“Pandemic puppies” are now coming home to roost

Who do you know who became a first-time dog owner during lockdowns? There are about a million in the UK alone, according to evidence being given to a Commons (British Government) Select Committee investigating pet welfare and abuse.

Sadly, the huge demand for dogs when people were feeling lonely in the pandemic led to massive growth in the shadier sides of dog supply, from puppy farming to feed the demand for fashionable “designer dogs” (and there have been some high-profile shockers exposed recently, even in the dog training world) to the wholesale importation of random street dogs from other countries.

In both of these cases, the dogs are the ones who suffered most.

In the puppy farms the bitches and dogs suffer abuse and mistreatment. Along with their puppies they endure a deprived existence. What damage this does to the pups’ state of mind! What hope for them to become a well-adjusted adult dog?

The mass importation of any street-dog that can be netted and caught, mostly from East European countries with a poor reputation for animal treatment, leads to predictable problems of acclimatisation. Dogs who have known only fear and privation do not become perfect British pet dogs overnight!

But now the new owners are suffering!

Many of these first-time dog purchasers had done no homework. They had no idea about dog and puppy developmental stages, dog socialisation and habituation, suitable ways to rear a “normal” dog, and specialist ways to rehabilitate an abused or deprived dog.

They bought into the image of the perfect companion, apparently totally unaware that a dog can take from 18 to 36 months to mature and become anything resembling the finished article.

Many of these folk didn’t do what they should have been doing for their new dog, and this has naturally resulted in problem behaviours in some dogs - anything from separation anxiety to aggressive behaviour, not to mention incomplete housetraining, inappropriate playbiting, hauling them about on the lead, and zero recall.

So it’s no surprise that now people have gone back to work and are no longer lonely, the shelters are bulging with abandoned dogs.

Get a vet check!

One of those giving evidence, Dr. Gaines of the RSPCA, advised “anyone who had seen sudden behaviour changes in their dog to go to a vet, who will be able to rule out any medical causes.

“If the dog gets a clean bill of health, the owner should then seek help from an animal behaviour specialist, preferably one that is a member of the Animal Behaviour and Training Council.” (I’m a member of the ABTC.)

Note that Dr. Gaines does not want you to get behaviour modification advice or training from your vet! Their skills lie elsewhere. It’s a qualified trainer you need!

One of the problems with these pandemic puppies is that prices sky-rocketed due to the headlong rush to grab a dog - any dog - so that as well as getting a poor specimen in many cases, people had no money left for veterinary care or learning how to get the best out of their life with their dog, aka dog training.

Shady practices

Dealing with these heartless people who view dogs as commodities, simply there to make them money for the least amount of effort, is gradually being addressed by the lawmakers.

Puppy farming is a loathsome practice, and results only in distress for the “products” (dogs) and the “consumers” (people).

Capturing feral dogs and transporting them in large numbers across Europe in the back of a van is equally as abhorrent. Many dog trainers earn a lot of their (usually modest) incomes from trying to rehabilitate these unfortunate victims of the demand for dogs.

Dogs can actually learn all through their lives - though the worse the start the harder the change can be to accomplish. But never give up hope! There are wonderful kind and dog-friendly ways to help your dog cope with our strange world.

So where can I get a dog?

You can go to a proper breeder and get a puppy that has been reared with knowledge and with love. This normally means someone who breeds only when they want to keep a puppy themselves. Not someone with sheds full of random bitches kept in the dark.

Remember that in the UK Lucy’s Law requires that the mother should be seen with the puppies. Lots of dog greeders will come up with any excuse for not doing this - along with many other tricks of the trade - and some will park any old dog with the pups in order to deceive. You really do need advice from an experienced dog-person! Here’s an article to help you weave your way through the maze.

The shelters are bulging with rejected dogs right now, and yes, many of them will be foreign imports, so if you’re desperate for some reason to adopt a street-dog or a so-called designer dog, you can still do so without encouraging this dodgy trade.

Need a bit of help?

And if you’re having trouble with your dog, whether a pandemic puppy or not, we can help you! There are over 300 articles here at www.brilliantfamilydog.com and we have free workshops, masterclasses, email courses, books, and guides, along with low-cost online programs and books. Have a look at the menu at the top of this page to see them all.

There’s no need to miss out on getting a great life with your chosen pet, however inauspicious the start!

Here’s a free Workshop to get you started.

Children and pandemic puppies

So many people have turned to our friend the dog to help them through the troubled times of the last year and a half.  

And so many of them had NO idea what they were getting themselves into when they rushed out and bought the first puppy they saw! No research, no experience, no realisation of the murky underworld of money-grabbing, unprincipled, “puppy farmers”, just a desire for companionship.

And that desire is all well and good, but we’re talking about bringing a different species into our homes. Of course there will be teething problems!

Puppy socialisation

One of the things which we dog professionals work so hard to explain to our students is in how the dog’s brain works in regard to meeting new experiences, people, objects, children, animals, places.

That’s what socialisation is really about.

Many new dog-owners think they have to thrust their puppy or new rescue dog into the face of every passing dog. This is a hazardous plan, and frequently backfires!

But it’s not just about meeting other dogs.

And many, many of these Pandemic Puppies have been confined at home by lockdowns, and have missed some or ALL of their socialisation period.

For the dog is so designed that they will accept new things up to the age of about 15 weeks. After that, their “socialisation window” closes with a bang, and they will regard new things with a certain amount of suspicion.

If you’ve introduced them to noisy traffic early on, they may accept a noisy train even if seeing it after the shut-off age of 15 weeks.

But they may not.

Dogs are not great at generalising experiences. They tend to see everything as an individual occurrence.

Socialising to people

And this is particularly important with people.

We may see all people as much of a muchness - older, younger, bigger, smaller, brown, white - they’re all people.

But your dog sees them as quite separate entities!

The way an old man hobbles, leaning on a stick, is totally different from how a lithe teenager skims along, or a toddler wobbles unpredictably.

This is what the dog sees!

And the dog in this picture is showing extreme anxiety at being cornered by this well-meaning child. This warning, unheeded, could result in a snap or even a bite. A knowledge of Dog Body Language is essential for any would-be dog-owner.

So if your dog’s been kept at home for his first few weeks of life, and this has been compounded by being kept away from what we accept as normal life for many more months as he matures, then we are presenting our young dog with a challenge he is ill-equipped to deal with!

Suddenly there are children visiting the home - his safe fortress where no-one but his immediate family ever ventured. These new curious creatures are noisy, erratic, jumpy, armed with food and toys. They are quite unlike any other human he has encountered. He has no idea what to make of them.

And unless given a slow introduction and a safe haven away from the intruders, things could rapidly go pear-shaped.

How to make up for missed “socialisation”

You can’t.

What your puppy missed before 15 weeks cannot now be put back.

But this is not all gloom and doom!

There’s plenty you can do.

You need to give your dog new experiences, very gradually and without pressure. He needs to learn slowly but surely that these new things in his life are not dangerous.

So a visit to the park to watch children playing from a safe distance would be a good start. There’s no need for him to actually meet any until he’s comfortable at a distance.

And, of course, it takes two to tango - teaching the visiting children how to behave round a dog is a vital continuation!

There are some great pointers on how to do this in this post

And some very useful resources below to help you make dogs meeting children a safe and enjoyable experience all round.

Meanwhile, to find out more of how your dog’s brain works, and how you can get the best results with your new friend, watch our free Workshop here

RESOURCES

Blue Cross  

Family Paws

Doggone Safe

Children and dog bites