What is happening to the dogs that need rehoming?

[Singinginshower]

Just been looking at a couple of rescue sites and there aren't many dogs available. One website says it has fewer than usual due to Covid guidelines.
Just wondered if they are more likely to pts the dogs that won't get rehomed quickly.

There are fewer dogs in rescue because they are being sold on rather than handed in. People have paid huge prices so don't want to lose their money.

And actually, rather than more being pts, many rescues actually have s bit more time to work with trickier cases right now and can keep dogs for longer.

I would think @somethinginthewater has hit the nail on the head! If you look on selling sites, you will see all the lockdown pups on there for £££!

Ah, that makes sense somethinginthewater
I hadn't thought of people selling on.
Good to know that there is more time for the tricky ones though.

They're being sold on. Our local Facebook group has had a few requests for rehoming lately too - all young dogs

There's also a fair bit of pent up demand for rescue dogs - demand has outstripped supply for over a year now - so the "nice" ones don't spend long in rescue.

Do you all know this for fact or is this your opinion?

@PollyRoulson

Do you all know this for fact or is this your opinion?

Sadly, I've seen numerous posts on social media recently from people who are looking to re-home their young dogs - mostly because they're heading back to work and have realised they don't have the time.

Many are shocked that daycare runs at about £20-25 per day, and that an hours' walk every lunchtime will set them back £50 a week.

As a dog walker myself, I've had numerous requests from prospective clients asking for walks, but many balk when I tell them the cost of daily walks and care and back out, saying they'll see if family can do it instead.

A lot of the lockdown puppy owners have requested walks, and without fail, they have all ended up having to pay for daycare instead as, surprisingly, their adolescent dogs aren't happy being left all day on their own, even with a walker at lunchtime.

I wish it was just opinion, but there are a LOT of people out there who have no idea just how much of a commitment puppies and adolescent dogs are. I didn't at first. People assume they can just carry on their lives and fit their dog in around them with no consequences, and that's very, very rarely the case.

Ok so ancedotal then

@PollyRoulson

Ok so ancedotal then

Well, yes - but it's still my experience.

Going back to my OP, what prompted it was that the rescue website stated that they had fewer dogs in due to Covid guidelines.

Do they mean fewer dogs in the rescue centres themselves? I seem to recall the Dogs Trust use lots of home foster carers, so I wonder if they have a greater proportion of dogs in foster homes which are then unable to be viewed due to Covid guidelines?

I’m guessing here!

Your anecdotal observations very much fit with the overwhelming view on MN that anyone buying a pup during lockdown is irresponsible.

The facts may well be that people have experienced a change in working (permanently) that has enabled dog ownership for the first time.

Or they may be different for different people and different dogs. Constant nasty judgement isn't helpful and means people feel unable to use this board for support.

@Singinginshower they may mean they have fewer volunteers or staff In because of covid guidelines and therefore can't look after as many dogs ir can't accommodate visitors I know of a couple of small rescues this has happened to.

I seem to recall the Dogs Trust use lots of home foster carers, so I wonder if they have a greater proportion of dogs in foster homes which are then unable to be viewed due to Covid guidelines?

That’s what happening with the rescue I know. They were reluctant to home dogs during lockdown due to restrictions and concerns over owners motives. They are now homing some but being very cautious. They’re not advertising, just to people that phone and seem right. They’re looking for more foster homes though.

Constant nasty judgement isn't helpful and means people feel unable to use this board for support.

Nobody on this thread has been nasty or judgemental. People are just stating their own experiences.

*Your anecdotal observations very much fit with the overwhelming view on MN that anyone buying a pup during lockdown is irresponsible.

The facts may well be that people have experienced a change in working (permanently) that has enabled dog ownership for the first time.

Or they may be different for different people and different dogs. *

Yes, some were responsible and will continue to have a good home for their dog. I know two people who got puppies last year, and I believe both are in good homes, with one household member at home all day.

But some people were optimistically assuming permanent wfh options which are starting to unravel, and their dogs are already suffering separation anxiety and other behavioural issues, which are making them harder to rehome if they do go into rescue. (One of the people know is wfh indefinitely but had to go in for a meeting one day - her dogcam showed poor DDog is a dreadfully distressing state of anxiety and she had to abandon the important work meeting to go home, and get the back door repainted due to how badly he'd scratched at it. Some poor dogs will be like that all day every day.)

Also, some of those who spent £££ on lockdown puppies acquired irresponsibly from puppy farms want to recoup their money by selling instead, leaving rescues with the hardest to rehome.

See this article: www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9584097/Animal-rescue-centre-getting-multiple-calls-week-abandoned-death-row-dogs.html

Ellmau, with respect I am not reading a Daily Hate article to back up the hate already in the thread.

When we were looking for the last 8 to 12 months the only dogs available for re-homing were greyhounds or staff terriers.

People have been saying for over six months now, the dogs homes will be full of all these unwanted pups....it still hasn't happened, you still can't get hold of one.
The dogs homes also won't rehouse with younger children, so they are forcing parents with young children out to buy new ones rather than helping out, shame really.

OK, non Mail links: www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/lockdown-puppies-already-being-abandoned-23991532

www.rspca.org.uk/-/blog-meet-the-unwanted-lockdown-puppies

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lockdown-pups-sent-packing-by-families-with-no-time-for-walkies-8h68htstb

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-55719338

I think the problem, @bourbonbiccy, is that the rehomable dogs aren't going to rescue - it's the ones needing massive work first.

Yes @Ellmau we had read the tabloids and "heard" about all of these puppies being surrender to shelters, although we found, actually its impossible to find one with any at all

Most puppies will not have been surrendered to shelters. These idiots needed their money back for their novelty lockdown purchase so they didn’t give them away to a shelter, they sold them online. There’s still lots online now but there was ridiculous amounts of them a few months ago.

The shelter local to me did end up with some older dogs because ‘they didn’t get along with the new puppy.’ 🙄

@Bourbonbiccy

Yes *@Ellmau we had read the tabloids and "heard" about all* of these puppies being surrender to shelters, although we found, actually its impossible to find one with any at all

The number of requests I've received over the last fortnight as a dog walker tells me that people are only just starting to think about their options, and I don't think many of them realised how costly it was to get daily care for their dogs.

An hours' dog walk, five days a week, will set most people back around £200 a month. For daycare, you're looking at £500 a month for full-time care. It's not cheap, but it seems a lot of people didn't do their research before getting dogs.

Someone even told me I shouldn't charge more for two dogs than I do for one because "it's no more work to take two"

I don't for one minute think that any of these people are bad dog owners, but I do think that many people didn't think ahead and are woefully unprepared for the costs of full-time dog care.

@Bourbonbiccy

When we were looking for the last 8 to 12 months the only dogs available for re-homing were greyhounds or staff terriers.

People have been saying for over six months now, the dogs homes will be full of all these unwanted pups....it still hasn't happened, you still can't get hold of one.
The dogs homes also won't rehouse with younger children, so they are forcing parents with young children out to buy new ones rather than helping out, shame really.

That’s because “normal” routines haven’t come back yet. There’s still lockdown restrictions, people are still working from home, it is easing off and there are definitely a slow increase of dogs being signed over, but it won’t be until actual “normal” routines resume that the influx rescues have been predicting, happens.

As for dogs that can live with kids, that’s been the no.1 ask for rescues, the big rescues get literally hundreds of asks for those dogs every week, but they might get - handful signed over a month that can genuinely cope in that loud, busy, energetic home. Many dogs are signed over precisely because they CAN’T cope with small kids and their sticky fingers. It takes a special dog to be able to be happy in chaos.

I was talking to s behaviourist a few months ago, who said that after resource guarding and separation anxiety, the next most common issue she was seeing was dogs who had snapped because they couldn't cope with having the kids around all day. every day.
So sadly, more pups than usual will be given up because they are no longer tolerant of children.