We all live in a very different world now. COVID-19 has impacted everyone and every aspect of our lives from grocery shopping, to work, and even dog breeding.
Normally we would have started the outdoor show season, ideally to finish the championships on Prof (3 pts short of his CKC championship) and Cari (one UKC competition short of her UKC and... well she needs some outdoor CKC shows). Instead, so far all shows up until October have been cancelled. We know this is small fish, but the ripples would be ginormous if these events were to occur, so the decisions to cancel the shows have our full support.
A surprising result of COVID-19 has been the influx of puppy inquiries. Those of you who know us know that we do not breed to meet demand, but instead do so when it is planned to advance our breeding program. We could be millionaires right now if we bred because people wanted puppies! Also, given that the CKC is having issues in being able to process and mail paperwork at this time, we have held off on planning breedings. Thankfully, the girls have been fairly co-operative and healthy, so this has not negatively affected our plans. The restrictive access to veterinarians also made us reluctant to breed - the risks are too high.
Katie was laid off during the first 10 weeks of the lockdown, and the dogs loved it! However, now she has had to return to work full-time - James has been working this entire period. So, as you can imagine, having puppies would not be convenient at this juncture in this regard either.
Raising a puppy during this time may be difficult as well, as you cannot participate in important events (such as vet visits) directly, nor socialize your puppy with novel dogs. Those that are thoroughly committed will be able to introduce novel stimuli to the puppy, and maintaining a routine would be easy, however our fear would be for when those who are off working, or working from home, have to return to work. Not to say that we expect everyone to be home all the time with the dog, but it is difficult for a puppy to understand such a drastic change to routine. Plus the stress level in the house would jump due to everyone readjusting! Income is another concern, as although there is government stimulus for some at this time, the ability to guarantee your ability to provide for a puppy, or an emergency vet visit/surgery may not be present. We think of these things, the big picture, for our puppies.
The inability to have people over to visit and meet our dogs has been another concern. We always want potential owners to come meet our dogs, ensure they are what they expect, and what will suit them. Although we are technically allowed to have groups of 5 together, it is still a risk we prefer not to take at this time.
So many components lending to why we felt is not suitable to have puppies for the last little while.
For those that are comfortable having and selling puppies at this time, kudos, glad you are in a better position than us to accommodate these risks.
Anyway, we just wanted to write to let everyone know we are still here. Our dogs are enjoying the sunny, drier, weather we have had the last week or so. We are looking forward to getting more advancements on the property! COVID-19 may be slowing the pace of the world, but to us... not such a bad thing.
