Moving to Ireland with German Shepherd

jeanj01

Hi, 
I am moving back to Ireland after many years and am bringing my 2 dogs with me- an Australian Retriever and a German Shepherd. I guess it is my own fault for not doing all the research (I have taken days across the world on a number of occasions) , but I have only just found out that the German Sheperd is considered a Dangerous breed in Ireland.  Do you know how restrictive this will be. He is well socialized, goes to the dog park regularly and an open-play day care, lives with kids and is actually much quieter and laid-back than the Aussie.  I gather he will need to be muzzled at all times in public and can't go to dog parks. How difficult will it be putting him into boarding kennels? Any advice/ info. from Irish owners is appreciated, as he is only 11 months old.  Thanks

VonVix

I have a German Shepherd myself and the laws are certainly a pain. By law your dog will be required to be on a muzzle in public places and on a leash. Unfortunately, you cannot bring him into dog parks because of this law, it doesn't matter how "good" he is.

You can find more details here: http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/environment/animal_welfare_and_control/control_of_dogs.html

There are boarding kennels that do not take restricted breeds, but there are also plenty that do. It really varies from place to place. Same with doggie daycares. I know of one in the south Dublin area that absolutely adores Shepherds and all restricted breeds really! If that is any use to you.

jeanj01

Thanks for the reply. Are you aware of any private places where they can get a run about. Also, I would love to get the details of the kennels that you mentioned. 
Thanks

DBB

What part of Ireland are you moving back to op?

Knine

Ah it is not all doom & gloom. While the law is the law, I live in Dublin & I have yet to see a GSD wearing a muzzle & they are often off the lead too. I also don't know any kennels that won't board them. So I don't think you will have many issues once you keep her under control.

pilly

Knine wrote:

Ah it is not all doom & gloom. While the law is the law, I live in Dublin & I have yet to see a GSD wearing a muzzle & they are often off the lead too. I also don't know any kennels that won't board them. So I don't think you will have many issues once you keep her under control.

This is my experience too. I didn't even know they were on the list.

Love GSDs. OP if you're moving to rural Ireland you'll have lots of places to let her off lead. If Dublin much less choice although you could be a drive away from the mountains.

Wildcard7

If your dog is well behaved, 19 out of 20 people and kennels don't care what breed it is. Even more so in rural Ireland. Having said that we got given out to in Marlay Park when our GSD was still a little pupper, so there are people like that. If your dog is behaving properly, like not chasing/overwhelming other dogs, not jumping up on people to say hi etc, I very much doubt anyone will ever complain about your dog being unmuzzled/off lead. As for kennels, we recently switched to Kings Kennels near Wicklow town, our GSD had a blast there.

deadlybuzzman

All I can speak of is rural Ireland and if your dogs well behaved I doubt it'll ever be much of an issue.
If it is you could just say he's a Dutch Shepherd!

DBB

deadlybuzzman wrote: »

If it is you could just say he's a Dutch Shepherd!

Unfortunately, you can't
Unless an owner has documentation to prove it, it's not a good idea to try to hoodwink the wardens or guards, because they're not going to believe you and will be more likely to take action because they know you're trying to hoodwink them!
In any case op, just be a little careful about the above posts... Whilst without doubt there are loads of owners who get away with it, there are plenty who don't.
Some counties are more proactive about enforcing the Restricted Breeds laws (the Dangerous Dogs law actually applies to every dog, no matter what breed or creed). There are a lot of spots around Dublin suburbs and (less so)county where people have been caught, and Louth county has become a place I'm glad I don't live any more... They have introduced a bye law that ALL dogs must be on lead at all times in all public places The wardens there are quite active and I knew and heard of loads of owners being fined and prosecuted there.
Clare seems to be another black spot, and there are parts of Meath that are risky too (they've put signs in many places with pics of all the Restricted Breeds and the laws pertaining to them).
My overall impression is that more and more counties are tightening up on dog-related rules and regs, and you do have to exercise a degree of cop-on if you choose to let a Restricted Breed off lead. I think that some breeds of RB are far more likely to draw the complaining type upon you... GSDs, Rotties, Dobies, pit bull types do tend to make people nervous and more likely to pull you up/make a complaint.
If you can get permission from a landowner to walk your dog on their land, the RB and dog control laws no longer apply

Edited to add... As for kennels not taking RBs... There are some that can't, and that number is, sadly, increasing... Because more and more insurance companies are refusing to cover them for having RBs in their care.

Bredabe

My sib has a gsdx, he lives in an area that doesn't have a dog park and tried to introduce dickensians rules for public places, while in theory gsd and other breeds should be muzzled in public, so far he's not been told to told too(due no doubt, to not enough staff), they tend to get up early and run/swim on the beaches/parks locally. If you live in very rural ireland, dont let ppl know that he's not a vicious burglar killer. Never had an problem in boarding/day care for him.
When you've been here for a while, you'll notice there is a gap between the laws/runs and real life.

jeanj01

Hi
Thanks all for the replies- I just did not want him condemned to a life where he can never run. He is black and actually does look remarkably like a Belgian Shepherd. We are not sure where we will eventually settle, as it will depend where my husband gets work. Unfortunately, as he works in IT, it is more likely that we will be in commuting distance to Dublin. My preference is for anything more rural, even though I am originally from Dublin.

VonVix

Knine wrote: »

Ah it is not all doom & gloom. While the law is the law, I live in Dublin & I have yet to see a GSD wearing a muzzle & they are often off the lead too. I also don't know any kennels that won't board them. So I don't think you will have many issues once you keep her under control.

The warden seems to appear in my local dog park from time to time, once witnessed him fining a man with his GSD in the dog park (alone and playing ball) for being off leash and unmuzzled. So if I take him to my local park, I'm too paranoid not to muzzle him.

Knine

VonVix wrote: »

The warden seems to appear in my local dog park from time to time, once witnessed him fining a man with his GSD in the dog park (alone and playing ball) for being off leash and unmuzzled. So if I take him to my local park, I'm too paranoid not to muzzle him.

I remember a couple of years ago, a Garda stopped a guy with a boxer, just when docking stopped. So the Brindle Boxer had a full tail. He was issued with a court summons for having a loose Pit Bull. I kid you not.

VonVix

Knine wrote: »

I remember a couple of years ago, a Garda stopped a guy with a boxer, just when docking stopped. So the Brindle Boxer had a full tail. He was issued with a court summons for having a loose Pit Bull. I kid you not.

That's insane. I wish it were people actually trained in dog behaviour with also strong knowledge of different breeds and their traits were involved in this sort of thing. Rather than Garda Joe Soap who probably only had a dog once in his life .

pilly

jeanj01 wrote:

Hi Thanks all for the replies- I just did not want him condemned to a life where he can never run. He is black and actually does look remarkably like a Belgian Shepherd. We are not sure where we will eventually settle, as it will depend where my husband gets work. Unfortunately, as he works in IT, it is more likely that we will be in commuting distance to Dublin. My preference is for anything more rural, even though I am originally from Dublin.

What about Cork? Plenty of IT jobs there.

jeanj01

I wouldn"t mind Cork. My family is from there so lots of cousins in the area.