We are moving to Zug area in the new year and I was wondering how other peoples dogs settled in.

To give some information, we hope to bring our 2 year female boxer and am hoping to make the transition from large house/garden to apartment with possibly no garden to begin with.

Hopefully we can find something with a garden, but there doesn't seem to be many places available.

Boxers can be so boisterous and usually need so much exercise. Will you both be working? If not, then I'd suggest a slightly longer commute for the 'worker' so that you can look for (much cheaper) much more suitable accommodation for you and the dog. Also perhaps will have to compromise with luxury kitchen and bathrooms, etc- and go for simpler more 'rustic' feel to get more space and a garden.

Many families in our village are here for just that reason- to have lots of indoor and outdoor space for children and dogs, and a garden, and a a very reasonable price- and many with multiple dogs.

Look at a map of where one of you will work- and at villages about 30 to 40 mins away, and look at the Estate Agents again.

Thanks, yes we are initially looking around Zug for easy commuting, but want to have the best all round option for the dog as well.

She is lively and as I won't be working straight away, I will have plenty of time to explore the new area with her and of course do the training course.

Not sure about Zug area- but I've never had to do the training course when we moved here btw.

With a larger and lively dog, your options will indeed be more limited and will be a compromise. For me, suitable accom for the dog will trump the posh kitchen/bathrooms, etc, everytime. Good luck- can't really help as I do not know Zug area. Tell us how you get on.

I cannot imagine living comfortably in an apartment with a large dog, assuming you even find an apartment where your dog will accepted.

Finding a house to rent in Zug requires a very generous rental budget. If you that, great. Otherwise I think you may find you need to live further afield with a longer commute but better quality of life.

Glad to hear that you are doing the SKN course right away - a good introduction to canine life here.

Could I also recommend continuing with organized dog activities regularly, perhaps a dog sport or something like Familienhund, which is a mix of activities, brain-training, a bit of each of the dog sports, traditional OB exercises, and lots of fun thrown in?

I suggest regular classes as this is often a great way not only to help your dog settle in, but also gives you a chance to meet like-minded folks as you settle in. Grabbing a coffee with another owner after class is the easiest way to break the (social) ice.

I will second Odile's and Mrs D's advice of looking for a house if that is at all within your budget, even if it means a longer commute. Your life, and your dog's, will be far easier if you have a private garden. Were it me, I would make finding a house/garden a priority.

Yes, lots of dog owners here do live happily in flats - it does, however, require a level of committment that you need to be prepared to take on. Expectations - of you, of your dog, of how one lives in relation to others - may be different here to what you are accustomed to at home. Living in a flat with lovely neighbors who like you and your dog is certainly do-able. Living in a flat with neighbors who hate dogs can be hell on earth. Make sure you understand your neighbors' attitudes, as well as the landlord's rules, before signing on the dotted line.


(Of course this can apply to houses and neighborhoods as well - relations with neighbors can make or break your experience here.)


If you choose the greater ZG area (which, depending on whether you drive or need to take public transportation, could include bits of AG, ZH, SZ, even LU), you are fortunate in that there are excellent vets and even doggie day care services in the area. See these threads for suggestions:
Vet and Pet Sitter Needed in Zug
http://www.englishforum.ch/pet-tradi...alker-zug.html

My mutts' favorite ZG walk, by the way, is the Aegrisee /Raten Pass area. Especially in the snow.

All the best to you and your doglet, hope you enjoy your Swiss adventure.

Thank you for all of your replies, we just have the one dog and I will definitely be looking to take part in any Familienhund activities that I can with her.

I think we will have to consider anything with its own outside space.

She's not got a docked tail has she? Importing a dog with a docked tail is almost impossible here.

http://www.blv.admin.ch/themen/04670...x.html?lang=en

When we imported Slinky the dachshund- we had to provide a letter from the vet to explain that his tail was docked due to an accident that would not heal and several breaks. It is clearly not docked at the short level done for aesthetic purpose, and examination shows clearly it was done at adult age. They are very strict here about ear and tail docking and import of such. However:

Also anyone who moves to Switzerland from abroad may bring his docked dog with him. It is essential to obtain information from customs in good time before relocation to establish whether the criteria are met in your case, so that your dog can be classed as so-called personal property (http://www.ezv.admin.ch).




so make sure you get everything in place if that is the case.

Oh no, she does have a docked tail....it is allowed in Ireland where she was born. We didn't know she was docked until we went to view as we knew it is no longer allowed in the UK....just fell in love with a little puppy docked or not!!

Definitely not done for medical reasons, seems like we might lose our girl then?

NO- read my post above again- just make sure you go through procedure very carefully.

Elmirador do check with EZV as Odile says. They'll tell you whether it's possible or not. Do it asap because it doesn't sound as if you have much time to sort this out. Find the one responsible for your crossing area here:

http://www.ezv.admin.ch/org/04135/04...x.html?lang=en

Absolutely not, as Odile says there is an exception for people from abroad moving to Switzerland.

The ban on docking and cropping was brought in over animal welfare concerns, as the practice is not only cruel, but deprives the animal of an essential tool of communication with other dogs. However, as this is an animal welfare issue the BLV recognizes that forcing a family to abandon a long time pet is also an animal welfare concern, hence the exception in this very specific case.

The only other exceptions are visitors coming for a short stay to bring in docked/cropped family pets, and cases of medical necessity, duly documented by the vet performing the amputation, or if that is unavailable by a vet qualified to review the case.

When you import her - and do contact the customs office and the BLV to ensure that you do it exactly, to the letter - you will receive a an attestation to the fact that she has been correctly imported. This needs to be in your pet passport - without this attestation if you travel outside Swiss borders you would be unable to bring her back into Switzerland.

The ban on docking and cropping has been in force for a long time now - it is unusual to see a dog who has been docked, and you might need to steel yourself to getting comments from strangers.

Hi
I moved here with my wife and two boxers in May from the U.S. it was actually quite painless. Our pups have natural ears but both have docked tails. We didn't even get stopped in customs at the airport (we did get a porter to help with two dog crates and 3 bags for my wife). The only real challenge was registering the dogs here. With the docked tails we had to prove ownership for over 6 months thereby qualifying them as "household goods." I had many vet records but toes didn't have my and each dogs name so they wouldn't work. With some pleading and lots of old facebook pictures the guy at the office accepted them in and approved their swiss doggie passports. We did look at some places in baar/zug but ended up closer to zurich (Oberrieden) at place with a huge terrace for the dogs. We lucked out because our neighbors all love dogs so they put up with the occasional barks. Regardless of zug or zurich there are plenty of places to walk the dogs. Feel free to pm me if you want more details.

Looking back on some older threads on the subject (2009/2010) it seems a letter from your vet stating why the docking was done could be necessary. So would need to confirm that when he/she first saw the dog it was already docked, had been done by the breeder before you got her, etc. If you can get something from the breeder as well to confirm it will all help.

No need to complicate matters Medea. The rules about bringing a pet with you when you move are clear- as long as the paperwork is done properly and in time.

We brought our two little papillons with us. They were quite traumatized over the 12 hour flight, but once we got them into a big field where they could run around, they were happy and have been ever since.
But we went from a small yard to a big one with field around. As long as your dog gets plenty of time outside, she should be ok living inside.

Thanks for your replies everyone, after a bit of a panic last night, I think we will be OK. I think I will read through the websites mentioned by Odile and Medea when I have more time and will definitely start the customs process sooner rather than later.

Golface8 - I am glad to hear your boxers arrived safely, they are such wonderful companions aren't they.

Elmirador: our family arrived in Switzerland in mid-September with 2 docked tail dogs with no problems. The customs officer at the ZRH airport didn't even blink at the dogs (and our massive amounts of luggage). But I did have lots of paperwork with me just in case; indicating they were family pets for many years and were docked at birth.
Good luck with the move!

Thanks Finella, I have just returned from apartment hunting in the Zug area and have found that as long as we follow the rules everything should work out fine.

We have even found 3 apartments with a decent amount of outside space, which combined with plenty of walks will suit us all, so I am not so daunted now.

I am now looking at where we can get 14kg bags of beta dog food from around Zug, any ideas?