Help Me Pick A Dog

[microwaviblerabbit]

Before you do anything check animal movement laws. I take it you would be getting the dog in the US and then taking it to Finland. Moving any pet across borders is damn hard, especially with a language barrier. The EU has harsh laws on these things to try to prevent diseases and damages to their economies. An animal passport or a verified certificate will be needed.

In short, it will be a ***** (no pun intended), and cost a lot of money.

Ask yourself this:

Do you know the laws on animals in Finland? What are vaccinations needed? Animal chips? Tests? Banned types? Quarantine periods?

Secondly
Does your lease allow for pets? If so, what are the limits?



You need to read up on all this stuff.

Try starting here:
http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/liveanimals/pets/nocomm_third_en.htm

Or here:
http://www.evira.fi/portal/en/

 

[Dr. Whiggs]

Get a bounty hunter.

<img src=http://www.celebritycowboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/duane_dog_chapman1.jpg>

Yeah!

Get a staffy X border collie (that's what I've got.)
He's pretty docile, but energetic when he wants to be.

You are recommending a Border Collie to a student?!

The fuck people.. poor thing..

Why don't you pull the snausage out of your ass and offer some non-vague criticism?

 

[voetballeeuw]

Go to the pound. Rescue a mongrel.

I'm going to second this.

 

[Ziadaine_v1legacy]

For OP's situation, I was actually thinking of this type of breed for his location. They're beautiful, loyal, active and can be a man's best friend. My favorite is the Beagle; I use to own one. He was 15, looked like a puppy all throught his life, survived floods, heat, cane toads etc. even killed a few poisonous snakes whilst defending me. Sadly he passed away this year from old age + cancer and his organs began to shut down.

Regardless, as long as you're loyal to them and love them, they'll return the same to you.

 

[vento 231]

Honestly I would, they are very smart and can be trained to live in smaller envirnments, all who I've delt with who weren't specifically trained for herding, or not trained at all were very mellow, it doesn't take a professional to train them just persistance, they would need some walking, but not much assuming they weren't used to high amounts of activity, and every single dog I mentioned is very people friendly and loyal, and can easily be protective. With any persistent training they would be ideal for almost any habitat, three specifically for the cold of Finland. It was also just a suggestion, you don't need to be so harsh about it.

I'll be harsh about this, because that is the reason why you find these dogs in shelters: Their owners can't handle them.

An Aussie is by nature mistrusting towards strangers, and unless you know how to counter that by socializing him properly, the poor thing will end up shoved off because he might just not love everyone around you as much as you might want him to.
They have a very deep rooted herding instinct. My Aussie was never trained to herd, but he knows exactly what to do, whether that's when he's dealing with a horse or a bunch of rabbits. Yes, there are show lines that have been bred specifically for the physical characteristics instead of the working instincts, but they too are still working dogs at the core.
They are not push overs. They have a mind of their own, and the more mistakes a new dog owner makes, the more they learn from them.
And yes. They are very smart. And that is exactly why you don't want to be giving them to someone who has not a clue about how to train them. *shudders*

Just look through the American Australian Shepard shelters. All good dogs there. 'cause, you know.. they're all "hip" and "cute" and "awesome". You said it yourself. You worked at shelters. And apparently you worked with Aussies. Now you might know how to deal with them and how to bring out the excellent traits that make these dogs so awesome---but why do you think they end up in the shelter in the first place?

... and now I'll stop. There's little that irritates me, but dog some dog breeds in the wrong hands is one of the view things that get me.

I honestly do not expect the OP to have no experience when he plans on having a dog with him in campus, if he is a begginer then he shouldn't have any of the dogs I listed, but I selected them because of their long coat for the environment, and intelligence. I would assume you like australian shepards/cattledogs and I assure you I do n ot want any harm to come to one, it is always a plessure to work with them, but they can adapt very easily to being couch potatos without getting fat because if their matabolism, so they can be good for smal quarters. Yes they do have ansestrial behavior, but teachings will over-rule it, and all it takes is persistance. The reason they are in the shelters is because people don't train them, or are unprepared for them. A dog is not a backyard ornament, and there are no bad dogs, only bad owners. I understand your concern, and I really do appreciate it, but I deal with them regularly and owned one for 10+ years, I wouldn't recommend one to a bad envirnment ever.

 

[FalloutJack]

Holy crap, huskies are good.

Also, collies. They're generally nice dogs and have some fun behavior.

 

[vento 231]

I always liked American Staffordshire (perferably un-cropped)

In Finland, I would recommend a czech wolf hound, husky, malamute, or australian shepard.
Malamute

Australian shepard

czech wolfhound

So you know I know what I'm talking about, I:
Have over 300 hours volunteered at my local shelter
Have a mother that is a registered veterinary technician
Volunteer at local rescues
used to have a small rescue for misunderstood breeds.

I read that as "..misunderstood birds" and I was like, WTF?

Lol happens to the best of us, I once misunderstood the the sentence "she died" for "she's high" didn't end well.