Dog behaviourist: If you're thinking about getting a puppy for Christmas, think again |
EVERY YEAR, THE same scene plays out: a puppy appears under the Christmas tree. It seems like a moment of pure joy. Yet for many of those puppies and many of those families this is the beginning of a very hard story, not a happy one.
We are in the midst of a quiet epidemic in dog welfare. Anxiety, fear, reactivity, and aggression in pet dogs are more common than ever, and shelters and rescues are overflowing with unwanted dogs.
We are seeing serious behaviour problems in younger and younger dogs, issues that are extremely difficult to resolve. This is not due to bad luck, and it is not because of “bad dogs.” It is the predictable outcome of how we breed, buy, and raise puppies.
One of the hardest truths in dog training and behaviour work is this: you cannot escape a bad breeder, and you cannot simply “fix” a puppy who has missed out on good early socialisation. You can absolutely help such a dog and improve their quality of life, but you cannot rewind their brain development.
Puppies are not blank slates. Even before birth, their brains are shaped by their mother’s stress levels, nutrition, and environment. After birth, puppies go through sensitive periods when their brain is incredibly plastic.
During roughly the three to 14-week age window, experiences are not just memories: they physically shape how the brain wires itself. Safe, gentle exposure during that time helps a puppy become resilient, flexible, and able to cope with the world.
This is why puppies raised in puppy farms, large commercial kennels, or chaotic, overcrowded homes are at such high risk. Many are born to stressed mothers who are bred every season. Many spend those crucial early weeks in barren kennels, with little human contact, no variety of sounds or surfaces, and no chance to learn that the world is mostly safe. No amount of “socialisation classes” can fully undo that poor start.
Every puppy farm, commercial breeder, and dishonest backyard breeder wants to sell puppies. They are often the best salespeople you will ever meet. A nice website, friendly messages, a few cute photos, and a story about how much they “love their dogs” can be very........