Originally Posted by wardy_1990

cheaper to ship your dog over or just buy when your there?

Originally Posted by wardy_1990

been offered a cheap whippet from good family of breeders looking to move to alberta soon, just curious as to whether i should by now or wait till i get over there

Originally Posted by wardy_1990

thanks for advice

Originally Posted by dbd33

Not also that whippets, at least the one whippet we have, don't like to get wet. This, and their lack of body fat, makes them a challenging choice of dog for Canada.

Originally Posted by Jingle

Hi - no advice re shipping as we bought our dog here!

We have a lab/springer spaniel and we take him to agility classes at SuperDog Spectrum. They run some pretty cool classes and also do some other unscheduled things that aren't on their website.

Another place that seems to get good review is Bow Dogs. Haven't been there but they do some fun stuff too - playtime sessions inside when it's very cold, etc.

No dog friendly pubs per se. There are places in various neighbourhoods that have restaurants/coffee shops that allow you to have dogs on the patio - key sign is the dog water bowl outside . There are several places along 17th Avenue (EG http://lachaumiere.ca/) and also in Kensington area (EG http://www.highergroundcafe.ca/) the two mentioned we have been to and they are very friendly.

Ranchman's on Macleod Trail are trying to get a licence to let dogs on their patio - see article and comments (!) in Calgary Sun

There are also some out of the way places where you can play with your dog (off leash) in the river down near Okotoks - very off the beaten track and great fun for a picnic on a summer's evening.

I think that you will find that as you go to more places with your dog you will find people of the same mind and they will give you ideas of other fun things to do.

Best of luck! J

Originally Posted by Tony_Tiger

Hi Andrewsco,

Do a quick search on google and there will be a few companies that come up that can also do the whole process for you.

http://www.animalairlines.co.uk/

http://www.passportforpets.co.uk/

There are places to take your dog out like dog parks in some communities. Its also a great way to pick up hot chicks exercising their dogs there..but er... your married so I guess that part does not matter.

This is a map of dog parks in Calgary..

http://petscalgary.com/off-leash-dog-parks-in-calgary/

A couple of years back I was driving home one night and it was -30c. Snow falling a little. As I drove up a hill down springbank I saw a old man walking his dog (im not making this up). The dog even had its own jacket and shoes! I love Canadians!




LMAO!!

Originally Posted by Geordie Lass

I can recommend Skymaster at Manchester Airport - they were great.

You can also haggle with them. Give them other quotes and they will beat them

Originally Posted by rob28

We arrived in January and shipped our dog over at the same time.
Something to be aware of is the fact he/she will probably not be used to very cold temperatures and may struggle with cold paws.
Our dog did but as soon as we got her some boots she was happy to play in the snow for ages.
Basically, if your dog seems unhapy initially, it's not the end of the world and ther is a solution.

Originally Posted by TheThornes

It was the month of November that we flew our dog over with us (London Heathrow to Calgary). We used Airpets and found them great; had no problems whatsoever. We flew Air Canada and the dog was on the same flight as us. There was a little bit of too'ing and fro'ing once we got to Calgary between Customs and Air Canada Cargo but nothing horrendous. Our dog was fine after her flight; just glad to see us. I can't really comment on the cost as our dog was smaller than a Retriever and it was over three years ago now.

One thing we did notice when we first arrived with our dog was that her skin, like ours, got dry. For the first couple of weeks she was continually scratching but then she kind of acclimatised and it didn't bother her any more.

I have three dogs and only one doesn't like going out in the cold; the other two have longer fur and are not really bothered by it. My dogs don't wear boots although my old one used to as she had fluffy feet and it stopped the snow clumping around her paws; she was more comfortable walking with them on.

We do do a lot of walking with our dogs. Calgary does have a lot of dog off-leash parks but we actually live just outside Calgary in Cochrane so tend to use the off-leash park here mostly which is a nice walk by the river; great for the dogs to cool off in the summer. I do miss the freedom to be able to walk my dogs off-leash almost anywhere like I did back in the UK but its a small price to pay for everything else we have here!!

All the best with your move!

Originally Posted by Piff Poff

Have you checked to see if Whippets are available in Alberta and checked to see the costs?

http://www.albertadogs.com/breeders.htm
http://alberta.kijiji.ca/f-whippet-C...eywordZwhippet
http://www.petfinder.com/pet-search?...tsearch=Search

Do you really want the hassle of a new puppy as soon as you embark on a new stage of your life in a foreign country?

My advice for what it is worth, if you haven't got a dog already, wait until you get here and (have experienced at least one winter) before you get one. Then you don't have to worry about pet friendly rental straight away.

Originally Posted by andrewsco

Thanks for the suggestions! I think those are the sort of places I am thinking of - don't have to be a pub per se - just somewhere to get a drink with the dog.



Thanks for the map - very helpful. I did already search through Google and have found numerous companies but we were kind of hoping to do it ourself as he already has crate etc from previous travel - just an air ticket required probably.



Will take a look.



We will probably get him some boots thanks for the suggestion!



Thanks for the info.




Have people generally found it difficult to get a pet friendly rental? I found in places like London you can usually just negotiate?

Originally Posted by andrewsco

Have people generally found it difficult to get a pet friendly rental? I found in places like London you can usually just negotiate?

Originally Posted by beautiful050278

We came over to Calgary with our dog at the end of March. Came from Heathrow with Air Canada, very impressed with them. All we have had to do is buy the Skykennel and book his ticket (around £120). He was waiting on the other side and looked very happy, no problems at the immigration either. I think you will be better off bringing the dog over during the warmer months as there are restrictions during the winter (I dont think Air Canada transports pets in December due to the low temperatures), but you just need to check out the website.

The dog licence was $33 (our dog has been done though, you will pay more if yours hasnt been) and for some reason they gave us 6 months free

You will find the most landlords will except the dog, they are more funny about cats here (I guess its the carpets and wooden floors they are worried about).

Anyway good luck and let me know if you need anymore info

Originally Posted by andrewsco

Thanks - great to hear that most landlords will accept pets. We'll definately look into when the best time to travel is. It seems that some have flown out though so I'll just see what they say.

Can't wait!

Originally Posted by beautiful050278

Where abouts in Calgary are you thinking about living?

Originally Posted by TheThornes

I think its generally the same here. Your choice of properties will be more limited if you have pets but there's still plenty out there that will take pets or, like you say, you can sometimes negotiate for example offering a larger security deposit etc. We know quite a few people here that have pets and rent just fine.

Originally Posted by Steve_

However in reality walking your dog during the winter is not pleasant for you or your dog.