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/

Can I have all 1800 puppies haha but yes ppl are irresponsible

@StopGo same story here. Working from home and was pre Covid. Large garden, plenty of space, older kids. I registered with Battersea and a couple of other rehoming centres and I’ve heard nothing. We’ve bought a puppy from a breeder which we collect next month. I’m quite surprised that I couldn’t get a rescue.

I lost a dog earlier in the year and my other dog was distraught. The most reputable breed rescue has 10+ people for each dog they rehome. They now have a notice on their website saying they are rehoming very few as dogs are being sold rather than given up.

We got a pup in the end from a mating pre-pandemic via a lead on the breed society page. Lots of support from the breeder & in a group with the other pup's owners. Very happy with pup. Can highly recommend a dog training group on Facebook, that radically changed my ideas on lots of things.

However, it would have been easier to get Class A drugs delivered. Complete minefield of uppity breeders, picky rescues & trying to avoid puppy farmers.

The major problem will be now that they are too picky to find homes for them all! We are desperate for a dog, have been on a waiting list of a puppy for over a year but the breeder is not having a litter until she has been vaccinated. Looked on the dogs trust for any breed in any location but must be able to live with a cat and a child

None! Not one in the whole country! It's been like this all year and it's ridiculous!

Plus our lives are pretty much the same now as before. We have neighbours who have a lonely dog and just got a 2nd puppy to keep it company, so 2 dogs left alone all day.

The reality of rescue dogs is these 6-12m puppies have not been trained properly when they were young enough to do so, so many may now be unsalveageable as safe pets for all the but the most experienced child free homes.

It's the case with rescue dogs generally. You don't get lovely well trained adult dogs that are used to children turning up in rescues - because even if a family's circumstances change, they will nearly always have family and friends queuing up to informally rehome such a desirable animal.

So what you get is poorly socialised, difficult breeds, mistreated, elderly dogs, dogs with expensive health needs etc.

Absolutely heart breaking. I really hate humans sometimes. We privately adopted a second rescue last year just before lockdown otherwise we'd be stepping in and rehoming one. She was a young dog whose family didnt have time for her too and had behaviour problems, but with patience has learned how to be a dog.
So many young dogs won't get the chance to live, many of them will be sadly destroyed. such a tragic waste. all to feed our selfish wants. :(

I love my dog and he is so good and our third as we had two before together than lived 14.5/15 years
Our current dog is 6 and we won't have another again , certainly not a puppy as they are hard work.
And dogs can be a tie and are a long term commitment.
People see a cute puppy and someone elses well behaved dog and think that just happened.
Don't know the answer to fix it though as some people never learn , I know of people who have 2/ 3 puppies over a couple years for a few months then give up as hard work.

Awful. We got a little dog in May. She home lunch at 12 so that helps. People dont research it enough when they get pets. Not fair if they left for hours.

We have had rescue dogs for over 20 years. We have four at the moment. If you do your research and go to honest, reputable rescue centres, you can find puppies. And you can find well-behaved grown up dogs. Those who say rescue dogs are problem dogs are spreading inaccurate information.

@JesusInTheCabbageVan

I'm sure there was a thread after the first lockdown smugly pointing out that the flood of abandoned lockdown puppies hadn't happened.

Yes, there was. I remember it too.

Of course this was going to happen.

People impulse buy puppies all the time but the lockdown situation has just ramped it up as, I imagine, most of these people would probably not have bothered with a puppy when they were busy with other things.

Some of us took to baking cakes or doing jigsaws during lockdown, other went out and got themselves a living breathing 'toy' to help pass the time.

It's pretty much a given that a very large percentage of these poor bloody creatures will end up being pts.

So sad. And unfortunately, so many thoughtless, selfish people around.

So they have the puppies, won't advertise them but have them destroyed instead of rehomed??

They either have an extensive waiting list of people wanting particular breeds or wanting any puppy they may not need to advertise. The new owners may already be known to them (having previously adopted or fostered). Or, as happened to me, I popped in to my local rspca place to donate some of my friends cats stuff (cat had passed away) and we decided to have a quick wander around the dogs whilst there. Fell in love with a staffy-X who'd previous adoption fell through at home inspection, and she was with us by the end of the week. She never made it to the website!

We decided to get a dog during lockdown because my husband was home to help with the training and she never had to be home alone during the first few months. I'm a SAHM so we knew I would always have the time to look after her. I didn't expect to enjoy her so much, she's completed our family. We had been looking at breeds and researching for a while beforehand and dh grew up with dogs so we didn't go in totally naive. We purposefully chose a small breed that is affectionate and intelligent.

Wonder how many will be looking for new homes in 6 months.
I’m a lifelong dog owner. We lost our elderly girl recently and I’m just not prepared to take on that level of commitment again (I wfh all the time).

Cool now we can probably get a dog really cheaply from one of the morons who bought one. Definitely not paying the inflated prices. Thanks idiots who have more money than sense, you're getting scammed twice.

Awful, poor pups. We'd like a dog, but it has to wait until we have a house with a big garden (hopefully moving this year), my youngest is at school (he starts in september) and our old lady cat crosses the rainbow bridge as she would not cope.

So maybe 2022/2023 we'll get our pup. My parents have a border collie and we are going to get one from the same breeder hopefully - but she has a very long waiting list.

Poor dogs.

@HmmSureJan

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

Young couple with a 9yo dog?? That sets alarm bells off! Bet they bought her (not as a puppy) to breed and now she's older want rid.

This is so sad, and so predictable. I'm in Melbourne and there was an explosion of puppies in the off-leash area I use for my dog during lockdown. Strangely, they were nearly all oodles, golden-haired fluff balls with little eyes, like so many Boris Johnsons. Anything not an oodle was a Vizsla - talk about high energy, and often to be found in re-homing centres.

This report came from the RSPCA about a consequence of unthinking acquisition of a puppy. With very expensive repercussions. It was clear well-meaning people used the puppy as a socialising aid when so much was restricted, but over-exercise was the result for many.

www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-26/covid19-dog-walking-craze-injuries-pets-veterinarians/12589924

Honestly the buying and selling of dogs needs to be regulated, somehow. It's not right that anyone can just buy a dog with no checks etc and then dispose of it.
I don't know exactly what could be done but surely there is something.

If you do your research and go to honest, reputable rescue centres, you can find puppies. And you can find well-behaved grown up dogs. Those who say rescue dogs are problem dogs are spreading inaccurate information.

You can. But few rescues have many dogs suitable for families. And clearly there are many dogs with more difficult backgrounds who will be more challenging to train and require more experience.

It doesnt mean those dogs don't have the potential to be a rewarding pet. It does mean they are suitable for a smaller range of potential owners.

Strangely, they were nearly all oodles, golden-haired fluff balls with little eyes, like so many Boris Johnsons.

I know an oodle who looks just like that but I didn't realise till uni said it

Sadly our lovely boy was pts in July and we started to look at rescuing a dog in October and haven't had any luck, the three we applied for went to someone else. Dogs Trust said they are having as many as 200 people applying for each dog and sometimes as many as 500 for puppies. O e of the dogs we applied for was 12 years old with a medical condition and he had 34 applicants. Whilst we were disappointed it's great he found a lovely retirement home

www.pets4homes.co.uk/classifieds/3062048-beautiful-lilac-merle-boy-london.html

And the descriptions are just awful.

Tons and tons of puppies.