As the country has been in lockdown for the last few months, many people have decided that now is the best time to add a puppy to their household. The reasoning is understandable – puppies need someone to be at home constantly during the first few months and the situation right now provides exactly that circumstance! On top of that, many parents with bored kids think a puppy will give the kids something to focus on and take their minds off of computer games, or the worries of the world as it is at the moment.

Because of this, the demand for puppies has shot up – if you look on sites that sell puppies, the prices have increased enormously due to the high demand and the fact that people are willing to pay – for example, a pedigree puppy that would have cost around £800 this time last year, can be found for as much as £3000 now!

Unfortunately, this has increased not only puppy farming, which is a very unethical practice, resulting in puppies which can suffer from a range of health problems and socialisation issues, but also there has been a rise in people stealing dogs, in order to cash in on the current high demand for puppies. So how can we put a stop to this?

Wait – if you want a puppy, the best thing to do is to hold off for now. Because of the fact that reality is coming back and people are heading back to work, rescue centres are bracing themselves for a huge influx of unwanted ‘lockdown’ puppies, so keep in touch with local rescue centres and see what comes up.

If you are a dog owner worried about your dog being stolen, make sure that your home is secure, consider cameras from somewhere such as CCTV Manchester based company to deter potential thieves.  When you are out walking, keep your dog in sight at all times – many dogs disappear on a walk never to be seen again.

If you are after a specific breed do your research – speak with breeders, get recommendations from people and spend a long time looking into what you need to know before you pay anything or commit to anything. The best breeders have waiting lists that it is worth being on!