Ms Nanci Creedon:

Five to 12 weeks of age. That is why responsible breeders are amazing. "Dog breeding" is not a dirty term. Responsible breeders who truly socialise their dogs during that period build solid, bombproof, friendly family dogs. If you are on a puppy farm and all you see in your early weeks is a strange person coming in, perhaps manhandling you, putting you into a different pen and then walking away, your mother dog will become anxious when that person approaches. The puppy then learns that strangers are a scary experience. We see so many dogs come to us from puppy farms with significant behavioural problems. Funnily enough - again, I would love to have the data on it - when dogs with serious behavioural problems come for behaviour consultations, it is rare that they have come from a responsible breeder. Off the top of my head, I cannot think of any responsibly bred dog that has ever come to me with problems. The first questions I will ask are where the dog came from, where the owner met it, whether he or she met the mum, what the setup was like and whether the puppy spent its early weeks in a home where it was hearing TV, the central heating was coming on, the telephone was ringing - all those normal experiences dogs are used to when they live in a family home. If they do not have exposure to those experiences prior to 12 weeks, it will be intimidating. The dog will then be more likely to show fear-based behaviours, and quite a significant number of dog bites come when the dog is feeling fearful and defensive and then, obviously, will offensively attack. When it comes to puppy farms and dangerous dogs, therefore, if the dog has a poor early existence, it is more likely to have behavioural problems. There will be a link. The challenge in this country, unfortunately, is finding responsibly bred dogs. They really are unicorns. In some ways, perhaps responsible breeders should be supported a little more because it is so easy to go out and spend €1,500 on a cockapoo that has fleas, is six-and-a-half weeks old and does not have the correct vaccinations. That happens all the time, and those dogs can then have behavioural problems. The first step, then, is raising healthy, behaviourally healthy, normal puppies.

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