Job Discussion Forums

[FoxandMe]

Hi folks,

I plan on making my way down to Mexico in the next couple of months, and have a small dog (beagle) that will be coming with me. I'm in the beginning stages of reading up about different towns and, I hope, making some initial contacts in schools, so that I don't just land there with completely no direction.

I know that Mexicans view dogs differently than Americans do. I've read that, if owned by a family, they're treated as guard dogs and it's common to see them tied up outside. Then, there are all the strays. I figure that my dog will be living at my home, and that I'll take him for walks, etc. What about travelling to different parts of Mexico? I assume buses are out of the question? Will I ever say other pet dogs that he could play with, or is his social life going to go down the tubes? Are there some areas or towns that are more dog friendly???

Thanks.

[Guy Courchesne]

Dogs have to ride in the cargo hold in a carrier beneath a bus, sedated ideally. I did this with with my dogs for the 5 hour trip to Acapulco and back. It's not the nicest way to travel but they survived.

If you are in a city with a large park - which would be most cities I guess - and your dog is people-friendly, you can cut him loose for a run. Bring the pooper scooper.

[snorklequeen]

maybe this is a US custom i'll need to forsake, but does anyone board their dogs [at the vet, or a pet boarding business, etc.] in Mexico if they want to go somewhere without taking the dog(s)?

i can see leaving a dog tied up outside if i'm in town, but do neighbors make arrangements for friends or neighbors to watch out for each other's animals if the family wants to go out of town without the dog?

here in Houston, i leave my dogs in the house and a neighbor comes over twice a day to let them out in the backyard, feed them, etc.

am i dreaming to think i'll find this in the Mexico City area?

thanks,
Sam and Baby, Queenie's dogs

[Guy Courchesne]

You can send them to the doggy hotel...usually a vet will offer this. Or, yes, you can ask a neighbour. I don't know how common it is but I've done it before with a neighbour who also has dogs. I suppose it's merely a matter of knowing your neighbours well.

If you end up living anywhere near me, then maybe we could pet-sit for each other.

Next thing you know, I'll be announcing doggy get togethers on the forum.

[ls650]

I have a cat, and when I leave town I give a key to a trustworthy co-worker so that he/she can stop by and feed him.
I've had mixed results: the cat hasn't starved to death, but usually folks aren't too good about cleaning the litter box...

[MELEE]

FNM PMed me about dogs, but I'm going to answer here as other's might be interested. First of all, my dogs are Mexican. They have different lives and expectations than American dogs. But being the pets of an American, they also have different lives and expectations than Mexican dogs. They are stuck in a neither here nor there situation.

Second, my dogs have never travelled more than ten kilometers from their place of birth. By the time I got them I had already been most places you can get to on a weekend from here. I don't get a lot of other vacation time, but either by then boyfriend took care of them, or my now sister-in-law took care of them if he was travelling with me. I've left them home overnight by themselves, with a large bucket of water and a big feed before leaving and a big feed upon arriving. (One of them is the type of dog that will devour all food left out, whether she's hungry or not, so leaving food out isn't an option for me.) I currently have an inclosed back yard where they live. I've lived with them in two other places, both of which they had enclosed ouside areas. This is important because I work long hours.

I've never heard of dog boarding, there is one "fancy" vet in town and it wouldn't surprise me if he offered that, but I don't take my dogs to him. I've also never had neighbors I'd trust with them (MY CURRENT NEIGHBORS HAVE ACTUALLY THREATENED TO POISEN MY DOGS), but like I already mentioned, my sister-in-law is good with them.

There aren't any parks in my city where I would consider letting my dogs off their leases but my city is really small and I can easily cycle out of the city and let them run free in the countryside.

Over the years, my dogs will be six this July, we've had various dog friends, who were/are strays! or pets just left to roam the streets. One male, my are both girls, both spayed, even adopted us and lived outside our house for over a year until he misteriously disappeared.

Good luck to Fox (and you)

[FoxandMe]

Hey Guy, are the parks that you mentioned (say, in Mexico City for example) fenced in? Do other people take their dogs to run there too? Do other people take their dogs out like Americans do?

Hey Melee, thanks for your dog background. I'm just curious, you mentioned cycling to the countryside where you could let your dogs roam free. How do you transport your dogs with a bicycle?

And everyone or anyone, I am worried about having my dog down there, but if I want to go I don't have a choice. He's mine. Is it going to be very difficult with him, and am I going to be very restricted in where I can go, what I can do...?

[MELEE]

[Guy Courchesne]

[snorklequeen]

ls650, i can relate about the litter box -- dog sitters don't do that type of thing either

thanks for the info, guys!

Guy, there's a doggie bakery here in Houston -- doggie b'day cakes are big business!

Q