Moving Away

for the heat, just be sure to watch your dog carefully. lethargy mixed with excessive panting arent very good signs! you'll probably have to schedule outside time so it's only mornings and evenings (except for potty breaks of course!). if it's still hot carrying some water with you is always a good idea and helps a bit. fleas... hmm, it's not my field of expertise. but as far as i know most people here use a preventative, like frontline.

for the car rides.. well again, i dont even have a car, and i'm sure other's will ahve better ideas on how to deal with it. but off the top of my head i'd use a seat belt harness. just seems like he'd have a bit more freedom and might feel more inlcuded... be sure to give him a bone or something, or a kong so he has something to keep him busy. make sure to stop frequently, not only for potty breaks but also just to walk around a bit, so he can stretch his legs, and get a change in scenery from time to time!

for vets, i think i would immediately upon arrival start looking for other dog owners around your area and ask them. they could also let you know where all the dog friendly places are in the area.

for settling into the house, the only word of caution is that he MIGHT need a refresher course in housetraining. he might not need it. but a lot of dogs really only ever learned that they arent supposed to go in their own house, and, well, this wont really feel like it's his house. just for a head's up. i usually make sure to give more frequent potty trips for a few weeks after i move to a new place. just to make sure!

good luck! :)

janetmichel3009

for vets, i think i would immediately upon arrival start looking for other dog owners around your area and ask them. they could also let you know where all the dog friendly places are in the area.

When I first moved to Arizona from the east coast, I went to a dog show that I knew was happening the same weekend that I arrived.  At the dog show, I talked up everyone that I could, looking for the local Doberman people.  I found the local Dobe club, and from them, I got a vet recommendation right there on the spot.  They were great!  My point is, find the Schnauzer breed club in the Surprise area and ask them for advice on vets, local dog events and parks, etc, etc.

Right now is VERY hot, so read up on heat exhaustion, etc.  Was your current vet able to give you any advice on preparing your dog for the long journey and acclimating the dog to the heat?

SquishyB

Would it be best for him to ride in his kennel, or should I use the doggie seat-belt-harness thingy we have? 

A doggie restraint system should

• protect the dog from injury,
• keep the dog from escaping and being further injuried (car, wildlife, starvation, etc.), and
• protect rescue workers from injury.

Accidents at high speeds can cause a car to spin and roll generating tremendous pressures on a doggie seatbelt.  Depending on the dog and the seatbelt, the seatbelt could break, allow the dog to hit a window, cut off the circulation to a leg, or be vunerable to the dog chewing through the belt. 

If compressed in an accident, a plastic crate can lose its door and even create plastic debris.  A strong wire crate (held by human seatbelts) would be safest way to transport him.  My favorite is the Kennel Aire Professional Fold and Carry Cages.  I got mine from the seller "kennelaire" on eBay.  My crate has 9- and 12-gauge wires with 1" wire spacing.  To get a crate this strong with fewer wires, one would need a lower gauge wire.

ETA:  I have never seen wire gauges lower than 6 used in a dog crate. 

CAUTION:  Cheap wire crates are dangerous period.  See "Petmate Kennel" (about 2/3 down) at http://www.petroglyphsnm.org/medalerts.html

NOTE:  Be sure the dog can not chew on the human seatbelts.  They are expensive to replace.

Arizona Breed Club:     Cactus State Miniature Schnauzer Club Deborra Nestle - 602-906-8755 - jnestle@cox.net

Check the floor of hotel rooms to be sure that there are no pesticides that your dog could get into. 

Cooling ideas:  http://community.dog.com/forums/p/8148/105409.aspx#105409

If you go to this Switchboard.com page, you will see various animal categories (like vets) on the left.  There is a "Sort By" feature so you can see who is closest to you.  If you want more accurate distances, add your street address to the "Location" box.

The page I made for you has a category of "animal", a location of "Surprise, AZ", and a distance of 20 miles.

Please be sure that Buckel is wearing a tag with the phone number of a cell phone that you are carrying and the address of your new residence.  Since you are short on time, you might be able to find a FasTag (or RapidTag or ???) at a local pet store.  You write on those tags and bake them.  The tags shrink, get hard, and are ready to use in 5 minutes.  Example: http://www.arcatapet.com/item.cfm?cat=11099

A microchip would allow you to prove ownership in case Buckel gets lost.  Knock on wood!!

Legend and Julian made the adjustment from IL to AZ  with no problems. I have never been one to let my dogs go out without me with them, so they're never out long enough for heat to be a problem.  We do limit our walks to the evening during summer. A/C is key as well.

I'm in a more dry area of AZ, so fleas aren't a problem here. However, I know they are in some areas of the state, so someone closer to Phoenix will probably be able to answer that one.

My sister lives in Phoenix and has two dogs that stay in the yard while they are at work.  Her husband set up a mister system to keep them cool and a baby pool.  She lives in the foothills and says they have tons of scorpions.  They walk early in the morning.  Hope you enjoy your new location once you get settled.  She doesn't like her current Vet so I have no suggestions.

JackieG's mention of scorpions reminds me that you should definitely investigate rattlesnake aversion training.  There are plenty of snakes and lizards all over the place.  I've personally never seen scorpions here, but at my BF's ranch, I saw my first centipede - disgusting and scary.  I never really realized that they are also very poisonous.

The mister and baby pool are very popular -although, dusty back yards and water make for dirty dogs.  Plan for clean-ups before the dog comes inside.  At this time of year, most folks are exercising their dogs around 5/5:30 am.  There's plenty of light at that hour, so you're not in the pitch dark, and the temps haven't gone back up into the 90s. Usually after noon the heat hits the high around 3pm and it just doesn't cool down until after 10pm-midnight, if at all, unless there's a rainstorm (aka monsoon).

Good luck!  I adore Arizona!  Hope you will, too.  Just know that you're coming in at the worst time possible, so reserve judgement until October.  Even better, it's fun to brag about wearing shorts and tank tops in December/January. ;)

Edit - get your fill of green grass while you can.... you will miss it once you are down here for a while. 

I'm not sure about recommending rattlesnake aversion training.  I did that for over ten years and you might be surprised how many dogs don't learn what they are supposed to learn which is avoid the snake.  And yes we used defanged rattlesnakes.  The problem is that lots of very prey driven dogs don't run away from pain but attack the thing that they think hurt them.  Terriers are great examples of this type of behaviour.  We had dogs that did avoid snakes of any kind after the aversion training but we also had lots of dogs that this just didn't work.  I live in an area where we see snakes a lot.  All my dogs are getting the rattlesnake vaccine.  The dog may still need vet care but the vaccine will hopefully prevent serious reaction or death.  I know many on this forum seem to have an aversion to vaccines and I'm sure there may be some dogs that have a bad reaction but I haven't had any problems for the last three and a half years from the vaccine.  My Jack Russell is just the type of dog who would attack a snake. 

And yes enjoy your greenery while you can.  When my sister comes to visit she never stops oohing and aahing over the green grass. LOL  But she loves it and it is fantastic in the winter.

 Keep him restrained during the car ride and stop regularly to let him stretch his legs. Whenever I move I try to meet other dog owners and I ask them for vet reccomendations.  My dog and I are moving to AZ soon too, only we're going to be further out in the desert.

Mister systems are very cheap to install, you can buy them at any home improvement store. They are just nozzles that emit a very fine mist of water. As the mist evaporates it cools the air. You can set up a series of them, as many as you want, and the hose or tubing just hooks up to your outside faucet. Creates a cooler zone in your yard.

They make a big difference in hot dry climates.