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StayingPower · Joined: 18 Aug 2006 Posts: 252

I want to know if there are pet friendly people and doghobbyists in Vietnam, or people that take dogs in as pets instead of eating them for food.

I've been in Korea and there were still quite a few doghobbyists, and quite a few more in Taiwan. Would like to know if anyone's gone this route by raising pets in VN and if he or she could give me the ups and downs about having a dog there, ie., dealing with landlords, spaces to walk them, vets and the general public's attitudes towards them etc.

I know the cruel aspects about dogs and parts of Asia, so I'm not naiive. Just want to know if it's possible to have dogs as pets there and how well a dog owner is received. I also had to watchout for dog theft in Korea so I'm aware of this aspect too.

Micro67 · Joined: 29 May 2003 Posts: 297 Location: HCMC, Vietnam

There are a lot of ex-pat pet owners here. Owning a pet is no problem, but you do need to keep them indoors and dogs tend not to have enough room to run.

Veterinary services are readily available and pretty cheap. The locals attitudes towards animals are vastly different though.

StayingPower · Joined: 18 Aug 2006 Posts: 252

Yeah thanks. I just wonder what kinds of dogs they have there, real native Vietnamese dogs, mixes, street dogs etc.

I took in six dogs one time in Taiwan because I'd had a large house. Like to run with them and stuff, take them to the riversides, run around running tracks now and then.

It's real healthy and a good pastime for a foreigner. Plus, just can't stand to see dogs without a home. Kind of an outdoorsmen too, so they suit me quite well.

anubistaima · Joined: 02 Nov 2004 Posts: 110 Location: Thailand

What happened to the dogs in Taiwan once it was time for you to move? The problem in Vietnam is that you can't take dogs in temporarily. Once you're ready to move, there's nowhere for them to go (no shelters, rescue operations, etc) and if you put them back on the streets, they'll simply die.

I lived in Vietnam with two dogs. One came into the country with me, the other one I bought at a meat market in Sapa (then had to bribe half of the town in order to get him into the train and back to Hanoi with me). I'm now in Thailand and their quality of life is definitively better here.

Micro67 is right that Vietnam is not a fun place for a dog to live. You need to be always in the lookout for dog thieves and it gets stressful at times.

PS. There's a chance you'll get a few responses like "eat the dogs" or "they're so tasty" in this thread. There are always a few idiots who like to go around and make that kind of comment in every single thread about dogs. Just ignore them.