Coronavirus dogs?

[Lincolnfield]

Just reading an article about how many people are buying puppies to keep them company during the lockdown- or worse still to ‘keep the children entertained.’

This is a seriously worrying trend. Two people on our road who have never been into dogs have suddenly acquired a puppy and, when I was out with my three working retrievers yesterday for our daily exercise, she called across the road to me saying that she didn’t know puppies were such hard work. 😒😒

Having had retrievers, flatcoated and goldens for forty years, ours are working dogs who are out on the moors (usually!) three or four days every week, come rain or shine, I have massive concerns about this trend.

What happens when these people go back into their ‘real lives’ ? Kids back at school, parents out at work. Everyone wanting to go out with friends to restaurants, etc.? Will we see an explosion of poor wee doggies who have served their purpose then ending up in rescue centres?

Surely a dog is for life not just for a few weeks stuck at home?

@thecapitalsunited - what breed have you got? I adore dogs seriously. Flatcoated retrievers are the love of my life. They are addictive to be honest but I’ve yet to meet a dog I haven’t loved. Now people are a different matter .........😉

There are so few pups in the UK it will probably out me to name the actual breed but he’s a vulnerable native breed (less than 300 registered a year). I had one as a child and have wanted one ever since. I’ve been working from home for a few years and no sign of kids on the horizon sadly so thought it was the perfect time.

There are feckless and fantastic owners out there. Those people who buy a dog because it looks like a stuffed teddy and then get shocked at the amount of energy it has are feckless. However, fecklessness isn’t limited to chockywocky poodleoodle owners. 🙄 Some dogs are bred to work but aren’t worked. These dogs should have a job but end up being kept as pets in less than ideal circumstances. Some owners do their homework, some do not.

Absolutely. My childhood dog actually came from family friends who bought this ultra rare expensive dog so they could brag but never walked or socialised it. My parents took it on when the owners realised that the dog was too much work for them because surprise surprise a dog bred for working all day needed exercise and mental stimulation.

@thecapitalsunited so I’m guessing either red and white setter or otter hound? Both stunning breeds! A guy in the village has a red and white and she’s a cracker. The other one which lives locally is an Irish water spaniel and his owner gets fed up of everyone thinking he’s poodle. But there again, everyone thinks my flatties are long haired labradors or black (go figure) red setters!

Two people in our road too. They are going to be very poorly socialised dogs.

@heatseeker14 so with you! I get so upset when I see tourists (we’re in a touristy area in the Peak District) with enormously fat labradors. It’s horrible. If your going to have a working breed then they need much more exercise and mental stimulation.

The bonus of course, is that they keep us fit as well. If I get too old to train and work my gun dogs with my husband, I’m going to have a retired racing greyhound. They are brilliant underrated dogs. I couldn’t imagine life without a dog - or three 😂

I've been concerned about this too. I'm following a fair few rescue pages on FB as we've been planning to rehome a dog for a while, and suddenly they are all full of people suddenly wanting a dog ASAP.
I'm sure lots of these homes will be perfectly good doggy homes and it's nice if people manage to rearrange their priorities and lifestyles long term to accommodate a dog, but I'm sure there are also loads of people who really haven't thought through the long term.

Friends in rescue are being inundated with messages asking for puppies and kittens right now.
Gumtree is crammed with ads from people wanting to buy puppies.
It's a disaster waiting to happen.

Also none of the UK rescues are open for rehoming right now but rescues abroad are matching dogs for when lockdown ends, so I think a lot of people wanting to rehome now will look to foreign rescues. So when lockdown ends we will have an influx of dogs from abroad which will add to the inevitable strain on the rescue system when people start getting bored of their lockdown puppies.