Those who imported a Kai - How easy was it?

Deon

So, I want a Kai. Problem: No breeders in my country. Solution: Import. Me: Worried.

I want a Kai Ken in a few years. I've been reading on all this Importation stuff and it's really making my head spin. So far all I understand is the puppy must be over 12 weeks, have had Rabies Vacs, Microchipped, vet checked, ect. To come into the UK.
But I was wondering;

Due to the puppy not being home until around 16 weeks old(Give or take, depending on if there is a 30 day quarantine needed), does this affect their behaviour in any way?

Can you make the puppy be delivered to a Specific Airport Like Exeter or Bristol?

I know puppies taken from their Mum's younger than 8 weeks can be a bit more challenging... Does the same rules apply to puppies around their mums longer?

Is it easy finding a breeder that speaks the same language as you?
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Before you ask, I can't travel to the other country (Which would be US or somewhere else in Europe) because of my current animals needing to be looked after (Of which they live for around 15 years and 30 years) and need specific care so can't leave them for more than a day. (wouldn't trust anyone to look after them)
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Thanks in advance!

PoetikDragon

Check the regulations regarding age and rabies shot. Japan is a rabies free country, so you may not need rabies to import from Japan. If the pup doesn't need rabies shot, then the minimum age may be younger.

How is age to fly of 12 weeks becoming 16 weeks when the pup comes home? Is there a month quarantine in the UK or something? If so I would consider getting an adult, its really not ideal for a puppy to live at a shelter during that critical time. Especially a Nihon Ken puppy, cared for by people who don't know or understand primitive breeds.

Deon

@PoetikDragon
I probably should edit my post, lol. 16 weeks may be a bit too much of an age. I was factoring in the 30 day quarantine I think may be needed. I can't find info regarding whether i need it for here or not.

I was told that finding an Adult Kai was harder than finding a puppy and also that an Adult one would be difficult or near impossible to bond to.
I also want to teach the dog commands in Japanese as apposed to italian or spanish, ect. so, the dog would get confused...

There is a very-very little chance I would import from Japan. Mostly because from what I've been told, they don't health test, which would worry me to the sun and back plus there is the language barrier... The most Japanese I know is random words from Anime and how to spell Kai Ken off by heart.

PoetikDragon

Sure, it may be harder to bond with an adult dog (though I would argue that if the breeder has dogs with good temperament and stability it shouldn't be that much of an issue) but in my opinion it is MUCH worse to put a "sensitive" puppy through a 4 week quarantine. You can do a lot of damage during that fear imprint period, and may still have problems bonding with the dog after.

As for finding an older dog, you CAN still look at puppies and parents you're excited to get a pup from, you just have to find a breeder willing to work with you to keep the dog until he/she is older. There are a lot of advantages to this over buying a "random" adult dog. You get to be more choosy over parents and breeder of the dog, you know the dog had a good foundation with its canine family instead of being separated too young, you know the dog has only had one home and no past trauma, and you get to watch it grow up and remotely have the dog in your life long before it comes home.

I was going to send a pup to someone in Australia, and would have had to keep the pup until 9 months old so it wouldn't spend 6 months in a quarantine "jail cell." So we worked out all of the details about boarding, training, and showing while the pup was still living with me. (Ended up not doing it because my girl didn't get pregnant, however.)

I imported a puppy from Japan and planned to pick her up in person, so I paid the breeder to board her for me for four months. So I know there are others who will do this kind of thing as well. I could have asked him to show her also, but I couldn't afford it.

As for health clearances - where do you think the breeders in Western countries get their dogs? They're still coming from Japan. The parents of your pup may have health clearances, but in all honesty one or two generations really isn't all that helpful. It's still breeding nearly-blind, without having data on multiple generations of ancestors, aunts, uncles, siblings and half-siblings, etc.

That's not to say health clearances aren't important. They are!! They're the minimum a breeder should be doing before matching a pair of dogs together. But all they mean is that the parents' didn't have any issues at the time of breeding. Often issues come later in life when the dog is retired from breeding. You get this information from the grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents of your dog, see if they died young, or had a lot of descendants with various heritable disorders, cancers, etc. Health clearances on the parents are no guarantee that a pup wont have health problems. There is NEVER a guarantee, but the further back you can gather health and longevity information, the greater the confidence in a healthy litter.

MirkaM

For UK the puppy has to be at least 15 weeks old and vaccinated against rabies at the age 12 weeks (then you have to wait 21 days). Then it needs EU pet passport and health certificate. I don't remember that did UK require the deworming but we did it anyway. Puppy can only come there as a cargo to Heathrow airport (no another options by air) so it really makes no difference are you travelling with the puppy or not. And they only accept specific airlines (from Finland it was Finnair). When I exported puppy there they also required copies of dam's pet passport and from her vaccinations.

The most frustrating part was the week before the flight because UK gives permission for the puppy come there only week before the planned date... What else, oh yes, be sure the crate is way too big for the puppy. I really mean that they require HUGE crate otherwise the operating airline might get big fine.

Have you read this https://www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad?

MirkaM

The safest choise is to find a breeder who has done imports before or find a person who has imported dogs to UK. BTW are you aware that you cannot register Kai to UK?

Deon

@MirkaM

Yes, I am aware [at least I think]. There are no breed clubs, and they aren't on the IMP register here. The only kind of registration a Kai could have currently is on the Activities register and that just means the Kai can do Championship Agility or Obedience.

I did have a look at that link, but it just further confused me. I've re-read it and it makes sense now. (Could have been because I first looked at it while I was half asleep though.)

TheWalrus

I've exported to the UK. The way I do it is to fly into Amsterdam or Paris. This makes the export/import process a lot simpler, and saves on costs. From Holland I take the overnight ferry over. They have a kenneling room for the dogs that you can enter at any time, and a deck for walking the dogs. You can also watch your dogs on the screen in your cabin 24/7. If flying into France, I arrange for someone to drive me through the tunnel.

As MirkaM stated, all dogs have to be rabies vaccinated at over 90 days and then wait 21 more before entering the UK. They also have to be treated for internal parasites. All dogs flying cargo have to enter through Heathrow.

While I agree partially with PoetikDragon's opinion on health clearances, I always advise people to look into purchasing a pup from a breeder in North America or Europe. It's about reducing risk. At least being able to see what's going on with both parents, even if it's only 1 generation, is better than not knowing anything. There are simple things that don't happen over here, like dogs that have never been vaccinated for anything, and other simple things that happen like sick dogs being bred from (due to lack of understanding about genetic health issues).

Regarding an older pup vs. a younger pup, it's definitely preferable to get a younger pup. It's not so much about whether it's with its mother or not, as it is about socialization. That socialization comes from getting out and experiencing new things, which generally doesn't happen if you ask a breeder here to kennel your dogs till export.

Noodle

You can most certainly bond with an older Kai! My girl from Royal Kennels was adopted at 4 years. I won her over with pot roast before you knew it, she was jumping on me like a maniac, wanting kisses, hugs, and pets, lol!

TedH71

The new import regulations for America is the pup has to be over 4 months old and already have had the rabies shot and the other shots prior to importing. I'm still trying to figure out about the time period between rabies shot and importing.

Calia

The new import regulations for America is the pup has to be over 4 months old and already have had the rabies shot and the other shots prior to importing. I'm still trying to figure out about the time period between rabies shot and importing.

That is not a requirement if the dog is being imported from a rabies free country, which Japan is. http://www.cdc.gov/importation/bringing-an-animal-into-the-united-states/dogs.html