lockdown dogs | Mumsnet

KirstyT79 · 2021-04-23T18:41:23+00:00

forgive me i'm not sure if this went through to post as nobody commented but i feel so sad that the term lockdown dog has become fashionable. i don't blame the dog but i don't blame the owners either. lockdown meant very little support no agility classes or puppy training i mean what are people supposed to do? unless they can rely on family support

Speakuptomakeyourselfheard · 23/04/2021 20:58

Not get a dog if they don't know how to train it? OR go online, I feel sure that like everything, there are videos showing how to train dogs. However, it does seem that a lot of families took on new dogs, without even giving a thought to the fact that sooner or later they would have to return to work, and how would a relatively new dog, used to having company day in, day out, react and cope with suddenly finding itself alone. Perhaps there should be a new phrase to replace the Christmas one - A dog is for life, not just for lock down!

amijustparanoidorjuststoned · 23/04/2021 21:00

@Speakuptomakeyourselfheard

Not get a dog if they don't know how to train it? OR go online, I feel sure that like everything, there are videos showing how to train dogs. However, it does seem that a lot of families took on new dogs, without even giving a thought to the fact that sooner or later they would have to return to work, and how would a relatively new dog, used to having company day in, day out, react and cope with suddenly finding itself alone. Perhaps there should be a new phrase to replace the Christmas one - A dog is for life, not just for lock down!

Agree with this.

The amount of my friends that said "oh but the dog will be trained by the time we go back to work" completely forgetting about the issue of separation anxiety.

Youdontknowwhatyoureonabout · 23/04/2021 21:01

Plenty of people get dogs every year and manage to train them without puppy classes, agility classes or anything. What do you mean what are people supposed to do?

SnackSizeRaisin · 23/04/2021 21:02

People who only got a dog because of lockdown are the problem..it's not because of a lack.of training classes.

JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows · 23/04/2021 21:06

I've noticed a marked difference in untrained dogs with their clueless owners when i go for my walks. My kids have been knocked off their feet or scratched a few times. This time last year a few of us on MN predicted this would happen - people thinking "wouldn't it be nice to get a dog while we're off" not realising that there's another 15 years or so to look forward to. And then suddenly they have a dog they have no clue how to train.

I blame the breeders too - it seems they've massively inflated prices and given a puppy to anyone and everyone. I suspect rescue centres will be packed for some time now

Original poster

KirstyT79 · 23/04/2021 21:11

ah ok my other post seemed to go through where i said more or less the same i just made this post because i didn't think it had. i feel sorry for all of these dogs but i think sometimes because mental health problems have been raised to such an extent that people who may have thought rationally about pet ownership in the past are not thinking about the longer term problems caused now. ok if you think i am talking shit fare enough

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Wolfiefan · 23/04/2021 21:16

I don’t think enough people think things through before getting a pet. Any pet. It’s a selfish decision for many based on what they want. Sometimes little consideration for whether they can meet the needs of the animal.

FizzyApricot · 23/04/2021 21:18

Bring back dog licences

Unanananana · 23/04/2021 21:24

Getting a pet you are incapable of caring for properly long term is moronic. Only the dumbest people would think a dog will be fine being left on its own 12-14 hours a day (office work day plus commute). Training can be done using Youtube.

Proper breeders will should check new owners can care for their dogs properly. Rescue centres also do.

I have zero sympathy with any person who buys a lockdown dog. If they are mug enough to pay the over-inflated prices to a puppy farmer, more fool them. They deserve to lose thousands as a lesson. Its the poor pups I feel sorry for. I wonder what the actual figures are for dogs being dumped at rehoming centres because owners who now have to return to actual work places realise how they have fucked up?

Original poster

KirstyT79 · 23/04/2021 21:26

ah dog licences. i take it you mean the same licences which were abolished because they didn't work in the first place? if they did truly worked to regulate dog ownership do you not think the government would have actually brought back such legislation?

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Original poster

KirstyT79 · 23/04/2021 21:30

like i said seriously i sit on the fence because i hve made terrible decisions in life and i look at the comments and wonder sometimes if anyone else just seems to be perfect? like they have never had a great idea like getting a dog and it has gone wrong. maybe mumsnetters have some kind of infallability?

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SelkieQualia · 23/04/2021 21:38

I know a few people who got dogs over the past few months. All of them had been wanting dogs for years, would have been fine with a dog that was in a settled routine, but never had the time to take a few weeks off to help a dog settle in. All of them have thought about how things will work in the long term. People seem to assume lockdown dogs are all impulse purchases, but it's not a always the case