Excellent breeders produce confident puppies who are prepared for our complex, noisy, messy human world and will become great family pets.
Lockdown has caused puppy prices to double, or more, creating a rise in poor breeding. Poor breeders produce puppies who are unprepared for life as a family pet. They are often using the production of puppies as a way to make easy money and during lockdown other people have jumped on the inflated prices for puppies as a chance to make money.
BBC Three has commissioned a new program called “Will My Puppies Make Me Rich?”. Their plan is to follow young dog breeders as they try to build their businesses to capitalise on the demand for designer dogs. The pitch says they will explore good and bad practices in breeding.
I don’t know how much emphasis the programme will put on raising puppies properly but I am concerned that some people might see it as a “how-to” guide to breeding dogs in order to make money.
Raising a litter of puppies properly is hard work and expensive in both time and money.
Good breeders plan the mating carefully, aiming always to improve health and temperament. They take great care of the bitch, ensuring she doesn’t suffer any stress during the pregnancy and birth and giving her lots of fuss and petting, because this helps produce resilient, relaxed puppies. They seek vet attention early if required during the birth and dedicate their lives full time for two whole months to giving their puppies the very best start in life.
Puppies brains expand around ten times in size between birth and 16 weeks of age due to trillions of connections made between brain cells as a direct result of the experiences the puppy has in this critical period.
The more positive experiences a puppy gets in these critical early weeks, the more accepting they will be of novel things and situations they meet later in life. They will also be developing learning skills, problem solving skills, communication skills and coping skills so they will deal better with the inevitable frustrations they’ll face.
Puppies raised in less than ideal conditions, lacking a variety of sensory stimulation, will suffer permanent adverse effects, becoming more fearful and reactive. This deprivation also affects their future learning and trainability. Dogs that have not had the best start in life are often worried by other dogs or unknown people coming close, or fearful of particular noises, places, or situations and can find it difficult to learn to cope.
Always ensure that any breeder you find is raising their puppies properly, in a home environment and given them plenty of stimulation, handling, opportunities to explore and experiences (including car travel) to prepare them for life as great family pets.
It is unfair on both the puppy and the new owner. If the breeder hasn’t done the work they should, you as the new owner have very little time to make up for that lack of experience and learning. And it’s even harder at the moment, which is why I wrote “Help! How to Socialise Your puppy During Lockdown” (available from Amazon or our website.)
Please join me in trying to stop this programme being made. And ask us for help if you are thinking of buying a puppy. There’s lots of information on the website about what to look for and we’ll even come out with you to see the litter if you want (and restrictions allow) t help you find an ideal pet.
It breaks my heart trying to help owners who are struggling with their pets because of problems that should have been prevented by better breeding. The best owners in the world can’t always help such dogs become the perfect pet they wanted.
Keep training and stay safe,
Carol