Concern over ‘take in’ calls to BARK

Scooby (currently at Berwick Animal Rescue Kennels) is coming up to age five and is very boisterous around people and dogs, jumping up and didn’t have the basic manners a dog needs to interact and be sociable without being a nuisance. He is very bright and learns quick, but will learn good and bad behaviours.

Many of the canines are a year old or under, which means they were adopted during lockdown last year.

BARK manager Jan Ross said they had always received calls from fed-up owners not sure how to handle behavioural difficulties in dogs, usually once hormones kick in at around a year old. However, thanks to the pandemic, it is an even bigger issue than usual.

But rather than give up on their dogs, she is urging owners to invest in some training classes.

She added: “This does not apply to everyone, but there will be quite a few people who got a puppy during the lockdowns who are back to normal work hours now that restrictions have eased.

“If you combine this with the expense of having a dog, including flea treatment and neutering, then it is not surprising we are getting quite a lot of calls at the moment to take in dogs that have ‘issues’.

“Our advice is that if you have a young dog and it has not been to training, please go now. We can point people in the direction of trainers in the area.

“Having a dog walking well on a lead and who is sociable with other dogs will make a big difference because if you still have to give your dog up at any time, they will fly out of the kennel.

“Many people train their own dog with no issues, but if you get a difficult dog for whatever reason, you need to take them to training classes for improving their behaviour. Good dog trainers will even take their own dogs to other people’s training classes in these particular circumstances.”