Wanting to adopt a puppy? Here's how to do it responsibly

Queanbeyan breeder Ginnette Loft is celebrating national puppy day on March 23 through sharing her latest litter of cairn terriers, a breed people would be most familiar with as Toto from the Wizard of Oz.

"I've actually had a couple of mine used as Toto in local productions of the Wizard of Oz. The only difficult bit was because cairns love children, getting them to try and ignore the kids that played the munchkins was really hard," she said.

The breed has grown in popularity due to the ease in training, their small size and lack of shedding which Ms Loft said made them more desirable during the pandemic.

"The kind of advice that I give to my cairn families is to make sure that you do your research in a breed that's right for your lifestyle," she said.

"Be ready for about seven to nine months of toddler training. Puppies are hard work, they can be very tiring but if you put in that hard work initially, then you're going to have a great companion for life."

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Dogs Australia president Hugh Gent said the organisation has been concerned about the increased demand for puppies since the pandemic, which is why they have launched a responsible dog ownership campaign on national puppy day.

"We saw what was happening during the pandemic and we envisaged lots of dogs finishing up in rescue," he said.

The campaign encourages potential owners to consider the three Rs: is it the right time to buy a puppy, what is the right breed for you and who is the right breeder to buy from?

Dogs Australia will be uploading videos of different breeds as a part of the campaign, so people can understand which puppy best suits their needs.

Veterinarian and Dogs Australia ambassador Dr Rob Zammit said it has been difficult to manage clients who bought a dog with little research.

"It's not too late to think 'OK I took this dog on to help me during COVID, now I owe it to the dog'. The dog didn't ask to come to your place, you went and got it. Think about what commitment you have," he said.

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