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Poor planning puts puppies at risk of abandonment
Key findings from the online survey of 1000 recent dog buyers in the UK include:
The figures are particularly worrying as a third of new dog owners found that owning a puppy was more expensive (36%) and more time consuming (46%) than they imagined it would be.
One in three (29%) currently considering buying a dog have never owned a dog before or had one in the family. Of those who have recently bought a dog one in four had never seriously considered it before COVID-19.
Organisations such as the Dogs Trust have already raised concerns about the number of dogs they expect to be abandoned and the Tailwise survey data suggests these fears may be well founded and the numbers may in fact be even higher.
Beverley Cuddy, animal welfare campaigner, who recently joined Tailwise said:
Prior to COVID-19, pet trafficking was one of the most profitable illegal trades after drugs and weapons and COVID restrictions make it even harder for buyers to check the legitimacy of breeders by making visits to see the puppies with their mother for instance.
As Sam Worthy , CEO of Tailwise comments:
The survey was conducted between October 25th 2020 and
November 3rd 2020.
*Based on insights from Tailwise and an average of industry sources including research from
Rover and MORE TH>N
A range of accompanying images are available here bit.ly/TWPuppyBudget
Tailwise is a new service connecting responsible dog owners with verified breeders and rehoming groups.
By providing data-rich profile information and thorough verification checks, Tailwise provides transparency and confidence for both breeders and new puppy parents. Tailwise helps dog-parents to understand what breeds of dog would suit their lifestyle and to prepare for the change that bringing a dog into their life will bring.
Tailwise is a free service for breeders who pass its verification tests, backed by leading dog experts including Jenny Campbell , who was recently appointed to the board of The Kennel Club and Jamie Crittall CEO of Vet platform Virtual Recall. Tailwise provides tips and advice in their Knowledge Centre.