frenchbulldoghk

[frenchbulldoghk]

19. A frenchie in Stockholm

Here are some pictures of Duck's new life in Europe from July until now...

First day in Sweden- finally some green grass to run on

Smelling the flowers at the park next to our apartment

Another plane trip, a bit shorter this time. Summer holiday to Switzerland

Lounging lakeside, Lake Konstanz, Thurgau Switzerland

Dining on the border of Italy and Switzerland, Brissago, Ticino Switzerland

Back to Stockholm... 

Meeting tons of french bulldogs in the park next door, there is an off-leash dog yard 2 minutes from our apartment

Stockholm is crazy dog friendly, which sucks for Duck who no longer gets to ride in cabs everywhere... public transport it is

Lazy in her new bed... by her I mean our

Fall in Stockholm... getting cold. Unlike HK, these clothes are actually necessary 

So many leaves...

A bit bored. Not a lot of action in Stockholm compared to HK. The streets are so quiet.

Winter has hit. Time to bust out the winter jacket...

Cuddled up on the couch, freezing my ass off.

Merry Christmas.

It's february and it's still freezing... take me back to HK :)

#frenchie in stockholm #frenchie pics #Duck #pictures

[frenchbulldoghk]

Duck and her dog passport, on her way from Stockholm to Switzerland for a lake getaway

#dog passport #pet travel #pet vacation

[frenchbulldoghk]

18. UPDATE: flying a frenchie out of Hong Kong

It's been awhile since my last post, and for that I apologize. I will do a quick update post with all the useful things you might want to know about.

Choosing a Pet Relocation Company

I emailed two pet relocation companies. 

Wish you were here: Lu [email protected]

International Pet Travel HK: George [email protected]

The info I got from Lu at Wish you were here:

Our service will provide the travel kennel, arrange all export paperwork and assist you with transporting your dog to HK airport and completing the check in procedure. You would then pay the excess fees for your dog direct to airline (approx HK400 per kg) more importantly your dog needs rabies and DHLP vaccinations within the last 12 months and over 21 days old and we will then arrange for a health cert to be issued within a week before departure. Our export service cost is :  WYWH fee : $3800 (arrange all the export document, Health Certificate, AFCD endorsement and transportation from door to airport.) EU Health Certificate : $500 Deworm : $250  Crate (32x22x23 inches) for travel : $1300 (optional) Gov Endorsement : $155  Flight fee : owner paid to airline. Total : HKD$4705 (without crate) or $6005 (with crate)

From George at International Pet Travel I received this quote:

Service that we can provide.

1. Arrange for your canine “Duck” to be examined and have the local and EU health certificates issued from your local vet.

2. Arrange for the health certs to be endorsed by the HK government and collection when ready. Takes 24 hours.

3. Reconfirm with your Make airline reservation (Swiss airline or another carrying airline)

4. Check all necessary documents before the departure date.

5. On the date of departure, collection of client, dog and baggage's from residential and proceed to the airport passenger terminal and check in for the your dog with the carrying airline as excess baggage.

Export Handling fee $2900

IATA Approved Travel crate $1300 (32”Lx23’Wx24”H)

EU and local Health certificates $1000

Government endorsements x 2 $310

Commercial parking at HK airport $180

Airlines excess baggage charges Pay direct to airline

TOTAL: HK$5690

We decided to go with George from International Pet Travel because we had heard a lot of good things from our vet and other recommendations. Also, the other company seemed a bit confused about the rules for french bulldogs so I just felt more comfortable going with George.

Booking Duck's ticket

The way we had to make her booking was a bit irritating, as it required us to make our bookings first, including payment etc. for our trip from HK to Stockholm through Zurich. Swiss Air seemed to be the only airline that let us take Duck during the summer seasons as excess baggage (still below the plane and not in cabin) where with other airlines it would have been cargo (much more expensive).

Once we had a booking reference number, George contacted Swiss Air on our behalf and put in a request for Duck with her kennel size. They apparently need to know to calculate if there is enough room in the designated area for her. They take a week or so to actually get back to you. The annoying this is that they can't tell you until a week before your flight if there is actually room. Luckily there was room and all went well. The cost to the airline for her was USD 400. This might have been due to the large size of her kennel, but we wanted to make sure she was comfortable on the flight.

Other travel arrangements

George took care of all the paperwork. He had our HK certificated converted to EU compatible ones and organized Duck's last check up with a vet (who happened to be the same vet we already used). It was all very easy. A week before the flight, he dropped off a new kennel for us complete with 2 water bottles to attach to the cage door. He said it would be good for her to get used to it before the flight.

The really nice thing was that he picked us up and took us to the airport. Since we had so much luggage, this was really great. We parked and he helped us check-in with Duck. It was nice knowing he would be able to give them any additional info incase they needed more, but he had it all taken care of and handed us a folder with all the papers we would need for customs in Sweden. We were able to keep Duck longer so she wouldn't just be sitting in a room for 2 hours before the flight.

On top of that, George was a really nice guy. Spoke great English (and I'm sure Chinese), very professional yet very friendly. I would definitely recommend him to anybody. The payment was very lax too. We hadn't paid George anything up until that point, and not until after Duck was accepted in by the airline did we go to the airport ATM and paid him in cash (HKD 5900).

The flight

Obviously I wasn't with Duck, but I'm sure the long flight was not fun at all for her. We had made sure she had tons of water, some treats but hadn't eaten too much food that day. She had plenty of long walks before and was pretty "empty" before the flight. We had a layover in Zurich but I didn't see her, she was just transferred from one plane to the next. Luckily our layover was so short that we barely made the next flight but the flight waited for her because I had told them that my dog was coming from the last flight. When we arrived in Stockholm I picked her up from the excess baggage area. She wasn't as excited to see me as just to get out of the crate. Throughout the flights one of her water bottles had been knocked off and only one remained. It didn't look like she peed or pooped during the flight. A few minutes later as we were heading towards the baggage claim exit she peed in the middle of the hall. How I wish I had had some napkins or pads. A few minutes later right before customs she pooped. Brilliant. Customs were easy, they scanned her microchip and looked at her papers. There was one thing they couldn't read from my vet's certificate but we cleared it up and went through.

Some tips about this experience:

You must be on the same flight as your dog if you fly them as "excess baggage"

Excess baggage is way cheaper than cargo but they can fly anytime and alone

Most airlines restrict short nosed breeds during hot months

Make sure to have at least one extra water bottle on the cage door, because it seemed they might not have been careful when transporting her and one came off completely

Have napkins/pads/poop bags in your purse or hand carry for when you arrive at your final destination

Print out all emails and confirmations you get from the airline confirming the dog was accepted, etc. there are a lot of cases of getting to the check in desk and them not having the same records as the person from the airline you spoke to

Don't give your dog any medication for the flight. This is extremely dangerous, ask your vet about it

Familiarize your dog with the crate/kennel it will be in before hand so he/she doesn't flip out when you shove them in there and ship them off on a long flight

George says some people attach little fans onto the cage doors to give the dog some air during warmer months, but it could also result in your dog having very red and irritated eyes from it blowing in their eyes while they are by the cage door

#frenchie travel #flying a dog #dog travel #dog travel HK to europe #swiss air #international pet travel #wish you were here #pet relocation #pet travel #hk to sweden

[frenchbulldoghk]

17. Reputable Frenchie Breeders

Written July 2013

In the past few months it seems that we run into more and more 'expat frenchies'. So since we are leaving HK, I thought I would put up an updated list of reputable breeders of the frenchies we've met and dealt with.

I've also had people email me asking if it's really safe to trust a breeder you've never met with your money. I can only vouch for Tai Kennels because of my own experience with him, and that of three other people I've met here in HK who went through him. Again, it's good to be cautious, I've almost fallen for a ton of scams (read about that here) because there are just so many out there. 

Here is a list of other breeders from Taiwan and Hong Kong (yes I finally found one!). These are breeders of dogs that I have personally met and spoken to their owners about their experiences. Again, everyone's experiences may be different.

1.) Tai Kennel the breeder who we got Duck from (what the majority of this blog describes ;) ) His agent provided transportation and door to door delivery for an extra cost. Tai was a pleasure to work with, he personally picked us up from our hotel and offered and drove us about an hour and a half to his kennel and back. He even treated us to dinner that evening. 

Location: South Taiwan, Kaoshiung 

Contact: Ho-Tai Sung, [email protected]

Breeder info: http://ingrus.net/frbull/en/managePerson.php?personId=4156

Website: http://www.taikennel.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hotai.sung?ref=ts&fref=ts

Bio:

 Welcome to Tai French Bulldogs. We are live in the south of Taiwan.

I am Tai, devoted breeder and owner/handler of quality FCI Registered French Bullsogs and breed selectively and rarely with health, temperament and conformation in mind and strictly for the betterment of the breed.

Tai's Dogs: Duck, Nom Nom (brindle Duck's cousin), Maximus (cream Duck's half brother), Tricky (cream Duck's sister)

2.) HungKwang Kennel Not only have we met dogs from this breeder, but we considered him ourselves. He was very efficient and helpful at providing us information when we enquired, the only reason we ended up going with Tai was because he didn't have a cream puppy available at the time. He provides transportation and delivery of the puppy included in the price. He works in shipping so he is able to personally bring the puppies into the cargo area and wait with them when he ships them somewhere. 

Location: Taipei, Taiwan

Contact: Jackson Chen [email protected]

Breeder info: http://ingrus.net/frbull/en/kennel.php?personId=5223

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sankuang168?filter=1

Bio: Shows and breeds frenchies. His frenchies are bred from American and European champions. 

Jackson's Dogs: Maui (cream) and Memphis (cream)

3.) Icare Kennel

Location: Hong Kong

Contact: Ron Mak, [email protected] [phone]

Breeder info: He breeds very few frenchies per year, all from Europe or New Zealand

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/icare.frenchbull and https://www.facebook.com/icarekennel

Ron's Dogs: Dahlila (black brindle)

#french bulldog #frenchie in Hong Kong #hong kong #taiwan #breeders #frenchie breeder

[frenchbulldoghk]

15. Getting a frenchie out of Hong Kong

I started with looking for the following:

HK dog export 

EU dog import

Sweden dog import

Hong Kong Pet Exportation and EU Pet Importation

By checking the AFCD Export of Animals page (easily found by googling "dog export from hk") I found this info:

EC entry easier for Hong Kong dogs and cats

With effect from 1 January 2012, the European Community (EC) has a new import requirements for dogs and cats coming from Hong Kong. Owners of dogs and cats will find easier to take their pets to EC member states. These requirements include:

The animal is identified by a microchip;

The animal is accompanied by a health documentation (must be in EU format) which requires official endorsement from AFCD;

The animal has a valid anti-rabies vaccination status (at least 21 days have elapsed since the completion of the primary vaccination against rabies); and/or

The animal has been examined by an approved veterinary surgeon before travelling and found to be in good heath and able to withstand travel to the planned destination.

The certification which certifies the animals have met the above requirements is valid for 10 days in the EC. Some countries/places, including Finland, Malta, Ireland and the United Kingdom, have additional requirement.

The animals have been treated against tapeworm within a period of not less than 24 hours and not more than 120 hours before arrival.

If the animals transit through a country/place which has not been approved by the EC, a rabies antibody test is required, or the import will be subject to the decision of EC. Different conditions will apply for other pets. Owners are advised to check the import requirements through the website of the animal health authorities of the destination countries/places for the latest information before planning their trip.

That was pretty informative right off the bat. From there I followed a link to EUROPA- Animal Health and Welfare page. Here I found a list of countries:

Countries with a favorable situation with regards to rabies:

Ascnsion Island

UAE

Antigua and Barbuda

Netherlands Antilles

Argentina

Australia

Aruba

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Barbasos

Bahrain

Bermuda

Belarus

Canada

Chile

Fiji

Falkland Islands

Hong Kong

Jamaica

Japan

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Cayman Islands

Saint Lucia

Montserrat

Mauritius

Mexico

Malaysia

New Caledonia

New Zealand

French Polynesia

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Russian Federation

Singapore

Saint Helena

Trinidad and Tobago

Taiwan

USA including Guam

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

British Virgin Islands

Vanuatu

Wallis and Futuna

Mayotte

For these countries, entry into EU member states (excluding Finland, Ireland, Malta and the UK) requires:

valid anti-rabies vaccination

health certificate in accordance with the regulations in this document issued no more than 10 days before the scheduled arrival in the EU

animal should be identified by transponder/chip or clearly readable tattoo 

For entry into Finland, Malta, Ireland and the UK, the following is required in addition to the above 3:

Dogs must be treated against the tapeworm Echinococcus 

Countries without a favorable situation with regards to rabies"

all other countries not listed above

For these countries, the following is required:

valid anti-rabies vaccination

rabies anti-body titration test

(i) carried out on a blood sample taken by an authorised veterinarian at least 30 days after vaccination and three months before movement. The collection of sample must be documented by the authorised veterinarian in the relevant section of the passport or the health certificate.

(ii) performed in any EU-approved rabies serology laboratory;

(iii) measuring a level of neutralising antibody to rabies virus in serum equal to or greater than 0.5 IU/ml and using a method prescribed in the relevant part of the Chapter concerning rabies in the Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals of the World Organisation for Animal Health;

(iv) which has not to be renewed following a satisfactory result provided that the pet animal is revaccinated at regular intervals prescribed by the vaccine producing laboratory

health certificate in accordance with the regulations in this document issued no more than 10 days before the scheduled arrival in the EU

animal should be identified by transponder/chip or clearly readable tattoo 

For entry into Finland, Malta, Ireland and the UK, the following is required in addition to the above 3:

Dogs must be treated against the tapeworm Echinococcus 

Sweden Pet Import

I checked the Swedish site equivalent to HK's AFCD, Jordbruks Verket, for more on import regulations

Hong Kong qualifies as a 'Listed country' meaning it is a country outside the EU that is considered to have a functional control system for rabies. This means that the rules for bringing a dog from a listed country are much less than non-listed and are identical to the EU regulations for favorable countries shown above.

So this seemed confirmed what the HK AFCD site said and seemed fairly straight forward and easy. 

#pet travel #dog travel #frenchie travel #french bulldog #pet relocation #dog export from hk #dog import into europe #dog travel to europe

[frenchbulldoghk]

16. Flying a frenchie out of Hong Kong

After the import and export regulations, I moved on to researching the following:

airline pet regulations

international pet relocation companies

Hong Kong pet relocation companies

Next I had to find an airline that actually would fly Duck out of HK.

Finding an airlines that allows frenchies

Knowing what I know about french bulldogs, it was a common theme for commercial airlines to start putting restrictions on frenchies flying with them a few years ago. Due to several accidents where snub nosed breeds died on flights due to temperature conditions below the cabin in the cargo or excess baggage areas, some airlines just didn't want to the risk and banned them altogether.

The pooches have trouble breathing due to their short noses, and their respiratory conditions worsen when flying at high altitudes in cargo holds where temperatures can be very hot or too cold, Timepoints out.

The Agriculture Department reports 189 animal deaths on commercial flights between June 2005 and June 2011, The New York Times reports. "Of those animals, 98 — more than half — were brachycephalic breeds."

The harsh reality has caused Delta to ban the breed from flying in cargo holds. Other airlines, such as American, Continental and United have enacted restrictions on when the dogs can travel.

American Airlines states it will not transport pets when temperatures are above 85 degrees or below 45 degrees. The airline also specifically lists which breeds will not be accepted as "checked luggage." Other airlines, such as Canadian airlines, don't list breed restrictions on their site, The Globe and Mail points out.

Japan Airlines banned bulldogs from flying in 2007, stating it has dealt with a concerning number of deaths among the breed because of their breathing difficulty, MSNBC reports.

Passengers who are looking to fly their beloved pooches to a location have one of two options: Bring them along as carry on (if the dog is less than 20 pounds), or buy them a ticket on a private jet.

-written October, 2011 Huffington Post article

The major airlines that seem to have banned these brachycephalic breeds include:

United (banned during summer months June 1 until September 16)

Continental Airlines (banned during summer months June 1 until September 16)

American Airlines (banned altogether) 

Delta (altogether)

Lufthansa (if temperature exceeds 27C/80F at originating or destination location)

(these are mostly American airlines, which I won't be focusing on since it luckily isn't relevant to our situation)

Dog policies of other airlines that fly out of HKG  Cathay Pacific

No dogs allowed in cabin (other than service dogs)

Pets will only be transported in the cargo department

Pets may not be allowed to go as checked/excess baggage depending on the destination (i.e. into HK )

No free baggage allowance for pets

Weight system for all locations except the Americas:

From HK to France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, UK, Russia, South Africa (more on Cathay site)

US $60 per kg for total weight of pet and its container

Piece system for the Americas:

Total weight/size of pet and the container is within 23kg/50lbs and 158cm/62inches

From HK to USA/Canada = US $300

From HK to Central and South Americas= US $360

If the total weight/size of pet and the container are over 23kg/50lbs and 158cm/62inches, there may be additional charges

Overweight up to 32kg (70lbs), but below 158cm (62in)USD100 per piece

Oversize up to 203cm (80in), but below 23kg (50lbs)USD100 per piece

Up to 32kg (70lbs) and 203cm (80in)USD200 per piece

Over 32kg (70lbs) and/or 203cm (80in)2 times of the charge per piece

Swiss

Dogs are allowed in the cabin if the pet and carrier weigh less than 8 kg 

Dogs can be checked in as cargo accompanied with a passenger (Swiss calls this excess baggage 'in hold')

Small dog kennel max. size 60x45x40cm:

US $200 

Bigger dog kennel:

US$ 400

Dogs can also be checked in as cargo without a passenger on SwissWorldCargo: Pricing upon request

There is an 88 CHF fee for traveling from a non-EU country through Switzerland

Air France

Dogs are allowed in the cabin if they weigh less than 6kg/13.2 pounds and are older than 8 weeks (service dogs all allowed)

Dogs that weigh more than 6kg/13.2 pounds (no more than 75kg/165.3 pounds) and be more than 15 weeks old must be transported in cargo ('in hold')

If the dog and container weighs more than 75 kg/165 lb, they must travel by freight (AIr France-KLM Cargo)

Fees depend on destination and departure city but approximately 200 Euros

'Fighting dogs' are not allowed

KLM

Dogs are allowed in the cabin if the dog + container weigh less than 6kg/13 pounds in a container no higher than 20cm/7.9 inches

Dogs may travel as check-in baggage if the dog + container weigh less than 75kg/165 lbs

If the dog is not traveling with a passenger or traveling to a country where they can only enter in cargo/freight, the dog can travel by freight (Air France- KLM Cargo)

Fees depend on the destination

There is an additional 150 Euro fee for transfers of 2 hours or more at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

Lufthansa

Dogs are allowed in the cabin if the dog + container weigh less than 8 kg in a container measuring no more than 55x40x23cm

Dogs larger than 8 kgs can travel in the cargo department

If the dog is not traveling with a passenger or traveling to a country where they can only enter in cargo/freight, the dog can travel by Lufthansa Cargo

Fees are calculated by piece system:

Intercontinental travel

Small animals in cabin: 100 USD

Medium animals as checked baggage with container size no larger than 80x55x55cm and 6kg: 200 USD

Large animals as checked baggage with container size no larger than 125 x 75x85cm and 22kg : 400 USD

Lufthansa cargo: price upon request

Qatar

Dogs (except service dogs) are not allowed to travel in the cabin 

Certain dog breeds including bulldog (American, English and French) are not allowed onboard Qatar Airways flights as cargo or checked bags (some dog breeds are accepted for travel as checked baggage and cargo)

British Airways

Pets must be booked to travel with British World Cargo and carried in the aircraft hold (guide dogs can travel in the cabin)

Air China

Small animals can be transported in the cargo section of plane as checked-luggage

Fees will be charged as overweight baggage, price upon request

Aeroflot 

Dogs are allowed in the cabin if the dog + container weigh less than 8kg/18 pounds and the cage is no larger than 115x115x115 cm.

Dogs + containers larger than 8kg/18 pounds can travel in the cargo hold.

Fees will be charged as second piece of excess baggage

Dogs traveling require "A certificate from one of the two licensed Moscow breeding clubs,SKOR or RKF, stating that the animal presents no breeding value. Certificates obtained from any other club may result in delays at customs."

Cabin, excess/checked baggage, cargo/hold or freight

What's the difference? Cabin literally means your pet stays in a carrier under the seat in front of you for the whole duration of your trip. There is usually a weight restriction for the dog and carrier combined. The pet is not allowed to come out of the carrier during the entire flight. Excess or checked baggage means your pet checks in with you in the passenger terminal but travels in the cargo hold which is the temperature controlled area meant for oversized baggage and pets. Air Cargo/Cargo/freight/hold means your pet is traveling alone without a passenger and is checked in through the cargo terminal which have livestock holding rooms, etc. Some airline have separate freight/cargo planes that handle all cargo without passengers (Air France-KLM, British Airways)

Obviously if you can, you would want to fly with you dog, but if not cargo/freight is the only option. The other problem may be that not all countries accept pets as checked baggage. The main difference between the two is the price. Air Cargo is much more expensive. 

These countries do not allow animals to be transported in the cabin or checked/excess baggage (they can only go as freight):

Ireland

UK

Kenya

South Africa

Hong Kong

UAE

*(these may not be the most recent or updated, please check your specific destination)

After checking the International Air Transport Association (IATA) which represents the airline industry, which shows the custom rules by country, I found that Sweden has no restrictions on how a pet arrives.

Pets may enter as passenger's checked baggage, in the cabin or as cargo.

I understand that not everybody reading this may be planning a move from Hong Kong to Sweden, but perhaps another destination (however, if you ARE please call me so I have a fellow HKer to hang out with in cold, dark Stockholm :) ). To recap, and make this a little less destination specific, these were my steps:

Check if your destination allows pet imports from your departure city (if you weren't coming from HK you would also check your departure cities export regulations) i.e. some countries are considered "unfavorable with regards to rabies" and other countries will require pets from these countries to stay in quarantine for a certain amount of time such as dogs coming from China

Check if your destination country has any restrictions to dogs to arriving in cabin, excess baggage or cargo (IATA), i.e. some countries do not allow dogs to arrive as excess baggage such as Hong Kong

Check expedia/momondo/other flight site to find out which airlines fly to your destination from your departure city

Once you know the airlines that do, check the individual airlines to see their pet travel policies, i.e. some airlines do not allow french bulldog or other short-nosed/fighting/etc. breeds at all, regardless whether it's in cabin, excess baggage or cargo 

#pet travel #dog travel #frenchie travel #pet relocation #dog export from hk #dog import into europe #dog travel HK to europe

[frenchbulldoghk]

14. A frenchie leaving Hong Kong

After everything it took to get a frenchie into HK, it's now time to get that same frenchie out of HK and into Sweden.

We've lived in HK for almost two years now, since August 2011. Duck has been with us in HK for nine months, since September 2012. Sadly, the three of us will be leaving HK at the beginning of July 2013.

While I love HK (the guy maybe less so) and Duck can't really compare to anything, the guy  has gotten a new job in Stockholm (his home land) and the rest of us will have to accompany him.

My new mission is now getting Duck out of Hong Kong. 

As I mentioned a year ago, even before getting Duck, I made sure we would be able to get her out again, either to Europe or the States. It's funny (and crazy) but people keep asking me if we will bring Duck after finding out we're leaving. Like we would actually leave her here! 

A kind Instagram follower even offered to take her after Duck's sarcastic comment

  I know that a lot of the dog rescues in HK are full of abandoned dogs whose owners left HK but this is not about to happen.

I had already started researching pet relocation last year.

More to come in the next few posts...

#dog travel #pet travel #hong kong to europe #sweden #hong kong #french bulldog #frenchie out of hong kong #moving #pet relocation

[frenchbulldoghk]

I previously said Duck never chewed on shoes. I was wrong. Very wrong

[frenchbulldoghk]

Hi, Great blog! We originally fostered a 1 year old Frenchie, our first dog in fact, but found he was almost uncontrollable at times so ended up surrendering him. But we fell in love with the breed and now have two Frenchies, both bought as puppies from Taiwan. A male, Lumi, now 9 months old and recently, a female, Amber, 3 months old. His facebook page is LumiTheFrenchie. Do you know if there are any Frenchbulldog owners "clubs" here i HK?. Would be great to meet up sometime

Hi, thanks for reading! Your frenchies are adorable, so cute together too! I don't know if there are any clubs here, at least I haven't found any from searching. In the past year though, I have met quite a few frenchie owners and we try to get together and have little playmates. You and your crew should join! We are trying to get a group together next Sunday at our covered terrace in Wanchai. Let me know if you are interested in joining :)

[frenchbulldoghk]

13. Frenchie Friends

Since Duck has arrived in Hong Kong, I have started to run into more and more french bulldogs right here in Hong Kong. Aside from the ones mentioned in an earlier post, I must have met at least 7 more frenchies. I managed to snap some pics of a few of them:

This is Duck's cousin, Nom Nom from the same breeder as Duck (Tai Kennels). She is a month older than Duck and black and white brindle. This photo was taken before she learned to walk on her leash. She is adorable but her temperament is very different than Duck. While Duck is more aggressive and hyper, she is very easy going and mellow. The two have had playmates since they were a few months old.

We met Guui Guui, another cream frenchie male in Discovery Bay one weekend. He basically looked like a bigger version of Duck. His owners also got him from Taiwan I believe. The mounting aside, the two hit it off :)

We met this black and white brindle male frenchie at a cafe in Sheung Wan. I've seen him around Central a few times after that. From what I remember, his owner purchased him here in Hong Kong.

We met this frenchie male, black and white brindle at the dog park in Cyberport. He was huge in comparison but the two had a lot of fun playing together, or more like Duck had a lot of fun getting him to the ground and violating his private area

#french bulldogs in hong kong #frenchie friends #french bulldog #frenchies #ducks friends #other dogs

[frenchbulldoghk]

12. Finally a frenchie in Hong Kong

September 28th was the big day. That was the day that our puppy arrived in HK.

Duck, our cream frenchie arrived to Hong Kong healthy and happy, if not a bit shy and quiet. She handled the van ride from the airport to the Tung Chung taxi stand like a champ, and the flashing lights on the taxi ride home to Wanchai like only an Asian puppy could.

It has now been almost 7 months since Duck has joined us. Here is a quick summary of those our accomplishments, medical issues, etc:

potty training was a breeze, and by breeze I mean she learned how to go on the pad on the balcony perfectly within two weeks for a few months and then "un-learned" everything and started peeing 90% on the rugs up until a month ago when we banned all rugs from our home...

during the first few weeks we had her, we only stayed in the apartment and the rooftop terrace on our building since she didn't have all of her shots yet. There is a patch of grass up on the terrace and she started to get little pimple looking things on her stomach after playing up there the first few times. We thought it was from the grass or bugs in the grass but after speaking with the vet it turned out to literally be puppy acne, or 

Dermatitis. Got her some ProActive and everything cleared up :) or not and it just cleared up on it's own 

within about 2 months, we had our first 'issue'. Duck seemed to have a little bladder problem because she started peeing every few minutes but nothing but a drop or two would come out. This happened for a about an hour until we brought her to the emergency animal hospital... this may have been a bit extreme of us but we didn't want to risk it so we went. They said she probably had a little bacterial infection and gave her some antibiotics. It basically stopped the next day

crate training, if we can even call it that, turned more into pen training, where she stayed in her pen when we were not home and during the night. She hated this and would bark her head off... yes bark.

about barking. We thought frenchies didn't bark. We were wrong. So wrong. This thing barks like crazy. She barks to get attention, when she is playing, when she was in her cage, etc. Luckily our walls are thick because otherwise I would feel horrible for the neighbors

we started leaving her out of the pen at night, free to sleep on the couch at first around 4 months. Then gradually when we saw she hadn't electrocuted herself yet, we left her out when we left during the day too. We monitored her on a camera at first but found she went to sleep immediately after we left and would only get up to drink or pee

at 5 months we went from three to two meals. AM at around 8 and PM between 7-8. She disliked that at first and would sadly stand by the kitchen during lunchtime when we were home but it was clear that she wasn't starving

at 8 months she underwent the desexing operation at the Easy Island Animal Hospital. Creature Comforts is great because somebody who actually works at the hospital (not just some teenage chinese driver) comes and picked her up from our flat at around 8am. She had the surgery and was dropped off in the afternoon around 5pm. He spoke to me about what to expect and gave me her medication and the invoice (to be paid via bank transfer or credit card). They had called earlier in the week to explain how to prepare (no breakfast, etc.) and followed up with a call the week after. The cost of the operation was under HK$1,000 not including the collar and medication. She was very out of it when she came home and was very thirsty. Of course this meant I let her drink a ton and that she automatically threw it all up. This process repeated for the next two hours. She was a bit scared to lie on her stomach so she fell asleep leaning on me until she finally collapsed. The recovery was very fast, she was back to normal the next day which was tough since we had to keep her calm and not jump around too much.

she has never chewed on any shoes (knock on wood) but she always has bit on the corners of the sofa cushions, socks, her pee pads, toilet paper,paper in general and most other things she can find on the floor. She likes to shred up paper but not really eat it, and recently she has starting gnawing at the wooden furniture we have... I bought this very useful spray at Whiskers and Paws called Grannick's Bitter Apple Spray which I spray on things she bites. She hates the taste so it will usually stop her for about an hour and by that point she has forgotten and moved on to something else

#hong kong #Duck #french bulldog into hong kong #french bulldog in hong kong #frenchie in hk #hk #puppy #puppy life

[frenchbulldoghk]

11. Frenchie Favorites

Here is a list of some of the favorites we've found in Hong Kong:

Fave vet: a friend of mine recommended a great vet, Dr. David Gething of Creature Comforts who does house calls for a reasonable price of HK$ 650 not including injections, medication, etc. They also run the Island East Animal hospital open 24 hours for emergencies and surgeries. Duck was desexed on March 8, 2013

Fave school: enrolled in Puppy Socialization training classes at the SPCA Wanchai- if I said this was a success I would be lying, but it was very beneficial in getting her socialized with other puppies, although she was the bad egg of her class (she spent more time being on 'time-out' than learning anything 

Fave park: discovered the Cyberport Park, perhaps one of the only places where dogs run around off leash here in Hong Kong

Fave Social Media: started an instagram account @duckthefrenchie capturing every minute of Duck's life, to the amusement and disbelief of all my non-dog owning friends

Fave frenchie: got in contact with Duck's cousin, also from Tai's Kennel, who is now Duck's first and most consistent friend in HK (or more like her frenchie frenemy)

Fave stay-cation spot: finding that perfect 'hotel' for Duck to stay at while we are away, Dogotel located in Causeway Bay/ Tin Hau is great, not only does it look like an actual human boutique hotel complete with spa and salon and shop, you can choose different room types (seriously) and there is live camera streaming into the rooms for us to watch her 24/7 no matter where we are, Chung the manager is great and sends complete updates of her throughout our holidays. Duck literally is more excited to see the Dogotel staff than us. We still take her for a spa 'bath' (HK$350) every few weeks because she just comes back like 10 shades lighter and smelling so amazing

Fave dog food: experimented with different treats and food types, goal being to try and reduce (eliminate is simply not possible) her deadly gas. In the end we go for Honest Kitchen's all natural dehydrated food Embark (gluten free, low carb, all that good stuff). Yes the prep work is a pain (warm water for 30 seconds in micro, mix with food, stir, let sit for a few minutes, serve) but she likes it and we've never had any stomach issues. Found at Whiskers and Paws in Ap Lei Chau who will also deliver directly when purchased online

Fave dog treats:  wise, Duck likes Wellness Wellbites (Turkey and Duck) found at One Dog Life, Whiskers and Paws, Pet Pet, etc.

Fave shops: discovered some great shops such as Dogaroo in Stanley (also have a pretty schnazzy hotel in Mongkok), also like mentioned Whiskers and Paws in Ap Lei  Chau has a great outdoor terrace, super friendly staff (so rare in HK) and is in the same building as the Lane Crawford and Joyce outlets (hello!), Three Dog Bakery in Mid-levels (Caine Road) has really cute little desserts for dogs and was where we found her favorite harness

Fave accessories brands: after spending a small fortune on collars and leashes (or leads as I realized they are called in these parts) on Etsy, Lane Crawford etc. I love everything from British brand Mungo and Maud. Is it cheap? Not at all. They carry some pieces at Lane Crawford here in HK but I mostly ordered online and spent a ton on shipping, but I think they have such great stuff. We've ordered a few collars and leashes, toys and a sweater/cape for those 'cold' HK days

Fave Frenchie accessories: found this cute site TheWayYouWantIt.com that makes custom prints and ships them worldwide. Prices are reasonable and they're really cute, I recently ordered this frenchie one which is similar to something I posted in the past 

Fave Etsy accessories: found this cute Etsy designer Blink Things who makes adorable leashes, collars and pet tags... we ordered the mint and salmon rope leashes approx. HK$ 390 each

Fave Sunday spot: our Sundays are spent at the Island East farmers market at Taikoo Place in Quarry Bay. Super dog friendly with the occasional stand selling homemade dog treats or accessories, it's a great place to mingle with poodles other dogs in a pleasant environment

Fave dog friendly restaurants in Wanchai: since we live in the SoJo area (South of Johnston Road in Wanchai) we are frequently around Star Street. Lucky for us, both Classified and Oolaa Petite are very dog friendly with their outdoor tables. The manager at Classified is a dog owner herself so will happily bring over some water for Duck. King Ludwig on Queens Road East also has outdoor seating and a lot going on to keep Duck busy while we eat. PizzaExpress on Ship Street also has an outdoor table 

Fave dog friendly cafes in Wanchai: the owner of Amical Cafe found on the 1st floor around the corner from Star Street is also a friendly dog owner and allows Duck on the terrace portion of the cafe, or to hang in the cafe while I order some of their homemade cheesecake to go (a must try)

Fave mode of transportation: basically there is only one, unless you have a driver which we don't. Taxi. I was surprised that most of the time the taxi drivers won't add on the HK$ 5 charge for dogs and generally seem to be fine with them

Fave pet supply delivery sites: Pet Project HK (free delivery on orders over HK$200), WisePet (free delivery on orders over HK$300) and Whiskers and Paws Eshop carry brands like Orijen, Wellness, IAMS, Royal Canin, etc.

Fave protection accessory: came across this great product called ProtectPet. It's a little coded collar tag that will help keep track of Duck if she were to ever get lost. The way it works is that whoever finds Duck wondering around HK will call the hotline on the tag, be rewarded for doing so by this company, and they contact us. 

Fave weekend activity: dogs are allowed on the ferry to and from Discovery Bay so we spent a day out there one weekend. Definitely a dog friendly environment, the square was filled with dogs

#frenchie in Hong Kong #getting a french bulldog to hong kong #french bulldog in hong kong #duck #taiwan to hong kong #favorites

[frenchbulldoghk]

Hi! Just wanted to thank you for all the effort you've put into your site. It was super helpful and saved us months of searching. After finding Tai's contact through your blog, and if all goes to plan, it looks like we're getting Duck's little brother at the end of the month! :D Do you mind me asking which vet you bring Duck to? My bf and I live in Mid-Levels as well, so hopefully we'll bump into you guys! Many thanks again. We can't wait to meet our little guy!!

Hi Tracy! So glad to hear, and I hope all goes well with getting Duck's brother! So he has the exact same parents as Duck? How very exciting, we should meet up for a playmate once your little guy is older.

Our vet is Dr. David Gething from Creature Comforts, he basically does house calls so comes over to our flat and does the check up including injections and everything. It's super convenient and they also run the East Island Animal Hospital which is open 24 hours incase of anything or for surgeries (Duck was just desexed there). Obviously I can't say enough good things about him, but I also have friends (the owners of Duck's cousin) who bring her to the SPCA in Wanchai and have had no issues at all, plus it's very reasonably priced.

Hope everything went well with Tai and best of luck getting your puppy! 

[frenchbulldoghk]

10. What About Taiwan? Going to Taiwan to Look at a Frenchie

UK was out, Hawaii was out; that left Japan, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Fiji and Taiwan.

I wanted to be able to go visit and see the puppy before choosing to get it

I didn't want the puppy to have fly in cargo on a long plane ride

That basically left Japan and Taiwan. I had completely forgotten about Taiwan, conveniently located about an hour away from HKG. I remembered colleagues telling me about friend's getting poodles from Taiwan and how they were known for quality dogs.

I immediately started researching breeders and found quite a few off the bat. A few of them told me they had experience with sending puppies to HK and asked what I was looking for. The two breeders I had the most contact with both were very helpful in answering questions I had and sending pics of available puppies over.

Pictures I received from Tai of Tai Kennel

1. Cream female   birth: 2012.07.14

After seeing a few others, we thought the first one seemed to match exactly what we were looking for. I wrote back asking for the cost and what the next step in the process was. He informed me that he knew the regulations for HK as he has four dogs in HK already and that the puppy could technically be transported at 2 months, but he recommended 3 months for the puppy's health and safety, which I thought was a good sign. He told us we would only need to pick her up at the airport and that he had an agent who could arrange all the import and export paperwork. The cost of arranging the shipment was US$500 and the cost of the puppy was US$2200.

This seemed in line with what I had read I should expect to pay. Some say to expect to pay around 3,000-3,500 for an AKC registered USA born frenchies, while other say 2,000-2,500 so given that she was not born in the States and registered with the FCI instead, this seemed fitting. The breeder gave me the puppy's bloodline on her parents by showing me her lineage online. Her father is an American Champion from a breeder in the states, Hilsman French Bulldogs.

After this, I asked the breeder if he would keep the cream puppy for us as we tried to figure out a weekend to come down and see her. He agreed, and we booked flights for two weekends later. Tai was very nice, and even though he warned me his english was not good, I never had a problem communicating with him through our emails. He even offered to come pick us up at the airport or our hotel and take us to his kennel since he claimed it would be difficult to find taxis where he kennel was located. He sent me a picture of himself and asked for one in return to be able to recognize me. 

In the back of my mind, I was still telling myself to be suspicious and not to get my hopes up after all the scams I had found. Everything Tai was doing was lowering my concerns but I still didn't want to get overly excited in case.

In the meantime, I was doing my research on Tai and came across this site listing him as a breeder and all of his dogs. I found YouTube clips showing some of his dogs and his Facebook page. He told me he had been doing this for nine years. 

View from our hotel room, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Two weeks later, we sat in our hotel lobby in Kaohsiung waiting for Tai to pick us up. The flight had been an hour and 15 minutes from HKG to KHH. When he arrived, it was clear he was not comfortable with english and ushered us into his car, where we drove for about 45 minutes, in near silence. Once we got to his kennel, Tai opened up a lot and explained that he taught himself to read and write in english to be able to communicate with American breeders and handlers he deals with through email, but cannot speak or understand very well. He brought our the cream puppy from the pictures as well as her father and mother. We were pretty taken back, a.) that the puppy from the pictures was real, and b.) how adorable she was. Tai let us be with her for ages, every once and again answering questions I had by writing it down on a piece of paper. I had prepared my list of questions regarding the puppy's health and genes, etc. and found that he answered most of my questions. 

Cream puppy aged 1 and 1/2 months

The puppy's father (sire) Hilsman's Lord Grayhawk

The puppy's mother (dame) Tai-Taiwan's MSSR Sweet Judy

We spoke about the process if we wanted to arrange shipment over to HK. If we agreed to take her, we would put down a deposit of US$300, he would have her microchipped and arrange the HK import requirements with his agent. We would need to make the complete payment by the time she arrived in HK. He gave us a buyer's contract that had conditions if the puppy got a congenial disease within a year, waiting ages for neutering/spraying and breeding. He guaranteed a healthy puppy and we would need to have a vet see her within 48 hours of getting her to verify this. Overall, it passed all my expectations on what to look for and ask the breeder about.

We left a deposit, and Tai drove us back to the city center. On the way home, we stopped at an American restaurant, Smokey Joe's and had dinner with Tai. I picked his brain about every french bulldog issue I could come up with, all the while having to type it into his Chinese to English translating iPhone app and handing it back and forth. Despite our language barrier, I could tell that Tai cared a lot about what he did and was passionate about french bulldogs. He told us about his own frenchies and his show dogs and the different handlers he works with around the world. To top off a great night, Tai even treated us to dinner, something we were not at all expecting and that he insisted on. The overall experience was very positive.

We flew back to HK ready to wait a month for the puppy to arrive.

#taiwan #french bulldog #french bulldog into hong kong #khh to hkg #tai kennel

[frenchbulldoghk]

9. Considering Hawaii to Get a French Bulldog From

A month and a half went by without any mention of a dog. Yes, I was still checking the AsiaExpat and GeoExpat pet section, but pretty half-heartedly.

After awhile, I looked at the category 1 country list again. I realized that Hawaii was on the list. We had just finalized our vacation plans to Maui at the end of November. I started researching breeders in Hawaii and contacting the ones I found. I only found one highly recommended breeder Rabang French Bulldog. After contacting her, I found out they wouldn't have any puppies that would be the right age, nor did she know anybody else who did. She even sent over four pages of basic info about pricing and dealing with breeders and also warned me of the numerous backyard breeders in Hawaii and how there were only a few reputable breeders.

Obviously, I could have just waited until they did and ship it over (again, a 12 hour flight with no direct options either) but I felt that it would be necessary to meet a dog first before deciding to get it over pictures, etc. My plan would have been to go and visit in November while we were there, and then be able to decide if we wanted her, even if she would have had to be shipped at a later time. 

#from hawaii #Frenchie #french bulldog #french bulldog into hong kong

[frenchbulldoghk]

8. Searching for a Frenchie in the UK and Sweden

After California, we spent some time in Sweden and the UK. Here we tried again to find puppies, mainly from online ad sites such as blocket.se and gumtree.com (UK). Knowing what I do now, I would have stuck to breeders only. 

Both sites had a lot of listings, most of which seemed much more legitimate (non-scam) than the ones we found in Asia. The issue was still that Sweden was a Category 2 country, and even from a Category 1 country like the UK, the long journey in an airplane seemed rough. 

Long story short, we considered getting a puppy in Sweden and leaving it with friends/family until it was 5 months (not an easy task to convince someone to raise and train your puppy for you), before having it sent over, but ultimately decided that it just didn't feel right.

Getting a dog from the UK was probably the best option we had come across, yet somehow it just didn't pan out. Whether it was the lack of time I had while I was there (and working) to look for one or just my guilty feeling of putting a 2 and something month old puppy at the bottom of a plane for 12 hours, it just didn't happen.

Truth be told, I had exhausted my original list of options and tried to put getting a dog out of my mind.

#Frenchie #french bulldog into hong kong #from UK #from Sweden #french bulldog

[frenchbulldoghk]

Fell asleep mid-bite

#french bulldog #puppy #duck #playing #hong kong #frenchie