import a dog

[bindog]

Has anyone ever imported or investigated importing a dog?

My wife is talking about it and I want to find out about the process in case the talk gets more serious. If it's too hard / too expensive I'll tell her she's dreaming.

We live in Oz and will retire within the next two years. Our son has a lovely German Shepherd that is going to be neglected once we are not here - he and his wife live in a "granny flat" in our back yard, and there ain't much yard left since we built the granny flat. The "kids" both work full time / commute to work, so the dog is gonna have a lot of alone time in the small yard.

Son doesn't want to let the dog go but my wife is considering trying to talk him into letting us take it - we have land in Thailand that will be our hobby farm, the dog would love it there.

Cheers.

[misskit]

I've done it as have others on this forum. Some, like myself, had no problems. For others it was a pain.

Have all your required paperwork in order. Try to send your dog as excess baggage as opposed to cargo. Apparently, this makes a difference where you pick up the dog when you arrive in Thailand. Dog as excess baggage comes out with the luggage; dog as cargo comes out far far away from there.

[Pragmatic]

Copied off another forum.

I personally brought my pet Rottweiller into Thailand on Feb. 1, 2005 with no difficulties.
******VISIT YOUR VET*******************
1) Get current VACCINATIONS CERTIFICATE from your home vet.
Dog must be vaccinated for LEPTOVIRUS and RABIES within 21 days of leaving your home country.
2) Get a HEALTH CHECK CERTIFICATE from your home vet within 10 days before departure for Thailand. This will state dog is healthy and free of diseases and fit to travel.
LIST YOUR DOG BREED AS A MIXED BREED ON VET CERTIFICATES AND WITH THE AIRLINES!!! MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR VET DO THIS!
*MAKE AT LEAST 4 PHOTOCOPIES OF VET CERTIFICATES AND YOUR PASSPORT AS YOU WILL HAVE TO GIVE AIRLINE COMPANIES A COPY, YOUR TRANSIT AIRLINE A COPY, QUARINTINE ANIMAL OFFICE AT BANKGOK AIRPORT A COPY AND A SPARE FOR EMERGENCY.
KEEP YOUR ORIGINAL COPY IF YOU PLAN ON BRINGING DOG BACK INTO YOUR HOME COUNTRY.
******BUY AN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE APPROVED PET CARRIER**********
1) Check with your local airline carrier on dimensions and regulations on your carrier.
******ARRANGE WITH AIRLINES BOOKING FOR YOUR DOG IN CARGO*****
NOTE : IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK W/YOUR AIRLINES COMPANY AND COUNTRIES OF TRANSIT FOR LOCAL AND MOST UP-TO DATE LAWS REGARDING TRANSPORTING A PET.
IF YOU HAVE A CONNECTING FLIGHT WITH ANOTHER AIRLINE COMPANY, CALL BOTH COMPANIES IN ADVANCE FOR RESERVATIONS AS THEY MAY HAVE SEPARATE RULES.
* Do not transit through HONG KONG as they require a ###### of a lot of paperwork and quarintines. I transited through NARITA, JAPAN which was smooth sailing.
*******LIST YOUR DOG BREED AS A MIXED BREED ON VET CERTIFICATES AND WITH THE AIRLINES!!!
As of Feb. 1/2005, the only breeds that are banned from importing into Thailand are the :
BANNED BREEDS FOR IMPORTATION INTO THAILAND :
1) PIT BULL
2) AMERICAN STAFFORdSHIRE TERRIER
**Rottweillers are not on the list. But to avoid unnecessary headaches, if you encounter an untrained customs officer, list MIXED BREED, so that there is no confusion and chance for your dog to be banned from entering. They may confuse your dog with a Pit Bull. Insist it is a MIXED BREED and never mention PitBull or Terrier!
********ARRIVAL INTO BANGKOK AIRPORT (DON MUANG) AND CLEARING CUSTOMS********
1) Go downstairs to Arrivals Hall and to the left is the Quarintines Office. Bring your dog in the carrier with you and present to them copies of your vet certificates.
2) Quarintines Officer will look through your certificates and make you fill out an importation form.
3) I was charged $500 THB Importation Fee.
* Quarintines office is opened late. I'm not sure what time they close at but they were still open at 1am when I arrived.
* No Thai vet was called to examine my dog. This could be a hit or miss or maybe it was just too late at nite for a vet to come by.
Either way, the quarintines officer took a quick look at my dog through his carrier. Immediately stated "aiiii...Rottwieller!". My heart was thumping...thought he would forbid my dog from entering but then passed me the customs form to fill out.....quickly asked for $500 baht and we were out the door and into Thailand.

[bindog]

Thank you misskit & Pragmatic for your replies. Truly not what I was expecting to hear - figured there would be all sorts of barriers and hurdles, but this sounds doable.

Thanks again.

[littletyke]

Yep, brought my dog over

[Scottish Gary]

Ive never done it myself but i know folk who have from the UK and they all said it was pretty easy.

[sabang]

A mate of mine imported his pet chihuaha from the states with no great problems.
Of course you realise, getting it back to oz is an entirely more difficult proposition?

[bindog]

A mate of mine imported his pet chihuaha from the states with no great problems.
Of course you realise, getting it back to oz is an entirely more difficult proposition?

Pet chihuaha?! Geez, does it live under a net like the chickens, to keep it safe from hawks?

Yeah, I realise I would never be able to re-export to Australia. Pity we're not so strict with some of the humans we allow in, but there you go.

We intend being in Thailand longer than a dog's life. Until the end of our own life spans unless something nasty crops up health wise at least.

[bindog]

Thanks all. Spoke to the son and he ain't gonna let the dog go, says German Shepherds calm down into quite a docile dog once out of adolescence. So that plan is on the back burner.

I am surprised by the German Shepherd's sweet nature though, so we may get one of our own. We've heard from a Thai army dog handler that you can buy puppies from the army for B2000. They can also train them up for you, but we're not after something that will tear faces off on command. So we'll probably go / explore this route. (Thai) Family of course have a lot to say about us spending that much on a dog. "Farang pee bar".

Y'all have given me the confidence to import though, so I'm thinking Blue Heeler (Australian Cattle Dog) or Kelpie. I know they can both work, and cope with the heat. But we will most likely get something in Thailand, and it will likely end up being a soi dog.

Which reminds me, there's a mob in San Diego USA that imports / re-homes rescued soi dogs in partnership with 'The Soi Dog foundation' - The Barking Lot . That to me is at once so pointless, and so heart-warming.

[Dillinger]

Our son has a lovely German Shepherd that is going to be neglected once we are not here - he and his wife live in a "granny flat" in our back yard, and there ain't much yard left since we built the granny flat. The "kids" both work full time / commute to work, so the dog is gonna have a lot of alone time in the small yard.

Spoke to the son and he ain't gonna let the dog go, says German Shepherds calm down into quite a docile dog once out of adolescence

I am surprised by the German Shepherd's sweet nature

........

Can a German Shepherd be left alone during the day?

A. No.[at]German Shepherds[at]should not be[at]left alone[at]for more than 8 hours a day. They are easily bored so if they are[at]left alone[at]for that long, they may start engaging in destructive or problematic behavior such as digging, chewing and eating your grandchildren.

[bindog]

^
Thanks for that. She already displays some of that behaviour in the hour or two between my daughter-in-law leaving for work and me letting the dog in the main house in the morning, so I don't doubt what you say. No grandchildren to chew on just yet thankfully - the "kids" I mentioned are the adults, the son and his wife. They will always be "kids" to me.

If the dog becomes problematic after we retire and move to Thailand, it will convince my son that Thailand is a good place for her. But at the moment they are tight - I'm her best friend all day, but once our son's Isuzu backs down the driveway late in the afternoon, it's "Yahooo, see ya later Grandpa!"

The dog is a "rescue" and has obviously had a tough first year of her life. Runt-ish, chewed ears and wary of new people, particularly deep-voiced men. She avoids anyone with a beard - she even starts avoiding me if I don't shave for a week / 10 days. In the mornings she sleeps behind me as I work, and for a long time would bolt if I raised my hand to scratch my head etc.. So some deep-voiced bearded prick has treated her badly.

Despite all that she has a sweet nature. She's the first German shepherd I've known, so no idea if that is typical. But my son did a lot of research before getting a dog, then went looking for a Shepherd.

[toslti]

Local Dog rescue lady say that these guys are good... for import and export.

https://www.facebook.com/Relo4Paws/

[MarknMin]

My daughter brought hr dog with her to Thailand in June, as long as you have all the correct paperwork and all the vaccinations are in order it is fairly simple. Have a few 1000 bhat in your pocket on arrival in Thailand as it is suprising how a few bhat can speed thing up. She left with her dog in August and it was fairly simple again .

[CaptainNemo]

Why not just go to a supermarket in Vietnam?

[tunk]

I have owned German Shepherds, wonderful dogs. You could never find a better dog. I understand wanting to bring the dog. But Thailand has so many dogs starving on the street. Take a puppy off the street. You will swear it is the most loving dedicated dog you have ever owned. It is almost like they know what you have done for them.

[HuangLao]

Dogs are too much trouble.

[Thai3]

But not as much trouble as a Thai wife, at least you can get rid of a dog

[VocalNeal]

Pet chihuaha?! Geez, does it live under a net like the chickens, to keep it safe from hawks?

Chihuahua's are dogs just a bit smaller.

[PAG]

But not as much trouble as a Thai wife, at least you can get rid of a dog

Lock your wife and dog in a room for a couple of hours and see who's pleased to see you when you open the door.