Over 2 million searches for dogs and puppies in 2020 – NRK Møre og Romsdal – Local News, TV and Radio

At the end of October, six puppies were born to the Alaskan Husky mongrel in Ålesund.

After eight weeks, just before Christmas, the puppies were given to new owners. New owners who have almost had trouble having a puppy.

Tone Eriksen had no idea the response would be so good when she put the puppies up for sale.

– The first puppy was sold one hour after I posted the ad. And the progress was very great. Especially after a month, but then they all sold out. He could sell three or four litters of puppies, he says.

Someone must have offered several thousand crowns for the price of one of the puppies. Eriksen, however, did not change the price.

Almost 50,000 dogs registered this year

This year, a record number have wanted and bought a dog. Already in May the demand was great.

By the end of November, more than 44,000 new dogs had been registered in 2020. This is a seven percent increase compared to last year.

Gudbrand Vatn at DyreID says the growth is abnormal, but they’ve seen it before.

– We saw the same trend as a result of the financial crisis of 2008. For us, this indicates that in times of uncertainty we seek the close and safe, a new four-legged relative is the result of this search, he says.

Chihuahua among the most popular

At Tone Kristin Strand’s home in Brusdalen, Ålesund, four small creatures weighing 400 grams fall to the ground. Two weeks ago he posted the ad. It wasn’t long before the first puppy was reserved.

– Just a minute after I posted the ad, there were several who wrote. And up to ten a day, says Strand, who has Chihuahua puppies.

This is her second litter this year. She says she sees more progress regarding the crown.

– There is at least one who has written that she has been fired from her job and has a long time, says Strand.

Duplication of “wanted to buy” ads

In total, more than 2 million have searched for everything related to puppies and dogs on Finn.no. The previous year, the search was nearly 1.8 million.

Therefore, there are 200,000 more searches for dogs and puppies this year than the previous year. Ads have also increased.

– Last year, there were roughly 2,500 ads wanting to buy dogs, and we see a doubling of this number in 2020, says Finn’s communications consultant Linda Glomlien.

In 2020, there are approximately 5,000 who have placed an ad where they want to buy a dog.

– So he tells us that there are simply too few dogs for sale this year. There is more demand than supply now, he says.

In the diagram you can see how many have applied for a puppy and a dog in 2019 and 2020.

Glomlien says the dog hunt was in April and May. However, it is not the case that dogs are what we have been looking for the most at Finn Torget.

– There is the word sofa that reigns at the top as the most used keyword, he says.

Animal organizations concerned with development

The Mental Health Council said in May that owning a dog has several positive health effects. But not all are equally positive about development.

The Association for the Relocation of Animals said in April that they feared “junk” buyers would end up with puppies and then dispose of them. Animal protection is also concerned with development. This spring, the organization saw great demand from everyone who wanted pets.

– There is a high demand for puppies, and that means that there are actually very few dogs in Norway. A knife is even used for a mixed breed dog, which is the result of a thief mating, says Åshild Roaldseth in Dyrebeskyttelsen Norge.

She says this creates a very unfortunate market for smuggled dogs.

– You know that when there is great demand, there will be contraband.

In November, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority announced that they had experienced an increase in seizures of smuggled dogs during the crown crisis.