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The true price of a puppy

25/11/2020 By Karen Wild Leave a Comment

What is a puppy really going to cost you?

dog on lead karen wild

Buying a puppy? What is the cost?

The other day I saw a list of puppy prices, a year on year comparison. For anyone still considering a pup right now, you need to know that the price of a puppy has doubled, and in some cases trebled, compared to the same breed and time of year last year.

Covid-19 clearly has had some impact on this market, since a lot of people at home have time now to look after a dog. Let’s hope you can keep that level of care going. Dogs are social creatures and need regular contact throughout the day. It isn’t fair to leave them for more than a few hours at a time (and no, I don’t mean just seeing them for an hour lunch break in a seven hour working day five days a week). 

Extra costs. The real price of a puppy.

The financial cost doesn’t start at purchase. This isn’t just a car that we then buy and MOT once a year. A dog is a living being and needs regular care and money spending on them to make sure they are safe, happy and well. Those of us with dogs can easily tell you about the Vets bills that sometimes come out of the blue. We can also tell you about the time and cost of training if you aren’t going to end up with a bigger problem further down the line.

The cost of a puppy doesn’t end at purchase.

I had one call some time ago from a lady whose young dog had wrecked their carpet. I told her my rate for helping them with the dog who was clearly needing some training and support. She said she couldn’t afford it. I appreciate that, and I also think that trainers should and do charge properly for our time, qualifications, experience. However she also told me that the puppy had cost £2400 (of which my proposed fee was a tiny fraction). She simply had not factored in the additional costs that educating the puppy would incur, and of course, repairing the carpet was going to cost her an awful lot now.

Prepare for dog insurance too.

The same for insurance. Thinking that you won’t pay into a policy but that you will just add money into a pot is a risky plan. Vets are highly skilled and there is no ‘Vet NHS’ (although the PDSA may help if you’re really stuck). If you have a spare £2000-£5000 sitting around, maybe you don’t need to factor insurance in. Even so, your dog needs third party liability insurance in case they cause accident or injury. 

So, a little thought for you considering getting a puppy or a rescue dog – the costs are far more once you have them, than when you start. There’s no such thing as an impulse bargain when it comes to getting a dog.

You can get some weird and wonderful chew toys for your puppy! Click on the photo above to explore some fun goodies for them.

Filed Under: Blog, Posts, Tips and Advice, What's New Tagged With: being a dog, buy puppy, buying a puppy, cost of puppy, expensive, Karen wild, puppy advice, puppy care, puppy help, rescue dog, vet care

Pack Leader is out of date for dogs

26/10/2020 By Karen Wild Leave a Comment

Dog owners always like to know the best ways to help their dog, and often tell me they watch every program that is out there to learn more about this amazing animal. However, just as we don’t think Made in Chelsea is unscripted, or believe we would be able to mimic Bake Off recipes just by watching the show, we really need to accept that TV shows for dogs are there for entertainment – sadly, often at the cost of the dogs’ welfare.

It’s still on TV, and talked about as a mysterious wonder, the idea that we somehow have to be ‘pack leader’ of our unassuming pet dogs. People even call themselves dog experts and have probably paid a few hundred pounds to ‘qualify’ in the topic. It means that dogs are often treated badly, punished physically, shushed at in a weird hissing noise, or yanked around on their leads. All in the name of ‘pack leader’.

What if I told you that this ‘Pack leader’ dominance theory was never proven and is at least ten years out of date now?

Even the person who originally talked about ‘alpha’ (referring to wolves, which are of course, not dogs) has said he was wrong. Dr David Mech from the University of Minnesota has since recorded himself on Youtube saying how and why this wasn’t accurate. This is good science. Good science finds new evidence that renders the old theories inaccurate, and starts using the new evidence instead. It’s not anything to be ashamed of. It’s simply that we know more now.

Dogs are intelligent creatures that we have genetically modified over the years to suit our purposes. That used to be mainly for working – hunting, helping guard our homes, alerting, picking things up, but also sitting on our laps and being cuddly. Not all dogs were bred the same of course, that’s why even the ancient Greeks had little white fluffy dogs for companionship, and great big hounds for pursuit.

However, everyone has always been aware that we have to be responsible for training our dogs to do all the things we need and want, so that they and we are safe. This doesn’t mean being horrible to them in the name of an imaginary ‘pack leader’. It means understanding how they like to live, that they are driven largely by scent, movement, food, safety, and of course, mating, and how great they are at things we humans are often terrible at, which is why we want them around. They are above all nowadays, our friends, and they need us to help them and teach them in a sensible, kind and clear way – not demand and dominate.

If you’d like to learn all about how dogs really live and learn from us humans, my book Being a dog tells you everything you need to know about our much loved family friends.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: cesar millan, dog behaviour, dog help, dog training, dogs, dominance, Karen wild, punishment, puppy help

PUPPY CLASSES ONLINE

30/04/2020 By Karen Wild Leave a Comment

We are running all classes, one to one and behaviour consultations online! Sessions are all held with Karen Wild, CCAB, Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist and Animal Behaviour and Training Council registered Animal Training Instructor.

We can take puppies from all over the UK so don’t hesitate to get in touch and give your lockdown puppy the best chance at quality puppy training!

Karen has over 20 years experience and is able to help you through the early weeks and months of puppy training and puppy behaviour.

Contact us here: [email protected] or use our contact form

Don’t delay! Class space is limited and we are taking bookings now.

Filed Under: Blog, Posts, resources, Tips and Advice, Trainers and Behaviourists, What's New Tagged With: coronavirus puppy, covid 19 puppy, Karen wild, puppy behaviour, puppy help, puppy training

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contactkaren-3I’m a full-time U.K. dog trainer and behaviour consultant based in Peterborough with 17 years in the field. My work ranges from class teaching, obedience, flyball, agility and working trials, competition, to running a popular dog display team.
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