Korean Job Discussion Forums

[casey's moon]

Just curious how many other foreigners are dog owners. I find it to be a little different from owning a dog in Canada. As someone mentioned in a different thread you have to keep your dog away from puke piles every morning... Also, it's hard to find someone who has the necessary skills to take care of a dog here, if you're going away for a day or two. My husband and I resorted to a "dog hotel" and that wasn't the best experience for anyone, especially not the puppy. Housebreaking was a bit of a nightmare too, as we got him during monsoon season... Anyone else faced (and hopefully overcame) unique dog owning experiences in Korea?

[Pyongshin Sangja]

Itaewon Animal Hospital, next to the Lexus dealership, is great at taking care of dogs and cats during your holidays.

[sistersarah]

i have a dog and i've had no problems. there's a couple animal hospitals down the road. both vets there speak english and have been excellent. he stayed in the doggie hotel there when we went away for vacation, but they took good care of him and only 8000 a day.

yeah, housetraining is definitely different...not like you can just swing open the door and let him run like at home.....i live on the eighth floor, so i have to take him all the way down and go to a nearby park. not bad in the good weather! i take him out twice a day.

of course i can't take him out as often as i'd like, being in the apartment and so on, but he hasn't been very messy. he's pretty particular about where he goes to the bathroom. i have two small mats i leave out. if he has to go while i'm gone, he goes there. he goes pee on one and poops on the other one. i can't believe how good he is about it!

i'm taking him home to canada in a couple months, and we're both excited....he'll be able to go out whenever he wants. until then, he's doing well.

[casey's moon]

your dog looks a lot like mine! I have also resorted to the peeing mats, but I make sure he does all his big jobs outside. 8000 a day is better than what I paid, and my pup came back smelling awful... Where is that vet located? Thanks!

To the other poster (name escapes me at the moment, although I remember your avatar!), how much do they charge at the clinic in Itaewon?

[sistersarah]

i live way the hell in ilsan, out in daehwa. i would visit several vets near you to find a good one.

[riverboy]

Yeah.

Shitz Tzu and husky. It was not so bad with the houstraining, but to give the Husky a chance to run sucks. She also has had a stomach infection since I got her which has cost me Two hundred Thousand won.
Oh well. I love me dogs even the little runt!

[T-dot]

got a 3 month old jindo pup, i was literally walking in a pool of urine everday in my apt. she's gotten better and never poops indoors.

Bundang is very dog friendly ( engllish speaking vets, parks etc. even a new pet building ; zoo zoo is opening up)

Can't stop the thing from biting though.

[casey's moon]

sarah, my vet is good and my korean and her English vocab (for the harder stuff) is sufficient -- it's just the kennel thing... but maybe I'll try the one in Itaewon.

riverboy, strange combo (husky and pooptzu!) how do they like each other?

t-dot -- is it true that you will have to get some fake papers if you want to take your jindo out of the country in the future? I've heard that you can't take a jindo out of Korea, but I'm not sure it's true... the biting is pretty normal for 3months... I love jindos, except that they aren't non-allergenic, unfortunately. such pretty dogs.

[JongnoGuru]

Had (past tense) two dogs and two cats of my own in Korea so far, and I've "dog-sat" for friends & neighbours many times when they were on holiday or staying at a yeogwan while their house was being renovated.

They'd tried the commercial kennels & pet hospitals, with results ranging from grim to ghastly. I think I've heard everything now, from dogs being neglected, traumatised and sick, to their becoming infected from dirty cages, chewed up by other dogs, and in one case strangled by their own chain when the dog leapt out of a bathtub while the staff left him unattended for a couple minutes.

And these dog-owners I'm referring to are not penny-pinchers or careless when it comes to their pets. They wanted and paid for the best or close to it. The results, I think, speak for themselves. I'm not saying all Korean kennels & vets are to be avoided. Obviously, that's not even an option. But I will say that appearance, promises, fancy certificates on the wall, and price mean jack-shiite, given the above-mentioned experiences of others. I'd say word-of-mouth reputation and just plain gut-instinct would be better criteria.

The situation can't really be as bleak as I've just painted it, but I only go by what I've personally heard, and the fact is, people just don't come up and tell me all their "happy kennel stories".

The problem is, Korean veterinary or kennel staff can be well-paid, well-trained and well-intentioned, but too many don't know what they're doing or simply don't care enough to do it right every time. Same goes for many dog-owners here, witness the appalling numbers of abandoned, neglected or mistreated pets.

So, people have paid me to look after their dogs. This is easy since I work and live in the same building, and if I do have to go out, my GF, my secretary or someone else is here. There's about 90 pyong of enclosed outdoor space in the gardens and perimeter grounds. Except when they're in the dog run, in the doghouse, or behind a tree or a bush in the big garden, a dog is pretty much under constant surveillance here. Like a "canine correctional facility" or "Club Med for Dogs" with trees, a big lawn, water gardens and dog toys. Plus the occasional squirrel, magpie or butterfly to keep the hounds on their toes.

As long as they're reasonably well behaved and aren't lap-dogs, toy-dogs, or little rat-faced yappy-mouthed "indoor dogs", then it's not too big of a burden. (Though the GF's views may differ )

Sistersarah, has the dog in your avatar been dyed? My second dog was a maltese. The GF had been pestering me to take in a maltese that her hairdresser was giving away. I really don't like small breeds, but we eventually did take him in -- under extreme circumstances.

We "intervened" (that is, my GF, her sister and I did) at the behest of the hairdresser, who's jerk of a husband beat and kicked the dog pretty regularly, and who's 8-yr-old boy (like father like son?) only "liked" the dog in the sense of "liking" to torment small animals.

Our "intervention" was prompted by the husband kicking the dog so hard one night that we later had to get it x-rayed to see if there was any permanent injury. By the time we showed up at the hairdresser's apartment, she was crying, her son was locked in his room and screaming like a maniac, the husband had gone off who knows where, and the dog looked half-dead in a box on the veranda.

As I said, I don't really have time for small breeds, but I was so tempted to put on my helmet & flak jacket and go do a little kick-boxing on that sonuvabitch husband. The dog couldn't even walk properly for a week. We nursed him back to good health (1 month) and reasonably good spirits (about 3 months) and then later found a good home for him. ("Chucky?! -- Hope you're doing okay, buddy.")

The Guru

[T-dot]

my vet told me its fine to take jindo's out of country.
they just have to be past a certain age. i think 6 months old, not sure.
if i wanted to take her now (3 months old) she would be stuck in quarantine for a month.

you have to have all your paperwork done and shots taken care of by your vet.

[sistersarah]

[casey's moon]

my poodle's an apricot too. guru, too bad you have a problem with small breeds -- you know they aren't all yappy... but I suppose the yard thing only works for the bigger dogs.

[JongnoGuru]

[T-dot]

i prefer the mid-to large dogs.
can't really like the smaller one's. don't know why.

anyways, jindo's don't really smell. works fine in the apt. her scratching and clawing marks on the walls are another story.

[casey's moon]

Guru, I'm sorry about the dog that bit your face... that's terrible. I hope that particularl little "lap" dog didn't live to bite another. Your dog pics are great, and I'm fascinated by your living quarters... Did you buy a house, or is that beauty yard and all provided by some sort of employer?

I actually totally understand why some people don't like smaller dogs, as my natural inclination is to have a bit rompy sort of dog like a collie... but allergies brought the first lovely poodle into my life when I was growing up, and now I have just bought another and he's a doll too.

Our apt smelled terrible before the pup had all his shots and I was scared to take him outside, but now it smells just lovely in here again.