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Petition launched to ban puppy-cuddle events

Ushma Mistryin Coventry
BBC Two caramel coloured long-haired dachshund puppies are being held in a woman's hands, she is wearing a white T-shirtBBC
Animal welfare organisations like the RSPCA are concerned about the lack of specific regulations for puppy cuddle events in England

A dog trainer has launched a petition calling on the government to ban events where members of the public can cuddle newborn puppies.

Nicky Brunt claims the events are not good for the dogs' welfare and causes them distress.

"People picking them up and cuddling them, which on paper sounds like a really nice cute thing to do, but it's over exposing them to stimulus, environmental factors, and things that they have never experienced before," the Coventry trainer said.

Pooch Therapy, which has organised cuddle events across England, including in Coventry, have rejected allegations about the negative effects on dogs' welfare, saying they operate within EU guidelines.

In recent years, there has been an explosion of puppy cuddling and puppy yoga sessions, with claims they help people deal with stress and anxiety, as well as assisting those to deal with their fear of dogs.

Some universities have organised them to help students combat exam stress.

However, animal welfare organisations like the RSPCA and The Dogs' Trust have said they are concerned there are no specific regulations around these events, with puppy yoga classes being banned in Italy recently, to protect the health of the animals.

Dog breeder Sophie Mortimer has blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, she is wearing a brown top and holding up a caramel-coloured long-haired dachshund puppy. To the right of her Bethan Lee has brown long hair, she is wearing a white T-shirt and holding two small caramel-coloured long-haired dachshund puppies.
Bethan Lee has been organising puppy cuddle events for a number of years and says the interaction with members of the public is good for their socialisation

Brunt, from Allesley and with more than 20 years experience as a dog trainer, said a puppy cuddle event due to be held in a Leamington Spa pub was recently cancelled after she contacted the local council.

She has now asked Coventry City Council to look into another one which is advertised as taking place in April.

"These events are often for two or three hours at a time," she explained.

"So puppies are not having their basic needs of their sleep, their food, and water met, which can cause them to have chronic stress.

"And often these stress signals can be missed by many members of the public or even the organisers themselves. Puppies don't have the ability to move away. They don't have their body language recognised."

'Strict rules in place'

Bethan Lee runs Pooch Therapy in the West Midlands and said all her events were within the EU guidelines, which state puppy socialisation is crucial between the ages of three and 12 weeks.

Lee said she had very strict rules about how her puppy events were run and the welfare of the animals was at the forefront of everything she did.

"The strict rules that are in place are that we only have so many participants, the ratio between dogs and puppies is right for the puppies and it's right for the participants," she explained.

"They are told how to handle the puppies and they're also told not to hold the puppy over shoulder level and I'm watching the whole time.

"People that come to our events totally understand why these rules are in place, they want the best for the puppies too and we don't want the puppies hurt."

A black and white puppy, which has a yellow lead, is stand on a blue-carpeted floor, at the feet of two people, one of whom is stroking it.
Dog breeder Sophie Mortimer says the events have proved to be great for boosting the confidence of puppies taking part

Sophie Mortimer, a licensed puppy breeder, has provided dachshund puppies for some of Lee's events.

"There's no better way really to socialise puppies because you can't take them out on walks if they haven't had the vaccinations," she said.

"But as soon as they've had their vaccinations, you can take them to these events and they can play and have puppy cuddles.

"I've noticed that their confidence has just literally gone through the roof. I have to say it's definitely 100% from these puppy events, they've really brought them on leaps and bounds."

Brunt has now collected more than 1,100 signatures on her petition, but it needs 100,000 signatures before it qualifies for parliamentary discussion.

'Events must be licensed'

Coventry City Council said although it was aware of events being advertised in the city, none were due to be held on any council-owned properties.

"For any event, it is the responsibility of the event organiser to ensure the correct licences are in place for any event, and the company organising the events must apply for licences from their local authority," a spokesperson said.

"The organiser of these events is not based in Coventry, therefore we have not provided any licences for these events.

"Similarly, any puppies that are being brought to these events must be licensed by the puppy breeder's local authority.

"We are currently liaising with other local authorities and venues to make sure that the correct licences are in place for these events."

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