Lockdown puppies! Here we go again..

[Prancingponies]

Except we don't, sort of. Totally not an AIBU, but posting here for traffic.

Yesterday I did a rare thing and shared a post put out by our local police force - County Durham as it happens. It was a post suggesting that people who had gotten lockdown puppies and had realised they could 'no longer cope' (my apostrophes, not theirs) could contact the force and they would look at training them to be police dogs, in all sorts of roles.

Pups of up to 2 years considered, working type dogs preferred, but not necessary.

I think it's an absolutely brilliant idea. Shame most of the people who bought them 'want their money back'. Lets just hope when they don't get it they might consider this.

Not every dog born/bought over lockdown needs to be branded a “lockdown puppy” I have not seen this phenomenon in vet practice but maybe that’s due to our demographic/location. It’s mainly been retired people/families with older kids who would have got one anyway, but there has been shock at the prices rocketing.

There has been a general difficulty for all puppies to be properly trained/socialised this year with behaviour classes not running and people rarely having visitors to their homes or training their dogs to be left alone, so separation anxiety is going to be a problem in the coming months/years. A good time to train as a behaviourist I think!

In terms of police dogs, I don’t know what magic the trainers use but I have seen nervous/unsocialised rescue dogs (particularly German shepherds) be rehabilitated into calm, working police/protection dogs. Maybe they’d be less interested in terriers and little poodley things though.

@PegPeople

It's a lovely idea in theory but I honestly cannot see how a lockdown puppy which is most likely being rehomed because it's owners couldn't be bothered to train it or put the effort in would make a suitable candidate to become a police dog.

I would imagine that’s something the police would have thought about before putting the suggestion out to the public. I doubt they’ve just let the work experience kid operate their Facebook account.

Police trainers offer dogs absolute confidence in their handlers, a routine that suits them, enough work to keep them happy and a variety of rewards based on the dog's personality. They can work wonders as many of a dog's issues are a reflection of us, their handlers.

They aren't infallible, one tried to help me with my bull terrier and admitted that, whilst he could have trained the dog it was unlikely either of them would feel sure that my dog would always respond as required 😁

Having said that I do use a few of his suggestions, the ones that suited me and the dog.

I sadly think that the sort of people who were stupid enough to get a puppy during lockdown

I know lots of people who got puppies the last year including us (from a friend who is a kc reg breeder). Dpup is the absolute best thing we did in lockdown and will be with us forever. Dh had flexible working pre covid so we felt it would work with home working for a year to train and settle in a pup. At 10 months he’s amazing and can be left if we pop out although he’s rarely on his own for longer than an hour. All was good but now dh’s employer is going to be merging (nothing to do with covid) so his office may move from being a 10 minute walk to a 45 minute drive.

We’ve planned and will pay for daycare. most people’s situation will change over 12-15 years but we tend to plan around it and I would think giving up a family dog would be a last resort. I’ve not seen any 6 month old pups up for resale or in rescues at all so maybe lockdown and all our friends with “lockdown pups” are so happy they had the time to settle their pup really well.

The rescue we follow is only getting dogs with big issues handed over. Any straightforward dogs are going on Gumtree etc as people try to recover the high price they paid for them. The rescue is getting the old ones or those with serious behaviour or medical issues.

Online in USA TODAY was this article about lockdown puppies:

www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2021/05/12/pandemic-pups-being-returned-months/5064561001/

Owner surrenders are up 82% so far in 2021.

Sounds like a good idea. The police have experienced trainers who have the time and skill to intensively retrain the dog, and the dog gets provided with sufficient exercise and stimulation with a "job to do". An awful lot of problems with family pets come from them not having a job beyond pet, IMO. Some dogs need to work.

@Toomuchleopard

I check my local rescue centre fairly to often to see if it’s overrun with lockdown puppies. It isn’t, the only dogs there are older pit bull, bull mastiff, Staffies etc with behaviour problems.

Indeed. I’ve been waiting for a while to see all these lockdown puppies and my local rescues are still full of the usual Staffies

Spaniel UK posted on their FB page that they've had 12 surrenders since last Friday, all young cockers with guarding/biting issues.

Their comment was "When did we become this sort of society. Where dogs are treated no better than an item of furniture sold to the first person to roll up with the thousand of pounds minimum 😢 and yes I am aware that not all breeders are like this but when you work in rescue you see the worst of the worst"

@SunshineSuxx

Spaniel UK posted on their FB page that they've had 12 surrenders since last Friday, all young cockers with guarding/biting issues.

Their comment was "When did we become this sort of society. Where dogs are treated no better than an item of furniture sold to the first person to roll up with the thousand of pounds minimum 😢 and yes I am aware that not all breeders are like this but when you work in rescue you see the worst of the worst"

Yes, the disposability of pets is the biggest part of the problem, I think, and this doesn't just apply during lockdown.

So many people have a sort of image of having a cute puppy, a bit like having a real live toy to amuse them, and without giving it any real research or understanding of what's required to rear a healthy, happy, well trained dog, they answer an ad on gumtree or somewhere similar where a puppy farmer is more than happy to sell them one for several thousand pounds.

And if the puppy turns out to wee and poo everywhere and doesn't understand that this isn't what the people want from it then back it goes on the market to the next person looking for a cute puppy.

My dog was possibly a lockdown puppy. I got her 6 weeks ago from the pound after she had been found as a stray. She is around 10 months old. I worry that people think I’m a lockdown puppy idiot but I had my previous boy 10 years when he died at Xmas and wouldn’t have been getting another dog had he been still around. I don’t have new dog due to lockdown or anything relating to it. It’s just the timing of when my old dog died. And my house is just soulless without a dog.

To be fair, I don’t think everyone who got a puppy during lockdown is an irresponsible owner. That said, I have seen lots of adverts popping up on Gumtree for dogs a few months old, for sale due to the owner’s ‘change in circumstances’. The prices are ridiculous and clearly they will be sold to the highest bidder. It’s a shame as they may well be sold on again if they have behavioural issues.

@bunniesanddaisies

Mumsnet dog lovers have been predicting rescues filled with lockdown puppies for over a year now.

The fact is, people who wait until their life allows them to get a puppy aren’t generally known for being irresponsible fools.

No one can guarantee when they get a dog that life won’t change. Death, divorce, redundancy, repossession, can happen to anybody. You’ll always get people who buy a puppy and give it up but it isn’t intrinsically linked to lockdown.

Google 'lockdown puppies' and you'll see multiple stories about people already trying to dump their no-longer-cute little impulse purchases.

Plus we're not even back to normal yet. Just wait till overseas holidays resume properly and people start returning to the office in large numbers, and aren't able to re -sell dogs on Gumtree for £££££.

I’ve been waiting for a while to see all these lockdown puppies and my local rescues are still full of the usual Staffies

Look up dogs for sale in Gumtree and you'll see all the unwanted lockdown puppies. They'll end up in shelters when their value drops.

Gumtree is full and of older puppies being rehomed currently sadly. The whole situation is tragic. I wish people thought properly before getting the lockdown puppies.

Yeah I’ve been hearing ‘just wait’ for fourteen months now jesus

@bunniesanddaisies

Yeah I’ve been hearing ‘just wait’ for fourteen months now jesus

Well yes because offices aren’t back, and huge numbers of people are still living in a lockdown bubble.

The prediction was always that when things went back to normal, dogs would be dumped.

And there was absolutely a wave of it when schools went back, and will be another when offices start ordering people in

I’ve just checked Gumtree countrywide and it isn’t full of older puppies being rehomed. There is two or three. I think some people like to think this is a bigger problem than it actually is

Thing is gappy it’s been

Just wait until summer

Just wait until schools go back

Just wait until people are back at the office

Just wait.

Until there are more cockerpoos on Dogs Trust than Staffies I think I’ll assume that while there are some arseholes most dog owners are actually OK human beings.

@bunniesanddaisies

Thing is gappy it’s been

Just wait until summer

Just wait until schools go back

Just wait until people are back at the office

Just wait.

Until there are more cockerpoos on Dogs Trust than Staffies I think I’ll assume that while there are some arseholes most dog owners are actually OK human beings.

Like I said. It's already happening, and we're not even back to normal yet.

1,800 people called Dog's Trust in the last three months of 2020, all looking to give up dogs under the age of one. Between December 27 and December 28 alone, they received 114 calls about giving up dogs, with 19 of these being puppies under 9 months old. And like I said, that's before you look at Gumtree.

But yeah, I'm sure they're all decent people.

@Toomuchleopard

I’ve just checked Gumtree countrywide and it isn’t full of older puppies being rehomed. There is two or three. I think some people like to think this is a bigger problem than it actually is

I've just looked and seen:

Frenchie, 8mo.
Two bully mastiffs, 8mo.
Cavachon, 9mo.
Bully pup, 5mo.
Malinois, 11mo.
Lurcher, 10mo.
French bulldog, 7mo.

For starters.

Basically at the moment it's predominantly very young puppies, then a lot of older pups being re-sold, and finally a smaller proportion of older dogs.

If that’s countrywide it’s hardly indicative of a major problem.

Ok so there's at least 7. Across the whole of the UK its not that many.

@Toomuchleopard

Ok so there's at least 7. Across the whole of the UK its not that many.

Firstly, it was eight.

Secondly, I didn't go through every single ad on Gumtree.

If you look out the window and count seven (well, eight) cars driving by, do you conclude there are only seven cars in your area?

There are a phenomenal number of puppies advertised for saw on pets4homes - seems like a new advert goes up every couple of minutes. Surely at some point everyone who wanted a dog will now have one?!