Bringing Dog to Siem Reap

Hi there, I'm from Siem Reap so what I'm going to talk about mostly refer to the local environment and might not be entirely true in Phnom Penh.
Firstly talking about bringing your dog to a vet in case he/she is sick. There are several famous vets in the town and many foreigners bring their pets there too. Therefore I think it's fine for you to find medical treatments.
Secondly, the attitude of Cambodian people toward dogs can be called "pets should be useful". If your dog isn't a stray dog and doesnt look like a Khmer dog (I don't know the name of the species) people would show a lot of affectionate and isn't likely to be kidnapped for meat trade. If you find a big living space enough for having a dog, that should be safe from being kidnapped.
About being scared of shakes and other venomous creatures, if you live in the city centre away from thick bushes, that should be fine.
More than this, if you wanna walk the dog once in a while, the Siem Reap river side is perfect for that. You can also bring your dog to areas near the temples but not in the temples. (You might have to get a ticket if you go pass the ticket booth).
Talking about the parasites in the water, usually if you play safe to only provide water from the tap to your dogs that should be fine and I think there's a vaccination you can get the dog from parasites.
In general, the environment is safer than what you think. Plus, you can find dog food in supermarkets quite easily but they are terribly expensive compared to that in Europe. I used to live in France for a year and i know how people there treat animal. To compare animal living quality with here, it's not that bad as it is described by many westerners. It's just how you perceive "bad".

Hello Steph.

I've been a dog breeder [hobby] for 35 years and traveled with dogs to dog shows.
I live in SE Asia for more than 11 years now and when I see pet dogs I feel sorry, to be honest.
Surely when a dog is used to Western standards, in walking space, own fenced space, food variety, vets variety, life here is a step back in quality.

Don't get me wrong, many dogs have a good life, there are vets, but not many and no specialized vets as in the West, you can buy dog food but only one brand, you can walk your dog but there is the risk of feral dogs attacking, parks are there but not widely spread.
If a dog is born here it's a different case, as he will grow up in the environment he will live his whole life in, and they can survive here. It's not the high temperatures, the big rain, drinking contaminated water, they can survive.

But a dog from a Western country, and surely a huge Great Dane, could not be happy with a step back in life quality.

To be honest, and this is a personal advice, don't bring her with you, she would be better off with a new home with all the benefits of a modern Western society.

Also consider the costs of transport, you need buy a huge crate, get her prepared for a long long flight with interruption, if changing a flight in a not-so-dog-friendly country the airport will not have an animal center, so nobody to take the dog for a walk, give it water and food. Some countries have airports with an animal center and you could arrange "pick up and care" for your dog. As it's a big dog the air fare, which is depending on size of the crate and weight, can be very high.

Think about it, in the interest of your pup as you call her I recommend to not get her into all this trouble just to find a lower quality of life than she is used to right now.

Good luck with your decision.

Joe
Cambodia expert
Expat.com team

Hello Joe,

Thank you very much for your honest response. I really appreciate and it was exactly along the lines of what I was thinking. I'm not sure if you're familiar at all with Chiang Mai in Thailand but do you know if it's the same? I realize the flight part would be unfortunately but at least there are a lot more carrier options.

Thank you very much.

stephf22 wrote:

Hello Joe,

Thank you very much for your honest response. I really appreciate and it was exactly along the lines of what I was thinking. I'm not sure if you're familiar at all with Chiang Mai in Thailand but do you know if it's the same? I realize the flight part would be unfortunately but at least there are a lot more carrier options.

Thank you very much.

Hi Steph.

Chiang mai is also SE Asia, I lived in NE Thailand for 8 years so I have seen dog life there. I always had stray dogs around my house [I lived "in the sticks"] but I have buried too many of them to say it's a great life over there. I cared for 8 dogs and several "neighbourhood" dogs and they all died before they reached 8 years of age. Being used to my pure bred dogs getting 15 or older I was very sad to see those local dogs die so early in life.

My advice goes for the whole of SE Asia. Chiang mai has the additional horrible fact that when the local farmers start to burn the lands, after harvest, the whole area has a very bad air quality, surpassing the dangerous level by far, day by day. I can only guess that that air quality is devastating for dogs and other animals, so Chiangmai, Chiang rai, the whole North of Thailand would be a nono for me if I were to bring in a dog.

Cheers.

Joe