Can anyone give me an idea of how dogs are treated in Greece? I have a puppy enquiry from someone claiming to be involved in Greek fieldsports but not at all sure I believe the story! Anyone have any insight?

Hi Sam
I lived in Greece ( Corfu) for 2 years and personally found that the greeks have a totally different attitude to animals. I am not wishing to upset any greek people who may be logged on, But, I can only speak from my own experience. Generally if the dog has cost a lot of money it will be well looked after, however the majority of dogs that I came into contact with were abandoned, poisoned or starved once the tourists had returned home.
Also because of their religous beliefs, dogs were continually allowed to have puppies, because they do not believe in spaying/neutering.
I actually hand reared 2 puppies that had been put in a rubbish bin and was extremley lucky to find them good homes.
In Corfu, amongst the Greek people there were a few pedigree dogs, mostly bought from Athens and they were seen as status symbols, but I do not know about dogs used for field sports. I hope that this is of some help and whilst not wanting to be too negative, I would simply say be very carefull!

Hi Sam

In part I'm afraid that I agree with Cardair... In my experience, there is no such thing in Greece as a "house dog". The dogs tend to just roam around and whilst most that I have seen do not look neglected, I would say it must be more luck than judgement. I also have never seen dog food in any greek supermarket yet. And very rarely have I seen catfood...so make from that your own opinions :(

I wouldn't say that they abuse their animals (because I don't think that's fair but they just don't see them in the same way that we do), more that they just tend to let them fend for themselves and the cats at least are far more "ferrell" than domestic cats here...

As for Field sports....I'm afraid I too have no idea but am amazed that they even do this....

Beth

hi Sam
I think this was touched on in another thread not long ago ( it was removed ) I agree with the others but if the dog has a 'use' it will be well looked after but once it has out lived it's use who knows
Liz :)

thanks everyone. I had made up my mind about this before I posted, but then felt a bit mean for not giving the woman the benfit of the doubt. No puppy of mine will be going to greece.

I agree, dogs are not well regarded in Greece.
Dawn.

sam,
i have many greek friends and have been to cyprus, cats are ferral over there and you can find them dead on the beach in the later season, greeks are very keen on hunting with there dogs, but do not regard there hounds as we do, if they do not come up to scratch they are disposed of, even the greek friends i know here would not allow there dogs in the house they are kenneled and often forgotten, so i would say a big no no, regards tina

I can tell you in two simple words and that is appalling and dont. What ever you do not follow up an enquiry with anyone interested in aquiring a puppy to be exported to Greece to be used as a hunting dog (gun dog here). Recent pictures in the Athens News showed photos of two young English Setters hanging from a tree, thought to to have not come up to scratch as hunting dogs and this resulted in the owners hanging them. More info can be gained from http:www.seaville.freeserve.co.uk/bones.htm a charity that is involved in the rescue of English Setters from abroad.

I have been to Greece and the people are lovely, but as many have already said, just don't see animals the same way. They use them for a purpose, then dispose of them, as far as I can see, and this includes the horses.

The only really healthy animal i saw on my holiday was a contented donkey, fat and happy, but he was the only one! The GSD at the hotel was basically tied up all day and ignored, and had a very sticky and unhealthy coat.

Lindsay

Hi my name is Kim I have been on holiday to Greece several times and there is no way I would send any animal let alone a dog out there.I have fallen out with the Greeks on many occasions about how they treat there animals,they dont have the same laws there as we do here and so many of them are left to fend for themselves even the injured ones.We were once at the local airport and a pregnant bitch was scrounging for food she also had a broken leg and cried every time she moved,my daughter was so upset begging me to take her home with us but what could I do???

There are a lot of points where I would agree with you guys but... There are several "safety links" you can pay attention to and prevent the whole puppy;s future life.

I am Greek, I live in Greece and I am involved in dogs (hobby-breeding and -showing). I grew up in Germany and primary involved with GSDs and schutzhund sport. After moving to Greece (Athens) in 1986 I got indo dog sports with GWSDs and afrterwards with Rottweilers (2 Champions). Since 1997 I finaly got my great love the Dogo Argentino. I bred 7 Champions (4 Greek and 3 outside of Greece) out of two litters and I am very proud of having assured loving homes for every puppy out of my breeding (10 of the 13 dogs from my first two litters live in Greece).
It is not oversaid that not all greeks have tight relationship with dogs. But as I said "not all"! So I will point a few things out, hoping I can be of any help:
1. The Greek national team in fieldsports is since 1996 always among the first 5 places in the European championship (1996 European Champions) and considered as a very good team.
2. It is, in general, true that greeks love and take good care of their dogs if they are using them.
3. Where does the person interested in Your puppy live? Pure-bred dog owners in and around Athens are very loving with their dogs.
4. Try to get as more information about the person interested in Your puppy as You can. The Kennel Club of greece and the breed-clubs (there is a club for almost every dog breed in Greece) would be very good sources.
5. have the greek Club related to your breed trace the evolution of your puppy (the breed Clubs are usually very helpful on this)
6. Make a contract with the future buyer, forcing him to return the dog to You if there is something You don't like. Inform the Greek breed Club about this contract.
7. Call him once a week for the first two months after giving Your puppy away (and once a month after that), asking about how the dog is doing. This is a very important psychological factor.

I hope I was of any help.

Thanks for your reply but about 2 minutes after my initial post (some months ago!) I decided no puppy of mine was going to Greece!!!!
No offence & I am sure you look after your dogs well, but the person enquiring about the puppy did not come up to my exacting standards for the ownership of one of my hounds & despite many months of pestering other breeders, they still havent managed to get a puppy as far as I know.

pls see message down... Thank You.

I don't want to sound like I'm having a go at the Greeks, because they're fabulous people (plus I know the English are hardly angels) but I've spent time on two Greek Islands, and after each holiday I decided never to go to Greece again following a couple of disturbing experiences involving dogs and chickens.

While staying in a small fishing village in Samos (home to a number of stray dogs, all of which looked healthy, as they were fed by tourists) a mongrel covered in mange and as thin as a rake appeared and took up residence near the harbor tavernas. She was in a dreadful state and a couple of other tourists and myself begged the the hotel proprietor to phone the local animal sanctuary. He refused and said they wouldn't be interested because the dog was so far gone. We offered to pay her vets bills, so he agreed to phone up the sanctuary. An English waitress, who'd overheard the conversation told us not to bother with the sanctuary because she knew they wouldn't put the dog humanely to sleep - they drove strays to a cliff and chucked them over the edge. She'd taken on two strays while she was on Samos to save them from a similar fate.

Second incident: Stayed on Skopelos, gorgeous island. There was a short walk from the apartment my husband and I were staying at to the town center. A couple of days into the holiday we noticed that a big lorry full of live chickens had parked up by the side of the road, selling the chickens to taverna owners. The chickens were crammed in small cages, had no water and no protection from the heat or sun, which was absolutely blistering. Anyway, that lorry was parked by the side of the road for about four days, during which time the chickens started to die. The smell was unbearable - it smelt of rotting flesh and it pretty much ruined the holiday. because I couldn't stop thinking about them. I tried talking to the owner of the van, to at least get him to put some shelter in front of the chickens to protect them from the sun. Unfortunately I don't speak any Greek and he didn't speak any English. After about four days I think the taverna owners started to complain because the lorry was moved to the far side of the town, but it was there for most of the holiday. It was absolutely sickening.

On other Greek islands I've seen lots of stray cats and dogs ... many in good condition because they beg from the tourists, but also many very thin. If I could have done I would have taken that poor mangy dog back home with me. As it happened all I could do was buy her a couple of tins of dog food and feed her a few times. She was as sweet as an angel and it still really upsets me to think how powerless I was to do anything and much she still trusted people to take care of her.

People ay.

Jo

Concernig the stray dogs and cats most things are true but I guess You all are thinking persons, so someone should consider the foolowing:
1. no stray animal could live only by the donations of the tourists since they last only the three months in summer, that would simply mean that they would starve the other 9 months (no dog or cat would stay alive unfed for that time) that leads to the conclusion that the stray animals are fed by the local people.
2. spaying-neutering has nothing to do with religious beliefs (Greek population is over 95% Christians) it has to do with the underinformated people who think that neutering or sterilizing an animal could affect its health.
3. Speaking generally of greek people because of single cases is of much danger. There are a lot of bad incidents concerning british tourists here in Greece (two rapes of greek minor girls in Rhodes and Samos and a rape of an elder woman in Creta by English Tourists only in the last 4 years [all three were caught by the police, put to trial and send to Britain after the interference of the British Government], english tourists took pictures of Greek army facilities [they were also caught by the police, put to trial and released after the interference of the British Government]) You should also see how a lot of british tourists behave on the streets after having too much to dring or how they destroy their hotel-rooms. Does all this make British people bad persons? I relly don't think so and the same You should also do.
4. Dog Fighting was invented and spread all over the world by the English... This should normally be enought to bring conclusions about a nations behaviour towards dogs. Do we think that the English are bad towards dogs? No! The same you should do.
5. "Uncivilized" Greeks speak an average of three languages (me myself I speak and write 5 hopefully, fair enough). The last place in Dog attacs within the European (not only the EC) countries are reported "uncivilized" Greece. While more "civilez countries like Germany, England, Italy and France are within the top-5.

Thank You for Your time.