Remember that as a dog owner, you are responsible for making sure your dog’s basic needs are met. If you have questions about the dog owner’s responsibility for what the dog does, you should contact the County Administrative Board (länsstyrelsen).
¶Exercise and walking your dog
Dogs need daily stimulation—both physical and mental—and they need to meet both people and other animals to feel well.
All dogs need daily exercise and must go outside every day. You should walk your dog at least every 6 hours during the day. Puppies and older dogs should be taken out more often.
If your dog spends the whole day in a dog run/kennel, you must walk it somewhere else so it gets outside the run at least once a day.
Dogs are pack animals, but if you need to leave your dog alone, you must gradually get it used to this. Pay special attention if the dog is young, or if it shows signs of anxiety or discomfort when left alone.
¶Care of coat, teeth, and claws
It is important to care for your dog’s coat so it doesn’t get matted. You must also care for the dog’s teeth so it doesn’t develop tartar or pain in its mouth. You also need to trim its claws so they don’t get too long. Read more about this here: https://skaffahund.se/artiklar/du-och-din-hund/skotsel.
¶Food and water
Every day you must give your dog food that ensures it receives sufficient, varied, and well-balanced nutrition. Keep in mind that a dog will not feel well if it is overweight or underweight. If several dogs are fed at the same time, it is important that all of them can eat in peace without disturbing each other.
The dog must have free access to drinking water. If your dog is outdoors in sub-zero temperatures, you must make sure it can drink enough water. In that case, you must give the dog water at least twice a day.
¶By-products
If you want to feed your dog with animal by-products that you collect from, for example, a slaughterhouse or cutting plant, you must register with the Swedish Board of Agriculture (Jordbruksverket). Registration is free of charge and remains valid until you cancel it yourself.
¶Raw/fresh food
If you want to feed your dog so-called “fresh food” (färskfoder), which is an unprocessed type of feed, there are several varieties available in stores. Because these products must come from approved feed manufacturers, you do not need to be registered with the Swedish Board of Agriculture to receive and use this feed.
You can also buy, for example, meat or marrow bones in a grocery store without registration, as long as you buy them as food.
You also do not need to be registered if you want to give your dog by-products from home slaughter for your own household, from your own hunting, or directly from a hunting team.
