I've seen an influx of puppies being brought and the extortionate rates of puppies because they have become a popular fad to get during lockdown. I am writing this in the Covid-19 pandemic 2021 where the whole country is lockdown, where the restaurants, schools and most shops are closed and the only thing you can do is go for a walk that's why getting a puppy is the must thing. But people don't think about when the offices go back and then they will have a dog with no social skills put straight into places like me ( a day care ) or a dog walker and its been left a couple of hours per day or even worse they have no time especially the high energy breeds and they surrender the dog to a shelter when they are already full to the brim.
When I brought my dogs in 2007, 2014 and 2017, cavaliers were £600 and my goldendoodle was £1000 which I thought was an expensive price for technically a cross breed. But now you can't find any breed for under £1500 and the cross breeds like cockerpoos , shipoos etc are now no less then £2000 and have priced a lot of people out of the market so normal working families can't afford them.
When I got all of my dogs I thought about the impact it would have on our lives, cost, insurance and where we will be in 10 years. How big the house is and do I have time for a puppy and walk everyday, luckily the answer for all those questions I'm aware of and I go out everyday rain, snow or sun.
I went on a behaviour course a couple of years ago and the lecturer said always get a dog to suit your lifestyle eg, don't get a great dane or border collie for a flat, get a smaller dog which is not as intense like a cavalier and working breeds like retrievers and boxers always like to do a job or go out walking for hours , if you can't do that because you work 7 hours a day then get a smaller dog.
So when someone in your family wants a dog, please think about it properly and go through all the pro and cons about getting a dog because its a big commitment for at least 10 years maybe 15.