Owning a dog

[rtp]

Can somebody guide me to owning a dog in Finland.
1-Average cost of buying a dog.
2- Average monthly cost
3- Insurance?
4- What dogs usually finnish people have ....
5- Anything useful

Am a foreign student in Jyväskylä if it makes a difference

[Upphew]

Can somebody guide me to owning a dog in Finland.
1-Average cost of buying a dog.
2- Average monthly cost
3- Insurance?
4- What dogs usually finnish people have ....
5- Anything useful

Am a foreign student in Jyväskylä if it makes a difference

1,2,3 depend a lot of the dog.
4 http://www.kennelliitto.fi/FI/kennellii ... n_rotu.htm
5. Student and dog, hmm, What after the studies, are you staying in Finland?

[rtp]

thanks for the link.

Well my initial plan is to study and find a job and hopefully stay in Finland.

If I can't find a job then i have to return, as the law states.

Was just wondering about owning a dog,if not while studying maybe after...

[Deni85]

1-Average cost of buying a dog.
2- Average monthly cost
3- Insurance?

Like Upphew said, depend on the dog breed.

4- What dogs usually finnish people have

Labrador is the most popular here. But you can't choose a dog only because it is popular. You have to take into consideration your life style, living situation, etc. If you don't have enough free time and you live in a small place, so it is not a good idea to have a big dog. A big dog will need a lot of activities. Forget the idea of getting a big size dog if you are not a huge fan of walking. Remember, even if you get a small dog it will need daily walks, and it is not so fun when it is -20ºC outside.

I recommend you to do a lot of research before getting a dog. Don't ask people what dogs they have. Instead, ask yourself what you can offer to a new dog and if you are able to make big changes in your life.

If you want to buy one, I suggest you don't buy from adds you see on the internet. You can get it cheaper, but you will never know if you are supporting the puppy factory industry. There are reliable kennels in Finland, but you could instead of buying, adopt one. I bought my dog from a Kennel, because I was looking for a specific breed for allergy sufferers.

[rtp]

well put Deni85.

Noted!

[Upphew]

Well my initial plan is to study and find a job and hopefully stay in Finland.

Just checking as people don't tend to think through their actions and stray dogs and Finland doesn't mix.

Sure you can get mutts but they tend to be at least partly working breeds and that means either barking or running a lot.

[Felidae]

Unless you specifically want a dog of your own, you could consider becoming a foster for a rescue dog. The rescue associations are constantly looking for foster homes for the rescue dogs. The dogs will stay in foster usually from few weeks to some months and the rescue association will take care of the vet bills and such, you should only pay the food for the dog. This way you could be great help for the association in question and it would be cheaper for you. Also maybe a better choice for you, until you know for sure if you will stay in Finland or not. There are several rescue associations, like Kulkurit, Rekku Rescue, Espanjan koirat, Viipurin koirat, etc. At least here is something in English too:
http://kulkurit.fi/in-english/

[Upphew]

Unless you specifically want a dog of your own, you could consider becoming a foster for a rescue dog. The rescue associations are constantly looking for foster homes for the rescue dogs. The dogs will stay in foster usually from few weeks to some months and the rescue association will take care of the vet bills and such, you should only pay the food for the dog. This way you could be great help for the association in question and it would be cheaper for you. There are several rescue associations, like Kulkurit, Rekku Rescue, Espanjan koirat, Viipurin koirat, etc. At least here is something in English too:
http://kulkurit.fi/in-english/

You can do with your money and time anything you want, but bringing stray dogs from Spain or Russia is as smart as transporting individual people as famine relief. Ymmv, imho and all that.

[Felidae]

Unless you specifically want a dog of your own, you could consider becoming a foster for a rescue dog. The rescue associations are constantly looking for foster homes for the rescue dogs. The dogs will stay in foster usually from few weeks to some months and the rescue association will take care of the vet bills and such, you should only pay the food for the dog. This way you could be great help for the association in question and it would be cheaper for you. There are several rescue associations, like Kulkurit, Rekku Rescue, Espanjan koirat, Viipurin koirat, etc. At least here is something in English too:
http://kulkurit.fi/in-english/

You can do with your money and time anything you want, but bringing stray dogs from Spain or Russia is as smart as transporting individual people as famine relief. Ymmv, imho and all that.

I have a dog from a breeder, due to an allergy among other reasons. There are also Finnish dogs who need urgently a home/ a foster home until permanent home is found, mind you. For example here:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/308775812482263/?fref=ts

And fostering a dog that will have a permanent home in Finland, whether the dog is originally a Finnish one or not, is hell of a better choice, if the other option for example is that someone takes a dog and then the dog will end up homeless, because the owner is leaving the country and can't take a dog with them for some reason (not saying that this would be the case with OP here, of course). Also as a student depending on the breed and the health of the dog the vet bills and the insurance can be a great financial burden, fostering would be a cheaper way to have a dog. You can always adopt the dog anyway, if you find it a perfect pet for you.

[Felidae]

double

[Upphew]

I have a dog from a breeder, due to an allergy among other reasons. There are also Finnish dogs who need urgently a home/ a foster home until permanent home is found, mind you. For example here:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/308775812482263/?fref=ts

And fostering a dog that will have a permanent home in Finland, whether the dog is originally a Finnish one or not, is hell of a better choice, if the other option for example is that someone takes a dog and then the dog will end up homeless, because the owner is leaving the country and can't take a dog with them for some reason (not saying that this would be the case with OP here, of course). Also as a student depending on the breed and the health of the dog the vet bills and the insurance can be a great financial burden, fostering would be a cheaper way to have a dog. You can always adopt the dog anyway, if you find it a perfect pet for you.

You just first listed organizations that bring dogs here (didn't check, so Kulkurit or Rekku rescue might be more or even entirely domestic oriented). What I'd like to see from them would be more proactive than reactive work. Viipurin koirat ry's 2012 sterilization day gets my thumbs up. How many days they could arrange if getting dog wouldn't cost just the expenses?

[Felidae]

You just first listed organizations that bring dogs here (didn't check, so Kulkurit or Rekku rescue might be more or even entirely domestic oriented). What I'd like to see from them would be more proactive than reactive work. Viipurin koirat ry's 2012 sterilization day gets my thumbs up. How many days they could arrange if getting dog wouldn't cost just the expenses?

Both Kulkurit and Rekku Rescue work mainly - but not only - with rescue associations from Romania and Estonia. Their work is mostly proactive, they donate money and supplies to the local associations, arrange sterlization projects as much as they can afford (info for example here, unfortunately only in Finnish: http://kulkurit.fi/projektit/romanian-s ... teneminen/) and visit schools to teach kids about the correct way to treat animals. None of the rescue associations imagine that the stray dog problem is solved by importing the dogs to Finland, but if you want a dog and don't want it to be a specific breed or want to be sure it's not from some puppy factory, which is already a big problem in Finland too, adopting a stray dog is a good way to help.

But this is already deviating from the topic, I just offered another point of view for someone who is interested in having a dog.

[snorlonikins]

Would you consider having a child in your situation? If not, don't even think about a dog!