Since Covid struck, there’s been a phenomenal rise is the number of households adding a dog to their family.
Easy Peasy Doggy Squeezy
A recent study has found that 25% of new puppy owners bought their pup ‘as an impulse buy’.
An impulse buy?!
That’s like having an ‘impulse’ child or getting ‘impulse’ married. In fact, scratch that, most dogs live longer than most marriages.
It so important that living with a dog doesn’t become an ‘easy-come-easy-go’ activity as fast forward 6 months, I dread to think what the state of rescue centres will be once the novelty of a ‘new’ dog has worn off.
With demand so high, sadly so many inexperienced new owners have been scammed by puppy farmers selling puppies, breed in awful conditions for a crazy amount of money.
Whereas dog ownership should be a pleasure and a positive life changer for both owner and dog, it seems many have been short changed, other than the breeder.
I’ve just re-read the above and God, I sound miserable!
Let’s flip it around and look at the positives….
…dogs are bloomin’ awesome!
If you live with a dog you don’t need me to tell you that ( if you DO need me to tell you that, you can contact me via my website or the usual ‘socials’ )
If you’ve a puppy, make sure you maintain a really high level of socialisation, yes, EVEN during lockdown. When they’re young you really need to familiarise them safety to as many different sights, sounds, smells and textures as you possibly can before their brain becomes a little more resistant to change. At this time of year, make sure you expose them to all weathers and hours of the day also. Many a time I’ve met a puppy that’s bomb proof in daylight, but on their back foot when winter time came and they had to deal with the novelty of car headlights in the dark on their evening walk.
You can find lots of information on Socialisation and other puppy training in my first book ‘Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy’.
Another potential ‘lockdown’ stressor for owners?
Separation Anxiety.
With most of us now spending a lot more hours at home with our dogs as we all take to Zoom and remote online meetings like Buck Rogers in pyjama bottoms, of course, our dogs are loving the added company and attention throughout the day.
What we need to prepare for though is when the troops all go back to work, and our dogs are left at home wondering what they’ve done wrong.
Start adding a little bit of isolation into your dog’s routine now, so it’s not such a sudden shock to the system post-lockdown.
Just 20 minutes or so at a time is fine, and make sure when they’re left alone it has a really positive association. To make that positive association, make sure when you leave them they have a really tasty chew or interactive feeding toy to keep them amused in your absence.
As I write in Easy Peasy Doggy Squeezy, released now, Separation Anxiety is a really tough one for all to live with so a pinch or precaution now will save you a ton of heartache further on down the line.
Ok, that’s about it from me, plan for the future and try to be the person your dog thinks you are!