Originally Posted by Mattyk

Most dogs big or small are a reflection of their owners, and if they cannot be bother to spend time training them you will get a disobedient animal. I've a German Shepherd who is great but I'm not happy for her to be around small children because they pull and poke dogs and think nothing of it.

People cross the road when i walk my dog but she has never shown aggression to anyone yet!?!?

Sounds like a lot of NZ dogs are free to walk the streets is this so. We are going to Rangioria nr Christchurch does anyone know if my dog will be allowed to roam free and bite folk??

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Most dogs big or small are a reflection of their owners, and if they cannot be bother to spend time training them you will get a disobedient animal. I've a German Shepherd who is great but I'm not happy for her to be around small children because they pull and poke dogs and think nothing of it.

People cross the road when i walk my dog but she has never shown aggression to anyone yet!?!?

Sounds like a lot of NZ dogs are free to walk the streets is this so. We are going to Rangioria nr Christchurch does anyone know if my dog will be allowed to roam free and bite folk??

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Most dogs big or small are a reflection of their owners, and if they cannot be bother to spend time training them you will get a disobedient animal. I've a German Shepherd who is great but I'm not happy for her to be around small children because they pull and poke dogs and think nothing of it.

People cross the road when i walk my dog but she has never shown aggression to anyone yet!?!?

Sounds like a lot of NZ dogs are free to walk the streets is this so. We are going to Rangioria nr Christchurch does anyone know if my dog will be allowed to roam free and bite folk??

Originally Posted by garryhg

being a dog owner in Nz we find it quite hard to exercise the dog,we can street walk him no problem,and they are quite strict about keeping dogs on leads here,but there is a real shortage of off lead areas where they can roam freely..also there is a real shortage of doggy bins here..IMHO i don't think they are a dog friendly nation at all..also in this day and age for a country to be still selling puppys in a glass cage the size of a fish tank in pet shops is appalling...Jacky

Originally Posted by Browner_

Yeah, its strange but in many ways and places there is less accessible countryside than in the UK. Certainly for dog walking many places are full of sheep or full of 1080 poison. But for me, coming from the south of England, is to notice that NZ just doesnt have the patchwork of country lanes and villages that England does. There are towns and then the rest is wilds, which is often quite difficult to get into. There is much more accessible countryside in Surrey and Hampshire than in the Wellington region.

Im a dog hater but I once took a neighbours dog for a short walk in NZ and it was a horrendous experience. I got pestered or attacked numerous times by other dogs, finally being savaged by someones loose Staffordshire. Never again.

Originally Posted by Black Sheep

I don't think there's ANYWHERE else in the world that has the easy instant access to the countryside that the UK has, the fantastic public footpaths system. It's the main reason I want to return there, the thing I most love about UK. It's like the whole country belongs to everyone. You can explore every nook, every historical cranny of any place in the country that takes your fancy - just stop your car any old where that beckons and you'll find a footpath you can explore. It somehow makes it easier too if financial circumstances force you to live in a smaller home with a smaller 'section' (god I hate that word, but I'm so used to it now) even if you have children, in a village or market town for instance, when you know you have miles of walks in any direction that are accessible, or that you can visit the horses 'up close' in the paddocks down the road any time and pretend they're ' yours', LOL.


That's a brave statement to make in a thread like this, LOL!! Makes it easier though for me to say that my sentiments about other people's dogs, especially breeds like Dobermans and German Shepherds, that I have far too often met running free, are pretty much the same. My husband, a dog lover himself, was one of many bitten by a particular doberman at one of many cocktail parties where the dog, the beloved pet of the childless party giver (who was someone 'of importance' and therefore 'above the normal rules'), had free reign. At party after party, after each 'incident' the partygiver would apologize profusely, the victims would mumble words like 'oh, it's nothing' (blood running down their torn pants legs), and 5 minutes later the dog was back mingling with the guests! The partygiver used to invite me over to play bridge in the daytime, and she'd always be waiting on her terrace as I hesitated, after parking my car ,as the infamous doberman sniffed around outside my car door - "Don't worry, it's ALL RIGHT" she'd shout down to me, "she doesn't bite women!"... Aaah, o-o-ohkay, LOL!

Have you read Bill Bryson's 'Notes from a small island? He didn't find it particularly amusing himself to come across pet dogs running free on his country walks, and described vocalizing very strongly his annoyance at the dog owners... I was grateful to him for that, dogs running loose was the one and only thing (other than noticing a bit late that the 'cows' I was sharing the paddock with were in fact bulls!) that could ruin my beloved English country walks.... I've had dogs myself, but I never let them run free in any public space - I only needed to see my dachshund behave unexpectedly viciously (luckily without actually doing harm) towards one person to be ever wary ever after with all my dogs

Originally Posted by Ruzuna

You have just said it, you have your lovely family with you . I came on my own with 4 Dogs no partner to share good and bad days with.huge difference

Originally Posted by Black Sheep

I don't think there's ANYWHERE else in the world that has the easy instant access to the countryside that the UK has, the fantastic public footpaths system. It's the main reason I want to return there, the thing I most love about UK. It's like the whole country belongs to everyone. You can explore every nook, every historical cranny of any place in the country that takes your fancy - just stop your car any old where that beckons and you'll find a footpath you can explore. It somehow makes it easier too if financial circumstances force you to live in a smaller home with a smaller 'section' (god I hate that word, but I'm so used to it now) even if you have children, in a village or market town for instance, when you know you have miles of walks in any direction that are accessible, or that you can visit the horses 'up close' in the paddocks down the road any time and pretend they're ' yours', LOL.

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Sounds like a lot of NZ dogs are free to walk the streets is this so. We are going to Rangioria nr Christchurch does anyone know if my dog will be allowed to roam free and bite folk??

Originally Posted by NermaltheCute

I've been reading this with alot of interest as I am about to embark on the EOI to come over and join my NZ family. I have 2 dogs and worry that I'm bringing them to a place they won't be welcome or have I misunderstood some of these posts? We intend to come to the South Island and very south at that probably below Dunedin. I been over a couple of times and saw massive chunks of countryside likes the Caitlins, I walked there can i not take dogs there?

Originally Posted by Am Loolah

Back to the original thread - Alison this article may be of interest to you to help get your feelings in perspective and to know that how you are feeling is totally normal and accepted. And for anyone else feeling homesick here ...

http://britishexpats.com/articles/mo...home-sickness/

Hope it helps.

Originally Posted by Ruzuna

I came out here on my own with 4 Dobermanns in Feb this year.
Now we are really homesick and I went back to the UK the first week of August for 6 days, had a great time and when I was at Heathrow and the engines roared to come back here I burst into tears and would have got off the plane if it wasn't for my dogs being here.
We are now planning to return to the UK in Feb 09 which is the earliest the dogs can travel.
I will be looking for a property to rent suitable for 6 dogs that I work Show and Breed. or a Boarding Kennel business anywhere in England or Wales.
So if anyone know of anything suitable for us please let know

< snip - mods note - please PM the opening poster.Personal details removed for OPs privacy and spam safety>

Its sad really but I really miss walking for miles across open country , I miss showing and working my dogs across UK/Europe.
I think we are very unique in the UK in the way we care and love our pets. I find it very difficult here.
I sometimes wonder why on earth I came here, things were not great in the UK but it was home and its only when you leave that you suddenly begin to appreciate what it has to offer.
Does anyone else feel the same ?
Alison