My husband and I want to move to Vietnam (he was born there) but we have a dog that we'd like to bring along. This may be a little strange, but his family there say it can be dangerous as people steal them from your courtyard...not to keep as pets. They recommend NEVER letting a dog off a leash outside--at all.
We are probably thinking about Nha Trang, Hoi An, or other places that aren't big cities like Saigon and Ha Noi. Does anyone have any experience with this? Did you all see any dogs that appeared to be pets? (were being walked, healthy coat, not being sold at a market, etc.)

Any dog/living abroad advice would be awesome, too. Thanks!

Hi, cautions needs to be taken when bringing your dog to Vietnam. I lived there for 2 years and seen my relative's dog taken, my wife's dog of 14 years vanished and we know who didn't it but proving it will be harder. True that dogs are eaten but there are dog lovers too, a lot more. I am always sadden every time I see dog(s) in a small cage driven off for you know what. So, remember, always keep them on a leash when walking for exercise. Pets of all kind are considered as "food".

Mike Tran,

Thanks so much for that information. Would you mind telling me the circumstance of those dogs vanishing? Were they grabbed up while walking on a leash, or taken from inside a house, or were they outside unattended? I am only trying to figure out how much care I would need to take to ensure that our dog doesn't go missing. Also, how do pet dogs deal with the heat?

My father-in-law lives in Nha Trang, so we were wondering if it would be better where the population isn't as dense as in Saigon/ Ho Chi Minh City. What do you think?

Hi,

(funny, my wife's name is also Chi)

My relative's dog likes to dash out for his morning routines at 6am whenever the gate was momentarily left open. That irritates the hell out of the owner and me because I had to do the 100meter dash to get him back in. He's also a friendly dog and that was his demise. He was picked up (or scooped up) by 2 guys on moped according to people in the area and the only sound I heard from the dog was a loud yelp and woman screaming "dog-snatchers, dog-snatchers!!!". By the time I got there, a mere split seconds, they're gone.

My wife's dog of 14 years was also out for his routine in the mid-morning and sometimes someone's there watching. It was just right outside the front door. Wife came home and heard that her dog never came back in, call me and she was so devastated. She looked for it around the neighborhood but unsuccessful. The neighbors around the proximity pointed fingers to some people but you don't have any prove. It's more dangerous to confront those people. Police are worthless and they'll laugh in your face and yell at you for wasting their time.

Basically, keep them on a leash, make sure they don't dash out when the door is momentarily opened and keep both eyes on them.

The heat in Vietnam makes your pet dogs very lethargic. They're active during the morning and in the evening when the sun is setting. Mid-day makes everyone sluggish especially if your dog is furry.

"better where the population isn't as dense as in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City"...that could be true but not always. We lived in a neighborhood where there's not a lot of people but it does happen. Do this, ask your father-in-law for a number of restaurants that serves dog meat (thit-cho), dog delicacies (thit-cho ngon) or simply "cay tho". If he can count more than 6 places that serves it in a mile radius, well, be sure to always tend to your dogs.

After living there for 2 years, I find that the majority (or in the hight percentage) of people that likes dog meat are the northerners.

Cam on, Mike Tran, for the details. I would be totally devastated, too. But, that gives me a lot of good information and questions to ask before we make our decision. Take Care!

Compared to other poor nations, there are very few stray dogs in Vietnam. All the dogs I saw looked well-loved, with tags, collars, and caring owners.

So, I guess the moral of the story is: take good care of your dog, and people will know it has a family.

Also, for what it's worth: I was told - in all seriousness - that black dogs are the most delicious. Non-black dogs are less prized for cullinary purposes.

Hi Skimaxpower, I don't know which area of Vietnam you lived in but if you've seen what I've seen, your stomach will churned for the worse. But I do agree with you (100%) that there are well-loved, well-fed and cared for (with collars) by caring owners. There are 3 types of treatments towards dogs that I've seen: dogs as food, dogs as loving pets or as guard dogs (alert system). As food, well, need I say more? As loving pets; to be cuddled, hugs-and-kisses (no matter what size) and pampered in the house. And there's dog as "alert system"...oh yes. I lived next to a very nice neighbor who turns out to be a professor (with wife and a kid + elder mother). Kept a dog from 4 weeks old outside for a year and half, fed it rice and meat sauce (more rice than meat). Any unfamiliar face comes to the door gets a tiny bark from the dog alerting the owners of the house that "someone is at the door". So as witness, owners never said anything passionate or pays any attention to the dog except for when feeding time (puts the food down and walks away). We felt bad and tend to it a lot by walking and with occasional play-time. I mean come-on, it's a only a puppy...

Chi, take care and good luck.

if you're that concerned about losing your dog, then you might want to consider moving to ho chi minh city. i've lived her for close to a year and go to a lot of different places outside of the expat ghetto and can count on one hand the number of times i've seen a dog meat restaurant. tons of locals here have dogs as pets, and most of the people don't eat dogs that often. (i've yet to meet a woman here who isn't afraid of eating dog.)

Not entirely inkeeping with the conversation but.......


Dog meat is disgusting, I ate some by accident once and it was foul, stringy, gristly horrible stuff. I'd rather eat Rat.

You can bring your dog to VietNam BUT MAKE SURE IT HAS ALL STANDARD SHOTS.

Furthermore, bring a Vet's certificate confirming that he has the shots.

Dogsnatching occurs but not usually for the table. Put a tag on a stout collar offering a reward (VND1,000,000) in Vietnamese and it is bound to come home!