And so it begins (lockdown puppies)

[Sailawaysailaway]

I’ve seen two posts this week on local Facebook/Nextdoor groups of

“Does anyone fancy walking my dog. Back to work for us etc etc”.

Quite obviously asking for someone to walk for them for free, not asking for a dog walker

I have been quite a defender on posts about lockdown dogs etc, hoping that the majority of people wouldn’t be so stupid as to get a dog with no forward planning at all - but I’m now seeing my hope was misplaced.

Not quite sure what my Aibu is - but seen yet another post today (by a teacher no less - so they were always going back to the “office”) and it’s pissed me off.

So I suppose Aibu to say - don’t get a dog if you have no plan on how to look after it when you go back to work.

My manager got a dog last weekend, we were called back into the office from Monday. She came in for one hour a day saying she now had to WFH due to the dog! Others have been refused WFH and we are told it's back to full office mobilisation, except her by all accounts!

Other than having left things drastically late, I don't see the problem with a foreseeable change in circumstances. Two people working FT outside the home does not preclude dog ownership, but I agree it takes planning and money ( just like childcare).

They bought a dog, knowing they would be going back to work. They are now looking for dog walkers as they go back to work soon. They will likely end up paying for this, but are trying to source some for free before they pay.

@randomer

How on earth can anyone leave a spamiel for 10 hours a day? Unbelievable.

This "dog thing" has grown out of all proportion. A few years ago I met someone who had bought a dog, knowing they had a demanding full time job, a small extra business and intended to have have children.
She assured me the dog would be in doggy day care. I had never heard of such a thing.
There is one near me, dogs howling all day long, its awful
Dog coats, treats, paid dog walkers, doggy day care.....its madness.

Why exactly is it madness to do any of those things?

• Dog coats - some breeds need them to be warm in winter (whippets, greyhounds etc.) others use them to help keep their dogs clean and to reduce matting and tangles from the mud.

• Paid dog walkers and daycare - an excellent way of caring for dogs while you're out of the house and far, far better than leaving your dogs home alone for hours on end. Good walkers are insured and have qualifications in first aid and canine behaviour, and all daycares now have to be council licensed.

• Treats...what on earth do you have against treats for dogs?!

Should I... quit my job and become a dog Walker? Only half joking.

@WhoWants2Know

Should I... quit my job and become a dog Walker? Only half joking.

I know you're joking, but too many people do this and have no experience or qualifications, and it's frankly dangerous.

I wish it was a regulated industry but it's not. Anyone can do it and by law you don't even need insurance. It's insane.

I'm hoping my DP stays WFH a bit longer so I don't have to go back to going home at lunchtime for walkies but I will need to at some point. It's been that long since we both worked a normal pattern out of the house all week (I was on mat leave up til a month before the first lockdown) I can't 100% remember the routine we had so there may be an element of that in some of these requests.

Although saying that most seasoned dog owners will know about making proper paid arrangements so YANBU anyway. Was just a realisation on my part even after 8 years of owning our dog!

@XenoBitch

Getting a dog walker is forward planning. They are not selling or abandoning their dogs. The only shit thing they are doing really is asking anyone from the general public to walk their dog instead of paying for a professional dog walker. Such a dog walker will be insured, licensed etc.

I meet lots of lovely dog walkers on my walks. They're a great option. Their main problem is that everyone wants their walks and visits at midday which is impossible.

They do 'we give a Crap' walks at the weekend where they pick up the mess from others. I'm at home for the foreseeable but I'm so glad this is an option now. If you get a dog you should make sure they're properly cared for.

@PopUpName

Other than having left things drastically late, I don't see the problem with a foreseeable change in circumstances. Two people working FT outside the home does not preclude dog ownership, but I agree it takes planning and money ( just like childcare).

They bought a dog, knowing they would be going back to work. They are now looking for dog walkers as they go back to work soon. They will likely end up paying for this, but are trying to source some for free before they pay.

But it’s very much like childcare. And if I saw someone posting negative a Facebook group “does anyone fancy looking after my kids as I’m back to work next week” I imagine there would (rightly) be outrage.

The only shit thing they are doing really is asking anyone from the general public to walk their dog instead of paying for a professional dog walker. Such a dog walker will be insured, licensed etc

Just to add, there is no such thing as being a licensed dog walker. You can be licensed to do daycare (in fact, you have to be by law) but there are no such rules for dog walkers. You don't even need to be insured.

It's a completely unregulated industry and I know a few walkers who don't have basics like insurance and first aid training in place. I dread to think what would happen if a dog got hurt, injured etc. in their care and they weren't covered.

Maybe all these lockdown puppies needing new homes will reduce the amount of dog theft?

I don't know why people didn't think it through long term it's really sad. I hate the "looking for a forever home" if they weren't going to be their forever home they should never have got a dog.

We used doggy daycare three days a week and the same people walked him the other two days (one of us worked a very short day those two days) before I changed to a job right near home. It was really good and they were happy to have visitors at any point, saw them pick up our dog one day when I was off ill (booked and paid for and I wasn't going to be any fun so carried on as planned) and he was so excited to see them I never worried about leaving him with them. Good ones are worth their weight in gold but I'd be wary of any set up in the last 12 months or so.

Several people I know have got lockdown puppies. At least 3 families I know, they have either been made redundant or are self employed in sectors that can't open and have received barely, if any financial help. ...And it seems a strange time to take on a financial commitment like a dog, (especially one prone to health conditions) as well as the practical arrangements for if/when they go back to work

I wouldn't be comfortable at all to hand my house keys and my precious dog over to a complete stranger .

Personally I would much prefer to pay for a professional dog walker, who has references, CRB check and experience with dogs. And will be consistent and reliable, which is what a dog needs if you'll be leaving it all day while you're at work. A stranger isn't going to want to come over at specific times on specific days to suit you and your dog. A case of you get what you pay for.

There is going to be a lot of dogs in rescue centres in 6 months time as people realise the reality of working and looking after a dog.

The other difficulty is majority of dogs haven't been separated so unless people realise this and do training there will unfortunately be a lot of distressed dogs.

We have had our rescue for years she was used to max 4 hours on her own but now she goes loopy if it's more than 30 minutes so we are slowly building her back again but it's not a quick process!

It upsets me too. It’s happened to cats as well and they are being given back too the rehoming centres (the rehoming centres had been questing people could they care for them once normality returns). We got a kitten in lockdown and she is here too stay. I already have a 11 year old Tom cat. We just wanted another cat but couldn’t at the time find an older female cat too rehome so got a kitten. Animals are for life. I wish people remembered that.

Out of curiosity I’ve just gone back to the thread I refer to. And have seen

• posts from people with what looks like fake profiles saying “I’ve DM’d you”
• someone complaining that they use Borrow My Doggy and you basically have to pay for it

(Oh so you don’t just want free dog walking but also don’t want to pay to use the service that provides it).

Bloody terrifying how little people seem to care about their pets.

it needs to be made WAY more difficult to obtain a pet, particularly a dog
I agree, but more pets means more profits for the pet industry and they will lobby against anything which puts obstacles in the way of pet ownership
they dont care about pet welfare, they only care about making a profit out of them

"Last post I’m referring to is literally this (hope not MNetter!)

It’s literally this...
“Does anyone want to walk our lovely puppy (name). Maybe someone working from home who fancies getting out and about during the day, or someone retired. We are both teachers so back to work for us”.

...and if I read this on Facebook, I'd think they were cheap cheeky fuckers and shit dog owners. If you get a dog and work in a job that usually takes you out the house, you plan for paying a dog walker to come in the middle of the day, so the dog isn't left on it's own for too long.

I love dogs, but wouldn't offer to walk a strangers one for free, especially as I doubt it will be particularly well trained; probably have terrible recall so will have to keep them on the lead, and they will probably pull on it constantly. No thanks.

There is going to be a lot of dogs in rescue centres in 6 months time as people realise the reality of working and looking after a dog.
I doubt it, people are flogging their family pet they're so expensive they'll sell them on.
I saw an ad for a 2y.o terrier €1500.

I swear my cats are visibly pissed off because I'm home more than normal

Our two are the same - the wild catflap and Dreamies parties have had to be put on hold.

It's pretty stupid of them given how high dog thefts are at the moment!

It was always going to be a massive issue.

I have two lockdown puppies (from a rescue centre, a hard to house breed), they have been in a proper day care for two days a week since I got them - for socialisation but also to reserve their spaces there. The rescue place and the daycare were both used with our old dog who died in lockdown one - hence why the rescue centre called me about these two -which I was definitely not going to rehome because I was definitely not getting another dog-

There have been so many dog walkers springing up here with redundancies, they are uninsured and not aware of what dogs require, nor do they have knowledge on specific breeds and their behaviours.

I am predicting a massive rush on these daycare / walkers, and sadly a huge increase in issues with dogs whilst they are out and about in their care - actually have already seen it with several chasing wildlife.

If you look at the sites like Pets4Homes (which has both good and bad breeders on it), you will see that there can't possibly be enough good, permanent homes for even half of them - let alone the ones on facebook, gumtree etc. This lockdown hs stimulated a huge demand for puppies, and the market was already beyond saturation point.

Dogs will be sold on, some will be dumped - and some bitches will be bred repeatedly so that the owners aren't out of pocket.

The "doodle" craze was bad enough - there is no longer any incentive for anyone to spat their bitch, or jeep her in when she's in heat, because the mongrel puppies that you couldn't GIVE away 20 years ago now get given a stupid name and sell for top dollar. Now the pandemic has fuelled the industry even further by pushing the price of puppies up 4,,5, 6 times what it was.

And when they lose their cuteness, they get dumped . . . .

This is the worst think that could happen for dogs. why can't we have a system like the one in Sweden? Very few of their dogs are neutered by they don't have the dog population problems we do. Breeding is not only strictly regulated, but breeders are responsible for any veterinary bills incurred as a result of breeding defects for the first three years.

This means they are a damn site more careful about breeding from healthy stock and trying to eradicate congenital problems. and they don't overbreed bitches because that leads to weak and sickly puppies.

The government keeps saying they can't do anything to regulate breeding, but other governments manage it.

@sunflowersandbuttercups

I really wasn't trying to make light of what's actually required in a dog walker, in terms of experience, insurance, etc.

I have a reasonable background working with animals and have done grooming and behaviour courses in the past. Getting up to date and insured would be achievable.

But there's already an established walker that covers my local area. So as much as I enjoy dreaming about it, I don't think there are enough dogs who need walking near me.

There have been so many dog walkers springing up here with redundancies, they are uninsured and not aware of what dogs require, nor do they have knowledge on specific breeds and their behaviours.

I am predicting a massive rush on these daycare / walkers, and sadly a huge increase in issues with dogs whilst they are out and about in their care - actually have already seen it with several chasing wildlife.

I agree Harlequin. I've seen it here, too - unsocialised dogs let off-leash, chasing/ attacking other dogs, farm animals, and local wildlife. Walkers taking out far too many dogs at a time to maximise profits, and not cleaning up properly (or sometimes at all) after them.

There are some very god dog walkers where I am - but there are some chancers, too.