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I’ve read a lot about getting your pet to CR, but I’m worried about taking care of my dog after I get her there. My husband and I are hoping to move this year to the San Ramon or Santiago de Puriscal area. We would rent first and then build. Are there places to board your dog when you travel out of CR? Are vaccines other than rabies available–such as parvo? When we traveled in CR in October, 2006, we saw lots of stray dogs wandering around. Is it difficult to have a fence put up on rental property? If we are walking our dog on a leash are we very likely to get attacked by a loose dog? Does CR have any leash laws (seems unlikely!). This is my first post and appreciate what I’ve read so far. Thanks for any info.
U.S.-brand dry dog foods are commonly available in pet shops in all the significant towns, San Ramon and Santiago de Puriscal included. Most of the pet shops are run by veterinarians who should have access to all the vaccines that are necessary. There’s at least one vet who advertises boarding in the Tico Times.
You can negotiate erection of a fence with your rental landlord.
Stray and unrestrained dogs are what they are. Some are friendly, others not. Carry a large stick, a squirt gun full of liquid amonia and a Taser and you won’t have any problems.
I have rescued many dogs and am the proud pet & Chief Pooper Scooper to my new owner who is an Australian terrier (in Costa Rica of all places) and I LOVE all animals … It’s humans that I have problems with…
There are many affordable places to board your four legged loved ones when you travel abd I have found the veterinarians here to be excellent.
Most people walk the streets with their dogs and a stick. We (my dog and I) were only ever attacked once about five years ago which was in the hills of Escazu outside one of those ramshackled corrugated tin roof/wall homes but it wasn’t serious. My girlfriend at the time was a bit scared but nobody was hurt.
Scott Oliver – Founder of WeLoveCostaRica.com
#1 Chief Pooper Scooper to Her Majesty the Australian terrierWhat about organic pet food? That’s all my dog eats, besides the stew I fix him. I’m bringing a 5-lb bag of Timberwolf kibble, but I’d hate to resort to having to feed him somethinga s awful as Purina or it’s commercial equivalent. Anyone know of a high-end brand that’s organic and isn’t full of feathers, by-products, and all kinds of things I wouldn’t feed my enemy?
Must admit that I don’t even know if I have seen ‘organic’ dog food here…
I buy ProPlan, Science Diet and NutroChoice for my dog and regularly give her wee bits of cooked chicken that has been left over…
Since dogs often seem to be quite interested in eating the excrement from other animals, I’m not quite sure if they’ll be able to tell the difference with the organic food 🙂
Scott Oliver
WeLoveCostaRica.comDo you think the reason many of us leave our native country and move to CR is because of problems with the two legged variety of animals? I happen to be of the opinion it is…Not all of us, just most.
By the way we’re owned by three dogs and a cat. Unconditonal love, what a great thing!Uhhhhh, those brands are not the best to feed your dog, but if that’s all that’s available, then I guess it beats them going hungry. The pet food industry is totally unregulated, meaning they include such things as blood, feathers, chicken manure, diseased euthanized animals, and god only knows what else. Anything called “by-products” runs the gamut of garbage not fit for human (or animal) consumption. For the most part my dog eats a stew I make for him but he likes to munch on kibble as a snack. I guess I put dog food on the list for people coming down to visit. No dog food, no free place to stay.
My dog is tired of the snow, cold, wind, and ice. He wants to live out his days in a warm climate, chasing Blue Morphos, and lounging on the terrace. All kidding aside, yes, the two-leggeds are my main problem here. I feel like a martian compared to the average American.
Many dog owners in CR train them to not eat food offered by strangers. This prevents poisoning (a common way burglars neutralize them). I’m told all you need to do is have different strangers offer food laced with cayenne pepper to them every once in a while until they learn.
I’ve always been an advocate of Nutro-Natural (haven’t seen it here, but occasionally I do see some of the other Nutro products, but rarely) … and Pro-Plan. Also seen rarely.
The dog I just placed with a family actually did better on “Super Perro” — the cheap stuff you buy at the super market, than he did on the expensive Science Diet.
Dogs have evolved into hearty animals. The trick is to find out what your specific dog does best on. You can always supplement with cooked chicken, carrots, eggs and oil. Your dog will be fine.
As a side note: The owner of one of the largest privately owned kennel and training facilities in the States spent six months researching dog foods. He came to the conclusion that a certain brand (a specialty food) was the most balanced and nutritious. Also supplemented the food with the supplements recommended by the company. (This was a good sized company in the “specialty dog food” industry.)
Well– after much testing, both of their breeding lines (GSDs and Goldens) started throwing litters of dogs that were stunted (minaturized).
After eliminating all other variables, they switched to another brand and lo and behold… the problem fixed itself.
Moral of the story: Pay attention to your dog. Watch to see what he does best on. Teeth. Eyes. Breath. Weight. Feces. Personality. Allergies, etc…
Regards,
Adam.
Dogproblems.comI thought I was the only person in the world who felt that way!
By the way, I enjoy your posts very much. great sense of humor!
Jim
For those of you that don’t know Adam he has a phenomenal website at http://www.dogproblems.com and a great series of ‘how to’ videos (which I have…) that will help you with practically every challenge you might face with your four legged friends.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comMy dog grew up in our restaurants, so he is used to eating tenderloin, chicken, and lots of organic vegetables. He only munches on kibble as a snack because I cook for him every night — brown rice, either chicken or grassfed beef, an egg 3x’s a week, flaxseed oil, wheat germ oil, carrots, and celery. When I took him to the vet for his check-up so he could come to CR, the vet commented on how healthy he looks. In 13 years, he has never been sick, not even once, so I guess what we feed him is working. So Nutro products are available in Costa Rica? I’ve heard from some dog fanatics that Science Diet is not what it’s cracked up to be so I’ve always fed him Timerwolf or Avodermo, but mostly he eats home cooking, and in fact DEMANDS it.
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