How is your COVID puppy doing?
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For many of us, the COVID emergency and the ensuing lockdown seems so long ago. Almost a like a nightmare that’s slowly retreating from memory. But with little effort, we can remember the cancellation of travel plans, suddenly working at home ful-time, new rules at the grocery store, learning to use Zoom, and being woefully unprepared for home schooling. It was a scary, sad, and inconvenient time. Things started really shutting down in the USA on March 15, 2020 - and those restrictions stayed in place to varying degress for 2-3 years (depending on where you lived). The “official” end of the emergency wasn’t declared until May of 2023.
One upside to this horrible period was that everyone, it seemed, got a dog! And why not? It seemed like the perfect time to adopt a dog - heck, we were going to be trapped at home, so we wouldn’t face leaving a new pet alone for hours on end. Shelters literally emptied out - as in NO dogs left to adopt. A friend who works in the public shelter in NYC told me even they were once down to six dogs in the entire multi-location program. Dog training went online (often quite successfully - you could suddenly work with highly-qualified professionals outside your area for the first time).
There was quite a lot of talk about the impact that this period would have on our mental states. Looking back, we know that anxiety and depression rates rose by more than 25%. And I’m sure that we’ll learn more in the coming years about the impact to the education and social development of kids who were suddenly thrust into unprepared homeschooling programs.
And what about those dogs who got adopted? Well, I don’t have studies. I just have my observations on this. So, here’s what I’ve seen.
Adult dogs who were adopted from rescues and shelters or from rehoming situations typically made the transition pretty well. They’d likely already lived with other families and, being the resilient creatures most dogs are, they adapted. They may have been trapped in the house more than usual since their new families were “out and around” - but they generally did okay.
But then there were the puppies.
There’s this important period in most young dog’s lives where they are optimistic about the world. When they see something new, it’s almost as if they assume that it’s there to be played with or to be eaten. They approach new situations with curiosity. And, if we handle this impotant few weeks well, they form positive associations with people, other animals, places, and experiences that will set them up for happy, comfortable lives as confident dogs for years to come. It’s not a guarantee that you’ll avoid problems, of course. But it gets them pointed in the right direction. But if, during that window of socialization that lasts roughly from their 8th week to their 12th (maybe 2-4 weeks longer if we’re really lucky), we miss introducing them to something, they may very well be fearful of it when they encounter it later. Long before COVID, I failed to introduce my happy and confident dog, Joker, to helium balloons. When someone gave me one when Joker was more than a year old, he was very scared of it. It took weeks of considerable effort on my part to help him overcome his fear (and he lives with a dog trainer who does this work every day). One balloon caused a lot of effort on my part - and considerable discomfort for Joker.
See, when a dog’s window of socialization closes, it can almost be as if someone flipped a switch. Suddenly the dog who approached things with interest now act as if anything they haven’t already decided is safe must sure exist to kill them. Joker acted like that with helium balloons DESPITE having had lots of experience with novel items and situations and it took some work to assure him that they were safe.
So, imagine dogs who never met strangers during that critical period. Or never saw bicycles. Or other dogs. I’ve met many of these dogs - three just this week. Handsome dogs who love the families they’ve lived with for the last 2-4 years but who display real discomfort with strangers who walk into their house. Two of the dogs I met this week barked at me nearly non-stop for more than an hour. The other one warmed up to me after about 20 minutes of barking. One of the dogs never got closer to me than three feet and I certainly wasn’t able to pet her even after 70 minutes. I’ve been working with another dog, a large and strong breed, who needs to be muzzled and leashed before anyone can come in the house. These dogs are not “aggressive.” They don’t want to harm me - they want me to leave. But, scared dogs are often the ones who bite. And dogs who bite are often rehomed or lose their lives. People can be seriously injured. There can be lawsuits (especially if the recipient of a bite was a child - I think a dog seldom wins in a court case against a child).
Yes, I met some dogs like this before COVID. But it was rarer. And the cases felt less extreme. The dog might be afraid of someone wearing a hat. Or afraid of men. But these dogs are afraid of so much in their lives. Some won’t leave the house for walks. They don’t like anyone except family and close friends coming into the house. They don’t want to be approached by friendly strangers if they do go out.
Fortunately, we know how to approach these problems. Dogs have been researched more than any animals except humans. So, we have a lot of information about how to change their minds about things and how to produce preferred behaviors. In large part, with these animals, we focus more on changing their feelings than their behaviors - and the behaviors will follow. It doesn’t always work, but it usually does. It often takes some real time (think months or even years, not days/weeks. Medical intervention can often be helpful to the cause as an adjunct to training and we trainers work hand in hand with medical professionals as a team.
So, if you have one of these dogs, seek help. We can often help you and your dog find the relief you so need.
And if you are just now having a puppy join your family, the clock is ticking. It’s SO much easier to start them off right than it is to repair the damage later. Reach out or check out the Resources page on my website for some helpful do-it-yourself options.
Oh…one last thing…many dogs who were puppies during COVID are absolutely fine. And that’s a testament to how remarkable these companion beasts are. So many dogs are resilient and adaptable despite really rough starts. I’ve seen some dogs from neglectful or even abusive backgrounds who are incredibly sweet and I just stare at them in awe. How they can be so kind to humans who were so awful to them stuns me. But dogs who are suffering really break my heart. As has often been said of these dogs, “they aren’t giving you a hard time - they are having a hard time.”