dog breeding

long story short  , we lost our lab ( lecter ) 5 months ago  he was nearly ten    ( prostate related )    incompetent  vet in my opinion , however  what's  going on with dog prices ?    unscrupulous  breeders  making a mint ,  not really caring  what homes or owners the pups finish up with !!!   as a dog lover  i cant condone  this money making market  !! 

Sorry for your loss, it’s heartbreaking isn’t it.  My lab is 12 1/2 and slowing down quite a bit now but still enjoys her daily walk.  But whilst out walking I cannot believe the amount of puppies being walked, mainly cockapoos and spaniels of any type.  We’ve always used Housty Kennels in South Wales for our labs, (they breed spaniels too) come from field trial champions and can be trained if you want them.  Wonderful gun dogs and pets, don’t think they’ve put their prices up but it will be the greedy breeders doing that, making money out of other peoples misery and if people are willing to pay their prices there’s nothing we can do I’m afraid.  

We lost our chocolate lab almost exactly a year ago.  We still have a jack russell and have decided to stick with just her for now.  If we get another in future I think we'll go down the rescue route.

One of my colleagues got a black lab puppy about 6 months ago.  He'd lost his chocolate a few years ago and they hadn't got another as they were didn't have anyone at home all day.  Lockdown and his wife has taken early retirement from teaching, so they thought it was time for another one.  Nearly fainted when he told me how much he'd paid for her!

The number of fashionable mongrels that've appeared in my village in the last year is astounding. There's been a similar increase in dog crap on the footpaths too despite the parish council providing many poo bins. 

Nigh on all of them are in control of their clueless owners, who haven't any idea of how their dogs should behave and the training they both need. 

It's very nice being complimented about how calm and well behaved Milo, my 8 year old Labrador is, on our walks. He's very laid back and takes the barmy puppy attention in his stride.

Quite what's going to happen when the owners are back at work full time I dread to think. 

Apparently it's everyone buying dogs to walk during lockdown. I hate to think what might happen to them afterwards when the football supporters can't be bothered on a Saturday afternoon.

Unfortunately it's not just going to be the lack of exercise for the pooches. Separation anxiety is also going to be a big thing that I can see a lot of dogs getting rehomed over. People have been working at home now for a year and bought a pup for company. Its formative year has been spent nearly 24/7 with human company. Now the owners are going back to work full time, leaving the dog at home for 8 hours a day, and it now trashes the house. Owner gets fed up because they don't know why the dog's behaving like it is, and it ends up in a rescue centre. Or worse. Unfortunately some  breeders don't give a monkeys who buys their pups. Getting a rescue you have to be assessed for suitability. Should be the same for a pup.

i agree with all your comments in the above posts , donna your right it is truly heart-breaking  to lose a loyal friend, i sobbed like a baby at the vets  but stayed  with my mate to the very end !!   i think after lockdown people will be queuing up at the rescue centres to off load their dogs ,    the high prices should deter  people buying on impulse , but I'm not so sure , just like you phil R   our village has more dog walkers than ever before  in my 28 years here !!!      some low life breeders are making big bucks , and don't give a toss where the pups end up  !!     

 worse is to come after lockdown when rehoming centres will become overwelmed with unwanted pets and breeder's with unsold litters  

I can’t blame pukka dog breeders for selling at the market price . If they for example advertised their dogs at 50% of the silly prices , the dogs would snapped up by chancers and crooks who would then resell them after sending fake nice buyers .  Hopefully the pricing will normalise as people have to go back to work . With respect to dogs being unwanted , perhaps we should all be sporting “ A dog is for life not just for furlough “ stickers on our bumpers .  Agree with all , losing your dog is heart wrenching I’ve accompanied my last 3 on their final trip . Dr L good on you for being there . 

On a slightly different note the rise of the new  travelling furloughed dog owner and their inability to control their pets is wreaking havoc around here .  I’ve borrowed 30 sheep to keep my side field down , a  typical exchange ,  “ get that bloody thing on a lead and under control “ - “ why don’t you get higher fences “ - “ don’t need them I’ve got a 223 “ “ you’ve  got a what ? “ ...  

MartynB said:

On a slightly different note the rise of the new  travelling furloughed dog owner and their inability to control their pets is wreaking havoc around here .  I’ve borrowed 30 sheep to keep my side field down , a  typical exchange ,  “ get that bloody thing on a lead and under control “ - “ why don’t you get higher fences “ - “ don’t need them I’ve got a 223 “ “ you’ve  got a what ? “ ...  

Click to expand...

We've got a lot of farms round here, where lambing is happening. Sadly there's been quite a few instances of sheep and newly born lambs being badly savaged by out of control dogs.

We have a village community Facebook group and despite farmer's posting pleas on it for people to keep their dogs on leads it is still happening. There's been some very graphic and harrowing photographs published to try and shock people to their senses to no avail. I'm sure it won't be long before someone's lovely, fur baby is shot and all hell will be let loose. 

PhilR said:

We've got a lot of farms round here, where lambing is happening. Sadly there's been quite a instances of sheep and newly born lambs being badly savaged by out of control dogs.

We have a village community Facebook group and despite farmer's posting pleas on it for people to keep their dogs on leads it is still happening. There's been some very graphic and harrowing photographs published to try and shock people to their senses to no avail. I'm sure it won't be long before someone's lovely, fur baby is shot and all hell will be let loose. 

Click to expand...

sooooo annoying idiot dog owners ,  its only common sense after all !!  if your dog is not rock steady around livestock  keep it on a lead !!      

My other speech to these sorts is “ we’ve never had to shoot a bad dog , but we’ve shot a few with bad owners “ ... 

I wince when I see  a  £3000 Hungarian Vizsla wearing a neckerchief  , with the owner sporting a pair of Dubarry boots , Canada Goose Gilet , and what looks like Indiana Jones’ hat  , 

Sorry for your loss OP - lost my boy just before his 4 th birthday to cancer - lockdown issues were very challenging at the time 

as you suggest securing a top replacement pup not easy and a lot of profiteering - we were able to do so but not the norm - Fred is a Drakeshead  boy - one of the last I suspect - maybe best to secure your new pup later this yea after we emerge from the madness and perhaps a degree of sanity returns 

FlyingTrotter said:

Sorry for your loss OP - lost my boy just before his 4 th birthday to cancer - lockdown issues were very challenging at the time 

as you suggest securing a top replacement pup not easy and a lot of profiteering - we were able to do so but not the norm - Fred is a Drakeshead  boy - one of the last I suspect - maybe best to secure your new pup later this yea after we emerge from the madness and perhaps a degree of sanity returns 

Click to expand...

that's a bad old job  so young ,   great dogs  from the drakeshead lines !!    yes your right  crazy times just now , I'm hoping some sort of normality resumes soon  !!    

The rate of dog theft (suggesting continued high demand) and the way many people are rebalancing their lives (reinforcing the demand) means I fear that pup prices will remain high for the foreseeable future 

maybe the gun dog market will function a little differently - I guess the way the game shooting market operates from next season will impact - my boy will be a peg dog but I suspect the number of pups being trained for peg work will continue to fall and the majority will be trained to work on each side of the line and otherwise enter homes as pets. I rather suspect the pressures that many shoots were already facing combined with the economic issues flowing from COVID will reduce the number of opportunities for people to work dogs on shoots but I hope I am wrong 

FlyingTrotter said:

The rate of dog theft (suggesting continued high demand) and the way many people are rebalancing their lives (reinforcing the demand) means I fear that pup prices will remain high for the foreseeable future 

maybe the gun dog market will function a little differently - I guess the way the game shooting market operates from next season will impact - my boy will be a peg dog but I suspect the number of pups being trained for peg work will continue to fall and the majority will be trained to work on each side of the line and otherwise enter homes as pets. I rather suspect the pressures that many shoots were already facing combined with the economic issues flowing from COVID will reduce the number of opportunities for people to work dogs on shoots but I hope I am wrong 

Click to expand...

i fear your right !!