The puppies are more popular than ever in the confinement period

The demand for puppies has soared since the beginning of the confinement.

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6 June 2020 10h59

Updated at 21h04

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The puppies are more popular than ever in the confinement period

Jean-Benoit Legault

The canadian Press

MONTREAL — Powered by families who find themselves stuck between four walls with children who are turning the thumbs, the demand for puppies has soared since the beginning of the confinement, have shown several breeders contacted by The canadian Press.

“Absolutely, says Catherine Leblanc, of Uapishka Labradors. I would tell you that I’ve had over 600 calls or emails since the 13th of march. Talks between farmers and it is the same everywhere: people want a puppy for yesterday.”

The number of requests it receives has exploded from fifteen per week to 40 or even 50, to the point where she admits that you do not even answer the phone.

Same sound of bell on the side of the livestock Valentina Jack Russell Terrier to Saint-Sixte, in Outaouais, where it receives up to 30 calls per day.

“In normal times, including e-mails, and phones, it is about eight to ten requests per day, said the owner, Symphony Nadeau. So from our side, it would be fair to say that it is at least triple the price.”

Livestock Belletruffe, which produces the terriers of Boston, on condition that the request has sevenfold.

“I receive an average of ten or fifteen calls or emails per day, instead of fifteen per week in normal times,” said Louise Wood.

The effect of the confinement

All see the direct impact of the confinement, and the families who want to adopt a companion are very transparent about it.

“Generally, people will tell us they are looking for a small dog to occupy the children, if we are talking about the context of the pandemic,” said Ms. Nadeau. It is sure that it was still calls of families thought that are interesting, (…) but we are working hard to be able to distinguish the true from the false.”

The phenomenon is also manifested, at the SPCA of Montreal, where, at the beginning of the pandemic, “the days of the week, like weekend days. There were queues”, said the director-general, Élise Desaulniers.

“And as soon as it was closed to the public and we are open by appointment, we had a huge demand, a lot of people that we contacted because they were looking to adopt, she said. Several people told us, “we have children at home, it is much more present, it may be a good time to integrate a new companion to our family”, so I understand very well those people.”

The three breeders warn that it will take a year or more before getting a puppy, since it is out of the question for them to accelerate the rate of breeding of their females to take advantage of the benefits.

But families who are willing to wait that long are rare.

“Since the beginning of march, I had four families who have agreed to wait two years, said Ms. Wood. We can see that these are families who are interested, but this is not much.”

The breeders of the bottom of the court

“There are people who are surprised, who are accustomed to going into a pet store and have everything immediately,” said Ms. Nadeau. We have families who call two or three times every week to see if we would have a puppy that would have been cancelled on our litters. We are in an era where it was difficult to wait, therefore it is a challenge.”

The situation could have two harmful consequences, fear of breeders, starting with the exploitation of this demand by farmers, less scrupulous.

By searching the websites of small ads, it is actually not difficult to find dogs crossed offered for a few thousand dollars – more money than it would cost for a puppy pure breed.

“Everyone is a bit overwhelmed and disgusted by what is happening, denounced Ms. Leblanc. You know very well what will happen with the puppies, and we know very well that the majority of people are not patient and do not necessarily know the domain canin. So they will pick up with problems in going to “the offer”, to the farmers of the bottom of the court that provide for sick dogs at ridiculous prices.”

Back to reality

The three farmers also fear that the families déchantent after a few weeks, because they have less time or that they will have discovered what that truly means the rearing of a puppy, and that the shelters are overflowing suddenly abandoned animals.

“When people go back to work and children to school, the puppies will be in their adolescent period this fall, they are going to have behavior problems and anxiety, said Ms. Wood. People will more likely put them in a cage while the dog has always been accustomed to be free in the house, (…) we think that there will be a lot of returns in the (shelters).”

Ms. Nadeau, Valentina Jack Russell Terriers, relates that, during his exchanges with some of the families, “one really feels that this is more like a toy, a form of entertainment that is sought after that a member of the family”.

This does not, however, concerned about not really Élise Desaulniers, of the SPCA.

“When I speak with (my colleagues) who live in areas that have suffered from natural disasters, for example, (…) after a disaster people want to do something a little symbolic (…) and they are going to adopt a pet, and was not observed more drop by later”, she assured.

Ms. Leblanc, of Uapishka Labradors, remember that adopting a dog is a long-term commitment.

“It’s time to take care of our puppy today, so we will have time to put it clean and socialize, she said, summarizing the attitude of some. But people do not think about the fact that a puppy is not a month, or two, or three. It is at least a year. And after that, you have to continue to deal with them.”

Le Soleil