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/

I realise it’s different for every dog but that hasn’t been our experience with our young rescue. Yes she had those problems, we are not experienced but dedicated and now we have a confident, sociable dog. Her training is of course ongoing but she is transformed from the dog we adopted in March last year. Lockdown helped in this respect as we built her up as restrictions eased. I just wish people were more open minded when it comes to rescues.

@PaxMalmKallax

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.

It is worth remembering that, rescues, good rescues, are not in the business of finding people the pet they want. They are in the business of finding the animal the home it needs.

A great number of rescue animals have already been failed, at least once, by the wrong home.

@ChestnutStuffing

(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.)

This is an interesting point. So many rescues and people these days seem convinced that there must be someone home always and leaving the dog at all is terrible. I do rather wonder if this doesn't ultimately contribute to problems.

It does, Chestnut

Dogs shouldn't be left for long periods - they need company, and in practical terms, they need the toilet!

But all dogs need to be ok for an hour or two on their own. You have to be able to do your shopping, go to the dentist, go out for a coffee or for a meal, without the dog.

You start by leaving your pup (safely contained in a room where it can't do damage or hurt itself) for (say) 10 - 15 minutes and then gradually increase the time. Make sure there is access to water. Give it a safe toy. Perhaps leave a radio on. Most dogs will lie down and fall asleep once they are confident they haven't been abandoned.

Can you imagine what it must be like for a puppy who had been used to a lockdown house full of people when one day everybody goes out and s/he is left for 8 - 10 hours? That dog will be panic-stricken. I it has the chance it will become destructive, chewing furniture - because it is anxious. It will certainly howl and cry, for HOURS, which will cause complaints from neighbours.

Personally I think 4 hours is the absolute maximum a dog should be left alone (except in emergency situations), but all dogs need to learn to settle alone.

Puppies are very much treated as a novelty by some and the reality kicks in a week later once they realise it's like having a newborn but without the nappies. An ex of mine had one which I helped out with and I remember saying no one ever told me it was like having a furry human baby, so I think this message needs pushing more. That or I was just thick. Probably thick. I don't have a dog.

Is that people who have contacted them asking for one or actual puppies given homes?

@WoolyMamamoth

Where do all these pups go?

They are being resold currently - they have been brought as a commodity and now they are being resold for profit.

It's sick.

I dread to think what happens when they run out of homes to be resold onto, have gotten bigger and less puppy cute, need vet care and likely with issues due to being moved on.

Oh sorry, I just realised there was a link. That's awful 😥

In fairness some of those will be real circumstances - people whose situations have changed and it was unforeseen, like businesses closing down permanently, or the need to move. Also marriages unable to take the strain at the moment. But sadly many will be people who didn't think ahead and just decided they have free time which was transitory. Poor pups.

There's a few in my area but this is the one that broke my heart. She's 9!

@HmmSureJan

There's a few in my area but this is the one that broke my heart. She's 9!

And she's not spayed!

That poor little dog.

Not surprised.

I started weighing up the idea of a dog this time last year and discounted it due to a then 1 yr old.

I got very close to it again in the autumn but I knew it could be a bad idea and also that there will the 1000's to rehome soon

We aren't in the right place yet. I know exactly how much of a commitment a dog is. Especially a puppy.

My next door neighbour got a puppy in the first lock down. I know that 2 other neighbours have made complaints to the council about it barking so much. It also barks, cries and whines on the days they both work.

In December they got another puppy. The first one was a male, this one is a female. As their female cat had 2 litters before they actually bothered to get her spayed (according to them it is up to all the owners of male cats to get their cats done!) I can guess what is going to happen.

I don't believe they have ever walked either dog or taken them to training etc. The guy was telling me the other day that the first pup is not that good with his children (they have 3) and growls at other children!

I worry that so many dogs bought in lock down just will not have been socialised. It is so very important for dogs. I have a 7 year old dog that we rescued at 7 months. He had never been socialised. Kept locked in a shed so never seen birds, cats, trees, flowers, grass, cars the list is endless. He was taken away from his litter brother and sisters at 8 weeks so had not seen another dog from then until we got him.

He is terrified of everyone and everything. We have tried everything with him and taken him to trainers and behaviourists. They all say the same that because he missed the socialisation needed there is nothing that can be done to help him. He is a nightmare to walk and we have to try and go to places which will have as few people and dogs as possible (preferably none). He barks at everything and everyone because he is scared and he is a big dog with a very loud bark which doesn't go down well with many people even though he is always on a short lead

We were looking to get a puppy this year. Our JRT died 3 years ago and the house is a bit empty. Dh and I work opposite shifts with an hour the house is empty inbetween.
Therefore we cant rehome a rescue.
We would have had a younger rescue dog otherwise.
People round my way who bought lockdown puppies thankfully still seem to have them.

This really galls me. I have always re-homed dogs but decided that this time round I was going to get a puppy when I lost mine two years ago. With one thing and another being more of a financial priority, when the covid stuff came up and prices rocketed I was stuffed. Absolutely no way could I justify spending the sort of money required for the puppy of my dreams.

So here I am, still dogless, missing my walks and low-level interactions, while idiot greeders churn out babies and then the silly owners who didn't think hard enough before buying, can't cope, and want to re-home and recoup the money they spent. Breaks my heart.

paid £2k for a mongrel, sorry cockapoo

A cross-bred and a mongrel aren't the same. Cross-breeds are used in a lot of sports and even industries. In horse related sports it's common, and in farming it's common too as often cross-breeds have performance advantages, among other examples, and relatively predictable outcomes (sometimes very predictable in some examples.) Unfortunately they often still suffer from the health problems of purebred animals, especially in non-performance animals.

Mongrels have a more mixed ancestry, often unknown, with less predictable characteristics but largely not suffering from the specific genetic problems of specific breeds or the overall health effects that accompany greater inbreeding coefficients.

It makes me sad. I would love to have a dog (or in an ideal world, a small dog and a cat) but I'm not allowed them on my tenancy. Someday.

@AlternativePerspective

And presumably they’re not going to be able to rehome them because how do they vet new homes in lockdown, how do they prevent someone from applying to adopt a puppy from a rescue because they too fancy a lockdown puppy.

Sadly I think many of these dogs will end up being put to sleep.

Maybe they need to actually start with having less strict rules around adoption.

I’ve looked to adopt a dog. Even with two older teenagers it’s just impossible to meet the long list of ‘must be’ they have :(

That's so sad lynsey - it must break your heart to see him so anxious all the time.

In practical terms t also makes him dangerous - any dog can become fear aggressive, and when it is a bg, powerful dog it can do a lot of damage.

A neighbour had an alit like this - she had been kept in a stable on her own until the neighbour got her. She was about 10 months. She actually attacked and killed another dog.

Neighbour didn't get her destroyed but like you, always walked her on a very short lead and couldn't relax if other dogs came anywhere near them. She admitted that she was relieved when the dog died (aged about 10).

So was I.

I wonder if the rehoming standards are too prescriptive and 'ideal world scenario' today?

I've seen myself and heard from family, dogs round here get sold within WhatsApp groups and Facebook amongst circles of extended family/friends/colleagues/school parents. They don't have to look further than their social circle to find a buyer. I wouldn't be surprised that's why they're not showing up in rescues/gumtree/etc.

@lynsey91

My next door neighbour got a puppy in the first lock down. I know that 2 other neighbours have made complaints to the council about it barking so much. It also barks, cries and whines on the days they both work.

In December they got another puppy. The first one was a male, this one is a female. As their female cat had 2 litters before they actually bothered to get her spayed (according to them it is up to all the owners of male cats to get their cats done!) I can guess what is going to happen.

I don't believe they have ever walked either dog or taken them to training etc. The guy was telling me the other day that the first pup is not that good with his children (they have 3) and growls at other children!

I worry that so many dogs bought in lock down just will not have been socialised. It is so very important for dogs. I have a 7 year old dog that we rescued at 7 months. He had never been socialised. Kept locked in a shed so never seen birds, cats, trees, flowers, grass, cars the list is endless. He was taken away from his litter brother and sisters at 8 weeks so had not seen another dog from then until we got him.

He is terrified of everyone and everything. We have tried everything with him and taken him to trainers and behaviourists. They all say the same that because he missed the socialisation needed there is nothing that can be done to help him. He is a nightmare to walk and we have to try and go to places which will have as few people and dogs as possible (preferably none). He barks at everything and everyone because he is scared and he is a big dog with a very loud bark which doesn't go down well with many people even though he is always on a short lead

This is really not the same though - being locked in a shed without much contact with anyone is totally different than a dog in a family that can go for walks and such.

We are ready for a dog after years of thinking about it.
I have a background with animals and want to train one so it has a "job" (breed dependent)

One of us is gone every day. We have a teenager who can walk, live rurally, 6ft+ fences....rescues are a no go because younger child is 8.

I'd far rather rescue than anything else.

We have a 12 year old lhasa apso, he has become very used to us being here during the day and I'm really fearful about how he will cope when all the kids are back at uni and DH is back at work.
I work 3 shortened days and we were thinking of getting another mature rescue dog to keep him company. He adores female shitzhus and other small breeds and cuddles up with them.
No chance of finding one in the current climate though.

@Candleabra

That's awful. I imagine some of these poor dogs were bred specifically to meet lockdown demand as well. I know of a couple of "much loved family pets" who've had two consecutive litters of designers crossbreeds. Charged £1k plus for each puppy too.

That's a lot for a mongrel. Which, let's face it, that's what crossbreeds are.

I know of someone who bred 7 golden labs and sold them for between 2.5 and 3.5k each! And they traveled for miles to get them too.

I've been trying to adopt via Dogs Trust for nine months. Experienced, no other pets, aware of the costs, no children and home all day (won't change). Not getting anywhere so given up. Sadly I think many dog's will be PTS.