dog questions

We brought our dog this year, not many problems coming into mexico. The border animal control person took us aside looked at the dog didn't require any paper work. Yet, I did bring the rabies vaccination papers and a health certificate which cost 80 bucks. Just wonder what we need to leave if anything? and re-enter Canada - air canada flying into toronto? not for 2 months though. We're in a closed in condo unit so the dog isn't coming in contact with any 'street' dogs. Not sure what we have to be careful of there if she does.

Odd questions
are poop bags even a thing? we looked and looked for any sorts of bags they seem hard to find in ixtapa.
and, is there any places where we can get dog bones?
dog parks don't seem to be at thing here at all, but are there any hiking areas where we can bring dogs around ixtapa?

sideline question: what's the best way to get bikes over the mountain to zihua side? we plan to do a long mountain bike ride but really don't want to climb that massive hill from ixtapa to zihua we did that yesterday and its a hell of a climb...such wonderful food on the zihua side in comparison but way busier on the zihua side (ie we want to save the fun for playa larga and area). Will taxis take bikes? or the combi bus?

My dog accompanies me several times a year between Vancouver and Zihuatanejo. Neither Air Canada nor WestJet will take him in the hold during the season, so we come via Mexico City. Incoming SARGAPA always requires seeing my statement of health and the vaccination records. Sometimes they do a physical examination for fleas and ticks.

When I arrive in Canada, they want to see the certificate/letter of health. I always have the vaccination record so I show that too. They have never done a physical examination. Canada has a fee, I think $30-$50, that is discretionary.

As important as the country’s requirement is the airline’s requirements. AeroMexico requires documentation of rabies vaccination with the previous year, so although my veterinarian in Canada says my guy is good for three years, I have to have him vaccinated every year to satisfy AM.

You might want to consider giving your dog something like Nexgard Spectra for protection from diseases transmitted by fleas, ticks, and mosquitos. My dog adopted me in Mexico and had heart worm infection, transmitted by mosquitos. You do not want to go through, or put your dog through, the curative process for mosquito-transmitted heartworm.

If you bring your dog again, pay attention to the method of dating the veterinarian’s letter in Canada. One time around October 12, we almost missed a flight because of the date format. The document was dated 09-10-2024, i.e., 9-October-2024. The AM counter agent insisted that meant September 10, 2024, so the document was out of date.

Most of the world (including Mexico) uses dd-mm-yyyy or yyyy-mm-dd. The US uses mm-dd-yyyy. I wondered whether the agent had grown up in the US.

Poop bags…

I order mine from Amazon. I don’t recall ever seeing them in a store here.

I think in Troncones it’s only me and the volunteers at Surfers For Strays who use them. I think the locals in La Majahua wonder about the questionable gringo who seems to collect dog poop.

Sam's and Bodega all have the classic "poop" bags. We have large dogs so we go to the plastics store, P l a c e o (spaces because editor won't allow the word), and get the mini's. Biodegradable, one kilo is up to 35 pesos and lasts us over a month. Not bad with three big dogs.

Rawhide chews at all the grocery stores, for fancy stuff, look on line at Petco.

For transportation contact Pedro Moreno 672-119-2398 or pedro.91477@gmail.com Speaks perfect English.

Sam's and Bodega all have the classic "poop" bags. We have large dogs so we go to the plastics store, P l a c e o (spaces because editor won't allow the word), and get the mini's. Biodegradable, one kilo is up to 35 pesos and lasts us over a month. Not bad with three big dogs.

Rawhide chews at all the grocery stores, for fancy stuff, look on line at Petco.

Not sure why you couldn't use Placeo, but we also use biodegradable plastic bags bought at Zihuatanejo's Mercado Municipal.

found a store with poop bags but it seems as though the locals just let their dog rip... we like to clean up after our pooch though. They're large and hardy.

haven't found any dog bones at all, we're in the ixtapa Morrocoy/Joyas area.

did find a taxi that will take us over the mountain from ixtapa to zihua as we want to do some mountain biking to playa larga without the long climb. Cost is around 130 pesos.

Talked to the combi bus drivers, they said they'll take dogs as long as they are under control and sit by one's feet if large. Haven't tried that yet though.

Question- swimming in the local lagoons - are the crocs around in most lagoons? the locals seem to be swimming in them.

Hot springs - I found on a map a local hot spring. Are they accessible (can anyone use them)?

waterfalls, I noticed on the map there is one near ixtapa. Is it dried up this time of year? any others?

hiking climbs, any suggested hiking areas around ixtapa or zihua?

When we take our large dogs on the combi we pay for them because they take up as much space as a human.

Ixtapa waterfall is extremely seasonal, sometimes missing a season. Usually visible only after a heavy rain with lots of volume. Any others will have small amounts of water. It was a dry summer and this is the dry season.

The local lagoons have crocs. As much as they are most active at night, hence, no night swimming, we actively avoid places where we know they inhabit. We ocean swim 5 days a week, but are very aware of where crocs occasionally appear. Be careful and err on the side of safety.

The one hot spring that we are aware of, north of here is public. However, don't expect much.

Continue having fun!!