Big increase in demand for puppy classes and puppy litters

There has been a massive rise in people deciding to buy puppies this year and it is great to see them attending puppy classes to help give them a good start.

My Puppy Problem Prevention Programme puppy classes in Coventry have been very busy this year.

It has been great to see the dedication of owners attending puppy classes. 

They are attending the Puppy Classes and my Puppy Pawadise Club to make sure they end up the dog they were dreaming of and get tips and help and advice on what to do with common puppy problems and any issues that come up.

Get the puppy training right from the start by attending puppy classes

It is so important to get the puppy training right from the start by attending puppy classes, but you need to first get a puppy from a good breeder to make sure they have the best start in life.

A good puppy class will also be happy for you to attend and watch a puppy class to make sure it is the right fit for you and your puppy.

If you buy a puppy from a puppy farm, you could end up with an uphill struggle with your puppy whether that is with health issues or behaviour problems.

Puppy search is a minefield

Buying a puppy in normal times is hard, but we are in the year of COVID which makes it even more of a minefield.

I didn’t expect to find myself in this situation, where I would be looking for a puppy 2 months before Christmas.

Back in March at Crufts, before lockdown happened, I went to speak to a breeder I knew to get some advice on finding my new puppy to add to my family.

I had my year planned out, knew what I wanted and when. My 2020 plan to get my cocker spaniel puppy around September time.

I knew I wanted a working cocker spaniel and wanted to make sure I got a well-bred one.

A dog with no health issues with a fab start in life.

I have long wanted a cocker spaniel puppy, even before I brought Maisie home nearly 6 years ago.

I have managed to be sensible, even when opportunities have come up. The time hasn’t been right or ‘life’ happened, but 2020 was going to be the year.

I put my name on a waiting list

When talking to the breeder at Crufts, she mentioned she was going to be having a litter this year, which I jumped at the chance to be on her waiting list.

I was added to on her waiting list, lucky number 5, or so I hoped.  Now the wait for the bitch to go into her season and to be mated.

There was a successful mating in the summer and pups were due 12th October.

I then had a nail-biting weekend just before the 12th, as she had gone into phase one of labour.

I was constantly checking on Facebook for any updates, to a point of stalking the group page and the breeder.

It ended up being a more complicated delivery, with the mum having a c-section and a spay.

Pups arrived safely through and mum is doing well too which is great news, the sad news for me was there were only 4 puppies.

I was 5th on the list which meant I missed out on getting one this time.

Not this time…

Apart from the obvious reason of being disappointed that I would not be getting a puppy from the litter.

My disappointment was that I knew the effort this breeder would be putting into the litter.

There would be a lot of time spent with these puppies to help grow them into well-rounded pups, ready for when they go off to their forever homes.

I also knew she would be using Puppy Culture protocols during the time she had with them, that she was looking at getting their Functional Characteristics assessed, so she was able to match the puppy to the right owner.

She had sent out a long application form that I filled in for these pups.  this was to make sure the right puppy went to the right home, which I am fully on board with.

But this time it wasn’t to be.

She only breeds now and again and yes I have already put my name down for her next litter.

We need to be price aware

There are good breeders about, but in the current climate they are harder to come by, as I have found out even more recently.

I am very aware of how the market is currently for puppies, as I specialise in training puppies in Coventry in my puppy classes and on a 121 basis.

Over the past few months, my puppy classes have all been full, with waiting lists.

Due to the high demand for puppies, prices for them have skyrocketed.

In my opinion they are currently overpriced, due to this heavy demand that breeders have not experienced before.

It seemed everyone and their dog wanted to buy a puppy when we went into lockdown.

Whilst people keep paying these high prices (where a lot of the parents aren’t fully health checked) the prices will not come down.

There are breeders through that haven’t put up their prices and are still all doing the best by their puppies and not cutting any corners.

This demand has brought out the greed in people and unfortunately, there are breeders taking advantage at the moment.

Over the past few days I started looking at people are trying to sell pups that are not fully health checked for upwards of £2200 and I have not gone onto puppy selling sites, this is through searching for breeders that don’t advertise and calling or messaging directly to see if they have any upcoming litters.

On the puppy sites that I do know people tend to go to I have seen puppies for up to and over £4000.

Not happy with the response I have been getting

When speaking with breeders, I have been offered puppies

• with some of the health checks I have asked about, but not all.
• with no health checks at all have been offered to me.
• not registered with UK Kennel Club which is something I have been asking for.
• that I am not allowed to go and visit, but will get videos.

These are just a few of the questions I have been asking and where I have not been happy with the answers and response I have received.

When I have queried the breeders some have answered all my questions. Some have answered some and ignored others.

When enquiring I started why I want working cocker spaniel and what I intend to use the puppy for.

When questioning one breeder who said she was happy to answer all my questions, I sent them across and upon receiving them she decided, she was only selling to working homes.

This was a red flag for me for sure, I suspect they haven’t done the required health checks or it was potentially a scam.

Scams

I have heard about and seen a lot of people being scammed this year and I wasn’t about to be added to the list.

And I don’t want this to happen to you either.

Here are my top tips and a guide of what you need to do if you are thinking of buying a puppy, or an older dog.

Where to start

You first need to sit and have a good think about adding a dog to your lives. I would love for you to write down why you want a dog, how you see it fitting into your life.

Are you happy to make changes to your lifestyle to fit a dog in?

What would you like to do with your puppy? Will the pup be a pet dog who you just want to take to the park to meet up with friends? Or do you have visions of training to compete in agility or doggie dancing?

You will need to attend puppy classes and then onto higher classes to help get you a well-trained dog.

Have you put this into your lifestyle as puppy classes are usually run in evenings or at weekends, no more lie in’s at the weekend.

The first year of a puppies life you need to be around a lot, you can’t go and buy a puppy and then go off on holiday abroad for 2 weeks, in the first year of our puppies live it is a super important time when they are growing and maturing so you will want to be there to guide and support them. I think it is best not to have a holiday abroad during that important first year.

You especially should not be going away within 6 months of your puppy coming home and yes I have heard and seen people do this.

My personal opinion is if you are not willing to sacrifice one holiday, are you ready to add a dog to your family?

When buying a dog you should not go into lightly. You will have the additional family member for the next 10, 12, 15 or more years.

Think about where you see yourself in 10 years, where do you vision your self living and having what kind of lifestyle?

What lifestyle do you want to live with your puppy?

As this will influence what breed you choose for your family. You need to make sure you get the right breed for you.

A good start is the kennel club website, as it has an area on it where you can input your lifestyle and it brings up good breed options for you that would suit you.

I know, you have probably seen a breed on tv or friends that have this breed or maybe just out and about that you like the look of.

Please do not just choose a dog on looks, they must suit your lifestyle.

Getting a working cocker spaniel when you want to just walk around the block once a day will not suit you.

A greyhound would be more suited to this lifestyle.

What breed?

Now you know what lifestyle you want to live with your puppy, let’s take a look at breeds.

You can’t look at breeds until you understand what you want to be doing with them.

For example, you have to be realistic on the size of your dog, would they be comfortable in your home and is your car big enough?

A good place to go is Crufts or Discover Dogs where to can go and look at breeds, meet people who own and live with the breeds.

Yes, I know Discover Dogs isn’t on this year, so where else can you go to find out?

There are Facebook groups where you can go and do research on a breed you are interested in.

Or a quick search on google will find you breeders of that breed where you can find out more about them.

Just a note when speaking to someone that only owns a specific breed they will love their breed and maybe a bit breedist.

They have that breed as they love the breed and all their characteristics.

Make sure you ask all the good points about the breed, but also the want to know about the bad bits too. Have a list of pros and cons.

Check out the Kennel Club as it has list of breed you can look through

Where do I look to find a puppy?

Let’s start with places not to try and buy a puppy

• Pets 4 Homes
• Gumtree
• Freeads
• Preloved

Or any site that is similar to the above. These are not the best places you will find good breeders and are where puppy farm sellers are more likely to hang out.

The breeders you will find on there are unlikely to have Kennel Club papers for their dogs and not done the correct t health checks. That doesn’t mean there may be some on there that are doing the right things but be buyer aware.

I suggest starting with looking at the Kennel Club and contacting breeder who breeds the breed you are interested in. You can also search on google for breeders and contact them that way.

Speak to people who have got a puppy from the breeder, it is common these days for a breeder to have their own Facebook pages and you can speak to people on there and see previous litters the breeder has bred.

The Kennel Club also has an Assured Breeders Scheme, which is something you can ask the breeder if they are part of it.

From their website ‘Our Assured Breeders scheme promotes the good breeding practice and gives recognition to those breeders who are prioritising the health and welfare of their breeding stock and the puppies they produce.’

Find out more details here on the scheme and there is also a link to Find a Puppy.

Health Tests

Different breeds suffer from different health problems. This is something you need to consider when looking at the different breeds, for example, dachshunds and known to have back issues due to their long backs.

Great Danes are known not to live as long and known to heart desire, hip displaces and bloat and lives to 7-8 with a few living to 10.

You also need to look at hereditary issues as well.

As I have talked about the working cocker spaniel, I will run through the health tests I am requesting from breeders.

FN, PRA and AMS and I want to know if all of these are – clear, carrier or affected.

Effected means they have 2 copies of the gene and would get it. Carrier means they have a copy of the gene they won’t get it but if bred with another carrier they would become affected. Clear means they have the gene and won’t get it.

Some bitches are only hereditary clear and what this means is the breeder hasn’t tested the parents and that she has just bought one from the front he health tested parents.

BVA and Gonio which are health tests on their eyes to make sure they don’t have hereditary eye issues.

Asking also is they are hip scored. This at the moment isn’t a requirement but it is a recommendation.

Request for copies of the certificates so I can check the results of the above, its not good them saying yes they have been health checked and me saying ‘ok that’s fine as long as it been done’.

I want to know what the results are as they could tell me they were health checked k and that they are affected. I have heard of this happening to someone.

If you have a crossbreed you will need to look at both breeds and check the health tests that are required of each breed.

What I want you to do is go away as research this for the breed you are looking into and find out what health tests needs to do done and what the results mean.

Until people start pushing more breeds to do this we will still be getting dogs with health issues.

you also want to be asking to see the papers of the lines the dogs have been bred from, they should have a copy of you can also look it up on the kennel club website.

Environment

What are the puppies doing during the day? Are the puppies left to their own devices and allowed to play with each other?

These are the first stages of learning with their littermates, if they are allowed to spend time in the garden playing and digging you will get this from your dog when it’s older.

Are they playing with each other all day? What interaction are they having with people?

What household noises and what the environment is like they are being borough up in? If they are in an outside kennel they won’t be getting used to household noises such as washing machines and hoovers and this could be a bit of a shock to them the first time you use it if not done correctly.

What have they done to seek pleasure in the first 8 weeks?

This will all affect the puppy you choose and the dog they will become.

Can you visit them?

Ask if you can go and meet the mum and dad if this is a no it is a red flag.

Don’t ever buy a puppy without a minimum of meeting mum, preferably the dad as well and you also want to visit the puppies as well.

You want to see what the parent’s temperament is like, how is mum when you arrive, what is her behaviour like? If the pups have arrived how is she with the puppies?

And ask the breeder, ask the temperament of the parents in the first contact with your post list of questions.

Finally…

Do not hand over any money until you have met the owners and seen the puppies. They should not be asking you to transfer money for a deposit without a visit. Good breeders will out you on their waiting list

If you have been told you will have Kennel Club paperwork, make sure you collect it with the puppy.

Check that it’s not fake paperwork.  check what correct paperwork looks like so you know before going.

You should also be quizzed by the breeder, I expect to be asked a lot of questions about my lifestyle to make sure the dog is for me.  If they don’t ask anything about you it would give me a red flag.

Make sure you get a contract with your puppy, with them confirming they will expect you to return the puppy to them if the vet finds any health issues.

A good breeder will have in their contract that if at any point in the dog’s life you decide to re-home them, they will want to be contacted first to potentially have the dog back to them.

I had had a long wait on the arrival of my puppy and now I will be waiting again.

Don’t expect when you find the breed you want, you will have it home in a matter of weeks.

Or that they will be local to go and collect.

Finding a good breeder takes time.  Trust me the wait will be worth it.  To have a happy, healthy puppy that is well balanced and loves life.

I have clients in my puppy classes in Coventry that contacted me when they started the search for their puppy.

I am more than happy to help you don’t get scammed and get the puppy you have been dreaming of.