Adopting a dog during the pandemic: a false good idea according to animal professionals

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Taking advantage of confinement to adopt a dog, especially a puppy, is not the best thing to do. The animal suffers from this on the level of socialization, but also on the psychological one. This is the observation made by professionals in the animal world.

Dogs need stability in their environment and their way of life. Any sudden change is a source of various psychological and behavioral problems. The periods of confinement and post-confinement have precisely brought their share of upheavals in the daily life and habits of our 4-legged friends, in particular as regards our presence by their side .

As we spent all of our days with them for weeks on end, they were suddenly confronted or re-faced with loneliness at home when we returned to our workplaces or resumed school. In the minds of our 4-legged friends, this caused quite a stir.

The youngest among these dogs are particularly exposed to the negative impact of this context. Many people have, in fact, decided to adopt puppies during confinement, both because they found themselves with free time to take care of them, but also in the hope of finding in their new companions. some moral support .

Isolation and limited walks did not constitute favorable circumstances for quality socialization , which requires an intensification of inter and intraspecific exchanges . However, we know how important the latter is in the construction of the dog’s personality and his behavior . A problem made worse by the sudden passage of a world where puppies were used to constant attention from their families to the long absences of the latter when they returned to active life.

An observation that Laura McLain , veterinarian at the Holladay animal clinic (Utah), was able to make by taking part in the sterilization operations of young dogs adopted during confinement. The specialist and her colleagues realized that these quadrupeds were generally less docile , even more aggressive when they had to be handled , especially when they had to be made to wear their veterinary collar . Laura McLain blames this on their insufficient socialization .

Read also: Terrified of humans because of the mistreatment he suffered, this Malinois is learning to trust again

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