Dog Adoption in Finland

17 comments

1. If you adopt it usually has everything settled. Maybe some doctor appointments and shots or get it chipped.

2. Any adopted pet should come vaccinated, microchipped and sterilised (depending on age of course). Each place will have its own criteria for who they will adopt pets to or not.
   A good place would be more than willing to fit a dog to your lifestyle and abilities. They should also be able to help you work out costs involved with ownership.
   I have always had larger dogs and only recently looked after a small dog. Food costs are very different! However costs such as vet bills would likely be similar regardless of size.
   As you are a EU student, i assume you are not Finnish. So what are your plans after studying? Do you visit home often? Travelling with a dog is doable. Some are better travelers than others. But as someone who has traveled alot with a dog, again, it becomes more difficult and sometimes more expensive the larger the dog.
   But in the end i think having a dog is totally worth it. Best of luck in your search.

3. You could also try and get a cat to help with the loneliness and mental health, That’s what I’m doing as a dog requires much more care and everything about a dog is so much more expensive. Especially getting one.

4. Pets are expensive, if money is tight, don’t get one. Insurances are a mixed bag, they are expensive and you *really* need to read the fine print on what they cover. The nore they cover, the more the insurance will cost. The less they cover the higher the risk for high surprise bills.

   As you surely have noticed, prices have risen. My dog used to cost me approximately 100-120 a month. Sometimes way less, sometimes a lot more. In addition to that I put 35 away each month for possible high vet bills. In the 4 years I had my dog I had 3 vet bills which were in the area of 500-1000 euro. I expect another one of those next Monday.

   And mind you, he is a generally healthy boy, it is not his fault that he broke off his teeth and they needed to be pulled.

   Anyway, the 100-120 monthly (on average) have lately risen to 140-150 and due to the increase in prices I expect dog food prices to rise further and for that average to get higher next year.

   Of course you can opt for a smaller dog with a smaller stomach. Cheaper to feed. But small dogs also need vets, vaccinations and equipment.

   Pet ownership is expensive and Finland is an expensive country.

   If you want to take care of a dog, see if someone in the area needs a dog walker? Maybe someone is happy to have someone come and take their dog out for a few hours on certain days?

5. That’s fair. Fucking processed dogs, mutts are the only logical way to go, fuck breeders one & all.

6. I don’t think it makes any sense to get an insurance to a dog that was free. It basically covers nothing, as the dog is worth nothing, in context of the insurance at least.

   Be adviced that there are municipal vetenaries, which are a lot cheaper than independent vets.

7. The insurance does not cover most commom issues, like dental work and joint problems. Atleast the one I looked at.

   I have been in situation where I could not afford extensive care, the dog died and I still don’t know if something could have been done or not. It is not easy to live it and crushed my mental health for a few years.

   Nowadays things are better. An easy dog with just basic issues vet costs 200-500€ a year. Broken tooth, splitted nail, ear infection, possible allergies, anal gland infection, eye infection, gut infection are all part of normal doggy life with healthy dog. Not often, but every now and than. Like with a child. And vaccinations every third year.

   But if your dog has something serious going on, this can get very expensive. I would say if you cannot have 1000€ available for sudden expensies, don’t do it. Your own peace of mind will suffer. This 1000€ can be a credit on card also.

   Also you will have to have extra hundreds on every trip you take by plane. Separation anxiety is commen issue and can make travelling bad.

   We don’t have much shelter dogs in Finlane which is good. Hounds are cheaper but they have the hunting instinct and need. I think it is good that dogs are expensive. If you cannot pay 1K€ for a responsibly breed dog, you shouldn’t get one. IMO. And if you already think you can spare only 200€ a year to vet, not a shelter adoption either.

8. I think adopting dogs in Finland is quite difficult because they do check very carefully your situations whether you can take care of dogs or not. Like others said, dogs in general requires extensive care and commitment. So if you’re not well prepared, it might do the opposite to your mental health.

   Food + toys, accessories : average 50€-100€a month depending on the size and purchase frequency.
   Unexpected vet visit, check-ups, or emergencies can happen.

9. It doesn’t sound like you can afford a dog. You could instead offer to look after other people’s dogs when they’re away.

10. My Buddy in Lapland bought a mutt puppy for cheap. Half Lapp dog, half unknown. As a puppy, it looked like it would become a Lapp-looking pooch but as it grew, it got bigger and longer, in proportion. Fun pooch, very biddable.

    I recommend reaching out to Lapland to get puppies for about 300 € so you can train from the start. Positive training with a strong “no”! (Where no! means: “stop what you’re doing and look at me”)

11. There are Kennels in Estonia (Tallinna) where you can get a rescue dog quite easily. It is a business so you need to open your wallet. I have a couple of friends who found a dog this way. A dog costs 100-200e. No bad experiences. The Finnish media has made few news stories about these places where they had suspicions of the origin of the dogs and their ages might not match the description. My friends were lucky and received 1-2 years old mixed breed dogs, with really good character and health.
    [https://www.facebook.com/hoiupaik/](https://www.facebook.com/hoiupaik/)
    [https://www.instagram.com/hoiupaik/](https://www.instagram.com/hoiupaik/)

12. You live not that far from me, welcome to Oulu!

    You could offer a doggy day care to people who struggle to look after their own due to age, medical restrictions, travel. I know someone who uses a service often that does doggy day care. And it would earn you a bit more money rather than costing you.

    There is an Oulu subreddit if you need more local advice.

13. While I understand the allure and need I would recommend against getting a dog unless you are sure you can shell out money for dealing with basic healthcare/checkups (~150€ bi-annually, so around 300€ year minimum), decent food (~xx€/mo.), and potential other costs should the dog get sick or injured (can run into thousands).

    Dogs also need 24/7 care, as in, they are fine on their own for x number of hours but need attention, activities and at least 2x daily walks and meals. So unless you can take your dog with you, your travel and leisure activities will be severely limited. Finding someone or a place to take care of your dog can be a hassle, and also, cost money.

    I gave a rescue a forever home but after seven wonderful years (she is doing fine still at 16) I have come to the conclusion that after she parts from this realm I will most definitely not be getting a new one unless I live in a stable situation with other people sharing the responsibility of taking care of the dog(s).

    I would instead recommend checking up with a local animal shelter/welfare org if you could volunteer there. You would be able to make new social contacts/friends, get to work with animals, and also, maybe end up fostering a dog or two for shorter periods of time.

14. Looking at the listing for these particular dogs. They are used to being outside almost all the time. There is no guarantee that they will get used to apartment living. Also there’s a mention that the dogs like to howl!!! So definitely not easy apartment building dogs. In Finland the neighbors would complain very quickly and after a couple of warnings you could lose your apartment.

    I don’t want to discourage you completely from rescue dogs. I have rescue dogs. But you need to really consider what sort of resources you have right now. If your dog has an emergency the vet bills even with insurance can get extremely high in Finland. I still do highly recommend insurance because you do not want the grief of having to put down a dog just because you cannot afford the right treatment.

    I mentioned the noise problem with apartment buildings because I have lived through it myself. I got a rescue dog who had horrible separation anxiety. It took months for him to get over it. And I had many vet visits and private dog trainer visits to help him. In the end things worked out due to medication and training but before that happened I could never leave him alone. I ended up paying hundreds of euros for dog sitters. Not a project I would have wanted to do in a foreign country without my family and friends to support me.

    Have you considered volunteering at the local animal shelters? They often need people to help especially the kittens to become more socialized.

15. I would suggest to look to greyhounds. Contrary to commonsense they are the fastest couch potatoes and extremely lazy fellas. 18-20 hours sleeping a day.

    I have adopted my furbaby from Ireland thru a Swedish Adoption organisation. Had to pick up the dog from Stockholm tho.

    Or Galgo’s (Spanish Greyhounds, a bit different than GHs in behaviours. There are couple of adoption companies flying Galgo’s from Spain to Finland. I believe initail vet controls + necessary vaccinations and passport is handled by them(atleast that was in my case)

    Ofc, do your own research and never trust a stranger online.

    But again I would like you to re-consider how much attention you can give to this dog. multiply by twice your well tought considerations like time/effort/money/training/not leaving them at home to long. (ie; In Sweden it is max 6 hours, anything above considered illegal by law.)/medication/grooming/clothing/food/vet/medication/emergency person/vacation person/petsitter and all the others I forgot to mention here.

    You adopt for life, so you need to be sure.

    But if you decide to adopt, you become the best parent and the happiest!

    I can give more details about my experience upon further request

16. Are you planning on staying in Finland after your studies? What is your plan afterwards for the dog? If that is not clear and you are tight on money, I recommend you volunteer to walk/dogsit someone else’s dog(s) to get that experience.

17. I would say for your mental health, don’t get a dog. It is more expensive than what you describe earning. Also your situation sounds more uncertain (student, part time job). Aside from having to take care of a dog, now you will be worrying about affording their care.

    Sorry to be harsh, I was also a student and had a part time job. I know it can get tough, but I’m happy I waited to get a dog until I was in a more stable situation. I would suggest taking care of other peoples dogs. You can even ask your neighbours to take their dogs for a day or walk them outside.