Hi, There was a thread on here a short while ago about dogs. Generally dogs are not overly welcome by moroccans, although that is changing ever so slowly. Many villa owners have dogs that are used to guard, and who are (often, not always) tied up during the day and left to roam the grounds at night. Many Moroccans believe that (according to certain interpretations of the Koran) dog saliva is dirty, and do not want to be touched by dogs for this reason (or they have to change their clothes). All these things are current facts within the Moroccan society, but there are all sorts of exceptions and, if you look carefully, you will find people (as I did) who love your dogs and will be good to them. My main advice to you, when you move here, is to keep an eye on your staff to make sure they do not mistreat the dogs in your absence. When it comes to getting a job, many people will say they like animals, but when you are absent it is another story. Again, this is not always the case but something to bear in mind just to keep a watch on.
Regarding vets, there are a couple good vets in Rabat, and a couple VERY good vets in Casablanca, an hours' drive away. The vet clinics here are not as well equipped as those in the US, most of the medication used is childrens' medication and the dosage is adapted to the dogs, and at times the vet needs to "negociate" with a (human) doctor to use specific material after (human) consulting hours (like Xray machines, scans, MRI etc) which makes these procedures very expensive. But that is when you are confronted with an emergency, and if that were the case, you could just as well take the ferry from Tangiers to Southern Spain (2 hours) and see a fully equipped clinic. But for all your basic things, and general healthcare, the vets mentioned above do a very good job.
PM if you want more info, I'm a huge dog lover with 3 dogs of my own, and have researched this matter quite extensively.

Post a Reply

20abuse

Choosing an expat health insurance provider is an important decision. Get a quote from our trusted expat health insurance partner, CIGNA. With Cigna Global Health Options, you can create an international health insurance plan that's perfectly tailored for the needs of you and your family.

Learn More Get a Quote

I am a bit disturbed about the medication of pets in Morocco. Most good vets will tell you that human medication is not good for an animal even if its for children. Also how can you ferry a dog over to Spain? I thought that you would have to fill out all kinds of paperwork, and that takes a lot of time and then there are waiting times etc. and if its an emergency, that seems like a very long wait. Please correct me if I am wrong and I hope that I am wrong. If not, are there any better vets than that over in Morocco? We will be taking our Labrador with us, and after reading this kind of information I am deeply concerned and scared about all that. Also do you have any information about pet food. We feed her only super premium holistic food. Will we be able to find that over there? Any information about this topic would be very helpful, to me and I hope that you can calm my fears lol. Thanks so much!

Post a Reply

00abuse

Hi! I am no expert in any way about pets in Morocco. I did see dog foods in the Marjane (sp?) but did not really research them they did look to just be lower quality foods.
Have you thought of feeding raw ? You would need to learn it and it would need to be made at home but i have had many people tell me their dogs are much healther after going to raw diet for they pets.
Just an idea.
I look forward to seeing what others have to say as we plan to get a dog once we are in Morocco.
Good Luck!

Dawn

Post a Reply

00abuse

I'm sorry to say this but sadly, the medication used here is mostly human. My vet has his own stock of VET products which he has ordered mostly from France (alot of VIRBAC products, which are exclusively veterinarian) but by and large the things he prescribes for home administration is human medicine in child dosage. And we are talking here about someone who is widely considered to be one of the best vets on the market!!! I have several pure bred dogs of my own, initially raised in France and who moved with me here, and we all had to adapt to the change. The vet is good, very good in my view, but he makes do with what is available here and, compared to US standards it is not up to parr. If you have a way to have your meds sent here through friends etc then that's great, otherwise unfortunately you are going to have to make do with what is here... I know it's a tough call; Morocco has many wonderful qualities about it, but it is still not, really, a "developed" country... working on it hard though!!!

Post a Reply

00abuse

I have to split my answer into parts; i'm trying to be as clear and thorough as possible, and that requires quite a bit of text. Sorry if it seems long:
Regarding SPAIN (I know all this for a fact, as I have done it several times): The legal requirements of entering dogs to Spain is to have a specific blood test done, showing that the rabies vaccin is present and active. This test has to be performed in certain "accredited" labs (in Morocco for example the blood is sent to France or Spain for testing) and takes about a month to process. You can find out the name of the test online, or on the Spanish Consulate website and have it done in the US before you come that way it is done. Once this test is performed and the appropriate certificate obtained, you have to keep your vaccins booklet up to date, especially your rabies shots. You must ALWAYS travel with both the bloodtest certificate and the current vaccin certificate. Ideally you would want the vet to issue you with a (dog) passport, in which all this information is recorded and kept up to date. Other than that, there is no massive paperwork, nor delays, nor quaranteens. About GETTING to Spain, yes, you would have to Ferry your dog over which is not difficult. I mis-expressed myself previously when I referred to an emergency. Clearly for an emergency you would need to refer to a local vet; however, if your dog had an ailing that required thorough testing such as an MRI, Scan or, more specific exams, I would suggest going to Spain. Your other alternative, beyond the ferry, is to go (by car) to CEUTA/SEBTA, which is a 1.5h DRIVE from Tangiers. It is Spanish Territory on Moroccan land; the requirements are the same as entering spain, but you can drive there and back in a day, and no ferries involved. There are several vets in CEUTA, Spanish trained, as well as European vet medication.

Post a Reply

00abuse

Lastly, regarding FOOD. I'm not quite sure what Holistic food is so I can't answer that, but my guess is that, being unusual, you will not find it here... my dogs are fed vet-bought dog food, ROYAL CANIN which is pretty much the European (I think!) equivalent of SCIENCE DIET or HILLS. It's the better quality dog food, sold at vets and quite expensive. Again, if you go to CEUTA, you can order other foods but it's going to be along the same lines. I agree with the previous suggestion about making your own foods; for a while my dogs were on a cooked carrot + white fish or chicken + rice or pasta (all mixed) diet and they were doing divinely well. We made batches that lasted about 3 days... my dogs are small, for big dogs it would be work but that may be your best alternative.

I saw on your profile that you have never lived abroad, and I understand that all this is new and scary. If you try to adapt to how things work here (differently from the US, for sure) you'll be Ok and you and your dogs will be well looked after. Don't worry, try to get the best care available but then trust ... my dogs are my babies, and my vet saved my dogs' lives 3 times, he is not perfect, but he is a darn good vet and has proved it. Have faith, and good luck.

Post a Reply

00abuse

Thanks a bunch for the information, Royal Canin is one of the best foods out there. We might try to get her use to that before we leave. She has been on Solid Gold for a long time now. All the information has been really helpful to me as to what to expect over there. I really appreciate it a lot. Thanks again everyone! :)

Post a Reply

00abuse

Congradulations on the move. WE have a Yahoo group dedicated to American women living in Morocco. If tyou would like to join please search American_Women_living _in_Morocco under Yahoo groups. WE have many helpful ladies bothe living inand getting ready to move who can offer support and friendship.
Good luck on the move!

Post a Reply

00abuse

Looking for recommendations for vets in Rabat. Also, does anyone have experience with rabies vaccines? Spoke to one vet in Rabat who said that the rabies vaccine requires 2 shots administered 30 days apart. In the US my dog only required a one shot rabies vaccine? Is that not available or not effective in Rabat?

Post a Reply

00abuse