More than 1800 people have contacted Dog’s trust to rehome unwanted lockdown puppies

[AlternativePerspective]

And 1 in 4 people admitted they had impulse purchased a pet during lockdown.

how the fuck do we get the message home that a puppy isn’t a toy and that people should think twice three, ten times before rushing out and buying one.

And obviously the increased prices aren’t a deterrent, although those are about greed anyway, because these people are buying them for £££ and then selling them on for the same prices.

www.countryliving.com/uk/wildlife/pets/a35115185/hundreds-puppies-resold-abandoned/

@cjpark that's your opinion but it doesn't make it a fact.

My boy isnt going anywhere. He's plenty socialized, vaccinated and exercised (as the guidelines allow for animal welfare). Same with lots round here.

Yes there are selfish morons who don't think it through but this was the case before lockdown.

I knew this would happen - there was even a thread about it in the summer. Those poor dogs - and shame on the breeders too for giving pups away to just anyone.

@WoolyMamamoth

Yet I got slammed yesterday for suggesting people selling puppies this lockdown were irresponsible.

Any breeders should have had the foresight not to breed litters for a while.

Ah @WoolyMamamoth wish I had seen that I'd have stuck up for you. Is it still going? I'm really not a dog person, I'm very indifferent to them in fact but this angers me. Mum always had puppies growing up and I remember how hard she worked at raising them to dogs. It was like having a newborn in the house!

We are finally nearly in a position to have a dog after years of waiting. A few more months then I think we'll be able to. We will look to rescue. We are 2 adults, one now full time wfh, no kids, no other pets, large garden, country village and active. I hope we will be able to help one of these dogs out. Was thinking we'd go for an older dog but maybe now a younger one is an option. Much thinking to do. But I do hope we will be approved to rescue.

They shouldn’t have got them in the first place but surely it’s a good thing that they are finding them a new home if they can’t give them what they need?

People who give up dogs are not dog lovers whether they claim to be or not. I could never ever give up a dog, no matter the circumstances. All my dogs have literally been family members. These people should be put on a register ensuring they never own a pet again!

I have seen this article shared far and wide across social media, and it’s very sad but I don’t believe it’s true. I have been trying and trying to rescue a dog but just keep getting told they don’t have any dogs!! Also most local ones now want adult only homes where someone is in all day and preferably in a rural area!!!! I found one that said they’d offer a dog to families, but then it turned out they meant with children over 14! I’ve given up.... As a result we are now in contact with breeders so we can buy a puppy.

I keep my eyes open for a little rescue dog and check the Dogs Trust. Very rarely any.

Less with the rat talk! I have a chi and get much abuse for it but after ds leaves home I will go to work in international schools and spend more time in my place in Egypt. A small dog can travel in the cabin of airplanes and is easy to get in a taxi with to travel across on eurotunnel (dogs not allowed with foot passengers on ferries or the tunnel) and then fly from France.

Never thought I'd be a 'rat' owner but being portable was an important part of my requirements

Whether the dogs actually find a home or not (after the trauma of being in a rescue centre too) isnt a given isodora rescues are full as it is. And not eveyone will do the right thing. Some will abandon or sell to anyone with the ££.

If they were giving them to responsible rescues it would be ok but they’re being resold online as the owners try to recoup some of their cash.

Some will be because of home schooling. Trying to home school and keep an energetic older puppy/young dog amused is not the easiest thing to do and if your working form home too, almost impossible. I got my dog in November 2019, before Covid was a 'thing' and found the 1st lock down home schooling with a 6 month old puppy rather difficult, preserved through it though and we now have the best dog ever but he still needs entertaining of course!

If I didn't have a dog phobia, I would totally get a dog.

Dogs have more rights to exercise than humans in this lockdown. I can't drive to the countryside to exercise myself but if I have a huge energetic lab the police will almost certainly not fine me (as alternative is mixing with toddlers in local park).

[admittedly I am not entirely on track with the subject of the thread, apologies]

So sad. My mum had 2 dogs and one dies last year and one this year. She's trying to rehome a dog but with no luck. Shes at home all day and is so lonely.

Dogs should be treated like the prospect of having children. You know it’s going to be tough. Less sleep (especially when they are puppies), more work needed to care for them. But you can’t get rid of them (just like you don’t get rid of your children)! I’d absolutely love to have dogs but I know it’s not the right time as I’m working FT and it wouldn’t be fair.

@AlternativePerspective

@ chaosisaladder for a split second I genuinely considered whether I could take one on. But realistically I really can’t.

I've been the same. We were considering another pup pre-lockdown, but then prices JUMPED! From £800-1200 for the breed we wanted to £3800 - 6500.

TBH - even if I wo the lottery I wouldn't pay these prices because it just feeds into bad breeding.

Now of, course, they are getting re-sold, offloaded and dumped everywhere - but I already have 3 dogs, and while I could take either a puppy or a fairly settled adult dog into our home, I couldn't bring in an adolescent, half-trained, unsocialised almost grown pup. (I've seen these around - first-time dog owners who won't let their puppies off leash, panic when another dog comes near them, and have NEVER left the dog in the house on its own.)

These will need experienced (or at least dedicated) owners who will be able to put the time and work in to settle and train and socialise the dog. Most of them will need to be an only pet. All of them are likely to be anxious and destructive.

It is heartbreaking.

Awful. We are going to buy a dog in the future but are spending literally years contemplating it and doing things in preparation first like finishing our garden. I've never had a dog before and even I can see it's a big commitment.

I knew someone who took on 2 dogs despite having a high needs baby and they also had an inkling they'd be moving into a flat. They just thought everything would magically be ok but shortly after moving into the flat gave the dogs up and they'd already been given up once before. I think it was terribly unfair on the dogs, they should've just said no to begin with.

I don't see how it can be true, Battersea even have a message on their website saying they have fewer dogs/cats than usual for re-homing, Blue cross don't have any dogs in my area at all for re-homing.

If we have so many rescue dogs available how is there such demand that they're being imported from abroad without homes to go to lined up?

"Because foreign rescues don't do all the checks that the UK ones do. There are many serious concerns around the foreign importation of dogs - many of whom have never lived in homes or with children before.

UK rescues will home-check. They'll check whether the dog can live with other dogs, children, cats, small animals etc. They'll know the dogs' medical history. The dog will have visited a vet. They'll have had their behaviour assessed by a professional. Adopters will sign contracts and will have the support of the rescue if the dog gets ill or something goes wrong.

People can adopt from abroad because, the above rarely happens. There are several recent threads in "The Doghouse" about the problems people are having with their Romanian rescues."

Absolutely right^

I have a work colleague who adopted a Romanian dog. She has several cats, a toddler and works 3 days a week. Her husband also works away for up to 5 weeks at a time. The large 6 month old dog they got was far too much for them, (destructive, food aggression etc) and is now in another home. A decent rescue like the Dogs Trust would never have let them have a completely unknown dog in such circumstances.

We got a lockdown puppy in the summer. Dh working from home made it possible after many years talking about it. The breeder is a friend and the timing was perfect. My boy is part of the family and isn’t going anywhere. We discussed what if dh’s job changed (we know he’s home until end of March but his office is 5 minutes away and will continue with some work from home as he was before covid. We will utilise doggy day care if we have to and we have the funds to cover that. We researched it all. It’s devastating others haven’t researched and planned properly. I really hate humans sometimes but remember there are good ones out there and not all lock down puppies are doomed.

@JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows I hid it - it was called Name our New Puppy or something ...

Apparently it's a responsible litter because they met the breeders and the mum and dad and they've been waiting for six months.

In my eyes no litters are responsible at the moment. ZERO.

Was in Chat I think.

Why are none of these dogs showing up in rescue then? There are virtually no dogs in rescue centres. I know, I’ve been checking constantly.