How welcome will my large breed dog be in Mexico?

We bring our pittie girl to Mexico every winter. Reaction is always mixed. Many young guys come over to meet and ask about her and some people cross the street to walk on the other side

I second the "keep on leash" comment.

navegator wrote:
A lot of persons in Mexico are afraid of dogs, keep your dog on a leash at all times and do not let the dog approach a person that looks uncomfortable with the dog, specially when you go into town, have the collar on the dog at all times, do not let the dog run loose with other dogs unless you personally can vouch for the ownership of the other animal.

Make shure that all the vaccines are current, there is rabbis, parvo and mange, there are also worms, do not let the dog lick or go near other dogs that you do not know specially the buts and feeses on the ground so that he does not pick worm eggs.

Other than being attentive to what your dog does you will both have a good time think of the dog as a mischivious two year old human.

navegator

Respecting people's space who appear fearful is just good manners.

We are fortunate that she sticks very close to us even without a leash and listens well. We still will not take her out around other people without a leash.

I had not considered the "fish issue". Good tip.

Thank you.

kca87 wrote:
We travel and are staying in Mexico right now with a Golden Retriever. We came down here 4 years ago the first time with him and the locals LOVE him because he is so different than what they see down here (we are in La Paz).

Ours loves the water - he goes swimming and dives down to look at all the fish. It's hysterical. The other people around get a real kick out of it and call him a pescador (fisherman).

I don't know exactly where you are going - but here are some tips I recommend (I volunteer at our local dog refuge and I see so much that could be prevented):

- It is best if your dog is neutered. Lots of strays here and few are spayed. Also - a Golden Retriever here is worth $$ if it can breed. You don't want him stolen.
- They have no means to read a chip in your dogs head if he gets lost - so have a tag or something on his collar with your contact information if he gets lost.
- Make sure your dog's distemper vaccine is current.
- Depending on the age of your dog - same thing with Parvo. The strays are not vaccinated and can easily infect your dog.
- Take enough frontline, revolution or whatever you use for tics. Erlichiosis is transmitted via tic bites.
- Be careful to keep your dog away from dead fish - especially the big "puffer" fish. They can get pretty sick if they eat them.

Your Golden will have a blast if you are going where there is a lot of water. Ours sure loves it here.

Good luck and have fun!

Thank you for the good info. Our Golden is a female (spayed). We will be headed down to Mazatlan or Puerto Vallarta. She has never been in the ocean before. We are looking forward to that.

Thanks again.

Most taxis do not want to take dogs. Same with buses in general. Never say never but don't think it will be easy.

A lot of persons in Mexico are afraid of dogs, keep your dog on a leash at all times and do not let the dog approach a person that looks uncomfortable with the dog, specially when you go into town, have the collar on the dog at all times, do not let the dog run loose with other dogs unless you personally can vouch for the ownership of the other animal.

Make shure that all the vaccines are current, there is rabbis, parvo and mange, there are also worms, do not let the dog lick or go near other dogs that you do not know specially the buts and feeses on the ground so that he does not pick worm eggs.

Other than being attentive to what your dog does you will both have a good time think of the dog as a mischivious two year old human.

navegator

Kca87, what a great and helpful post!

We travel and are staying in Mexico right now with a Golden Retriever. We came down here 4 years ago the first time with him and the locals LOVE him because he is so different than what they see down here (we are in La Paz).

Ours loves the water - he goes swimming and dives down to look at all the fish. It's hysterical. The other people around get a real kick out of it and call him a pescador (fisherman).

I don't know exactly where you are going - but here are some tips I recommend (I volunteer at our local dog refuge and I see so much that could be prevented):

- It is best if your dog is neutered. Lots of strays here and few are spayed. Also - a Golden Retriever here is worth $$ if it can breed. You don't want him stolen.
- They have no means to read a chip in your dogs head if he gets lost - so have a tag or something on his collar with your contact information if he gets lost.
- Make sure your dog's distemper vaccine is current.
- Depending on the age of your dog - same thing with Parvo. The strays are not vaccinated and can easily infect your dog.
- Take enough frontline, revolution or whatever you use for tics. Erlichiosis is transmitted via tic bites.
- Be careful to keep your dog away from dead fish - especially the big "puffer" fish. They can get pretty sick if they eat them.

Your Golden will have a blast if you are going where there is a lot of water. Ours sure loves it here.

Good luck and have fun!