# Dog Help...Please



## colin14 (Oct 10, 2010)

Hello all,

Hope everyone is doing good.

Well i have decided to take the opportunity i have been given and move across from the UK. 

The BIG question i have at the moment is how to get my dog across with me? I don’t know where to start as i have never done anything like this before. (Looking forward to it though)

Is it a long process?

Any advice would be great.

Thanks in advance


Colin


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

Doing it yourself will be 1/3 the cost of having a company do it. Depends on how much you wish to spend/willing to part with, versus how much hands on/willing to be aggravated.


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## hubbly_bubbly (Oct 17, 2010)

Jynxgirl said:


> Doing it yourself will be 1/3 the cost of having a company do it. Depends on how much you wish to spend/willing to part with, versus how much hands on/willing to be aggravated.


Does that work the same way for sponsoring a spouse?


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## AndreaMarshall (Nov 22, 2010)

I know its different coming from the states than in the UK but you can check out the ministry of environment and health website for the import certificate. 

your dog needs a rabies vaccination, hepatitis, leptospirosis, kennel cough and parvo vaccinations. and there are rules like length of time since vaccination and age of pup. Your dog must not be one of the restricted breeds IE: anything mixed with wolf or pit bull and must be in good health.
Your dog is only allowed to fly cargo in an airline approved crate (petmate, skykennel or varikennel) that is as tall as the dogs tips of ears (if the ears stick up) or top of their head to their paws, and wide enough that they can turn around inside.
You must get a bill of good health from the vet, plus a rabies certificate, microchip information, and a listing of the vaccinations.

Your dog must get here after you arrive so you can pick him up. I can help you through that process too , basically you need copies of everything and about 600 dirhams.

WE booked his flight through british airways world cargo as they were the cheapest, though i have heard KLM isn't too bad (but they were twice the price of british air)




Colin[/QUOTE]


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## AndreaMarshall (Nov 22, 2010)

Jynxgirl said:


> Doing it yourself will be 1/3 the cost of having a company do it. Depends on how much you wish to spend/willing to part with, versus how much hands on/willing to be aggravated.



Doing it ourselves cost us $2,500 US (including the fees paid in DXB)
We were quoted $5,000-$7,500 from various companies in DXB and the states. And it wasn't stressful or aggrevating or anything on our side. The companies made it seem like it was this difficult process and it was a piece of cake (except the vet we used was rude and his front desk girls were taken over by Beiber fever and messed up our paperwork)

I'm glad we did the process ourselves. And glad we saved a ton of money!

Now our dog has developed separation anxiety though and likes to tear up everything in the house when hes left alone. Might need some doggy paxil


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

I did my cats myself with the help of family to sort them in the states as I didnt know if I could or couldnt have them here. I am not suppose to but 'could'. It wasnt the easiest thing, but was not difficult. I got conned an extra 400 dirhams each (so 800 dirhams) at the vet person level as he wanted the 400 x 2 = 800 in the cards you are required to pay in plus an extra 800 cash. I paid it.... It just how it is here at 1 am in the morning. 

I would suggest doing it oneself as well but keep in mind that things dont always go smoothly.


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

This recent thread should help

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/du...s-anyone-imported-their-dog-dubai-lately.html

To all posters, especially the new ones, it is always worth running a search as many issues have been covered on numerous previous occasions.
-


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## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

DKC ~ Dubai Pets, Dubai Dogs Cats Animals, Kennels Cattery Relocation


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## colin14 (Oct 10, 2010)

Thank you for everyones input and help.

Iam going to phone my vet tomorrow and see if they can help me with the start of the process.


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## Helly Helly (Apr 11, 2010)

Hi Colin,

I brought my 2 dogs and 2 cats over from Scotland in August. I used a company called Pet Travel who are in Fife, they kept me informed of what and when to do things, blood tests etc, they booked there flight from glasgow airpport, it was the hassle free way for me to be honest. Then on this side we used Dubai kennels and cattery, who i must say were fantastic, they called me to tell me the animals were on the flight, then to tell me they had arrived and were well and then they dropped them off in the middle of the night to me, which was great as i just wanted them here with me. 

If you want to know anything else then just ask me.

Helen


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## Seabee (Jul 15, 2010)

Colin14, you also need to check that the accommodation you'll be coming to will allow dogs.(It's become a problem recently for people living in Jumeirah Beach Residence for example, who've been told that they have to get rid of their pets.


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## canesfan4life (Jun 10, 2009)

colin14 said:


> Hello all,
> 
> Hope everyone is doing good.
> 
> ...


Hope I can help;

First, find out if you are allowed to have a pet in your residence. If so proceed here:
Issuance of Import Permit for Pet Animals (dogs/cats)

You will find all the information you need. Also you can apply for the Import Permit. My dog is scheduled to arrive tomorrow (Thurs night). I can give you more information after I complete the process.


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## colin14 (Oct 10, 2010)

canesfan4life said:


> Hope I can help;
> 
> First, find out if you are allowed to have a pet in your residence. If so proceed here:
> Issuance of Import Permit for Pet Animals (dogs/cats)
> ...



Thank you for your help,

Hope your dog arrives safe and well. Did the process take a long time? was it expencive doing it this way? One thing when viewing property i will ask is can i have my dog stay there. I hear the greens area has a few dogs staying there?


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## Helly Helly (Apr 11, 2010)

Good luck with the move and maybe catch up with you all sometime x


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## AndreaMarshall (Nov 22, 2010)

colin14 said:


> Thank you for your help,
> 
> Hope your dog arrives safe and well. Did the process take a long time? was it expencive doing it this way? One thing when viewing property i will ask is can i have my dog stay there. I hear the greens area has a few dogs staying there?



There are at least 30 dogs in this area (the greens) that i have seen within the last 3 weeks. Its dog paradise.

I thought that spending an extra couple of thousand for peace of mind would have been worth it because i thought doing the process myself would be too stressful. However i realized when we picked up Bodie that it would have been a waste of money.

check the website for IATA (iata.com i think?) for crate restrictions. You'd probably need a large size crate since Heidi doesn't seem too big but she has to be able to stand up without her head touching the top, and turn around and lay down. We had to get a giant crate (for newfoundlands and st bernards) for our dog because his EARS ARE THE SIZE OF A SMALL CHILD. Ok not that big but they are 6" from base to tip, making him 35 inches tall and the giant size crate is 35 inches. All others were too short and he wouldn't have been allowed to board.


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## canesfan4life (Jun 10, 2009)

Ok let me tell you how things turned out last night. My wife and our dog (Milo) arrived safely. It took less than 2 hours from the time we left the terminal till we were on our way home. Total cost approx. $1200. Since we have relocated internationally multiple times I could not see paying those loan-shark rates that some of these companies were asking. Don't get me wrong they provide a very valuable service to people that have never done this before and I am sure for them the money was well spent. For my wife and I things turned out as planned and we are very happy we were able to keep the costs within reason. My advice is to follow the link I posted, apply for the Import permit about 2 weeks prior to travel, make sure on the Rabies vaccination paperwork that your pets microchip number is listed (we were questioned about this last night) and have copies of everything. If you have any further questions you can PM me. Hope this helps.


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## suzeq (Sep 13, 2010)

AndreaMarshall said:


> I know its different coming from the states than in the UK but you can check out the ministry of environment and health website for the import certificate.
> 
> your dog needs a rabies vaccination, hepatitis, leptospirosis, kennel cough and parvo vaccinations. and there are rules like length of time since vaccination and age of pup. Your dog must not be one of the restricted breeds IE: anything mixed with wolf or pit bull and must be in good health.
> Your dog is only allowed to fly cargo in an airline approved crate (petmate, skykennel or varikennel) that is as tall as the dogs tips of ears (if the ears stick up) or top of their head to their paws, and wide enough that they can turn around inside.
> ...


[/QUOTE]

I am trying to get my greyhound to Dubai. Where did your fly out of for British Air? I've been trying to get a direct flight and have only found Delta out of Atlanta. United out of Washington DC and Emirates out of JFK. We will be flying out of JFK on Jan 6 but are coming from Charlotte,NC and all the planes are too small. He needs a giant size crate. I am looking into working with Jet a Pet to get him to JFK to get onto our flight with his connections. But I would love to check into British Air if they have a direct flight. ANy information you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Do you mind telling me what they charged? The charge for the dog in cargo is more than my ticket and I only bought it this week. Thanks!


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## AndreaMarshall (Nov 22, 2010)

I am trying to get my greyhound to Dubai. Where did your fly out of for British Air? I've been trying to get a direct flight and have only found Delta out of Atlanta. United out of Washington DC and Emirates out of JFK. We will be flying out of JFK on Jan 6 but are coming from Charlotte,NC and all the planes are too small. He needs a giant size crate. I am looking into working with Jet a Pet to get him to JFK to get onto our flight with his connections. But I would love to check into British Air if they have a direct flight. ANy information you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Do you mind telling me what they charged? The charge for the dog in cargo is more than my ticket and I only bought it this week. Thanks![/QUOTE]


they will not fly direct from the united states to dubai because it is too long. the animal must have a layover otherwise its animal cruelty. check the international airports for flights to heathrow.

ihave heard emirates isnt that good of a pet-friendly airline and might not be the best to send your animal to.

please pm me and we can figure out all of your flight information for you and bobo together. I have done more than my fair share of research prior to shipping our dog (and myself) out here


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## suzeq (Sep 13, 2010)

they will not fly direct from the united states to dubai because it is too long. the animal must have a layover otherwise its animal cruelty. check the international airports for flights to heathrow.

ihave heard emirates isnt that good of a pet-friendly airline and might not be the best to send your animal to.

please pm me and we can figure out all of your flight information for you and bobo together. I have done more than my fair share of research prior to shipping our dog (and myself) out here [/QUOTE]

Thanks so much! I did try to PM you yesterday. I'm not sure I did it correctly. I found your PM to me which was very helpful but not until after I had written this one. If you did not get the PM from me please let me know and I will try again.. Thank you so much!!!!


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## AndreaMarshall (Nov 22, 2010)

I got your pm and i think in my response i included my email address. please check again and send me an email?
his flight was $2,150. that was mostly due to weight. he is 62 lbs and his crate was close to 50 lbs.

You can have a crate made for you but they take time to build. Check that iata.com website for more information.


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## suzeq (Sep 13, 2010)

AndreaMarshall said:


> I got your pm and i think in my response i included my email address. please check again and send me an email?
> his flight was $2,150. that was mostly due to weight. he is 62 lbs and his crate was close to 50 lbs.
> 
> You can have a crate made for you but they take time to build. Check that iata.com website for more information.


You didn't send your email but I think I did. Thanks! I'll check again!


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## colin14 (Oct 10, 2010)

canesfan4life said:


> Ok let me tell you how things turned out last night. My wife and our dog (Milo) arrived safely. It took less than 2 hours from the time we left the terminal till we were on our way home. Total cost approx. $1200. Since we have relocated internationally multiple times I could not see paying those loan-shark rates that some of these companies were asking. Don't get me wrong they provide a very valuable service to people that have never done this before and I am sure for them the money was well spent. For my wife and I things turned out as planned and we are very happy we were able to keep the costs within reason. My advice is to follow the link I posted, apply for the Import permit about 2 weeks prior to travel, make sure on the Rabies vaccination paperwork that your pets microchip number is listed (we were questioned about this last night) and have copies of everything. If you have any further questions you can PM me. Hope this helps.


Glad they arrived safe and well.

Thank you for the info. I will have a good read of it. Thank you and expect a PM for help hehehe.

Colin


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## Laowei (Nov 29, 2009)

colin14 said:


> Thank you for everyones input and help.
> 
> Iam going to phone my vet tomorrow and see if they can help me with the start of the process.


Hi Colin 

1st step contact Vet to get rabies vaccination done, has to be done at least 21 days prior to shipment (just check it maybe 30).Make sure all usually innoculations are upto date and recorded into a vaccination document

2nd step contact DEFRA pet export in carlisle they deal specifically with the export process and will issue the export health certificate to your vet for completion. Tel 01228 403600. They will send you a form to complete which you include your name and address of your vet. (Would recommend you check to see if your vet is panel 2 registered as they are able to certify blood tests and sign off the certificate.)

3rd - Return the form to Defra, by email. They will process this, takes about 10 days. They will send the form to your nominated vet with details of blood tests and injections which have to be done within 1 month of travel and 15 days of travel. Just need to organise the logistics and timing with the vet so they come together. Once your start the 1st set of blood tests then the clock is ticking for 30days to arrange transport and ship.

4th - Speak to your prefered air carrier, we used emirates cargo located in Manchester. They will book you dog on a flight, issue you an airway bill number. No need to pay anything at this stage.our dog (26kg and large crate approx 24KG total cost was around 900GBP)

5th Purchase a dog transport carrier big enough for your dog, check out the web for guidelines on size, Vari kennels are pretty good. For a large size (golden Retriever) cost me 100GBP from a place in the uk with next day delivery.Be aware that to small a carrier and the airline may refuse carriage, to large and you will pay $$$ as the calculation for cost is based on volumetric weight.

6th - Complete all required tests, and as stated before would recommend using a local agent this side as it was a lot easier. However if you have the time and wherewithal to do it your self then plenty of people have done it cheaper and succesfully. The local agent will tell you all requirements for this side.

Finally if you plan to take the dog on the same flight you can do this.The reason we used emirates is that all their flights have presssurised holds for animal transport, i believe that not all carriers are the same.

If you travel out to dubai before your pet. You will need a friend or relative to transport your dog to the aiport, usually to the servisair cargo. They will check the paperwork, ensure the dog is ok, weigh the dog and at this point you pay. I arranged for my brother to call me from the cargo centre and i then paid by cc over the telephone. 

Hope this long post helps, feel free to contact me if you need anything else. Give DEFRA a call on the number in the post. My vet didnt know the process for Dubai as some countries have different requirements, but DEFRA were very helpful.


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## canesfan4life (Jun 10, 2009)

suzeq said:


> they will not fly direct from the united states to Dubai because it is too long. the animal must have a layover otherwise its animal cruelty. check the international airports for flights to heathrow.
> 
> ihave heard emirates isnt that good of a pet-friendly airline and might not be the best to send your animal to.
> 
> please pm me and we can figure out all of your flight information for you and bobo together. I have done more than my fair share of research prior to shipping our dog (and myself) out here


Thanks so much! I did try to PM you yesterday. I'm not sure I did it correctly. I found your PM to me which was very helpful but not until after I had written this one. If you did not get the PM from me please let me know and I will try again.. Thank you so much!!!![/QUOTE]

I just read this post and where did the statement "they will not fly direct from the united states to Dubai because it is too long. the animal must have a layover otherwise it's animal cruelty"????? My wife and our almost 14 year old Jack Russell just flew direct from Atlanta (by way of Minneapolis) last Wednesday. So I am confused by the above mentioned statement????? Delta did a very good job with our Milo. You don't need to travel via Heathrow (we relocated from Minneapolis to London in 2007) so I've had experience with BA cargo and that insane process. I just hope that nothing happens (to your flight) and your pet gets caught-up in the antiquated importation process in the UK. Please post how things turned out. We wish you much success and safe travels.


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## colin14 (Oct 10, 2010)

Laowei said:


> Hi Colin
> 
> 1st step contact Vet to get rabies vaccination done, has to be done at least 21 days prior to shipment (just check it maybe 30).Make sure all usually innoculations are upto date and recorded into a vaccination document
> 
> ...


Thank you so much for this advise,

Im looking forward to the Big move, just trying to get a million and one things done. But im sure it will be worth it in the end. Next step is to decide where to stay. Im edging towards Dubi over abu dhabi. Ive heard the Greens is a nice place. Is there any other sites i can look at other than Drizzle?

Again thanks for this,

Colin


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## Laowei (Nov 29, 2009)

colin14 said:


> Thank you so much for this advise,
> 
> Im looking forward to the Big move, just trying to get a million and one things done. But im sure it will be worth it in the end. Next step is to decide where to stay. Im edging towards Dubi over abu dhabi. Ive heard the Greens is a nice place. Is there any other sites i can look at other than Drizzle?
> 
> ...


I would suggest get your prospective employer to put you up for a month in a hotel and do some research from this side. Trying to find a place from the UK with no point of reference is tough and you may regret it. Additionally some landlords wont allow dogs especially in apartments. Do you have someone in the UK who can take care of your dog for the 1st month or so while you find you feet? That way you can find the right area/place by visiting and talking to people here. 

Where you live will depend on work location, your social needs and budget, you will get more bang for your buck in Dubai.Will you come as a family, couple or single? What will you budget be. Sorry to pry but this is importnat if you want honest advise on where to live within your budget and circumstances.

Your right moving overseas is both daunting and exciting with a million things to sort out, so good luck with it all.


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