bushy

My OH has been given the chance to work in Yokohama for a couple of years and I would like to go with him. We think we could make it work with the kids, one would come with us for his gap year and the other one goes to uni here and lives on campus so that would be OK. Our big problem is our lovely big dog and we really don't know what to do
Has anyone taken their dog with them and is Yokohama a suitable place to have a big dog? We may live in an apartment but could possibly be in a house. I've had a look at the Japanese site with all the info about shipping pets to there so it can be done but would this be the right thing to do.
It's possible that I could divide my time between here and Japan but then need to find somewhere for him to go for the time I'm out there which would probably be for a month each time.

Bahtatboy

Mmm, dogs and Japanese apartments don't mix. Most rental agreements will stipulate no pets, and although a huge number of Japanese tenants flout the rules, that's generally only with (immensely annoying) lap dogs. I wouldn't suggest flouting the rules with a big dog.

And I don't know if you're familiar with the rental terminology: "apato" is Jinglish (Japanese English) for an apartment (flat), but refers to small, down-market places not suitable for most westerners. "Mansion" refers to an apartment, but could still be incredibly small compared to western standards, although the ad will always state the floor area. Houses are expensive, but then it depends on your OH's deal.

Ganbatte!

JonboyE

I agree with Bahtatboy that a large dog and Japanese urban accommodation don't mix.

Could it cope with being a yard dog? This tends to be how the Japanese cope with even medium size dogs like a shiba inu.

If the dog is a must then you might need to look outside the city to try an find a rental with more land. Fortunately Yokohama is towards the edge of the Tokyo conurbation so you may not need to commute too far. The commuter rail network is very reliable so if you find somewhere near a station this is doable. Kamakura (nice but expensive) for example is about 45 minutes to Yokohama station.

bushy

Thanks for that guys, we would be getting an apartment or house and furniture all paid for by my OH's company so no problems there. We've been having a look at some rentals on the web and I think a house would be the way to go. So long as it has a yard/garden of some sort then our dog would be OK, he's no trouble really, just a bit bigger than a lapdog:-)

I've looked at the website giving info about importing pets and it says that dogs must have come from a rabies and leptospirosis free country which Australia is but then it advises you to have them vaccinated against lepto,any idea what the reason for this would be? I'm a bit worried cos if he has to have the lepto jab then it'll make it harder when coming back to Oz cos they don't have it here and we had to make sure not to have him vaccinated against it for quite a while before we came here from UK.

Bahtatboy

If you have a yard / garden, then there's probably no issue on the rental front, providing the rental doesn't prohibit dogs or, if it does, your landlord's watcher will turn a blind eye. Although the Japanese don't exactly top the charts in the Dog Lovers Nations league, they are fairly tolerant of them.

Have you considered the weather? Not sure what its like where you are now, but it does get very hot and sticky in the summer in Japan: 40+C and very high humidity. If he's got a thick coat and not used to the heat, he'll suffer. On the other hand there are plenty of grooming salons...

Don't know about lepto, 'cept that its carried by rats which Japan certainly have. But if that's only a recommendation, then might be easier in the long run to give the jab a miss.

bushy

Thanks for that. He's shorthaired which is good and we have lived with him in Karratha which is very hot during the summer months so hopefully the heat shouldn't bother him too much. He is rather lazy and almost never barks...we're always surprised when he does, so he wouldn't be any trouble in a rental house.
I've contacted Jetpets about his relocation and they've been very helpful re the lepto and rabies info.

danjones1

Keep an eye on him or he'll end up on your dinner plate, along with whale!

JonboyE

don't make stupid remarks if you don't know what you are talking about

DigitalGhost

Yokohama is probably the most open and Western-like city in Japan with a lot of coastal areas, parks and docks where you could walk a dog. A lot of Japanese keep pet dogs as well (and not just yippy little things) and it's generally acceptable for a dog to have less room to move there than in the West.

My girlfriend grew up in a little house in Saitama and they kept a huge Alsatian for years during her childhood. Yokohama would be a much better environment for a dog though and I saw a lot of people walking dogs when I was last there. It's a great area by the way and really conveniently close to Tokyo.

DigitalGhost

That's Korea and China dickhead, and it is actually illegal to eat dog in Korea nowadays.

Likewise, Japanese people very rarely eat Whale, the blubber is generally used in other products.

Think before you speak.

Viking Man

Whalemeat is foul, honestly! I tried a bit once in the school lunch where I was teaching. It's like eating an eraser.

I think one problem you might have is that the Japanese tend not to exercise their dogs much, if at all, and there aren't many places to walk with dogs even in the countryside, never mind a city. They're always kept on a lead as well, noone lets their dogs run freely. As a result, in Japan dogs can go rather "stir crazy"...