A dog in Singapore - like a bear in a desert?
 

Hi all,
My husband and I have been offered the chance to relocate to Singapore with my company. Whilst details are still being worked out we are trying to decide if we did go, whether or not to take our beloved cocker spaniel. She is a small dog that has grown up in England. However, she is very shy with other dogs, and completely and utterly devoted and bessotted with my husband. As it is my company that would be moving us I feel that if we left her behind that I am tearing them apart. On the flip side I am worried about -
the cost of rent if you need a dog friendly place
what to do with the dog when you travel, is a live in nanny an option
vets
dog food availablity
just how hot it is, are they miserable?
can dogs run freely in the dog parks and at the beach
if you wanted to go to indo for the weekend, can a dog go on the ferry

Just trying to work out whether we should leave her in England with family or move our entire family unit of 3 over to Singapore. Any advice would be amazing as we need to make this decision soon. Thanks all!!

Re: A dog in Singapore - like a bear in a desert?
 

[QUOTE=bella2014;11083139]Hi all,

the cost of rent if you need a dog friendly place
Most condos are small dog friendly. HDB have a lust of approved dogs but I'd be surprised if she wasn't on it. You need a letter from the LL to import but I've not known anyone to have problems.
what to do with the dog when you travel, is a live in nanny an option
We have a live in maid. The other choices are a pet sitter or kennels. I can recommend Ginny and Friends.
vets
Some really great vets, they're everywhere.
dog food availability
Every mall has a well stocked pet shop with high end brands.
just how hot it is, are they miserable?
They get used to it, same as us.
can dogs run freely in the dog parks and at the beach
Some dog parks, some beaches.
if you wanted to go to indo for the weekend, can a dog go on the ferry
No, you leave the island and it's straight to quarantine.

Just trying to work out whether we should leave her in England with family or move our entire family unit of 3 over to Singapore. Any advice would be amazing as we need to make this decision soon. Thanks all!!

I have moved dogs all over the world and never regretted it. Singapore is one of the easier locations.

Re: A dog in Singapore - like a bear in a desert?
 

Just to say Hi and :welcome: to the forum to both of you. That's a great first post Hannieroo.

I used to live in Singapore though have never owned a dog, but there sure are plenty of dog owners there, both expats and locals.

Re: A dog in Singapore - like a bear in a desert?
 

Hi Bella2014,

My flat mate brought her 10 year old retriever with her from Malaysia. We live in an extension of a bungalow at Sennett estate. The owners live at the main side of the house.

Her rent is the same as my other flat mate who does not own a dog.

I guess the cost of rental may not be any different for a dog owner, as long as the owners are happy with it. The owners and their entire family love dogs. So do we.

the bungalow works well for the dog because we have a rather large front and back yard with plenty of space for him to roam around.

Hope this helps.

Re: A dog in Singapore - like a bear in a desert?
 

Thanks everyone for the messages. I think we are going to take her with us, really appreciate all the words of advice.

Re: A dog in Singapore - like a bear in a desert?
 

Hi, although personally we do not have a dog, my son and daughter in law have just relocated to Singapore with two Westies , Alfie and Molly. Yes they survived the journey which must have seemed overwhelming to two little dogs. They went by BA and were looked after well. After they arrived and my daughter in law bathed them both , spruced them up they looked their old selves and have not looked back. They have one or two health problems but they had them in the UK. The Vets are extremely good in Singapore so no worries there.

Re: A dog in Singapore - like a bear in a desert?
 

Hi Bella,

Welcome to the forum. My husband and I came to live in Singapore last year from the UK. We did not bring our dog for several reasons. We lived with my parents for a year before moving and he settled in so well there with my parents and their dog I felt terrible to seperate them. Also because he has some medical problems that would have made the travelling too stressful for him. I am glad we made that decision for him even through we miss him terribly.
On moving here we didnt intentionally look for a place pet friendly but our landlord has nothing in our rent agreement which says otherwise and when we asked he was ok with us having a pet if we wanted. I have a few expat friends where this is the case also and havent heard of anyone paying more rent, only having to put a bigger deposit down incase of damage.

We actually pet sit for alot for expats here (alot of the boarding kennels are very..lets just say different from what you might get back home). we started off with a friend and now have many dogs we take while their owners are on holiday or away with work. Alot of Beaches and parks are dog friendly, we tend to take our lodgers early morning when the beaches are quiet plus you dont really want to be out around noon with your dog here as it it god awful hot for them. i've heard of some whos paws have been sore from the hot ground so watch out for that! As long as your dog is well behaved loose they tend not to bother.
I have not tried this myself but a client of ours says that dogs arent allowed on public transport of any sorts here. And some taxis will not allow them either. :( Do you plan on getting a car?
There are alot of pet stores so food is easy to come by.
Quarintine is tricky here, once your pets in its difficult to travel with them unless you are happy to have quarintine all the time.

Hope this helps. Good luck on your travels and I wish your dog a happy journey.
Take care.

Re: A dog in Singapore - like a bear in a desert?
 

and :welcome: to you too GraceOd

Infformation about dog sitters in Singapore
 

Hello,

We have a 4 month old puppy and we need to be back in the UK for 2 weeks at Christmas. We have checked out as many boarding kennels as we can however we're not comfortable leaving our "new child" amongst many other dog boarders.

Can anyone put us in touch with a good, reliable dog-sitter that cares for 1-2 dogs in their home and would treat our dog as we would.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

Re: A dog in Singapore - like a bear in a desert?
 

Hi Eileen and welcome to the forum :wave:

If you don't get any response on this thread, I just googled: dog sitter singapore

and quite a lot of links popped up: pawshake, dogsittingsg.com, bringfido.com, and so on..... Great names :p

Re: A dog in Singapore - like a bear in a desert?
 

Thanks for responding. We have looked at those websites too, but were hoping for some personal recommendations, which would give us peace of mind.

We'll keep looking.....

Re: A dog in Singapore - like a bear in a desert?
 

Hi everyone, I just saw this thread and although I appreciate the OP started it months ago, since the last message was posted fairly recently I thought this might help someone.

The OP considered a live in nanny for the dog and I can confirm that this is a great idea. Of course you'll think I'm biased when I tell you my husband and myself are full time live-in house & pet sitters... but I honestly am not looking for a "job" by posting this. We are currently in Singapore cat sitting over Christmas and New Year, but we do this internationally.

Animals ARE much happier at home than they are in kennels, even if they are looked after by strangers. Those strangers soon become friends after a day or two of undivided attention, and being in their familiar environment, with familiar sights, sounds and smells, causes them far less stress and they don't feel the temporary separation from their owners as deeply. The house/pet sitter can keep the pets' usual routine going, something that wouldn't happen in kennels. The list goes on.

Of course I understand that having a stranger or two living in your house is an unsettling thought for many, which is why it's super important to do your due diligence well and trust your instincts. There are plenty of house sitting platforms to choose from for this, why not give it a go? We have only have sat for complete strangers since we started in April and it's been one great experience after another for all parties concerned.

If anyone would like to get some more specific details like websites etc I'd be happy to do this via PM! :)