to think its so sad the term lockdown dog is now a thing??

[KirstyT79]

hello. i'm writing this thread due to the news report about so called lockdown dogs. people who felt so lonely that they paid for a puppy that has now turned into a fully grown dog which they can't train. i don't blame the dog, but not sure i totally blame the owner either. lockdown has meant you have had to try to train them yourselves. no agility classes or puppy training available unless you knew someone who was in the family to help you. so genuine question does the coronavirus make you think about what may happen in the future? maybe a lot of lessons could be learned.

@CaffeineAndCrochet how was the Absolute dogs training. I’ve been looking at this as an additional resource but couldn’t find much feedback

@Janetheplain I really enjoyed it. We did the 'sexier than a squirrel' challenge and the games themselves were short every day but they were exciting enough that the dog loved them. There's a couple of commands from it that I now use every day with him.

Why can’t hey be trained? There’s plenty of info out there on internet and can buy books on dog training. I know there are certain issues that may arise for which dog trainers are invaluable, but honestly with common sense and consistency a no pure effort it can be done at least to a basic level.

@KirstyT79

don't condone but i do wonder if maybe they thought they wuld have gotten the help after the summer last year? i love dogs but i would rather stay dogless if i couldn't support them and help them in training

Outdoor dog training classes have been going on since last summer. There's no excuse.

There absolutely is no excuse. Our pup is 11 months. We started with outside 1:1 lessons abs then managed outside group classes off and and on. We’ve watched videos etc and recently started once a week with a dog walker, just so pup gets a bit more socialisation with other dogs.

Still need to work on visitors to the house mind you!

I don’t think it matters when you get a dog, if you don’t plan ahead and think things through long term then it’s very irresponsible so I don’t have much sympathy for people who then give them up.
Although I always wonder why I never hear people speak about what an absolute nightmare puppies are for the first year? I see people saying that babies are hard work all the time but no one ever seems to talk about how sole destroying a puppy can be. Both dogs I’ve owned from puppies have been incredibly hard work for the first year, caused hundred of pounds of damage even with as much supervision as possible and been incredibly difficult and time consuming to train. Then once they got to about 18 months it was like someone flicked a switch and they were both brilliant well behaved dogs that would never dream of eating your favourite shoes or running away with a dead rabbit and refusing to come back. I think
people need to be more aware of how hard it actually is to look after and train a puppy!

We got a lockdown puppy. We’d planned on getting a second dog for a while and did a lot of talking before we got the pup, knowing opportunities for socialisation would be reduced. When we got the puppy, we weren’t expecting to still be in lockdown so long after.

We’ve accessed training when we were able to. Our area was able to allow groups of 6 at outdoor training until Christmas. We already had our older dog so we knew what we were doing. We attended puppy zoom classes. People laughed when we said we did puppy zoom classes but you have to put the time in, even if it feels ridiculous doing puppy zoom. We’ve worked hard to train our dog and socialise him in the windows available.

There are two very specific problems he has at the moment, aside from being a teenager. He is too boisterous on meeting people and he isn’t good left alone. Both of those are lockdown things. Although, he has met people throughout lockdown. We already had a dog walker and he’s been going out with her since he was 2 months old. We’ve had people over to work on the house. He’s seen the neighbour frequently and we’ve taken him into pet shops and round markets (all when safe to do so). So his over excitement at meeting people is part lockdown and part his personality. Being left alone can’t really be helped but we also have the same issues with our older dog, who was used to being left alone. She’s got used to us being around and we need to build up slowly again.

People have always taken a half arsed approach to training their dogs. Lockdown means more dogs and therefore more people taking a half arsed approach to their training. There are resources for those who want to use them.

I have absolutely no sympathy for the idiots who bought lockdown puppies, but have nothing but pity for the dogs.
I was called last week by a local rescue charity I volunteer with from time to time and have got all dogs from (well known soft touch) trying to find homes/Foster placements for a couple of Huskies. I'm pretty sure that we're taking 1 as a forever pet (have introduced him to our girl and went well so far but that was at the rescue still to see how they get on at our house). I have never seen them so busy before and with so many young dogs who have had absolutely no training and need experienced owners to take them on I fear many will end up being pts as their aren't enough people with the time experience and motivation to do the work they need when they can just get a cute fluffy puppy

moondust i made the other post because i didn't think this post had gone through though i now have comments on both lol. that's the problem i don't disagree i just feel on the fence about it. maybe a lot of it is stupid twats with no clue at all whilst i think some of it has been due to lonliness that they wanted a dog whilst totally not realising how difficult it's going to be. you may be able to train your dog from watching youtube videos but it doesn't socialise them to situations they may come across whilst on walks.

When did having to fork out hundreds to have someone else train your dog become a thing? What did people do all those years ago before it became the done thing to pay for classes etc.
YANBU in that people have bought pets and have spent every waking moment with them and now they expect to flit off to work and leave that pet alone for 8 hours a day.

I’m interested in what kind of training dogs are getting. I have taught mine to sit, stay, come, roll over, wait, shake paws, find stuff, let go of anything in his mouth on command, walk on a loose lead to heel. Do the classes teach them other things, like accounting or plumbing skills?

I think it’s bollocks and excuses. Like others have said plenty of training videos, books, etc to get info from. Lazy idiot owners who couldn’t be arsed more like.

Plus there’s been a massive period in the middle, something like June to December when dog training classes were available. It’s only been the initial strict lock down, the last one, and possibly a short one in November when they weren’t.

My dog has never been to a training class in it’s life and is perfectly socialised. She gets socialised out on walks. Even now we see other dogs we don’t know in the park and they have a little sniff, etc. I met someone with a puppy the other week there who said she spends a lot of time in the park asking if her puppy can say hello as she’s determined to socialise him. So she’s putting the effort in by spending ages skulking round the park...good for her. It’s do’able.

I bought a puppy in March, didn't pay over the odds. Dog been planned for 2 years, contacted breed club a year before . Got in contact with a recommended show breeder and waited a year for a puppy.

No classes available so I've been using videos off you tube.

Puppy is coming up 4 months old.
Good recall to whistle, sits and stays, doesn't jump up at people, rings a bell for toilet. Looks at me when we see a distraction like a dog

Really there is zero excuse for no training , plenty of information on line on how to train dogs you just need to do it multiple times a day and be consistent.

The thing that fucks me off is you just have to have one look at gumtree to see all the untrained lockdown dogs being sold for insane prices because their owners were too stupid to put some thought in.

I had mine a year before lockdown, but even he is struggling to get used to everyone being out of the house again for part of the day. He was perfectly happy with it before as he’d had that routine from a puppy, we’d carefully and gradually built up to more time alone when we first
got him.

Now we’ve jumped from lockdown to lockdown with the children home all day to them not being home in the
day that he is confused as to what to expect.

I work in a vets and we have had to close our doors to new clients as we have gone beyond client saturation point with all the lockdown pets. Working in covid times has slowed down the way we work and so there are fewer appointments anyway but it was having an impact on the quality of service we offer our registered clients. We are all exhausted from the fallout of the highly irresponsible pet buying during lockdown. Absolutely hate the entitled attitude of some people and how the pets will ultimately suffer.

We got our puppy 3 months before covid arrived but only because dh and i were already alternating wfh, with only half a day per week when no one was home. our teenagers are old enough to help and there's alot of rural space for walking.

We managed about 2 months of puppy classes where I learned so much, and the puppy was socialised. He has enjoyed having us all at home but when we return to the office it would continue to be as before covid with either me or dh continuing to wfh. I would not have considered getting a dog if we worked long hours out of the home, I'd be worried all the time and it's unfair on him. People need to work, I get that of course, but do they need to have dogs?

When did having to fork out hundreds to have someone else train your dog become a thing?What did people do all those years ago before it became the done thing to pay for classes etc.
Just what I was thinking. People have been training their dogs well before we had the internet, dog training classes, puppy parties or whatever. And if people got puppies during lockdown because they were bored or lonely, what have they spent all that time actually doing with them if they weren't training them

I work in a vets too. The amount of people buying new pups was staggering. Especially during the first lockdown. We were trying to save appointments initially for sick animals, and we had to keep booking pups in (as was deemed important to get vacs done). People shouldn't have been travelling to get them either, but they did. The trend has continued throughout the year too.
Oh, and if you're going to spend thousands on a dog and quibble about a £40 consult fee at the vets, then pet ownership isn't for you.
I find it quite disgusting some of the attitudes I've seen this past year.
There is no excuse at all to buy a living thing which needs your care and attention only to then realise, actually you can't look after it.

It’s ridiculous how dogs have become a complete fashion accessory. My children’s activities are now restarting and apparently now it’s acceptable to drag your new dog along to bounce around in the queue area and wee all over the landscaping (this is on school premises). Some of the groups have moved outside for social distance reasons and they are interrupted by dogs messing about and barking. It wasn’t okay to bring your dogs along pre lockdown, and it’s still not acceptable.

If your dog can’t cope with being alone for a few hours on a Saturday morning, why do you think it’s compatible with your life?? It’s not everyone else’s job to make it fit in.

i think some of it has been due to lonliness that they wanted a dog whilst totally not realising how difficult it's going to be.

Well people who did this were naive and selfish, IMO, and that's zero excuse. If you're lonely join a support bubble or talk to your GP.

It's simple.

Don't buy an animal that can live for 12 years without putting serious thought into it.

Training a dog is really not that hard and I’m many ways not that different to disciplining kids.

There’s so much available on line and if you’re genuinely dedicated to getting a dog for life rather than on a whim, you have plenty of time to do your research.

I got a dog last March, first dog, we had planned it for 2 years. We had done plenty of research and continued to do so and we didn’t find it hard. We have a well behaved and socialised 1 year old.

I think it’s ridiculous to make up 50/50 figures for people not giving a shit 🤷🏻‍♀️

I don’t know anyone who got a puppy because they were lonely.

I know about 10 people who got puppies because the change of circumstances meant a lifestyle that could support it.

Well over half of them had wanted a dog before but had to put it off due to things like work commutes.

All have been trained - zoom trainer support, internet, books...

All have a plan for returning to the office. In some cases that includes doggy day care which they have costed and can afford, which the dogs will be happy with and which boosts the very local economy.

I don’t doubt there are plenty of dickheads too - it was ever thus. But not your made up 50/50.

Pre covid there were 10 million dogs in uk , I read latest statistics is 12 million

2 million dogs in a year