Looking for somewhere to go to try cross-country skiing, as lovers of dogs and wildlife, it was this unique experience on Airbnb that put us on the path to visiting Finland. Having found that Ranua also had the zoo, a great Airbnb accomodation, and other experiences to try we came to Finland for a week. During the week, we also tried skiing, Husky sledding, snowmobiles, snowshoes, and visited places like Iso Syöte, all of which were amazing. The only thing we did that left us feeling bit flat was this. We went for the two hour private tour, which consisted of an introduction to the Wolfdogs, which are a cross between wolves and domestic dogs. There were four pens, each with wolfdogs bred from different wolves, and therefore kept separately. Two pens had four dogs and two pens had two, so twelve in total. We were then able to go into the two four dog pens to see the wolfdogs up close. The good points of the experience were that the guy who showed us around was able to tell us a lot about the history of wolfdogs and of their experiences with theirs, answer all of our questions, and of course seeing the setup and meeting the wolfdogs was great. The not so good bits were that it was extremely cold standing in the snow for two hours, which is in no way the fault of the hosts, but is just something to bear in mind if you go. We felt if it had been amazing it may have been worth the cost, but as it was, it was slightly on the expensive side. Lastly we just felt the whole experience was neither friendly nor unfriendly but just left us a bit flat, as it wasn’t done with any great enthusiasm towards us as visitors.

However, the biggest issue I have is following sending a private message to the host, suggesting how this experience could be made better for other visitors. This was done (as always) to spare public visibility of sensitive suggestions. This message contained suggestions such as …”When we went in the first pen and were asked not to touch the big dog, it was easy to lose track of which one it was. It would be useful therefore if this one maybe had a different colour collar to the others, so that it would be easier to keep track of which one it is, when up close and surrounded by them”.

The owner replied with what can only only be described as an incredible rant in the most unfriendly language, accusing us of wanting a refund (something that was never mentioned or intimated) and quoting bible references about money, greed, and us being obsessed by expensive things.

I would therefore have given this experience 3/5 but have reduced it by one to 2/5.

Es war eine super Erfahrung. Vállju ist sehr freundlich und hat uns alle Fragen beantworten können.

Such a cool experience! Definitely recommend for everyone to try. I was a little nervous at first but once you warm up to being in there with the wolf dogs they are so friendly. This was so cool we wanted to come back a second time in the same week! We will definitely be back. The hike was a lot of fun too and you can’t beat the views pictures do not compare to real life.

Unforgettable experience with open minded and enthusiastic owner:
I really loved this day!