# How Do Dogs Adjust?



## Jesnat (Mar 5, 2016)

We are moving at the end of this month, initially renting a place just outside Murcia with its own small garden. I would be really interested to hear from any fellow dog owners on how their dog has adjusted to its new environment and climate. Our dog is a small well behaved little character (and yes I do try to be responsible owner). 
Any advice and tips would be really appreciated.


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

Hi , we moved in November 2015 with our 2 dogs, they have settled well and are enjoying their new life. Only thing I would say is not underestimate the impact the change could have on them . One of mine got sick shortly after we arrived and the vet reckoned it was stress induced due to the journey. We came over on the Bilboa crosssing and then drove to South of Valencia. She recovered quickly with good vet care. My second dog is sick at present and looks like he has picked up something toxic when out walking , we live in the Campo so I will be really vigilant from now on , fortunately he is slowly recovering now. I dont want to be negative about things but thought it worth mentioning , they do enjoy their life but it is a big change for them. Hope all goes well for you and your doggy


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## Justina (Jan 25, 2013)

*Warning*



maureen47 said:


> Hi , we moved in November 2015 with our 2 dogs, they have settled well and are enjoying their new life. Only thing I would say is not underestimate the impact the change could have on them . One of mine got sick shortly after we arrived and the vet reckoned it was stress induced due to the journey. We came over on the Bilboa crosssing and then drove to South of Valencia. She recovered quickly with good vet care. My second dog is sick at present and looks like he has picked up something toxic when out walking , we live in the Campo so I will be really vigilant from now on , fortunately he is slowly recovering now. I dont want to be negative about things but thought it worth mentioning , they do enjoy their life but it is a big change for them. Hope all goes well for you and your doggy


Make sure that your dogs don't sniff around under pine trees. This is the period of the processional caterpillar and can really burn and can be very toxic.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Both of our dogs are rescues and of Spanish origin. They had a traumatic start in life but giving them love and affection, they come to see that they can trust you and settle down quite quickly. Just try to make their journey as least stressful as possible.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Spanish rescue dogs make fantastic pets 

We have taken our dogs both ways and although they don't particularly enjoy the journey they were fine after a day's rest. Make sure you protect them from parasites etc. A Spanish vet will advise you. We have always used Eurostar and you will find lots of pet friendly hotels in France and Spain.


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## Jesnat (Mar 5, 2016)

Thanks all for the comments. Parasites, ticks and caterpillars seem to be the things to look out for then. There are plenty of sheep and horses around where we currently live so hopefully doggie has built up a good immune system. We are doing the ferry to Santander with the dog booked in a kennel but then taking 2 days to drive down slowly with plenty of doggie breaks. It's going to interesting seeing the dog adapt to the climate.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

My dogs loved it. We had a big garden and when we first arrived, we let them off their leads and they just ran around peeing everywhere and exploring. They loved the heat - in fact my westie was so stupid that he would sit in the sun panting and we had to physically take him indoors lol But it was a great experience for them. The one thing we did have to avoid was taking them for walks during the day in the heat of the summer on the pavements - it was too hot for their paws

Jo xxx


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Yes Jo our dogs love the sun too. If there in summer it has to be walks very early and very late.


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## Mykap (Jan 21, 2010)

We brought our Cannan from Norwich to Javea last month in a van. The trip can be pretty stressful both for the dog and humans. We had some issues at the tunnel and had to divert to the ferry which added time - see another thread. 

He was perfectly behaved all the way, we placed his bed in the front of the van between us with him wearing a harness, but he worried us as despite stopping every three hours he didn't do any business from either end all the way to the first hotel. Mind you once in the pet friendly hotel room he proved all was still operational.....

He has moved from a detached house with a small garden, hence daily walks were essential, his main entertainment used to be looking out of the small gate 


and hanging around the cooker....




His life is now 100% better, he has a free reign over 1080m2 of garden and terraces and spends almost all day outside. He loves it. He still gets the walks but loves protecting the boundries from his elevated position. We have no pines immediately on our property and are very careful when walking him. 



It took him a day or so of sniffing around to settle and find his favourite places. The bed wasn't looked at for a week as he probably associated it with the van, but its now in use again.

The best thing is he is exhausted after a day of being outside on guard and loves to nap in the lounge with us in the evening....



Life is good, good life is better.


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## DunWorkin (Sep 2, 2010)

We brought our 11 year old westie with us when we moved in 2004. 

We came by car but flew him out a few days later as we did not think he would like the long car journey 

Unfortunately he never really settled here. We moved from a large house with a big garden to a much smaller house with a very small garden. He hated going up and down the tiled stairs as he found them slippery. In the end we had to carry him up and down. He didn't mind the heat and used to sit in the sun.

The main problem was he did not like going out for walks. I think he was worried we were going to leave him or put him in a crate again.

After we had been here for two years we put him in boarding kennels while we had a couple of weeks holiday back in the UK. He had been in kennels many times before and never seemed to mind it - in fact I think he quite enjoyed himself.

Unfortunately, soon after we collected him, he became quite ill. We took him to the vet who said he had picked up an infection at the kennels. This was in September. Sadly in the January, at the age of 13, he died.

Do I regret bringing him here? In some ways yes but what else could we do?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

DunWorkin said:


> We brought our 11 year old westie with us when we moved in 2004.
> 
> We came by car but flew him out a few days later as we did not think he would like the long car journey
> 
> ...


Westies are funny creatures. Ours had/has trouble with stairs. We live in a split level house, stairs everywhere and our Westie can only use the carpeted ones lol

Our little chap is old now, but he did love his life in Spain, he used to chase geckos - his hobby lol

Jo xxx

Sent from my D5803 using Expat Forum


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## SandraP (Apr 23, 2014)

We probably won't be bringing dogs with us, Sasha the staffie x is 23 now and Minnie, a medium sized black dog of indeterminable origin is now 14/15. We are hoping that we will be able to adopt a dog from one of the rescue centres, maybe a Podenco or a Galgo, or maybe even 2 dogs  At least then they won't have to be shipped over from UK.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

DunWorkin said:


> Do I regret bringing him here? In some ways yes but what else could we do?


Yes, people have to make tough decisions about pets.
Our dog is a rescue dog from Spain. There's no way that she'd survive a plane journey - she'd be petrified, and a long land journey with a stranger would be stressful for her too, but in our car with us she'd go to the ends of the earth. She loves the car to the extent that if we go away for the weekend she comes with us and sleeps in the car, no problem.


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## Gazeebo (Jan 23, 2015)

Our Parson's terrier has settled in well, but he doesn't like being left in the villa by himself. In England he had a dog flap so could please himself. In our rental villa, although he doesn't like water and doesn't get too close to the pool, I would not leave him in the garden whilst we are out, even though it is secure. Most dogs where we live bark a lot when we walk past on our walks, but our dog doesn't bark (although he can). He had a bad time in the kennel on the ferry as he only tolerates his crate which we travel him in, in the back of the car. Fortunately, dogs here are accepted in some restaurant areas so sometimes we take him with us if we eat out in the evening. We had to get him used to being left by himself in a strange place. At the moment, I am very careful as to where I walk him because of the caterpillars. Whilst here, he has had his teeth cleaned at a cost of 125 euros, would have cost £250 minimum in England. He is always walked on his harness, but in England he is used to running free in our local woods. I think he probably misses this freedom and doesn't have the opportunity here to go mad! Remember that a dog should not be lose in a car, but should be secured. Where we are living at present there is not the urgency to clean up after a dog and the pavements are a disgrace. Because there are no red doggy bins, we put his wrapped poo in the basura. However, there are a few dog parks and some areas actually provide dog poo bins. We have been able to buy his Royal Canine dog food with no problem, perhaps a bit more expensive here than in England. All in all, he appears to be happy as long as he is with us (a bit too clingy sometimes).


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## Gazeebo (Jan 23, 2015)

Ooh just remembered. IBIS hotels are cheap and dog friendly. On the road from Bilbao to Valencia there are lots of stop-off points where you can exercise your dog and your OH!


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Gazeebo said:


> Ooh just remembered. IBIS hotels are cheap and dog friendly. On the road from Bilbao to Valencia there are lots of stop-off points where you can exercise your dog and your OH!


Does your OH have to be on a lead? and muzzled?


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

We brought our Slovakian -born two-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback with us from our home in Prague to Spain. We drove down in our LR Disco, a two night three day journey but he had plenty of room and we made frequent stops. No way would we have even considered flying him.
He came from a country with winter temperatures reaching minus 20C or more and months of deep snow to a country with summer temperatures of 40C and took everything in his stride. He settled very quickly, no problems of any kind. RRs are rare here so he attracts a lot of attention. We keep him on the lead and muzzled in public places but there are places he can run free and we have a big garden.
I think most dogs are happy where their humans are.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> We brought our Slovakian -born two-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback with us from our home in Prague to Spain. We drove down in our LR Disco, a two night three day journey but he had plenty of room and we made frequent stops. *No way would we have even considered flying him.*
> He came from a country with winter temperatures reaching minus 20C or more and months of deep snow to a country with summer temperatures of 40C and took everything in his stride. He settled very quickly, no problems of any kind. RRs are rare here so he attracts a lot of attention. We keep him on the lead and muzzled in public places but there are places he can run free and we have a big garden.
> I think most dogs are happy where their humans are.


I doubt his wings would have taken the strain of carrying you two!


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## Gazeebo (Jan 23, 2015)

baldilocks said:


> Does your OH have to be on a lead? and muzzled?


Doesn't have to be all the time, I let him free to use his wallet.


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## Nignoy (Jun 4, 2010)

Jesnat said:


> Thanks all for the comments. Parasites, ticks and caterpillars seem to be the things to look out for then. There are plenty of sheep and horses around where we currently live so hopefully doggie has built up a good immune system. We are doing the ferry to Santander with the dog booked in a kennel but then taking 2 days to drive down slowly with plenty of doggie breaks. It's going to interesting seeing the dog adapt to the climate.


Don't Worry household pets are durable and adapt very easy,we moved here from Australia via Germany with our little pooch no problems at all, just give them the normal amount of care and attention they are used too,


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## Nignoy (Jun 4, 2010)

Gazeebo said:


> Our Parson's terrier has settled in well, but he doesn't like being left in the villa by himself. In England he had a dog flap so could please himself. In our rental villa, although he doesn't like water and doesn't get too close to the pool, I would not leave him in the garden whilst we are out, even though it is secure. Most dogs where we live bark a lot when we walk past on our walks, but our dog doesn't bark (although he can). He had a bad time in the kennel on the ferry as he only tolerates his crate which we travel him in, in the back of the car. Fortunately, dogs here are accepted in some restaurant areas so sometimes we take him with us if we eat out in the evening. We had to get him used to being left by himself in a strange place. At the moment, I am very careful as to where I walk him because of the caterpillars. Whilst here, he has had his teeth cleaned at a cost of 125 euros, would have cost £250 minimum in England. He is always walked on his harness, but in England he is used to running free in our local woods. I think he probably misses this freedom and doesn't have the opportunity here to go mad! Remember that a dog should not be lose in a car, but should be secured. Where we are living at present there is not the urgency to clean up after a dog and the pavements are a disgrace. Because there are no red doggy bins, we put his wrapped poo in the basura. However, there are a few dog parks and some areas actually provide dog poo bins. We have been able to buy his Royal Canine dog food with no problem, perhaps a bit more expensive here than in England. All in all, he appears to be happy as long as he is with us (a bit too clingy sometimes).


Dogs Have to be secured on a harness here in Spain it is the law, Police in the Guardamar area were checking cars yesterday near the lemon market, and issueing fines


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## Justina (Jan 25, 2013)

*Dogs*



Nignoy said:


> Don't Worry household pets are durable and adapt very easy,we moved here from Australia via Germany with our little pooch no problems at all, just give them the normal amount of care and attention they are used too,


Well, we brought two, a year apart, from Mexico, and they adapted without any problem. We did give them a sedation pill which I learnt afterwards on this forum that it is a no no.
But as others have said on the forum, as long as they have their family, they are fine.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Nignoy said:


> Dogs Have to be secured on a harness here in Spain it is the law, Police in the Guardamar area were checking cars yesterday near the lemon market, and issueing fines


Ummm, what do you mean by harness? Do you mean lead?
I'm pretty sure the laws about dogs being on leads are local and vary according to each _ayuntamiento _aren't they?
Here there is some info about each area and the rules in that area

Legislación sobre perros

In a car I believe the rules are that dogs should always be separate from the driver, but it seems that opinion is divided on whether that should be with a harness in the back seats belt fitting, a net or something else.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

"Whilst here, he has had his teeth cleaned at a cost of 125 euros, would have cost £250 minimum in England"

Next time he needs his teeth cleaned let me know. I've got a manual brush, an Oral B, and one of those water jet stream things too. I am the equivalent of the 5 programme jet wash at your favourite garage when it comes to gadgets for the gob.

For 125 I am willing to share them with your dog. I do mine daily; I could do his daily too.


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## Gazeebo (Jan 23, 2015)

Horlics said:


> "Whilst here, he has had his teeth cleaned at a cost of 125 euros, would have cost £250 minimum in England"
> 
> Next time he needs his teeth cleaned let me know. I've got a manual brush, an Oral B, and one of those water jet stream things too. I am the equivalent of the 5 programme jet wash at your favourite garage when it comes to gadgets for the gob.
> 
> For 125 I am willing to share them with your dog. I do mine daily; I could do his daily too.


Well they must be sparkly.  Unfortunately he has an undershot jaw and his teeth do not meet as they should so the grinding action does not get rid of the plaque. It is very hard and at times quite stressful to get a toothbrush in his mouth as it does not open very wide and his back teeth are very hard to get at. I do clean them twice a week and usually with an electric toothbrush. I have tried plaque remover for dogs, but this does not work. I was told by a dental nurse about the water jet stream gadget - which one do you use? We are going back to England at the end of this month and will buy one. Mind you - I won't be sharing it with the dog as I see where his tongue has been on a daily basis.


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## Gazeebo (Jan 23, 2015)

Nignoy said:


> Dogs Have to be secured on a harness here in Spain it is the law, Police in the Guardamar area were checking cars yesterday near the lemon market, and issueing fines


Oh, I thought being in a crate in the back of the car would have been regarded as safe. I don't really want him travelling on a car seat in a harness, as I think he and we are safer with him shut in his crate, where he also feels secure and can't jump around.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

Gazeebo said:


> Well they must be sparkly.  Unfortunately he has an undershot jaw and his teeth do not meet as they should so the grinding action does not get rid of the plaque. It is very hard and at times quite stressful to get a toothbrush in his mouth as it does not open very wide and his back teeth are very hard to get at. I do clean them twice a week and usually with an electric toothbrush. I have tried plaque remover for dogs, but this does not work. I was told by a dental nurse about the water jet stream gadget - which one do you use? We are going back to England at the end of this month and will buy one. Mind you - I won't be sharing it with the dog as I see where his tongue has been on a daily basis.


We have a Westie who goes into reverse as soon as she sees a vet. Even when we changed vet she knew as we pulled onto the car park where she was going. No idea how they do that! We would have zero chance of getting a brush in her mouth so when she needed ears and teeth done recently she had to be knocked out.

Anyway, you have me thinking whether she would let one of these things near her, we might try! The one I have is http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003RRY432?keywords=oral oxyjet&qid=1457432578&ref_=sr_1_5&sr=8-5

You should be able to get one for under 50 UKP if you look around.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

There is some relevant info about dogs here, at the beginning and at the end (not sure about the middle!)
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...-spain/926914-settling-into-our-new-home.html


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Gazeebo said:


> Oh, I thought being in a crate in the back of the car would have been regarded as safe. I don't really want him travelling on a car seat in a harness, as I think he and we are safer with him shut in his crate, where he also feels secure and can't jump around.


I think it depends where you are in Spain and sometimes the local authorities aren't really clear either. Try asking a couple of GC and see what they say. The crate sounds good to me, but in the boot or loose on the back seat? Officially you're not allowed anything loose on the back seat like shopping bags for example...


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Ours are tethered in the back seat by a leash that plugs into one of the seat belt sockets and that has not been remarked upon by the GC neither positively nor negatively. Mind you, that may be because as soon as anyone approaches the car, defensive measures are taken [by the dogs] barking, growling, baring teeth - but it is all show


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

baldilocks said:


> Ours are tethered in the back seat by a leash that plugs into one of the seat belt sockets and that has not been remarked upon by the GC neither positively nor negatively. Mind you, that may be because as soon as anyone approaches the car, defensive measures are taken [by the dogs] barking, growling, baring teeth - but it is all show


People here with 4x4s seem to connect their dog to a metal ring securely fitted in the back with a short piece of stout chain connected to the lead. We do likewise. A harness is more for control of a dog whilst walking on the lead. It is irrelevant to how the dog is actually secured in the vehicle. I think about 1% of the dog walkers here have their dogs on a harness...a lead is the usual control mode. We used a harness for Azor when he was young and we were training him. Now he has his CannyCollar.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> People here with 4x4s seem to connect their dog to a metal ring securely fitted in the back with a short piece of stout chain connected to the lead. We do likewise.A harness is more for control of a dog whilst walking on the lead.


Ours don't take well to a harness (we've tried) although that would be safer for the dogs (less chance of breaking their necks in a serious accident) but if it distresses them what can we do other than restrain them by their collars attached to the seat belt socket? Normally one of us is in the back seat with them and that has a calming effect.


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