Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Hi All,

Hope those of you that have emigrated with dogs may be able to help with this one. We intend to bring our dog out with us when we emigrate April/May next year. He is due for vet exam and routine boosters etc this weekend. So thought we would ask the Vets advice about emigrating with pets, but as some of you may have already done so, thought you also would be able to help.

Does he also need a Rabies vaccination ie. 6 months before we go??.

Am I right in thinking he will go into quarantine for 30 days on arrival and another vet check.?.

Still waiting on transport company to get back in touch with us about cost of crate/paperwork etc etc. But brain in whizzing at the moment and just want to make sure he can go with us.

Thanks Everyone

Tx

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

have a look on the companies websites as they should have lots of information or you could look on http://www.nzimmigrationinformation.com/pets.htm

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Hello,
We're preparing our two at the moment. The first thing is to get your pooch microchipped if not already, and the rabies vaccine done as that needs to be at least 6 months before he arrives. It needs to be followed by a rabies blood test at least 3 months before arrival, but the optimum time is around 2 weeks after the rabies vaccine. Ask your vet if they're registered to do pet passports as they are generally aware of the requirements.

As for quarantine, I think it's 10 days if you're arriving from the UK. Unless it's changed recently, in which case that's bad news, 10 days without our fur babies is bad enough, but 30?!

Not sure where you might be heading, but we've found Pethaven in Auckland very helpful and friendly.

Good luck with it all.

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Rabies jab 6 months before you need to go and then the blood test a two weeks later (if I remember correctly), if you leave the blood test too long the antibodies will fade and you will need to start all over again - get your vet to check minimum time for the blood test. Remember its 6 months from the confirmed lab result jab so if you fail, its six months from the second jab.

Also unless they have changed it its 10 days in quarantine. Also they have to have all the relevant paperwork and be done for fleas and ticks etc before they go.

Good luck

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Loads of info on here. Do a thread search on moving with dog. We used Golden Arrow as have many others. They were great, took a lot of the stress out of moving Bella. She arrived safe and well and loving here new life by the beach. Expensive but well worth it.
Kaz

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

sorry was in a bit of a hurry this morning, from the link given in my post

"Apart from pets arriving from Australia, all pets have to be placed in quarantine.

You will need to place you pet in quarantine for at least 10 days in New Zealand. This will cost you approximately between NZ$1200 and NZ$1,800 per animal including transportation from the airport and MAF inspection fees.

There are five approved quarantine facilities in New Zealand located in
* Avondale, Auckland (cats only)
* Takanini, Auckland
* Pokeno, Auckland
* Levin (North of Wellington)
* Aylesbury, west of Christchurch"


hope that helps

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Thank you all for your very informative and helpful replies. Thankfully he is already microchipped and we have a monthly plan that covers costs of monthly tick/flea etc. I'll certainly check out the website and ask it our Vet can do Pet Passports. I'm dreading being without him once we arrive (this is where you wish you could sit them down like the kids and explain everything too them). He's a rescue and was dumped and I'm worried he'll think he's been dumped again (how soppy is that). Anyway hopefully once he's home again with us he'll settle in and we will all be very happy in our new home.

Tina

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Not soppy at all. They're part of the family aren't they?

I'm trying not to think too much about it at the moment, it's going to be horrible for a while but it will all be worth it.

Good luck!

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

What breed of dog is it?

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Not soppy. I was more worried about the dog than the kids.
He will be fine and it will be worth the cost and the stress.
Good luck
Kaz:)

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Hey,

I agree not soppy at all. We are going through the separation at the mo and its tough! We only decided to move in June and got his rabies jabs done but meant he can't travel til 19th dec, we left him with my father in law on 8th Oct so very Long time! Really tough today as all our stuff has arrived from UK so been unpacking his bowls, toys, beds etc :sad_smile:

It is just 10 days in quaratine. We will be using Pethaven. One thing to check is when the close for holidays, in theory we should have been picking our dog up on 31st Dec, but they are closed til 3rd Jan. they also close the day after he arrive here, so ave decided not to visit him as could only see him that one day before they close ...hard decision but think its best for him as don't want him to get all excited then us leave him for another few weeks.

We are using golden arrow, agree its expensive though they were our cheapest quote, but they have been fantastic esp getting ack to us quickly since we have moved.

Overall, I would say arrange for your dog to come after you as although you miss them like mad, it's hard doing things with them here, like staying in hotels etc until you find somewhere to rent, and I can't imagine how he would ave been today with our stuff arriving...when we were packing up he was really withdrawn, so wouldn't have wanted to stress him again thinking we were off again!!

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Hi
Everyone

He is a jack russell/staffie cross. We named him "Rascal" and he was well named. Loves long walks and lots of playing fetch and "Kong" is definately king in his world. We've had him 14months and he is now approx 4yrs old.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...type=3&theater.

Thanks for the advice about maybe arranging for him to come after we arrive - certainly I think it may make things easier re: finding property etc. Need to talk nicely to my parents lol!.AGAIN:):)

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Another thing that helped us, and some people did laugh, but we made a portfolio of him to show agents and potential landlords, it included pics of him, references from people who had looked after him, and his training records. This was mainly because he wasn't here and therefore they couldn't meet him. Where are you looking to rent? Can recommend our agent to you, she was defo the best re dogs, a few just simply weren't interested as soon as we said the word dog! But our agent showed us 3 properties the day we went in, and the one we liked she rang the landlord immediately to query about our dog, was all sorted 2 days after we arrived!!:D

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

That's a fantastic idea - never thought about doing a "portfolio" of him. We've done training classes and he's been to "doggy day care", so they may also do him a "reference" lol. Hoping to rent in Hamilton area, as think we may have a better chance affording rent and from what we've been told it's family friendly area and not too far to commute to CBD. Just don't think we'd be able to afford Auckland - though I like North Shore lol!..

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

they seem to be big on doggy day care over here. well in Welly they do. not something I had seen before. So maybe saying that when you are out he would attend one

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

What's your budget for renting? We are paying 470 a week for three bedrooms, good sized garden which is fenced, single garage, laundry room and good sized open plan kitchen, dining, lounge area. It is a lot more than you would pay at home, we didn't really look that much the further a field than Auckland as we found when we were looking we would only have saved say 50 dollars a week and we decided they extra we would pay for being where we wanted was worth it! But I know everyone is different and have there own circumstances!

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Hiya

Thank Little Monkey that's good to know. We had been told to budget around 500 per week, so that fits in. Maybe Auckland after all, as it would certainly save the other half travelling and we'd maybe have more options as far as public transport, things to do with little girl etc. She fancies the sea life centre and must admit so do I. Have contacted our carrier again - waiting for a response. Rascal got a full health check and boosters on Saturday but our vet said although they did passports she was more up to date with what he would need coming back to UK rather then from UK out, which makes sense. Can;t expect them to know all the ins and outs for every country including their own lol!!. Still very happy, all went well.

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Little Monkey,

Who would you recommend as an Agent for Auckland?. My husband had been thinking of going with Bayleys, as he has heard good things from work. But can;t help thinking someone with personal experience and a pet would probably be in the best position to advise. Hope you don't mind me picking your brains!.:)

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Hiya,

Don't mind at all. We used barfoot in Brown Bay, they also cover Other places like Torbay. Think there is only one in rental person there so easy to find her. But if you need her full details let me know and ill look it up! From our experience we did try other agents and also barfoot in other places but their interest in helping us was minimal to none existent when we said the word dog, so I think we were quite lucky and based on our experience I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her.

One piece of advice I got from this site, although hard to read before leaving, but stuck in my mind, was that you will limit you choices with a dog, and it could result in renting somewhere thats far from your first choice as it was the only place that would take dogs. Although this advice was disheartening for me, it did give me a sense or realism, and led to me lowering my expectations of the standard of house we would 'have' to rent....so when we looked round the ones we did I same pleasantly surprised!

Houses go really quickly so I would just look at what's around and get an idea of what you get for your money, then properly look when you arrive. Also when you are here and before booking a viewing have a look at the properties from the road and general area as there could be some that you end up not wanting to look at, which will save you and the agent time!!

Things you need to consider, I think are, are you happy for your dog to be an outside dog, a outside dog when you are out and at night, or an inside dog. Obviously, first two would poss open up options for u. The other thing to consider is how essential a fully fenced property is, when we were looking on the net, hardly any were fully fenced, so when we looked we dropped this criteria to open up options. Luckily ours is fully fenced, although I reckon if he wanted to he could jump over some bits!!

Overall with the houses, I'd make a list of essential stuff, and would like but could do without (for us that was three room but would be fine with two, storage, dishwasher etc) and finally mark things that are on your essential list that would be deal breakers (for us that was heating we wanted something rather than nothing!)

Hope this helps! If you have any other questions fire away!

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

We managed to get a rental ok with two dogs, though it had mould and was freezing but that's not unusual here. Now in our own pad with double glazing, central heating, insulation. :thumbsup:

We brought ours with golden arrow (before rules changed) but didn't get the rabies jab. Didn't need it because after three years it would need to get done again anyway. And as there is no rabies here I didn't see the point. If we were to go back they would need it.

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Thank you for this reply. Our vet was a bit unsure but our Pet Carrier has advised Rabies, we aren't planning to come back to the UK, but we figure that with all the costs incurred one more jab won't break the bank and at this stage we rather over compensate that not, especially seen as rules do seem to change from one year to the next and we are still about 6-8 months from the move. Very exciting. Is a bit strange though thinking this could be our last Christmas and New Year in the freezing cold and wet and next year it could be a barbie and the beach!!.:):)

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

We have used golden arrow too, our dog is currently on his way over :starsmile: have been excited but dreading this time, will be happy when we hear he has arrived safely!

GA have been feb and emailed us to let us know how he had settled for his short stay with them and let us know how he got on with his last vet checks...:thumbsup:

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Hiya,

Our dog has had his rabies jabs, he wouldn't have been allowed to leave uk for nz with out them. We got his blood tests done a few weeks after and then once we had the certificate took a copy and sent the original to the shippers.

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

They must have changed the rules since march 2011 as ours didn't need it to get into NZ, they would need it to get to the uk.

GA are brilliant. We arrived two weeks before them so we could find some place to live (no pressure). I was so worried as one of them had had an operation a few months before we left but he arrived in better nick than I left him. I think the GA lady wanted to keep him haha

They were none the worse for it. It takes them a bit to settle but that would happen wherever you moved them to.

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Yes I think it only changed in January 2012 as when we did all our research about it is was nov/dec 2011 and there was no mention of it so when we reviewed it all again having made a definite decision we spotted it! For us it meant our dog could fly until 19th Dec, which was longer than we wanted as we arrived here 10th Oct. ideally we thought we would have had him arrive two or three weeks after us however, with the expecting of us missing him like mad, it's worked out really we as us and our house is totally ready for him and he was very well looked after my our family in the UK! :thumbsup:

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Excellent. Your house will feel like home when he arrives. :thumbsup:

We had a lot of running around between terminals trying to find someone to release them...was a nightmare. When we eventually went to pick them up one of them was having a pee...he was so pleased to see us he almost pulled the girl over. The other one heard us and went mental!

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Hi

Just been scanning the 'BritishExpat' forums, as it's a rainy day, and came across this thread. Me and my partner are in NZ for two years at the least (WHV) and have brought our two dogs with us - couldn't bare leaving them for two years, re-homing them, or us not getting the chance to see NZ.

Our dogs arrived at Pet Haven on the 16th November. I could tell they were well looked after as when we picked them up on the 26th they were jumping between us and the Pet Haven staff. Anyhow, that's not what I came to tell you. It was in fact about registering dogs.
We knew the dogs had to be registered with the council once in NZ, but what we wasn't aware of was that they had to be registered within 72hours of leaving quarantine. We found this out after getting a visit from the Dog-Warden. He informed us that if they're not registered within 72hours then you could incur a $300 fine per dog or them be impounded! So just an heads up for all expat dog owners. We were let off with the fines, as they understood we wouldn't have known. But I'd advise even people who start in holiday homes/motels etc to get the dogs registered there and just change the address at a later date.

Also if anyone is having trouble finding rents to start with, then I'd recommend looking on www.bookabach.co.nz - there's quite a lot of pet friendly accomodation on here, and although on the steeper side they have furniture, pots, pans etc and no extra bills (water, gas etc) after the rent. If you are looking for longer term rent, then I suggest discussing something with the landlord of one of these baches. We were othered a 5month rent at $270 a week (all bills included, including broadband) on a 4 bedroom house practically on the beach - unfortunately we couldn't accept as there's no jobs in the area, and we'd like a little income (even if via fruit picking) if we were to stay put for 5 whole months.

Hope this information helps some people with the dogs and house situation.

Rachel

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Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Thanks for the info. We were wondering if there was a time allowance as Pethaven said we could only register him after he is released but we are getting him in the pm of 31st so were thninking the service centres would be closed until 3rd!

Your black lab is the spitting image of our dog, though yours looks a lot younger, ours is 9!

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

We were never aware of the time limit, and I searched for hours on end about registering the dogs once here, so thought it would be handy for people. I can't see it being a problem with the two bank holidays, just explain the situation if asked, they were nice enough with us and ours were a week out of quarantine.

Yeah, I spotted yours on a different thread - they are very alike. Ours is actually a 5 year old Labrador X Springer Spaniel - VERY loopy and tons of energy! Alot of people think he's a full black lab puppy due to him being short - he's the most loyal dog I've ever had.

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Wow, i bet he is mental in a lovely way! ours is a lab x retriever and is a big softy! If we were in the uk I'd be asking where you got him as we - well me rather than OH - would like another but thinking be too expensive now we are in NZ...will just have to keep my eyes open here, one day my OH may come hope to s surprise :eek:

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Labradors are great breeds, but cross them and you get a super breed :)
Both our dogs were 'unwanted' dogs that we took in - they were too hyper as puppys - the small one is a Jack Russell X........well a mongrel really, but her original owner told us she was a 'full' Jack Russell....she has the attitude but certainly not the looks!!
I would love another Lab, Drew is like you say 'soft', he honestly wouldn't hurt a fly; in fact we have seen a frog jump from his mouth before today completely unharmed - we're positive that he must have thought it was a toy, and it was only the confused look on his face that made us realise he had something in his mouth!! He follows us everywere, he really believes we are his pack, and when we put him in the boot of the car he pops his head through the barrier and crys to be up front with us.

Sorry, I could talk about the dogs all day!

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Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

We have a 6 year old labradoodle we want to bring with us next year. Best get on with the requirements now. I don't think we need the rabies shot now I read?

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Unless they have changed thinks, our dog needed it and he could only fly out on 19th Dec as he only had it in June...if you check the biosecurity website I think it's called it will tell you!

Friends have a labradoodle - love them and no moulting....like we will have with ours since he has Coe from winter in UK to summer here! Hopefully e will leave it all in quarantine :eek:

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

How are they finding the heat? We are looking for a cooling mat for ours as he will be in the house during the day whilst we are at work. In quarantine he was constantly panting and drinking water! If any one know where we can get a large cooling mat from....we would love to know...seem loads in UK but not here strangely....wouldn't have even crossed our minds in the uk!!

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

No just checked it and she needs the rabies 6 months before. :(

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

:( when are you due to come over?

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

No due day yet but we were thinking May. Depends on job offers. Have booked her in for the vaccination next week anyway.

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

That sounds perfect if you are thinking may time as it will give you a few weeks when you are here to get sorted before your dog comes out! :D

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

Yes will have to rely on family to look after her (wont tell them yet!)

I'm hoping we can rent ok with a dog? Here it is a nightmare to find somewhere :/

Re: Emigrating with Dog in Tow
 

We heard that too and at lot of agents turned us away without looking at anything, but when found good agent in browns bay and found somewhere very quick. Have a look back through the thread as you will read what worked for us.