Moving to HK with a dog?

Hello,

we are in the beginning phases of planning a move to HK. We do have a large dog (Ridgeback), who we would hate to leave behind. From websites I learned that the actual moving the dog part to HK shouldn't be too difficult. However, what I'm concerned about is daily life with a large dog in HK. What about leash laws, how are dogs perceived in HK, are they generally welcome or are they considered a nuisance? Are there dog parks where they can run, what about running on the beach? There are a million questions that are going through my mind at the moment. I would very much appreciate some comments on how we should tackle this. Thanks a lot in advance. Best regards. Nadine

Well its very urban so taking the dog for a walk can be quite interesting, I'm not sure how much your dog will appreciate it. You say you have a large dog, well you probably know that rents are pretty astronomical in Hong Kong for a large place in the city so it could be quite expensive accommodating your dog. You dont have to have your dog on a leash, at least I dont think there is a law, there was a case a few months ago about a dog who knocked over some kid in Discovery Bay, but that was a civil case brought about by the victim and the owner was not busted by the government for failure to keep their dog on a leash. There are some nice places to live if you have a dog, you might want to think about Sai Kung, Discovery Bay, Lantau, South Side of the island all of which have beaches and where there is plenty of open spaces where dogs can run. The attitude towards dogs is pretty laissez faire as I see it. I would add that unless you live in one of the areas I mentioned, I wouldn't own a dog in Hong Kong particularly if its a large one. It's too urban, and if you live in the city, midlevels for example you would definitely want to keep your dog on a leash even though it may not be law.


I would sort out where you are going to live first, and then decide whether it would be appropriate to bring your dog for you because it really does depend on where you are going to live. My boss came out with a rotweiller-alsation cross and he lived in Happy Valley, the dog seemed OK but I always felt a bit sorry for her. That being said there are plenty of places to take your dog at the weekend, I'm not so sure how much he/she will appreciate it if he/she gets out properly only once a week, if you choose to live in the city.

We brought our large dog over from the UK (we would never have come if we weren't able to bring her). We had all the concerns that you have but she adapted to life in HK without any problems at all. We moved from a house with a large garden and countryside walks on our doorstep, to apartment living and we thought she might find it difficult. However, there are plenty of places to walk the dog, we have Pokfulam Country Park close by and the local area is fairly quiet without much traffic. It seems that almost every other household has a dog so you won't be in the minority. Most dogs are smaller, but I still see a few Weimaraners (mine!), many Labradors and Retrievers, German Shepherds, Huskies ... even Old English Sheep Dogs!


However, as someone else has already said, it really depends on where you choose to live, but there are plenty of places in HK that are dog friendly.


Some of the locals are quite frightened of dogs ... even small ones, so you can imagine what they are like faced with a big dog! As long as you understand this and respect how they feel, and steer your dog away from them (even though she just wants to have a little sniff some people can become quite hysterical, which is understandable when people aren't used to dogs).


Making the arrangements to bring her over here were very straight forward. Some people choose to do all the paperwork themselves and I believe it is difficult, but we had an agent to do a door to door service for us ... wasn't cheap but with all the other hassles you get with moving we decided it was worth the extra money to know that someone experienced was dealing with it.


Also, if you don't plan to have a domestic helper who would look after your dog during holidays, there are great boarding kennels here who I can highly recommend, so no worries there either.

"I believe it is difficult"


Sorry, that was meant to say "I believe it isn't difficult"

Thank you for all the quick responses. My husband will be working at the airport, so we were considering Lantau Island. Some places such as Chaung Sha Beach and Tong Fuk came recommended on the forum as great living places.

Thanks especially to Sapphire for her comments. We feel the same about bringing our dog, I don't think I could move without her. I'm happy to hear that there are Ridgebacks in HK, hopefully she will get to meet some. Maybe she will get to meet your Weimeraner lady ;-)

I understand the concerns that other people have regarding larger dogs, although it amazes me every time my dog is called a big dog because to me she isn't. She does well on the leash but she defenitely needs a good run every day. We will also move from countryside to HK and I was wondering about how she will adapt to being in an apartment, but our trainer wasn't concerned with that at all.

The other question I'm wondering about is how she will cope with the long flight. I know they will get some medication to calm them down but did your dog ever fly before moving to HK? Should I get her accustomed to flying, maybe do a shorter distance flight? She is used to being in a kennel as she has one in the car, so there will be no need to get her accustomed to that.

Thanks again soooo much for all the comments, it makes considering the move much easier. Nadine.

If you are going to live on Lantau, that is a great place for a dog

Nadine ~ No, our dog had never flown before. Obviously it can be a very traumatic experience for a dog and personally I wouldn't try to get her accustomed to flying ... it's not like she'd be sitting in a seat next to you ... she'll be in a kennel just big enough for her to stand up in and turn around ... for many hours alone, wondering what the hell she's done to deserve it! Sorry, don't want to upset you, but it's not an experience I'd want my dog to have to go through unless absolutely necessary. However, the people we used actually preferred not to us medication as they said it disorientates the dogs and takes them longer to recover from the flight. When she finally arrived, she was very tired, and I would imagine that she hadn't slept at all ... she came into the apartment and inspected every nook and cranny, following us around everywhere, then promptly fell asleep in her comfy basket ... but was soon back to her normal exciteable self!!

Hi I livE in Discovery bay, and am a dog owner, I must let you know Dogs are not allowed on the Beach area, also letting dogs run free in public areas ie parks and public walkways is frowned upon and if anybody wanted to be really 'shirty' they could report you to hK gov. which stipulates dogs over 20kg should be kept on a lead in public places. Our dog and cat made the trip from UK and arrived her happy and well.