I had a terrible experience bringing a much loved dog from England to Australia. If anyone is thinking of doing the same, be careful. A young dog might be OK but an older dog may not survive. Mine was an 8 year old GSD. After only 8 days of getting him out of quarantine, he died a horrible death. I won't post the details on the forum, it's too upsetting but my Aussie vet did tell me that he'd seen a lot of UK pets die after the trauma of being brought overseas.
If anyone wants to know more, PM me and I'll explain. Personally though, I wouldn't put an older pet through the experience.
Having said all that, taking a pet back to the UK is much easier I believe. It's not such a rigid system.

Has anyone done this? I would welcome any info.

Noooo!! dont say this

My baby is 6yrs old.. I would be inconsolable if that happened to her. How awful for you.
But neither of us could bare to leave her here. It would be like a huge betryal after all the love and joy she has bought to us.

That's why I didn't post the details. I knew it would upset people. I believe it's different taking a pet back to the UK. They don't have the same harsh rules about quarantine. So I'm told anyway. I think it's easier for EU and non EU countries providing you can satisfy a basic list of criteria.

That is so sad for you cricket, but plenty of pets manage just fine so hopefully it was an isolated incident.

There is no way I am going home without my boy, and it would be more cruel to rehome him at this age (11)than risk the transit.

But I am really sorry to hear about your dog, maybe once you get back to the UK and you are ready you could bring a new pet into your family.

It was a very sad experience. I won't go into detail as it would upset people but here's a tip for anyone bringing a dog to Queensland. Dogs can die of a condition known as 'bloat'. This often affects deep chested dogs such as GSD's, labradors, boxers, corgis, dachsunds, etc.
Vets have varying thoughts on what causes the problem but most are agreed that it seems to be caused by the direct effect of dogs drinking a lot of water (because it's so hot) on top of a dry mix meal. This causes the stomach to swell so that when they run, their stomachs can swing like a pendulum, turn over and then twist cutting off the oxygen supply. This then causes internal swelling which in turn crushes the major organs.
If caught in time, a complex operation (not a high success rate) involves stitching the dogs stomach to it's rib cage. Obviously this depends on the age and wellness of the dog. In a young dog, it may recover but it's quality of life may be limited.
If dogs are not taken immediately to the vets, they can die a very painful death. It's hard to detect bloat as it occurs over a period of hours but generally the symptons are a distressed dog, extreme discomfort, swelling around it's middle, breathlessness, frothing from the mouth and vomiting.
The problem with frothing at the mouth is that it could easily be caused by eating a cane toad (poisonous to dogs).

The best way to protect your dog is to feed them small amounts, limit their water intake and stop them from running around too much after they have eaten.
I don't think UK vets are aware of the problem so it would be hard to get advice beforehand. However, if you move to QLD and you have a dog, a visit to your local vet asking about things like bloat, heartworm, paralysis ticks, etc is a good idea.

i'm very sorry about your beloved pooch...to survive the horrendous flight and then quarantine and then die, poor dog

yes, shipping animals is very, very traumatic for them which i've said before on here. i don't know how many peeps have been inside an aircraft hold, but it's terribly noisy, cold and dark ...despite carriers saying they will keep that aircraft hold section heated. yes, lots do survive, by the same token lots don't.....it's a tough call to make and not one to be taken lightly.

Yes, you should not take dogs out for a vigorous off-the-leash run after feeding them.

I think it's a very personal decision whether to take dogs overseas. After 10 years with my dog, I wouldn't leave her behind for her sake, never mind my own. She's crossed the Atlantic 3 times now, unscathed. Unfortunately, you do hear sad stories about dogs being transported, but there have also been people on here who took quite old dogs across and they did just fine. Now, Oz to UK is a much longer trip than US to UK, of course.

So sorry about your dog, Cricket. I've heard about this in other dogs -- particularly great danes in my experience. It seems it can "just happen" without any particular precursor.

My dogs made the trip back from the US without any ill effects -- but I worried more about them than I did about anything else.

My dogs made the trip back from the US without any ill effects -- but I worried more about them than I did about anything else.[/QUOTE]

That's so true, the dog is the only thing I am bringing back that I actually care about, everything else is just "stuff".

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. It is a personal decision about transporting a pet. Unfortunately the quarantine system is not a happy place, our Aussie vet was very quick to tell us to warn anybody back home that any government funded agency really only provides the most basic of care. Our dog was half his size when we got him back and part of the problem was even though I fed him very carefully at first, his stomach had shrunk so that when he ate or drank it just ballooned. Our vet advised us that his stay in quarantine would have contributed to the problem.

On saying this, I have to give the vet full credit. He was the most caring and sympathetic guy. After rushing our dog to an emergency vet clinic at night, we spent 3 hours waiting to hear news. The vet came out with a huge syringe of black liquid explaining to us that our dog was unconscious, out of pain, on a drip and couldn't feel anything. That was the good news.
The bad news was the black liquid showed the the tissue in his stomach had died due to the cutting off oxygen.
Given his state after being in quarantine and his shocking condition (I hate myself for putting him through the ordeal) we had to agree to have him put to sleep. It was the most devastating experience as he'd been part of our family for 8 years.

What I would say to anyone is that if your pet is older, health a bit tricky and maybe nervous, think hard about transporting them. A younger, healthier pet might cope better but quarantines anywhere do not generally have a great write up.
All dogs and pet owners are different. Our dog just didn't cope with the trip.

In contrast to the UK vets, vet services are good here but much more commercialised. So are pet stores. Remember I live on the Gold Coast and that it's far from normal, but dogs wear nail polish, tiaras and have a choice of fashions. There is a popular trend for small breeds and honestly, women carry them in handbags like a fashion accessory. Very Hollywood style.
Not in all cases but it is different to the UK.
I've never been wandering around in Tesco and seen a Maltese X peering out of a handbag but I have here.

I don't think UK vets are aware of the problem so it would be hard to get advice beforehand.


I'm sorry for your loss, it must have been horrible for you.
I had a great vet in the UK who did inform me of bloat as we have two boxers and some tips on how to help prevent it.
So they are aware of it as it is not just hot weather and drinking alot that causes it.
Stress is a big cause of bloat in dogs to.

Stress was the problem. The Australian government will always put their own farmers as the top priority, which is highly commendable and understandable. I don't think Oz suffers from diseases like BSE. However, it does mean your family pet is a much lower priority in order to maintain levels of disease risk control so quarantine regs are quite rigid here.
We were coming to QLD, our dog was shipped to a hot hellhole in NSW apparantly. We didn't know this before we decided to take him.

And yes, a UK vet wouldn't really be able to guide you as they are in the UK. They wouldn't know the risks that can be a problem. Again, it's really a case of what's the best thing for the pet, the age, health and conditions they are arriving into.
We moved over here in October. We got our dog in November, so it was hot. I never saw the quarantine kennels but even if you asked about the conditions, to people working there, no matter how hot or basic it might be, it's normal in their experience. It's not normal for a dog used to a different climate however so yes, stress has to be a major consideration along with listening to an Australian vet.

In hindsight, I wished I'd emailed an Aussie vet for his opinion and in all honesty, I would recommend this before you bring a heavy coated, large older dog into this country no matter how much you love them.

Just to give you a happier story but also show you a world of different parallels between dog owners and situations in different situations, our current Aussie vet, who is extremely nice, had spent some time working in practice in the UK.
He had a client who kept bringing in a small dog that kept sneezing, wheezing, eyes streaming and had a bad cough.
After some testing, he discovered that the dog was allegic to ducks.
He asked his client if her dog lived near a farm or came into contact with any ducks and she look at him in bewilderment and said no.
For weeks he was baffled. Then at last the client mentioned that her little dog slept on her bed which of course had a feather quilt. The mystery was solved at last. A uk vet would have guessed but the Australian vet would never have thought this because it was alien to him.
In Australia, dogs mostly sleep outside. Some people might have them indoors but because of the climate, they sleep outdoors. In the UK because of the climate, most dogs sleep indoors.

I am so sorry about your dog. I am planning on moving back to England but I have a 17.5 year old cat and a 10 year old dog. I have no one that I could leave them with (not that I really want to) and I am worried about taking them on a long flight at their age. I was going to ask everyone's opinion on what they thought but after reading about your awful situation it makes me realize that I shouldn't bring them.

That being said, I have heard alot of good reports on animal transportation.

Has anyone ever taken an older pet abroad when they located?

Oh my god...I just had to reply when I read this. I'm so sorry about what happened to your poor dog - and you.

I'm moving out to Sydney in Jan and would have been beside myself at the leaving the family dog behind, even tho she'd still be with my parents. She had to be put to sleep a few months ago, as she had a huge tumour in her face/head but you couldn't even see it other than a tiny lump near her eye.

Even now when I go back to the house, you look around for her and expect her to be there. People say they're 'just pets' but it's not the case!! It's like having a kid/best friend/everything rolled into one.

Really sorry that you and your dog had to go through this...

lerato