20% OF NEW PUPPY OWNERS DON'T OWN THE DOG AFTER 2 YEARS

[Vallhala]

THIS HAS JUST BEEN SENT TO ME FOLLOWING A RECENT RSPCA SURVEY.

20% of New Puppy Owners Don?t Own The Dog After 2 Years

According to a recent study by the RSPCA, 1 in 5 people who have purchased a dog in the last two years no longer own the pet. Other figures uncovered by the survey point out that 1 in 4 people who bought a pedigree puppy based their decision solely on appearance and a massive 56% did not see the puppy with its mother before buying. The survey also suggests that 60% of buyers bought a puppy from the first litter they saw and 54% spent a week or less researching their chosen breed.
Claire Calder, a senior scientific officer at the RSPCA, said: ?Sadly far too many people are living with the consequences of buying a puppy on impulse. A cute puppy can be hard to resist, but the result of not looking beyond the cute-factor can be the tragic death of a much loved pet, hundreds of pounds spent on vet bills or the emotional impact of having to part with a puppy that was simply the wrong choice for your family?s lifestyle.
?The RSPCA?s Get Puppy Smart campaign aims to help prospective puppy buyers make the right decision by thinking about what type of dog best suits their lifestyle, the costs involved in having a dog, finding a good breeder and how to select a happy and healthy puppy.?
The new survey commissioned by the RSPCA suggests the shocking figure that three per cent of puppies bought in the past two years have already died or been put to sleep, and more than a third (36 per cent) had experienced health problems.

Claire Calder, a senior scientific officer at the RSPCA, said: ?Sadly far too many people are living with the consequences of buying a puppy on impulse. A cute puppy can be hard to resist, but the result of not looking beyond the cute-factor can be the tragic death of a much loved pet, hundreds of pounds spent on vet bills or the emotional impact of having to part with a puppy that was simply the wrong choice for your family?s lifestyle.

?The RSPCA?s Get Puppy Smart campaign aims to help prospective puppy buyers make the right decision by thinking about what type of dog best suits their lifestyle, the costs involved in having a dog, finding a good breeder and how to select a happy and healthy puppy.?

The new survey commissioned by the RSPCA suggests the shocking figure that three per cent of puppies bought in the past two years have already died or been put to sleep, and more than a third (36 per cent) had experienced health problems.

Apart from the campaign (which is a start) what can realistically be done to stop idiots buying pups as though they were toys or fashion accessories?

people can get rescue dogs for stupid reasons as well

Shoot 'em?

aspergillus, tell me about it. I was recently tasked with finding rescue space for a Shep whose crime was to WALK AWAY from an 11 month old when the child reached out through the stairgate to touch.

And I ... ahem... liberated a terrier a few years back from someone well known to me who kept her locked up in a crate 23 hours out of 24 because of the muddy pawson the person's cream sofas and carpets. Said terrier now living a wonderful life in a new home with others and with acres of land to play on. :)

There was one on here last year... the SillyBloodyMoo wanted rid of the Labradoodle because it got mud on her cream carpets. Apparently "a dog has no place in a well-kept home". I was quick to help that poor dog into rescue, stupid bloody woman.

Personally I think that such a bitch has no place in my world...

That's very sad. I know one such couple who think they're great dog owners and yet got a big puppy (doberman) when the dcs were preschool age and she was at work until 2pm/he away working. Dog was incredibly hyper unsurprisingly (my dcs couldn't go to play as got bounced all over the place). Dog then was given to friends who planned to breed with her and last I heard is dog with the police. Meanwhile, couple have now got another one.

Vallhala

Have you got any advice for how people should choose a dog (type of breed etc) and the level of commitment needed?

Situation normal, Kangaroo. The person with the terrier I described above also had another dog. He was kept in the kitchen 24/7.

When I liberated the terrier the owner went and got a LAb pup. That lasted less than 3 months and she sold him. Then another terrier, god knows about him as unsurprisingly the owner and I aren't exactly in contact any more. God help her if I ever see her again...

I'll have a go at advising CrackFox but it must be remembered that I'm not an expert, I just save 'em and know what happens at the sharp end of rescue.

I have to go out to walk my own now but will come back to you, leaving you with just this for the mo... there is no such thing as a "good" or "right" breed or a "bad" one... just a good, right dog for YOU. Best way to chose is to go to reputable rescue with an open mind (very important that, no good wanting a Dane when you have a postage stamp front room or falling in love with a beautiful looking Labrador with an attitude problem about kids. Far better to go for the dog you DIDN'T think you'd want but which is perfect in temperement and personality).

Back asap!

Am not usually a fan of the RSPCA but Clare is one of the people who's been closely involved with efforts in Wales to improve regulation of dog breeders. Consultation recently closed on WAG's efforts to improve breeder licensing and to reduce puppy farming (doubt we can eliminate it entirely - too much money at stake and not much enthusiasm from regulators)

Unfortunately no legislation can prevent people from being stupid. I think there's no magic bullet but a number of steps that can be taken. I'd recommend :-

Better education on how rescue dogs are often perfectly acceptable family pets, not snarling mongrels. Look how often we see that attitude on DogHouse here.

Social landlords to insist on chipping and neutering (unless contra-indicated by vet) for tenant's dog/s. More landlords are in fact insisting on chipping these days - I think it will spread.

Better regulation of breeders - some efforts are being made in Wales on this at least.

More joint work by charities/welfare groups and local authorities on the responsibilities and likely costs of dog ownership and what's involved when you take on a puppy or a rescue dog. At the moment, one of my deepest frustrations is that there is a huge amount of effort by various groups but as many of them are very small, it tends to be very fragmented, patchy and inconsistent.

Much better policing on online adverts for dogs and tighter restriction of where you can advertise them. An end to pet shops where you can buy puppies - wrong and shameful and has no place in 21st century.

HMRC to take a much closer interest in and to do some high profile prosecutions of the dodgy breeders. There's some very serious money at stake. While it is economically attractive, it will continue.

Rescues to sign up to minimum standards of care/aftercare - this could include things like homecheck, medical assessment and care, neutering, chipping, behavioural assessment, aftercare and support, guarantee of takeback, trial placements, training for foster carers etc. It could even include optional modules for information/website and good governance - oversight, financial management etc. Sort of like BHS approval for riding schools or membership of professional bodies. This would help members of the public when choosing a rescue organisation.

Oh, and I quite like the idea of shooting.

someone rehomed a labradoodle because of mud? jeez! show my boys a muddle puddle they will be happy and dive in. show them a clean bath and they run away.

i know the first two years are the hardest for dogs, as they go from pup to teen to adulthood, but i am focusing on the end reward. two gorgeous dogs with wonderful tempraments who will hopefully be a bit calmer in a years time.

Hi everyone,

I hope you don't mind me joining your conversation. I manage the RSPCA's Get Puppy Smart campaign so thought I'd drop by and say hello.

The Crackfox, please visit the website www.getpuppysmart.com where you will find answers to your questions about how to choose the right dog for you and what's involved.

Through our research we found out that many people base their decision on the cute factor alone and don't think about the longer term, hence why so many dogs are ending up in rescue centres. But as misdee points out, it's not plain sailing when it comes to dog ownership and those early years can be particularly tough.

Thanks

That's a horrid statistic.

That equates to 2 of the lovely pups that were in our puppy socialisation class.

tbh Im not surprised, dogs are hard work. We have our first puppy who is nearly 1 now but he is a huge amount of work, cost and comitment. I wuld never get rid of him as I was prepeared for this, but DH really didnt know the realization of it all.
We chose a large dog because I prefer large breeds and we got him from a friend who happened to have a dog having puppies at the time we were looking.
Its a shame, people really dont get how much hard work it is, and i think thats why.
I know a lady down the road that had a dog 3 weeks before she rehomed it , but when she asked me about another friends puppy I told her they all had homes already because I knew the same would happen again!!

It's absolutely dreadful, but it doesn't suprise me at all sadly. People want something and they want it now and that applies to animals as well and whilst people exkist who are willing to supply them with what they want, it won't change. Too many people have the 'it won't happen to me' mentality, which sadly includes someone I know who used to work for the RSPCA and was well aware of the need for using a responsible breeder, health testing etc, yet still bought a giant breed puppy from little more than a puppy farmer and parents with no health tests. The dog has severe hip dysplacia.

Sadly, licenced breeders are one of the biggest problems. Anyone breeding occasionally and as a 'by product' of their hobby doesn't need a licence, only 'volume' breeders do and these sadly account for over 90% of KC registrations each year and a lot fo them are puppy farmers.

A better recommendation would be solely that the public approaches a reputable, NO KILL rescue rather than offering a link to a cartoon clip with someone telling them in patronising tones not just about rescue but how to go about buying a puppy from a breeder too, RSPCAGetPuppySmart.

Is there anything ethical about the promotion of buying a pup from a breeder when the RSPCA already kill such huge numbers of dogs in it's shelters each year and, were it not for independent rescuers (myself included) getting dogs at risk of PTS "out through the RSPCA's back door", would kill even more?

Our first collie was a fashion victim. Her original owners bought her around the time the film "Babe" was popular. They had her for a few weeks before they decided they couldn't cope. They assumed that because she was a border collie, she would take no effort to train! We got her when she was 15 weeks old and she came with hundreds of pounds worth of accessories including professional photographs, yet she had never touched a blade of grass.

We recently acquired another collie girl - a beautiful, long haired, red and white. I have had quite a few people ask me "where can I get one of those" simply because they like the "look" of her.My replies are polite but always unhelpful!

Val, whether you like it or not, people are always going to buy from breeders. I am happy to have a rescue dog, but I don't want to give up my hobby of showing, nor the bloodline I have put so much hard work and effort into. I am also happy to point others towards rescue dogs and explain to them that they aren't all older, problem dogs or unknown quantities as people often assume

If people are going to buy from breeders, surely it's better they buy from a good one? The number of dogs being responsibly bred in this country is pretty small and people would have to wait a long time for the pup they want, so there would still be plenty of homes for rescue dogs.

HVallhala - I totally agree that the solution to the problem would be for people not to buy a puppy from a breeder but to adopt a dog from a rescue centre instead.

Afterall, the reason so many dogs end up in rescue centres is because people don't think about what's involved - many people are looking at the short-term and the cute puppy in front of them.

We did a lot of research before we launched the campaign to try to understand people's motivations for getting a puppy and work out how best we could address the problem - how we could reduce the numbers of dogs in rescue centres in the long run.

What we found was that people were approaching getting a puppy in the same way they would an item for the house or even a new pair of shoes and for those people so intent on getting a puppy, trying to encourage them to adopt a dog from a rescue centre was so far removed from what they wanted to do, our campaign would have had no effect whatsoever.

However, if we can help people to be more responsible about how they approach getting a puppy we hope long term to reduce the number of dogs coming into our centres - tackling the reason for the problem, rather than just the problem itself.

I hope that makes sense?

It makes sense to me. I also think that many people will not rescue because rescue dog = bad dog, with unknown history and likely to be a danger to children.

Is there any way you could help promote the reality and the procedures most rescues have in place for assessing dogs?

Beautifully reasoned logic here people, but i'm still veering towards the shooting option. (crappy owners and breeders that is)

We got my lovely Pug last year aged 9months when his owner decided he was getting too big and too hyper to take to work. He is a good boy and didn't deserve to be given up - having said that - it is a good thing for us because he now lives a lovely life being spoilt with us!!

It makes perfect sense to me RSPCA. I work with the sharp end of rescue, dealing with the dogs which very often the big ones won't touch so I know exactly what you're talking about. As much as I would like to see a complete ban on all breeding for the foreseeable, as I said, it isn't going to happen and so I agree that advice on the pitfalls and how to avoid them is valuable.

I just think that the video is very poorly presented insofar as it has an extremely patronising tone and that it smacks of hypocrisy from an organisation whose response to "unhomeable", "difficult" or "ugly" dogs is to kill them... and yes, I have been involved in getting dogs out of the RSPCA and into independent rescue because they were deemed to ugly to be homed and were on the PTS list. Furthermore I'd far rather see two seperate lines followed - rescue promoted first and advice on breeders offered as a snother option, not see the two put together.

I'm going to send that link to a few contacts because I'm interested to see what other rescuers think of the video.

"I also think that many people will not rescue because rescue dog = bad dog, with unknown history and likely to be a danger to children."

This is very true - you see that 'argument' all the time on here, pretty much every time there's a thread about someone wanting a dog.

When we were looking for a rescue dog, pretty much everyone we mentioned it to said something like this: 'you never know the history', 'must have been given up for a reason', 'wouldn't take the risk myself' etc. I try to counter it every time I see/hear it, but it seems to be a pretty widespread belief that rescue dog = trouble and/or danger :(

Of course most of the people who said these things are now very envious of our lovely dog, so he's quite a good 'ambassador' for rescue dogs himself, little star that he is :)

The home our dog came from had lots of ex breeding bitches, poor little scraps, timid, frightened to walk on a lead and in really poor condition, it made me so sad that people an exploit dogs in this way for financial ends and then view them as surplus to requirements. Although I haveowned one pedigree dog in the past ( he came from a very nice home, where we met his parents and aunties and uncles etc.etc.) I find the whole pedigree dog breeding industry so sickening that I would not get another.

We prided ourselves on being very good and responsible dog owners and have brought up 3 puppies from scratch over the years. Our new rewcue dog has better manners than any of the 3 we trained, and he definately has spent some time on the wrong side of the tracks.