To ask people to please stop contributing to the overbreeding of dogs in lockdown?

[Iremembertheelderlykoreanlady]

I've posted this in "doghouse" too but maybe it will be of benefit to put it on here too.

I looked on gumtree. I shouldnt have but i did and now I'm pissed off!

I mean what the hell is this?! £2500 for a mix of random breeds, so blatantly an attempt to cash in on lockdown by breeding family dogs. No care will have been taken over health testing etc

Its not just this advert either.

FRUGS! I mean, never mind that it's a stupid f-ing name, but it's pug crossed with a French bulldog. Wonderful idea! Let's take 2 breeds who can't breath and make shit loads of money from them.

SHUGS! I'm guessing here as the advert wasn't specific but I'm assuming a shitzu crossed with a pug?

DACHOUND - If you're going to sell it you should be able to spell it!

More cockerpoos thank you can shake a stick at.

Puppies around 4 months old being sold for £2000 (obviously a lockdown purchase and they're trying to get their money back/make a bit more)

Even normal breeds which would have been fairly cheap pre lockdown (labrador, border collie etc) going for thousands of pounds.

What is wrong with people?! And when will this end?

Please please don't be someone who adds to this problem. Its not just gumtree, even some supposedly "reputable" breeders are now charging double or triple the price for puppies than they were before lockdown.

If people keep buying at this price it will encourage more and more irresponsible breeders who are just looking to make money.

Dog theft is a real problem (in my area) at the moment and it all stems from the same thing.

Once "work from home if you can" finishes so so many young dogs will be chucked into rescue centres or just onto the side of a road.

The prices are driving chancers to breed their “family pets”, after all if you have five pups that’s a decent chunk of cash at £2500 a pop, probably undeclared. Most don’t bother with genetic checks before pregnancy or health checks after - Lord knows what’s going to happen when all the inevitable health problems come out when these dogs are older and need expensive vet treatment - they will probably be abandoned or sent to a rescue.

Dog breeding which is done from home residences needs to be regulated with mandatory health checks for the puppies and mother, and restricted to a certain number of pregnancies over the dog’s life.

As for the muppets paying that sort of money for a mongrel, I have no words.....

A mix of different breeds isnt "overbreeding" it's the exact opposite. Increasing hybrid vigour by breeding yourself a mongrel.

The dog theft is so bad where I live right now, it’s all I’m seeing on social media. I’m scared to take my dogs out on my own! I think it’s awful that reputable breeders are hiking up their prices so high, because it’s just made poor family pets targets for scumbags.

"even some supposedly "reputable" breeders are now charging double or triple the price for puppies than they were before lockdown."
Some are but that's because they risk selling them to someone who they think is decent for their pre-covid prices and they get sold on for £1000 more. Obviously other breeders will have long waiting lists so know who they are selling to see genuine

I’ve noticed Dogs Trust have changed that age old slogan to “a dog is for life not just for lockdown”
My other concern is people paying these prices won’t now use a Rehoming centres when they get bored but will be more likely to try to recoup their thousands by selling to god knows who on Facebook/gumtree

A mix of different breeds isnt "overbreeding" it's the exact opposite. Increasing hybrid vigour by breeding yourself a mongrel.

I meant overbreeding in the sense of too many dogs being bred from, too many puppies being produced.

Apologies, I thought my point was clear from my post

Theyre not even fancy daft ass x breeds, anything with more than 2 breeds is a mongrel. A 2.5k MONGREL. Infuriates me. These people have no clue what their doing. Saying that, People with KC dogs are just as bad. And people that have a litter 'because the dog wants to be a mum' ok Dr Doolittle, nothing to do with the ridiculous price tags then? So many people dont have a clue how to whelp, things that can go wrong or means to fund it when it does, no health checks, genetic testing, not getting a decent stud. Or consider the risk to the dog they love so much that they could loose in the process, have to hand rear puppies or loose the whole lot and still have a giant vet bill at the end. Someone i knew bred her dog, 1st litter, didnt get her scanned and looked shocked when i asked her what she planned to do if she had a singleton the size of a brick, didn't even occur to her or cross her mind because she didn't know what she was doing!

There are all sorts of dog problems ATM. We have were I live a group of dognappers who are attacking owners who are out dog walking on their own early in morning or late night. A lady had 2 huskies stolen from her. She was attacked from behind and two men got a muzzle on each dog and a flat bed lorry arrived and off they went. This lorry and two men dressed entirely in black with beanie hats also got a little poodle off an elderly gentleman and knocked him out. The police are trying to catch them. Now we hear 2 men are going around marking out where dogs live with black cable ties around gates, lampposts and signs close to where dogs live and other 2 (different men) are grabbing them when out for their walks. It has happened four times I have heard of but on different estates, in same town. The police are driving up and down every evening but latest attack was on a footpath around a lake near to us. We have been warned not to let children walk dogs ATM. My DS is 14 1/2 and is upset he can't walk our 2 small dogs and worried someone might steal them because they are so cute. I am not walking them on my own anymore. We just want these men caught. People are now walking dogs in a convoy 2 metres apart in a long line. Police have been checking CCTV from some houses but do far nothing. Been happening just under 2 weeks now and 5 dogs taken. There collars have been found thrown off in road. Vet suggested because dogs are so expensive during lockdown these men are stealing to sell on or breed from. Most dogs taken were small except for huskies. Very scary and worrying.

I also think people haven't considered what they'll do with a puppy once they go back to work, thinking ota fine, furlough will give them time to train a puppy nor realising puppies are like babies and need a lot of attention and training for a long time not just 6 wreks or so. we got puppies before lockdown but are experienced with dogs and there will always be someone home with them as I work a few hours in the eve and dh in daytime. We bought from reputable sellers who havw waiting lists and test the puppies and did everything by the book.

Going out with them by myself is scary, always worried about them being stolen although I never let them off lead but worried someone would try and grab them.

In my local area a woman was waiting at traffic lights last week. A man opened her car door and demanded that she give him the dog. She said no and he dragged her out of the car by her hair, still trying to get to the dog.

He didn't get the dog in the end but they've not caught him yet!

I have never once thought anybody would steal my dog. I would never leave him unattended outside a shop or tied to a lamppost whilst I go in somewhere. That's more because I worry kids could bother him and I wouldn't be there to stop them. I find it strange that people are actually walking their dogs terrified that somebody might grab their dog from them.

We have been looking for a Labrador for over 18months now. I started looking and the prices were £700-900 our house sale fell through so we decided to wait. The same breeders are now selling them for £2500. I REFUSE to pay that. It’s absolutely insane

@Lastbonestanding

I have never once thought anybody would steal my dog. I would never leave him unattended outside a shop or tied to a lamppost whilst I go in somewhere. That's more because I worry kids could bother him and I wouldn't be there to stop them. I find it strange that people are actually walking their dogs terrified that somebody might grab their dog from them.

It’s happening more and more. Gangs literally waiting in parks for dogs to be let off lead and then grabbing them. Or as in the second link, attacking the owner and taking the dog.

www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/family-devastated-after-dog-bundled-19042267

www.mylondon.news/news/south-london-news/were-living-nightmare-wimbledon-familys-19651527

We show a breed of gun dogs and occasionally have a litter . The price has been raised from £1000 to about £2500 since lockdown . We were planning a litter but it’s on hold for now . However people i know who are trying to do the right thing and sell their well bred health tested kc registered pups for the original price are being asked what is wrong with them !!!! These pups are the product of long known prize winning kennels . But people see joe bloggs up the road is selling the same breed for 3 times the price ( often with non tested parents ) and want them very weird lockdown has a lot to answer for

It doesn't make much sense to complain about the price in the kind of market economy we have, if you want fewer puppies. Prices always follow demand. If there is a lot of demand, prices will go up, even more so if there are fewer puppies available.

So if you want people to breed fewer dogs you are going to see the prices go up even more.

As for crossbreeds - yes, I imagine a lot of these are meant to be trendy. These crosses became popular because they appealed in some way to pet owners. The cockapoo is popular because of it's specific characteristics. Crosses with pugs are often intended to offset the physiological problems they have while maintaining some of their appeal. In general people hope these crosses will be more genetically robust (though usually they aren't.)

That is no different than what you see with purebred dogs. People want them because something about their characteristics appeal, and they are willing to pay huge prices for them. Few dog owners are looking for working dogs where they really need a certain type of dog, it's generally about appearance or more general personality.

If it is ok to sell expensive purebreds for these reasons it is really not different to sell a cross. Many of the breeds we recognise as KC breeds today started as crosses of other kinds of dogs.

As for MONGRELS - if people really want to avoid the genetic issues that have been created by inbreeding, they need to look not at crosses, but dogs with heritage from three or more breeds. Crosses of two purebreds tend to retain the genetic problems of the parent breeds.

People seem to forget, when they get sniffy about this, is that the need for all this genetic testing was created by the fashion for purebred dogs.

I have always felt that breeding should be done by licence and make it illegal/ licensing that is very expensive to own intact dogs ( something would have to be sorted for female dogs because they really do need one season before they are spayed). But the idea people can breed their dog on a whim makes me very angry. Lifelong dog owner here.

I also support licensing ( we have fairly strict rules in NZ and proper dog wardens) I pay 80 pounds a year for two neutered, microchipped dogs who have not been in trouble. Failure to pay and I believe the council hound you. They impound dogs here without much warning.

There are too many poorly bred dogs in the world. I can hear people screaming about ‘my right to have a dog’, a dog is not a right, a dog is a careful consideration and financial obligation, firmly legislated approved breeders and removal of puppies from non approved homes is the only way to prevent these ‘new breeds’ leading lives of medical misery.

Good breeders, who health check, know what they are doing deserve their income, backyard breeders with eyes on the cash prize at the expense of their pet and meddling with breeding selection etc need the full force of newly created legislation thrown at them.

Mongrels would still occur ( yes we do love them ) because accidents would still happen, but with the puppies removed, no small ad sales it would lead to there being less incentive, and perhaps fewer dog shelters filled to the brim with adolescent/ adult dogs who have in the main had a bad start in life. Legislation, licensing, compulsory breeder registration and no private sales is the only way to tackle this growing problem.

Would love a dog and kids have been begging for years but it’s that commitment and whilst it would of been great during lock down I don’t plan being home all day when things get back to normal.

Seems quite common as we had lot of dog thief too

I agree. It's truly become ridiculous.

I'm a lover of a certain breed for about 20 years. I used to show them. The last boy I got was £800. He's 12 now and my exH has him as he really bonded with him and I just couldn't hurt either one of them by taking him.

Now I'm having trouble finding one for less than £3000. I was wanting to get 2 but having to wait a year or two just for a pet seems wrong. I suspect if I offered £7000 - £10000 each, I'd get moved to the front of the queue quickly.

The greed, theft, and careless breeding is shameful.

I have always felt that breeding should be done by licence and make it illegal/ licensing that is very expensive to own intact dogs ( something would have to be sorted for female dogs because they really do need one season before they are spayed).

No they don't.
Medically, it's better to spay your dog before their first heat. It greatly reduces the risk of mammary tumors. People who wait to spay their dogs until after their second heat greatly increase the risk of mammary tumors in their pets.

The dog theft is so bad where I live right now, it’s all I’m seeing on social media. I’m scared to take my dogs out on my own! I think it’s awful that reputable breeders are hiking up their prices so high, because it’s just made poor family pets targets for scumbags.

Oh good old social media! Everything you see on it is 100% true, I'm sure.

I wake up everyday to a swathe of dog theft posts, I'd think 90% aren't true.

Our local area the police made a statement saying dog theft hasn't increased (just the social media hype that's increased).

We've now got people on social media deciding that every white van is "dodgy", the person that asked how old their dog was is "dodgy", one because a man happened to be on the phone and she "had a feeling" it was dodgy! One decided she's taking a pepper spray out with her from now on.

Also a massive hype about a dog stolen from a front garden locally. So some sensible people asked when, what breed, what colour, name etc.

Others were, it's terrible, you can't look away for one second, I saw a man in a van thought it was dodgy, should've reported it.

No name, breed etc came forward.

When really pressed on the post the author admitted "she didn't know directly" , it in fact never happened.

But still people on the estate refer to the "dog that was stolen in Acacia Lane"!

*I have always felt that breeding should be done by licence and make it illegal/ licensing that is very expensive to own intact dogs ( something would have to be sorted for female dogs because they really do need one season before they are spayed).

No they don't.
Medically, it's better to spay your dog before their first heat. It greatly reduces the risk of mammary tumors. People who wait to spay their dogs until after their second heat greatly increase the risk of mammary tumors in their pets.*

My Vets won't spay before first heat and with large breeds they don't recommend spaying until c18 months.

@Blockedoff

*I have always felt that breeding should be done by licence and make it illegal/ licensing that is very expensive to own intact dogs ( something would have to be sorted for female dogs because they really do need one season before they are spayed).

No they don't.
Medically, it's better to spay your dog before their first heat. It greatly reduces the risk of mammary tumors. People who wait to spay their dogs until after their second heat greatly increase the risk of mammary tumors in their pets.*

My Vets won't spay before first heat and with large breeds they don't recommend spaying until c18 months.

I think it depends on the vet and dog. I've got a small breed and vets were happy to spay from 6 months. I got it done as the risks of pregnancy would be far larger to her than spaying. She's over a year now and doing great.

This whole ‘Lockdown Puppy Boom’ is going to come back and bite hard in a few months. Charities will be swamped with dogs.

@Porcupineintherough

A mix of different breeds isnt "overbreeding" it's the exact opposite. Increasing hybrid vigour by breeding yourself a mongrel.

Selling mixed breeds for thousands is just ridiculous though.

I posted on similar thread a few weeks ago to note that here in Australia, vets, via the RSPCA have noted a rise in leg and joint injuries by over-exercised Covid puppies.

Because of restrictions in exercise at the time, closure of leisure and entertainment, WFH and limits on household mixing, the dogs became a natural focus, a ready way of socialising. Dedicated off-leash areas also made a place to meet. And the puppies are paying for it, as will their owners with the bills for cruciate ligament damage, etc.

I imagine a similar situation will evolve in the UK, too.

I'm a dog owner myself and only too aware what a social bond dog-walking is, but my (pre-Covid) doggie was nurtured through his first year for just this reason.