# Bringing my Staffie to Thailand



## robinldonovan

Hi All,

Please could anyone advise as to the in's and out's of bringing our beloved Staffie "Fin" to live in Phuket with us?


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## goingglobal

*What is it?*



robinldonovan said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Please could anyone advise as to the in's and out's of bringing our beloved Staffie "Fin" to live in Phuket with us?


A dog? A child? A disease? What?


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## robinldonovan

goingglobal said:


> A dog? A child? A disease? What?


Sorry for being vague. 'Staffie' is the general term used for a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, I.E: A Dog. Hope it clears that up. On that note, I currently have no beloved diseases in my life.


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## Guest

That's ok Robin - most Brits, at least, know what a 'Staffie' is!!

This isn't a technical caveat, but the dogs in LOS are pretty miserably treated on the whole. Mange, you name it. In certain parts of Isaan they are eaten, so I hope 'Fin' isn't too plump and juicy-looking (only kidding, in Phuket you should be ok )

My dog's an 85 kilo English Mastiff. I have thought long and hard about bringing her to Thailand where I spend 7 months a year but humidity and heat have put me off so far.


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## robinldonovan

Pooch Resort said:


> No problem just make sure it has all its shots in uk and a health cert from vet helps and you can bring your staffie no problem
> 
> Just make sure you have plenty of water down and a cool are for him to rest in he will settle down fine


Thanks for the advice. It looks as though we are getting there with his permits. We are all coming from South Africa so Fin is used to the heat. Incidentally, does anyone have any info on dog walking meets, clubs on Phuket?


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## SteinKR

robinldonovan said:


> Thanks for the advice. It looks as though we are getting there with his permits. We are all coming from South Africa so Fin is used to the heat. Incidentally, does anyone have any info on dog walking meets, clubs on Phuket?



Normally it should not be any problems bringing pets (dogs/cats) to Thailand. I would however strongly recommend you to organize this directly with the airline and sent as excess baggage. If you send as cargo, you have to go through much more hassele with customs clearance etc. Tax/duty is also applicable if you send as cargo.

I would be more concerned regarding how it would be to bring the dog back to SA when you are returning. If I am not wrong, all pets arriving from Thailand must stay in quarantine for a certain period (think it is 60 days).


Stein


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## KhwaamLap

SteinKR said:


> Normally it should not be any problems bringing pets (dogs/cats) to Thailand. I would however strongly recommend you to organize this directly with the airline and sent as excess baggage. If you send as cargo, you have to go through much more hassele with customs clearance etc. Tax/duty is also applicable if you send as cargo.
> 
> I would be more concerned regarding how it would be to bring the dog back to SA when you are returning. If I am not wrong, all pets arriving from Thailand must stay in quarantine for a certain period (think it is 60 days).
> 
> 
> Stein


Agree with this. However, many airlines and some countries (notably Oz) will only allow dogs to travel cargo.

See here: http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/downloads/Ne%20%20Taking%20Pets%20to%20Thailand.doc

One thing though, I have heard before that a person brining in a Staff from the UK without pedigree papers found it very difficult to challenge the suspicion that it was a pitbull, and hence banned.

If the dog goes access baggage it will cost 100Baht waver in Thailand (don't let them charge more - its a con)
If the dog has to go cargo then it will cost you import tax of a percentage of the dogs worth and a further amount based on the its weight times the cubic size of the crate. It can work out very expensive. On average its about 10k to 20k baht import taxes. The flight will cost even more!

If you go cargo, its definitely worth using a agent (when you get there) - they have direct tea-money access and can get good deals. There are always loads hanging around the export office. It will take up to 6 hours to get him out of cargo though - so he will be hungry, thirsty and dieing for a crap by then!

They can request that you have the dog quaranteend for 1 month at your cost, but this is almost unheard of. Usually you sign a waver that you will home-quaranteen thm.


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## beberose

how about pet friendly hotels, guest houses, short or long term apartments that allow small dogs (7 kg) in chiang mai? i've got difficulties finding specific answers...from what i read from reviews, most of the hotels advertised when doing a google search do not accept pets...
also does anyone out there know any agents that help expat to locate housing that allow pets in chiang mai?
on another note, are pets allowed in public transportations, ie: buses, trains?
thanks!


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## Dark Knight

Hello there,

If your dog is an American Staffordshire, then the import of such dogs is banned by the thai authorities.

IATA - Thailand Customs, Currency & Airport Tax regulations details

If the agent you will contract does not inform you, then at the thai airport, you will have the choice on booking a return flight for the dog at your cost or having him executed there and then.

Finally living or traveling with a pet in Thailand is a hassle: they are unwelcome almost everywhere! Planes, they'll try to oblige you to drug him (they wanted to drug my old 17-year old pooch - Bangkok airways) even though all professionals of animal transportation will tell you never to drug a dog traveling in the hold... If you don't tell them to heat the hold, they will "forget" doing that... Buses and trains and taxis, as a rule don't take dogs. You cannot even enter a mall with a dog. It is a very unfriendly land for pets... Although that is slowly changing, but not quickly enough to my liking.

When we evacuated owing to the floods, the hotels that would take us in with the dog could be counted on the fingers of one hand.


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## beberose

Dark Knight said:


> Hello there,
> 
> If your dog is an American Staffordshire, then the import of such dogs is banned by the thai authorities.
> 
> IATA - Thailand Customs, Currency & Airport Tax regulations details
> 
> If the agent you will contract does not inform you, then at the thai airport, you will have the choice on booking a return flight for the dog at your cost or having him executed there and then.
> 
> Finally living or traveling with a pet in Thailand is a hassle: they are unwelcome almost everywhere! Planes, they'll try to oblige you to drug him (they wanted to drug my old 17-year old pooch - Bangkok airways) even though all professionals of animal transportation will tell you never to drug a dog traveling in the hold... If you don't tell them to heat the hold, they will "forget" doing that... Buses and trains and taxis, as a rule don't take dogs. You cannot even enter a mall with a dog. It is a very unfriendly land for pets... Although that is slowly changing, but not quickly enough to my liking.
> 
> When we evacuated owing to the floods, the hotels that would take us in with the dog could be counted on the fingers of one hand.


My dog is a mixed papillon, 6 kg, 2 years old.
Darknight, were you talking about hotels in Bangkok or Chiang Mai or in Thailand in general?
Same question about public transportation, isn't Chiang Mai friendlier when it comes to pets?
I'm looking for info regarding Chiang Mai specifically...Thanks!


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## jb44

Try Air Berlin ,was the cheapest a while ago, 120 Euros Thailand to the Fatherland.Will have to make arrangements to further the journey though. Probably the same on return, rates were that 6 months or so ago.


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## Kerry Mackay

Hi Robin or any other Staffie (staffordshire bull terrier) owners in Thailand, please could you let me know if you are still in Thailand with your Staffies. We may be moving to Chaing Mai in September, and I have two little Staffies who I will never part with. Would love to know how it went for you. We are used to dog unfriendly countries as we are now in Dubai where dogs are a bit taboo but things are changing.


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