Thanks for the advice, it can't be that bad if you have 9 dogs! i will get round to registering but know that once i do i will probably be on here non-stop.  By the way where in Spain do you live?

Ohhhh its soooo addictive on here :D :D
I`m down South on the Costa del Sol about an hour & half from Malaga :)

Christine, Spain.

Hiya Christine

registered at last, will have to make this a quickie as lots of housework to do!!!   W

christine

registered at last!   couple of questions -

what type of dogs do you have, will i have problems with a breeder letting me have a pup if i am not going to be living in he u.k.

Hi Lorrie, welcome ch/dogs, housework??? whats that you won`t get much done now :D
I have 7 Labradors 1 Mongrel & 1 resue GSD.
Be honest with the breeder you getting your dog from, let them now how you`ll look after it over here, food/vets etc & I don`t see it being a problem. I would think they`d like to see you settled in your new home first possibly tho :) A lot of people over here have imported dogs from all over the world & haven`t had a problem. Good luck :)

Christine, Spain.

Christine, i know i am a bit sad doing the housework but with two girls and a husband that a lotta mess...
Anyway the life story...   been promised by hubby that i could have another dog (lost our last one around 1991, but devestated us both) but 2 years ago he was made redundant from the city and has had to start up working for himself in different kind of work which has been a complete struggle so recently decided that he would like to pack it all in here and come to the Costa Del Sol, cutting a long story very short, came over on for 3 days looked at loads stuff on the coast and decided on a villa between Alhaurin and Coin which will most likely take a year or just over to finish.  There is a good possibility of a job over there for him doing tecommunications which he did before so he obviously wants to go for it.  Problem ----i found a really good breeder after doing loads of research and she agreed to add me to a list with possibility of having a pup from one of her 3 litters next year, one will be ready in april, one in july and the other is being mated in sept. Now what do i do?  Hubby will poss go over and start a 6 month contract in Jan, the girls and i will stay here so i would love to have the dog, house train it, get it settled long enough before we come over, but all the worries with jabs, passport, flying it over, now my friends brother (living in Alicante) worrying the life out of me with stories of ticks, mosqitoesetc, plus where will i get the right dog food, a good vet, can i get pet insurance there which i think is a must and also how much freedom would i be able to really give my dog as it wont be like taking him to the local park over here, all i ever see when we visit are huge great dogs going beserk when you walk past their homes. Am i  being really selfish to want to bring up my dog over there with all the above worries?.  Am also really worried myself about what life will be like there and will i settle, make friends etc, its very hard to talk to Jeff as he thinks this is a good move and a chance to get back to normality with work.  The girls are 13 and 17 and i worry about them being up in that area as opposed to Estepona or somewhere on that side of the coast.   HELP!!! i feel like i am drowning.

sorry about all the above, i did say it was a life story

Thats a lot of if & maybes, don`t envy you at all! What breed are you getting Lorrie?
I think I would leave getting a pup till I was settled in & was sure I liked it over here being honest. Moving is a big upheaval when its in the same country, let alone emigrating. Unless you are absolutely certain you can manage a pup with all that upheaval as well. Heres a few thoughts if you decide to go ahead.
There are a lot of vets up where you planning on moving to, quite a few speak English as well, they even have Burns food in Fuengirola :) so thats not a big problem. If you get a pup from the April litter it will be settled with you & you can take it can go on the same plane as you when you make the move. The only jab it will need to enter Spain is rabies. Vets do now have pet health insurance shcemes, can`t tell you about it tho as I don`t subscribe to it. Just about all the drugs you get in UK are available here as are the insecticides for parasites etc. I deal with the mozzies by having plug ins in each room in the house & bigger electric ones outside. You`ll find the big dogs are guard dogs & won`t be roaming outside their own property. The popular beaches don`t allow dogs but you might find it`s OK in the winter time when it`s quite, not a good place for them in the summer anyway or find a secluded cove, you`ll meet other dog owners there & also in the many parks & squares/alamedas which there is lots of & everyone & I mean everyone goes to for coffee/drink & an evening stroll . It`s like UK in that respect, on leads in built up areas, let of only when safe to do so. :) Also if it doesn`t work out over here you have to remember your dog will need to go thru the pet passport to get back in the UK & that will take at least 6mths. There are mozzies, ticks & sandflies but you can use conventional or alternative treatments to deal with them, there are an awful lot of dogs here so the little blighters haven`t got all of them otherwise we`d have no dogs here :D People & dogs cope & get on with living :)
I don`t think your selfish at all, just maybe not realising all the extra work you`ll have on your plate with a young dog/pup :)
Why are you more worried about moving to Alhaurin rather than Estepona area? Its onlt about half an hour away,Alhaurin is a nice place.

Christine, Spain.

You are a gem, full of knowledge and good advice,    i know it would be best to get there and then think about  getting the dog but i would really like to get him from a u.k. breeder and this one is very good.  The alternative would be move in and then this breeder likes you to come and meet her first basically to check your the right kind of owners etc then when the pups are born you go  up there again to see them and she chooses one for you which she think is well matched to your family, when the pup is approx 8-9 weeks we would need another visit to collect him so this would be vertually impossible if were were out there already.  I am not sure how many names she has on here list so i probably will not be lucky enough to get april's litter ( they are spaniels by the way.
That's good news re the dog food, is that where you go for yours?  where exactly are you and how long have you been out there, how did you find the change from leaving the u.k.?
I have found a company oneline called dogs-away who deal with all the paperwork, jabs info and airport procedures for taking pets abbroad which will be a help and i think will definately get the pet passport scheme as i woluld want to bring him if we came back for a visit.
Are the flea collars any good for use out there?.  I think the pet insurances only apply to u.k. and not european countries so i will have to enquire more,  where do you get the electric plug-inns for outside?.

I just want to take all the right precautions as this dog will be as important to us as our girls and i dont want to put him in any unnecessary danger.   Re Alhaurin, i think when we first came over i just thought it would be much nicer and easy to settle down living on the coastal line as it would be easy for shops etc and nightlife for the girls and us (if we fancy a night out)  Jeff fell in love with our development as it its inbetween both towns and 5 minute drive from Alhaurin golf which is beautiful, when the villa is built the view is of the mountains which is lovely but i am worrried that there will be hardly any english up there and will there be enought to do for our girls.   I know its about 20 minutes down to Marbella and Puerto Banus but i absolutely hate those mountain roads and cannot imagine myself driving on them, they are sheer drops and i heard of an accident which involved a car overtaking on a curvy road, another car coming the other way and it going straight over the top so you can imagine that i will feel totally cut off up there especially if we want to go down to the coast at night and there are no lights on the roads for our return journey.  I know you probably thinking why did we do it but as i explained before our situation re work is not good here , we visited and a job offer came up while we were there and after seeing lots of horrible places along the other end of the coast Our place really is nice apart from the roads.  I suppose i am just panicking and worrying over nothing but leaving your home country and not knowing about healthcare, shopping, etc etc will always be scary.

lorrie

Why don`t you build up a relationship with the breeder now? Go & meet her now & by the time your pups born you might be good friends :) If you are over here when it is born you could back over for a couple days & bring the pup back with you on the plane, under 12wks it won`t need any rabies & will be able to go on the plane & sit with you. If you`ve become friends before then you`ll have her trust & shouldn`t be any probs.
Re the dog food no, I feed my lot raw foods :D I don`t use chemicals on them either as they don`t have worms or fleas since been feeding raw. The flea collars are the same as UK ones tho as are the wormers. The insurance if you get it will be from a spanish company, usually thru the vets & they work the same as UK ones. The electric machines I get are the ones butchers/shops use that kill flys etc, you can get them from any good electric/hardware store over here :)
You get used to the roads & no lights & where you are is a lovely pay as you go motorway. You`ll find a lot of expats round that area from all over the Europe not just UK & a lot of English spoken so you shouldn`t get lonely, not to sure about the girls tho but I`m sure they`ll soon make friends as you will as well :) Get a cab for a night out, they breathalise over here too you know! <wink> :D

Christine, Spain.
I`m in San Roque & been over here for 23 yrs now, it`s a hell of a lot different than when I first came out tho!

Christine

Thanks for your all your advice its really been a great help, i will definately get in contact with the breeder this week, Jeff should have heard some definite news re the job hopefully by wednesday/thursday so i will know a bit more.   Whatever happens he will go over for at least 6 months before i do so if i am able to have the pup then at least there will be some settling in time.  I didn't realise you could have a young pup with you on the plane!  i understood from dogs away that there is a lot of red tape etc and the dog has to be taken down weighed and then put into the correct sized cage to be flown over in the hold which was worrying me a little as he would only be a baby.  I am possibly having just panic attacks/nerves as it is such a big step forward but i have to agree i haven't heard of many saying they would want to come back to the u.k., its starting a new life and at 44 i don't expect it to be easy but the more research we do must help.  You have definately put my mind at rest regarding Alhaurin as at first glance it seems like the middle of nowhere.

Will keep in touch and let you know what's going on.

Lorrie