John

We bought 2 dogs with us from Australia  no problems. Very dog friendly here, found a great vet -cost not much more than aus. Dog walkers are around, check on this website for details on them.Cheers Jeff 

Go to a vet right now. I'm not sure but you may need to start the process a few months ahead to get a dog from the UK to mainland Europe. At least that's how it works from Europe to UK. 

Other than that, Geneva/Switzerland is a great country for dogs. Costs are reasonable, but I don't know details. 

Here are the regulations, direct from the horse's mouth: www.bvet.admin.ch

Interesting thanks! 

It's a springer spaniel i have. One of the regulations is no "docked tails" in principle may be brought to CH. Unless special stuff is completed.. We got our dog at 8 weeks old, he had a really short tail but the breeder and our own vet said it was just abnormally short, not docked.. Anyways, i think i'd need to declare it rather than be arrested by the "tail police".

But everything else looks fine. Cool.

Get written statements from both, then things should be easier. After all, the tail is not docked.

Dog third-party liability insurance, and possibly even dog training lessons, are mandatory. I don't have a dog, so I don't follow it that closely.

Thanks for all the infos..

Insurance etc would be fine, would do that anyways.. And some more training never goes amiss if needs be..

Photo just for fun.

We brought our dog from the US in March, and have had ups and downs. For the most part, this is a very dog-friendly place. He joins us at restaurants, in stores and cafes, on hikes, trains, buses, even goes with me to the airport when I pick up friends and relatives. 

A couple things that bother me, though. One, my dog, who is the gentlest dog on the face of the planet, has been attacked about six times in the six months we've been here. Although there are ostensibly leash laws, many people frequently walk with their dogs off leash. Mine is always on leash because he wants to run up to everyone and every dog he meets and be their new best friend. So I keep him leashed for his own protection and he is trained to ignore other dogs while on leash. Sadly, other people do not feel the need to keep their pets leashed, and aggressive dogs have lunged at and attacked my dog, at which point my poor guy is so confused he simply lies down and cowers, never fighting back. One woman even hit me with her dog's leash, as if her aggressive, unleashed dog was somehow not to blame. Fortunately, my dog has not been injured (no blood has ever been drawn). But I find this attitude that leash laws do not apply rather frustrating. 

Another frustration is the difficulty in finding what we Americans call doggie-day care, or somewhere that takes your dog in for a couple hours to a day (no overnight care) so that I can take a day trip, or run a day's worth of errands and not leave my dog home to whine and bark and annoy the neighbors (which you NEVER want to do here!). Dog walkers tend to be pricey, and their services are only for an hour or so anyway. Despite the rarity of this kind of service, I finally found a good day care situation, but it is expensive. I also found a good overnight kennel, but have to travel to another canton for it. So again, pricey and a bit inconvienent. 

I guess the moral of my stories is that if your puppy is a member of the family, not just a dog, you find what you need and you make it work. Not sure how to fix the unleashed aggressive dog problem, but I've figured out everything else, and it has all been worth it.

Best of luck to you!

My wee doggie is no lapdog, he's nearly 35kg of muscle :-) 

Like yours he's very friendly and likes to "greet" people, so kept on the lead in busy places.. He's also quite protective for my daughter who uses him like a big play-thing.

We're off to the vet on Friday for yearly check so I'll raise the question of moving abroad and certainly make sure he's a topic of negotiation with employer when i'm discussing the big move!

Sorry to hear about Jennifer's bad experience with local dogs.

Nice to see that some people really care for their dogs (Julian). Have not really hiked with my dog for a while, because she's getting old (me too ...), but I also used to carry her when needed/dangerous.

Last week, I had the opportunity to adopt another (one more ...) rescued dog, a very nice beige mixed labrador/shepperd. Definitely too heavy to carry, but surely a good walker, "only" 7 year old. Still a beautiful dog, except for a bad and large scare all around her nose (hair will never grow back), due to a smart guy who had the excellent idea to "close" her nose against barking with a rubber band or maybe wire. ...

P.S. Once, I've asked my vet whether she would recommend or not someone to have a pitbull (or similar dog) in a family with young kids. Just to have her opinion. She said she would trust a pitbull dog (if well educated, of course) more than a ... sharpei or a griffon, which temper seem to be naturally potentially instable. Surprise !
And she added that spaniel and mixed spaniel dogs were for her among the best dogs in terms of natural temper

Jennifer - there are lots of leash free areas around - I got a map from my vet which showed all the areas in Geneva. I have 2 border collies and they run leash free in the Veryier forest where there are very few other dogs. Send me a note if you need further info

Switzerland is definitly dog friendly. I been in 20 restaurants for lunches or Dinner. and only one time was it a problem where he pee in the place, notably a problem. Many times the owner would offer water for dogs. But this is conditional your dog is quiet and not bothering others, if any problems your going to be 'taking out'.

For Dog sitters and walkers, just check out the classified in Glocals , there are several available.

For dogs vet bills and DOG TAG/Taxes, its not cheep at all. Best buy dog food also in France, at half the Swiss price. Just like Meat prices.

Switzerland is a great place for dogs because of the trails everywhere, parks, lake side, mountains. Its really a great life for them here.

http://www.glocals.com/guides/biz/Leenas-pet-sitting/

Dear Jennifer,

we can provide a bounded and safe pet-sitting service, just fora walk, for a couple of hours or overnight if you need help with your baby.

To further information, take a look on our website:

www.dogwalkersuisse.ch

Thanks,
Roberta 

We have a magnificent Rhodesian ridgeback puppy 3 and half months old , and i am looking for a good dog's training center,  initially for puppy training but i will like to continue also later on during his growth .

Any advise on a  serious and good center for puppy training in geneva, also in french?

thanks for your answers!!

sorry i forgot to say, in geneva canton..

Are you looking to rehome a dog? Older dog or puppy? Please visit the website link attached. You will have to meet specific strict requirements from the Sonnenhunde charity, which rehomes dogs, but hopefully in return you can give a dog in need a of a new home, a forever loving place to lay his or her head.

All dogs are vaccinated, microchipped and have passports. Please consider a rescue dog from a reputable charity. (My two rescue dogs are from Sonnenhunde :-)

http://www.sonnenhunde.org/homepage/s_zhgesucht.php?k=0