Moving to tropical climate - anyone else move an adult boxer?

[diego's heart]

I'm moving to the Caribbean in a couple months. Diego will stay with my sister until early '08 after I get settled and get things ready for him. Just curious if anyone's had experience moving their adult boxer across land and ocean, as well as differing climates? I'm concerned as the NW is pretty mild and Diego's 7 already! even though my vets have given the okay as far as he'll aclimate all right. I'm also researching different means of getting him out here via plane vs boat. Wondering if anyone has experience or insight - I'd love to hear from you...

 

[Irinikm]

Hi there,

I am no expert but when i discussed a similar issue with my vet, she suggested that i avoid air travel when possible. She said that noise, plus unfamiliar surroundings, plus altitude, can be dangerous to boxers even when all precautions are taken. Of course there will be times when air travel is unavoidable but i still think that sea travel is less stressful to boxers and they can get to have a lot of fun with their owners on board. I have taken Martin on a boat trip that lasted for 16-18 hours and he was fine. We had lots of fun, he had lots of company, and he got to be with me. During the night they had an airconditioned crate compartment where you could lock your dog so that he would be safe and it was cool and comfy. The only problem i can see with that is potty breaks. I walked with Martin through the boat (heavily prepared to clean up the mess afterwards) but he refused to go potty for the entire journey duration. I noticed, though, that there where pet owners who had some special dipers that they placed on the floor and dogs did their business on them. As i said i am no expert but i think Martin liked the boat trip and wasn't stressed at all. I wish you best of luck with the move.

best

Irene and Martin

 

[Slobberchops]

Good luck with your mode of travel,whatever you decide.
I can only imagine that the Caribbean will be humid at times,and so from an Aussie point of view,i can suggest to keep him cool in the hot sticky weather with air conditioning if you have it,and exercise in the early mornings/and evenings.
As far as the travel goes,try to google pet travel,and see what comes up.
Again good luck.

 

[diego's heart]

Thanks for all the insight, suggestions and well wishes. I'm thinking along the same lines myself and still researching all options at this point. Initially thinking we would travel to Florida via car and then hitch a ride preferrably by boat vs plane, but if the latter at least it'll be a short trip. I was wondering what folks do on ships and dogs doing their business - good to know. I'm excited about the new location and will be even more excited when Diego's there too! I saw a lot of pooches and no boxers!

 

[DaisyPie]

We moved Daisy from Alabama (hot and humid) to Germany (cold and rainy) this past February. She's only two years old though. She was fine with the flight and acclimated very well. We had a non-stop 9 hour flight, plus arrival 2 hours prior to flight, and the wait at customs, and she was great the entire time. She didn't potty in her crate at all, and didn't seem upset when we were finally able to take her out. I think it really just depends on the dog, especially if they are crate trained and if they are used to travel in cars. I was in college when I got Daisy, so we had been on many road trips and she was used to long car trips.

 

[Ronin1]

I'm moving to the Caribbean in a couple months. Diego will stay with my sister until early '08 after I get settled and get things ready for him. Just curious if anyone's had experience moving their adult boxer across land and ocean, as well as differing climates? I'm concerned as the NW is pretty mild and Diego's 7 already! even though my vets have given the okay as far as he'll aclimate all right. I'm also researching different means of getting him out here via plane vs boat. Wondering if anyone has experience or insight - I'd love to hear from you...

Lisa! You're leaving????? Which area in the Caribbean are you moving to? I've been to various islands down there and it's definitely hot and humid, so keeping Diego cool is imperative (although I'm sure you already know that!) I've never moved an adult dog, however when Ronin was a mere puppy, he flew to us from Ontario, Canada. Although he was really young, he did just fine. I would also think that an airline flight would be a much shorter trip for Diego than a boat ride, but as mentioned above, a boat ride would most likely be less stressful for him. I can't believe that Ronin's "twin" is off to the beautiful Caribbean!

We will miss you and we wish you and Diego all the good luck, health and fortune in your new life and adventure in a tropical paradise!

~~Megan

 

[diego's heart]

Hi Megan - yes, we're moving to St Martin/St Maarten :cool: and yes, very aware about heat and humidity and my vets have assured me he'll be okay providing I maintain certain living conditions. Eventually, I'll have air conditioning but it does caution me about what happens if the A/C fails - yikes?! If it looks like I'll be staying there longer than 6 mos, Diego's coming... I was just looking at him last night and couldn't bare thinking about leaving him, even for a short while :(. I/we will miss you and Ronin too and hopefully we can get together at Marymoor in the next couple months!

Fortunately Diego's an easy going and crate trained and *loves* going on road trips! That's why I hope I'll be able to have the time off and funds to trek cross country - we'd have so much fun!

 

[Ronin1]

Very cool! St. Maarten is absolutely beautiful! Of course Ronin and I would love to meet with you and Diego at Marymoor! Hopefully you won't be leaving before the weather cools down a bit though Ronin doesn't do too well in heat, and if memory serves, neither does Diego. I don't know if you still have my phone #, but let's try to plan something soon before you go!

 

[triniyth]

Wow, congrats and good luck on your move. I recently moved from England and im now in Crete. Boots is still back in England until i get everything situated which shouldn't be much longer (give or take a week or two). the hardest part for me right now is i miss him so much. His morning wake up licks to go out and potty and his excited boxer burns. Hopefully it wouldn't be much longer and his trip over here isnt too bad.