Tropical Dangers? - Page 1

We're looking at buying a winter get away in either Belize or Costa Rica or thereabouts.  I am such a non-travelled  northerner  - I have no idea what dangers I might need to look our for with 3 dogs running around, even with a fenced yard.  I know there are poisonous snakes and such - but what is the actual risk?  Does anyone know if there are lots and lots of dangerous critters, or just a few?  We have the odd rattlesnake in our province and apparently lots of cougars in our area (although in 30 years  I've never seen one) - but the notion of going somewhere that I have no inkling of the natural risks for the dogs  is giving me some concern.

Remember to check for any restrictions of bringing in a dog and if they will need to be impounded for any length of time.  Many places will for up to 6 months.
The fees for this may also be more than you will want to pay not counting the effect it will have on your dog.
Many times the Tropical conditions will not be suitable to GSD's if they come from cooler climates.
Also getting a good dog food can be a problem even if you feed raw.

I would recommend you ask the local vet in the specific city where you have your winter home about poisonous plants and animals. I know of a GSD that died eating a poisonous frog in the tropics.
Costa Rica also has an annual Sieger show so there is an SV club there and a GSD community so you can ask them as well. In Spanish, google pastores alemanes.
Unless you are going to an island country, import restrictions for dogs are pretty minimal. Neither CR nor Belize are islands, again just google their animal import reqs.
Also, if you are going back and forth between Canada and Central America every year, I am assuming you'll be using a private jet instead of transporting your GSDs regularly by commercial. When you're in a private jet, you always get the VIP treatment in customs so they'll typically wave you past.
The GSDs s/d have no trouble with warmer weather as long as you don't transport them straight from below freezing in Canada to 80s in one day. Try to leave for your winter home around September, October not November or December.
If they have their thick coat on, it won't kill them. Just have them in air conditioned indoors until they acclimatize. Brushing them everyday will help get the cold weather inner coat out.

Cool for you, I've heard that Belize is gorgeous...good snorkeling as well. I was just thinking about this the other day as well, & nearly posted a thread.....having lived in Hawai'i I know that they do have a 6 month quarantine for all animals, whether they are vaccinated or not. They have no rabies in Hawai'i, & a very delicate native flora/fauna which has been ravaged by imported plants & animals already, so they are very cautious, & rightfully so. But what I was worried about were parasites & other yuckies...didn't even think about frogs & snakes! No snakes in Hawai'i, but HUGE poisonous centipedes, cane spiders, mosqitoes the size of a B-52, jelly fish, etc. jackie harris

I have a friend that travels the world building hospitals. He told me years ago, the first thing you do when you get off the plane is purchase the yogurt in that country. It will quickly help your system assimulate the bacteria that they have. You will very rarely get sick this way. I  would also do this for your dogs.

 We live in Ecuador, but high up in the Andes so personally do not have any tropical issues but many people here keep gsds on the coast where the climate is really tropical - worst problems there are ticks (and diseases they carry) and the difficulty of keeping the coat in good condition - coats become very short due to the heat, the most prestigious kennels keep their best show dogs up in the mountains...   I have never heard of any accidents with snakes, but it is always possible...

I lived in Belize for a year along time ago, the  Mountain Pine Ridge is (or was?) a very lovely area at rather higher altitude than most of the country and has a very pleasant climate, Costa Rica also has some highland areas and these might be healthier y for your dogs than the tropical lowlands - both countries are small and easy to travel around.

I agree that its best not to trust raw meat in any of these countries, but I am sure at least Costa Rica has good dog food available (not so sure about Belize).  The GSD club in Costa Rica -  Asociacion Ovejero Aleman de Costa Rica  - is:

ASOVAL
asoval@asovalcostarica.com
Telefono: (506) 524-0637
Tel/fax: (506) 224-9412

Good luck!

I would also suggest that like with humans, both clean water and the possibility of infectious disease would also be something to think about. Mosquitoes carry many diseases. Costa Rica is a nice place, with many people from other countries living there, so I am sure there is competent veterinary care and also availability of decent dog food. I, like OSO, would not trust meat for canines there from any source unless I knew well the source and how the meat was managed. There are snakes and a few other poisonous creatures in all tropical nations, but with attention, this probably can be managed. A period of research once you know exactly where you would be going would certainly be helpful. To that end, there are a variety of sources you can tap into to get good information about potential threats and how to minimize the risk.

Hello OSO. How are you and the dogs doing? Merry Christmas past and I wish you a happy and prosperous new year.
Hodie

You might wanna have a little concern for your own safety living in either of these places..
just a thought.

 Hello Hodie, good to hear from you, my dogs are all fine thanks, no more mysterious illnesses!! 

On the whole, with obvious precautions, I think both Belize and Costa Rica are pretty safe for both people and dogs, probably a lot safer than many places in the US! 

Hi OSO,

I know many people living in Costa Rica and I would not hesitate to live there. I do not know Belize or anyone there, but I am also sure you are correct about it as well. There are, unfortunately, many places where I would neither walk or live in my own country.

It is good to hear that all the dogs are well now. Sometime, when you have time, send me some photos of where you live. You can email me privately with those. I sure hope it is warmer there than here!! I am already sick of this cold winter.

Best wishes for a happy and prosperous new year! Take care.