Peter,

As you are house hunting, don't limit yourself to Zürich city. It may be easier to find a flat with a garden, or a row house, semi or detached house outside the city.

The greater Zürich area is pretty small, and transportation is quite good.

When we first moved here the dogs were my main concern; we rented a house with a garden about 20 minutes by train from the ZH city main train station. It is sometimes easier to get into the city from the surrounding villages than to cross it - in fact, it took me less time to get into the city center than friends who lived across town. In addition to Zürich proper, keep an eye out for suitable properties in the towns on either side of the lake, or in the Winterthur area, or Aargau. In fact, any town along a direct train line is a pretty easy commute.

From my experiences here, I would suggest looking for a property with a private garden. You may find that communal life here brings far more restrictions than you are used to dealing with - having a bit of private space, where your dogs are free to be dogs, where you don't have to worry (so much ) about neighbors, is a godsend.

Yes, there are pet care services available here. The quality varies from abysmal to excellent. Vet anyone you consider using very carefully - just as you would back home.

Prices are also all over the ball park. You'd probably want to plan on at least CHF 25 per dog per hour for dog walking, although you'll often get a discount if the two dogs are walked together. For in-home all day care, CHF 100-200 per day, depending on services needed, is pretty common. For doggie day care where the carer has multiple dogs at the kennels CHF 25-50 per dog per day is fairly standard.

And do be aware that if you use a dog walker on a regular basis, the person you choose must have qualifications as specified under the Animal Protection Law. This is fairly new, not all dog carers are aware of this requirement.

Best of luck to you and your dogs.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!