad, I have just come to the decision to leave my dogs behind. They are two young chocolate Labradors and as you can imagine they are the two best dogs in the world.

I feel that if I take them I will be restricting my choice of houses that I can rent, thus limiting where I can live and not giving my family the best possible start.

The dogs themselves I think will suffer in the heat of Brisbane as last year in Blighty it was not so blighty and they suffered in the summer we had.

Am I making a meal out of nothing, should I say "sod it they are dogs and will adjust the same as us" will I have no problems renting with dogs, or are my thoughts right.

If they are right, how do I tell my nine year old son who is already unhappy with leaving his grandparents behind and loosing his sister who will be coming back to Blighty.

Hi

This is something I pondered long and hard on, but I love my dog for too much to contemplate leaving him behind.

Speak to your Vet, we sought his advice and he said there's no reason why our hairy boy couldn't go with us.

I think you should take them with you.

Jo

I have 2 sons of 9 & 7. In talking to them about our probable move to NZ we could see how hard it will be on them emotionally. We found they accepted this more when we told them the dog and all their own things would go with us. I think its hard enough without adding to their trauma by leaving one of their "best friends" behind.

Dont mean to seem hard on you, but if your young son is already unhappy are you not just putting fuel on the fire.
I would really think hard about this.
Sorry I am not much help

I agree, why make it any harder or traumatic?

Jo

(Would love to have your 2 ickle choccy poochs - my husband will kill me if he sees this!)

We faced the opposite dilemma - we had a lovely dog in Oz and had to decide whether to bring him to the UK or not. We chose not to because he's a working dog and would hate the confinement over here. Plus there's the stressful journey, quarantine etc. So we left him behind - it was a hard decision and I still miss him loads 3 years on. But I think it was the right decision in our case.

Got to think about the dogs as well as yourselves...the aussie climate is certainly different, as you know

I for one would not dream of leaving my girl behind - yes it will perhaps cause a few problems finding somewhere to rent and yes she will have to adjust to a warner climate but when I took her on it was forever and forever it will stay.

Think of all the problems you have got over with them already.. and if they are anything like mine there have been a few... finding someone to look after them when you go away, not being able to just drop everything and go , not being able to stay out all night on the spur of the moment 'cos of the dog', destruction of property, time spent walking etc etc etc - the list with dogs is endless. What is a few more?

Your lad would find it very hard to lose them - and so would you!! Don't underestimate how much you would miss them - I had to leave my first dog with an expartner when we split up as he had a better life to offer a dog while I was in a bedsit in Slough - it broke my heart to leave her and it has taken me nearly five years to feel ready to have another one - and I still miss the first one - knowing she is out there without me.

Take them.

We had no problems renting and we bought over our dog and two cats!!! No One I know has had trouble renting with pets, theres so much rental property this will be the least of your worries.
To leave them behind would just upset your son even more wouldn't it? Why make him any unhappier? It is costly but if they are part of you family then they should go to.

Thanks for the thoughts and experiences

Money was never an issue as when we sat down to do all the figures, the dogs were included without a second thought. It was the idea that we could not settle propperly and get going with a strong momentum with two large dogs, and trust me they are huge for Labs.

I think this one that will tear at me for a long time.

When we left South Africa for Canada, we left our beloved Staffordshire Terrier behind, because of similar concerns (only this time...coming to the cold). We knew we would be staying in a hotel for some time too. Anyhow, a very dear friend offered to adopt him from us, which helped sway our decision. It was truly one of my biggest regrets. It felt like I was leaving one of my children behind. I think if we had brought him with us, it would have made the transition a lot easier for the whole family. We really could have adjusted things to accommodate for him. This time round we are taking our cat with us to Australia.

We have this dilemma also, we have a rough collie and have come to the decision that, as he is part of our family, and it's not like giving up fish or something, then he comes with us.

You`ve got a lot of views on this.............

If it`s not a case of money then I say you should take them.... you can get them shaved just before going, or hopefully on arrival and that will help them with the weather. They will be in quarantine for 30 days (and you can visit them), so that gives you 30 days to find somewhere dog-friendly to rent. In Aus you can keep them outside all the time if you wanted so they don`t have to mess up the house at all. My parents-in-law keep theirs out all day and bring them in at nights when it`s cold... the dogs love it (and they used to be in the house most of the time btw before the rules changed) and you`d get used to it.

I think you`d be alot happier having them with you.

They will HELP you settle, WP, by giving you the routine of walking them etc like you used to.

Also, walking dogs is a great way of meeting people and making friends - I know more people in my area from the last 6 months of having my dog than I did before - and we have lived here for 3.5 years!!

Don't leave them please. It will truly break your heart.

we have just applied for visas and want to also set up home in brisbane.
we would love to take our dog as we would miss him so much as he is like one of the kids.
we hoped the mother in law would have him but she said NO
think a lot of that is down to her not accepting us leaving. so we have no choice, we could not leave him with a stranger.
how much does it cost to take him with us and how long will it take him to get there?