I am noticing more and more requests for pups...maybe a coincidence, but just in case......... THINK PEOPLE!!

[link http://www.k9online.com//genericarticle.php?ArticleID=177&PHPSESSID=0286187ae0679b3fe682b4e6a93c37d5]Xmas Puppy[/link]

i know, it happens every year! its so sad. :(
hopefuly they are all loving people who will care for the pup for its life, but its not always like that, there should be more warnings about xmas pups.

Gemma x :)

I am looking for a pup but not till jan/ feb i that ok ? I agree though its ashame for the xmas pup

I quite agree.
I did think that the Discover Dogs show might have been planed at a time not so close to Christmas though. Looking around there and listening to some of the coments, made me think there would be a few puppies given as gifts this christmas.
:-(

I did think the same myself but hoped that there would be a strong enough presence of good breeders to discourage it :rolleyes:

I was hoping my pup would be here and well settled before christmas but now it looks like she could be any time between now and February :(

Hello Wishfairy.

What breed of dog are you waiting for?
:-)

People have no idea. They even say on the boards " i want to get a dog for a friend for xmas" do they really think people will reply with a pup!!! And when wheysay "we want a black dog" WHAT IS A BLACK DOG??!! what breed?!

hi, thats why i am so glad that my girl gives birth around 23rd of december.
and means the puppies will not go till end of febuary at least they wont be bought as christmas presents.
it is enough worry letting them go at any time but i would not want them to go at christmas.
sarah x

I'm waiting for a red staff bitch... almost had one last week but there was a bit of a mix up with the breeder so I'm waiting for another litter to show something promising :rolleyes:

The owner of the sire is picking one for me as I'm near Belfast so can't keep comming over to view litters. He's doing me a huge favour because I would end up taking the first one I saw whereas he's a little fussier :D

well im looking for a pup but not untill spring 2004 i dont think i could do a pup and xmass together !!!!!

Well our family are having a puppy for Christmas. Its not a whim either, we have wanted one for ages. We have read endless books on the breed, been to a show to talk to breeders, introduced my children to adult versions of the breed...frankly I get a little miffed that anyone who buys a pup this time of year is labelled as being stupid. I am certainly not stupid, we are a very loving family who feel we have a lot to offer. I simply can't afford to spend a huge amount of money on a puupy in February, just after spending hundreds at Christmas, and my 4 year old would not understand that Santa hasn't bought them much this year because we are having a puppy in a couple of months!! We are not irresponsible...we are not going to put the puppy in a box with a big bow on the top of it...and we certainly won't be fed up of it before the leftover turkey has gone! Our little precious will be insured, microchipped and adored by all the family. Just because it is coming around Christmas time, it doesn't make us ogres!

I agree with most of the people on this board when it comes to purchasing a puppy for Christmas. But it is not just the facts of the amount of pups dropped off at pounds and rescues durring that week. It is also the amount of puppies that die from ingesting something that would not normally be around during any other time of year. Ribbon, figurines and so on. Loads of puppies die because the new owners turn their back for just a minute and the pup ingests something they shouldn't have. Thats why I suggest for the few smart people, out of mostly unthinking people, out there who want a pup at christmas and have done all the homework and research, and got all the stuff need, to just wait another few days or a week. Put a picture of the pup under the tree along with the things you bought for it. Then the kids get the pup but not the worries. When you pick it up a week later all the wrapping paper is gone, the house is cleaned up and everyone is ready to put all the time and effort into the pup. Just please think about this suggestion.

Think apart from the problem of the pup getting hold of dangerous items and food it should not have, to have to look after a pup whilst trying to deal with children, visitors and cooking is almost impossible. Puppies need attention about every hour if they are penned and all the time if they are loose. So have to agree for all concerned Christmas is not a good time to buy a puppy particularly if it is your first. Can quite believe that if you are not used to a pup about the place by the time that Christmas is over the idea of taking the little dear down to the nearest rescue centre must seem like a good idea.

My puppies will be 8 weeks on Boxing Day. Despite requests from their new owners to have them for Christmas they will not be leaving here until the 2nd January. Photographs of them sent in a Christmas card will be sent to the purchasers to arrive last post (hopefully) at Christmas. I am happy with this arrangement and I think that the new owners now understand that it is in the best interests of the puppies that they go to their new homes when all the festivities had died down.

There isn't always a lot of choice in the matter. We have been waiting for a Cattle Dog pup for well over a year, and were very happy to collect our little bundle of fun yesterday. There is no way his breeder could hold on to him until after christmas, they need to start getting settled in their new homes. She is a responsible breeder who has ensured the pups are going to the right people (all previous dog owners) who have an idea what to expect. Regarding Xmas, I have 2 children aged 4 and 2 and 2 other dogs. I have my parents, brother and grandmother coming for the 2 days, but they have been told to take us as we find us, they can help with the children and the cooking, I don't drink very much , Obi has a crate for when things are not as safe as we would like, and when we are eating so I am sure things will be fine.

Obviously ideal if pups are not ready until after Xmas, but unfortunately bitches seasons are not always that helpful!

Hayley

Hi again.
It is not an option for us to leave it a couple of weeks after Christmas as the puppy would be 13 weeks old by then, and I want it to socialise with us as the right time in its development. I also think my daughter would be gutted to just see a picture of the puppy. I have a two year old so there will not be anything sharp, dangerous or poisonous lying around on the floor. The only family that will visit will be immediate family, and only for a few hours. I have told larger family that there will be no parties this year. I have also bought a puppy crate so that the pup can have somewhere away from my children when it needs quiet.

If it is going to be 13 weeks old after Christmas it will be 12 weeks by Christmas and you will have had it for a month by then. Not really my idea of a Christmas puppy as you will, or should, have a routine by then.

If you got your puppy yesterday then I dont think I would call that "a puppy for Christmas" there are still four weeks to go and your puppy will have well and truly settled in by then. I think what this thread is about is people who collect their puppy a day or so before xmas. There is no way that my puppies will go then even though they will be ready to leave home. I do normally like my pups to have gone to their new homes at 8 weeks but on this occasion I shall be making an exception and keeping them that extra week or so.

I only hope that for your puppies sake you are very responsible and sensible people including your 4 year old as Christmas time is really the very worst time of year to introduce a puppy to a new household.
Regarding your 4 year old why wouldn't your 4 year old not understand that santa hasn't brought him/her much at Xmas because a puppy is arriving in Springtime, overall the cost will surely be the same. You say that your 4 year old cannot be expected to understand that thereare less toys due to the money being spent later on a puppy are you in other words saying that the puppy is part of the 4 year olds Christmas presents? If the puppy is for an adult such as yourself then surely you are sensible enough to realise that this is just not the best time for a puppy to be introduced to new household.
Could you not wait?
The new puppy needs peace and quite initially to settle in with short play and sleep periods plus hourly trips to the garden and the provision of someone getting up in the night to let the puppy relieve himself then too. Are you prepared for these extra commitments on top of the extra workload at Christmas particulary if visitors are expected too.
There are always the present wrappings, Xmas decorations and food, sweets chocolates all dangerous items for a new puppy running around and getting over excited meaning upset tummy accidental toilets trips to the vets extra cost tempers raised - poor, poor puppy and what for because some responsible person could not wait -could not say no - the breeder is no better for selling a puppy to you at this time of year - poor puppy.

No you are right the puppy isn't arriving on christmas morning, so it isn't a "present" in that sense. The puppy is, in essence for the whole family, it is not a present for a 4 year old. No child should be responsible for a puppy, and I certainly have no intention of letting my daughter think that our puppy is just for her. It isn't our first dog, we had a rescue dog from the RSPCA before. The point of the ALWAYS being more paper, sweets etc on the floor at Christmas may be valid in some houses, but not in mine! I don't live in a pig sty, and there will no more things on the floor at christmas than at any other time in the year. I have a friend that has a young crawling baby, and if I can make sure that the floor and rooms are baby proof and safe, i am sure that i can manage the same for our newest family member! I feel as though you are patronising me..saying "poor poor puppy" when you have absolutely no idea what me and my family are like. Saying I am not responsible, saying that I am not commited to looking after it. How ridiculous! You obviously feel very strongly about it, and that is fine...but please do not think that everyone is the same. The breed we wanted is very expensive (I am not going to argue about my breed either before anyone tries to flame me on that score) and I couldn't afford to spend those kind of amounts of money twice within a few months. We have saved up for our little baby, and it annoys me so much to her people insinuate that it will end up in rescue...just because it came into our family in December, rather than January! Madness! If you are the sort of person that will lose your temper with a puppy for doing what they do i.e. chew and wee, or the type of person that would send it off to the kennels after 2 months...then do you REALLY think that it matters which month in the year they bought the puppy? If some people are going to be like that, they will, no matter when the puppy came into the family!

We are picking up our puppy next Saturday. I would just like to so it is pure coincidence it is near Xmas. It is not a decision we have taken lightly and having been planning for a long while. It just so happens that we found our puppy near xmas, so there are loving homes.

I dont really think it matters what the time of year it is. What REALLY!! matters is the reason for getting one in the first place and whether or not the puppy is purchased in consideration of events taking place in the home i.e. Christmas - making sure it is unable to get into a room with parts on the floor that may be swollowed, or during the summer holidays when there may be lots of little feets (kids that is!!) running about and causing an accident. There will always be people that get puppies near or around Christmas time for lots of good reasons and lots of bad, and no but there are very good people out there who get a pup during the holidays to spend proper time with it. Sad for the pups that land up in uncaring and ill planned situations however I do very much agree

There is a difference between planning in advance to get a pup, booking it and being ready than those people who, a week or so before Christmas think - I need a present, I'll get a pup.

Having said this, I kept on a litter of 10 Doberpups one year till they were 10 weeks at new year because I did not want them to go when their new families were at the most frantic time of year. They remained indoors as they were a very clean lot. This way the families could celebrate their Christmas and New Year in any way they wished and the pups remained safe and in a calm environment until it was time for them to leave, without lots of visitors and the extra excitment that Christmas brings. I had the added benefit of a quiet Christmas as I could not go anywhere because of the pups :)

All the owners saw it from my point of view and agreed, added to this children generally do NOT like puppies. They scratch, bite, jump up and generally scare young children as the idea of a fluffy pup is one thing, the reality quite another.

Christine

I agree with you Christine that it is really the difference between a planned or a last minute puppy, also that in reality, children often do not like puppies - mine certainly did not after being scratched and chewed on. I also agree with Tracy though that a puppy can be introduced at Christmas in some homes with no more problems for the pup than at any other time of the year. My house is very noisy all the time. Saffy had to get used to that (and in fact seemed to love it). We had Saffy from the beginning of December, but I would have loved to have got her nearer Christmas (I have always loved the idea of a puppy at Christmas). We had a quiet Christmas, the only difference in my house at Christmas that year was the decorations and presents. True, these could be dangerous for a puppy, but not more dangerous, (as Tracey said) than for a crawling baby. Who has ever said, you can't have a crawling baby around at Christmas?

I have always regarded having Saffy as like having one more child and as long as you are sensible and watchful, then I can see no problem with a Christmas puppy.

There is a huge difference between buying a puppy as a surprise gift for someone, with no planning and as a last minute idea, to getting a much longed for and thought about puppy at Christmas! You just can't tar everyone with the same brush. If the breeder has selected the correct homes then there should be no problem. If I was homing puppies and I thought that I needed to keep them against the wishes of the new owners until after Christmas, then I wouldn't feel I had selected the correct homes anyway. People could always take their puppy home after Christmas and then have hoardes of people round to see it on the first day and so on! It is the people that matter, not the time of year.

Fiona and Saffy

:( :( :( Advert seen today: Staffordshire Bull. Terrier Pups, ready to go 24th Dec, ex pedigree, both parents can be seen

I can give you the phone number if you want to hurl abuse

Just found this poem, maybe it will make people think before buying a puppy for Christmas.

A Forgotten Dog's Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds
With no thought of the dog filling their head.

And ma in her kerchief, and I in my cap,
Knew he was cold but didn't care about that.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Figuring he was free of his chain and into the trash.

The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow
Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But Santa Claus - and his eyes full of tears.

He unchained the dog once so lively and quick,
Last years Christmas present, now painfully thin and sick.

More rapid than eagles he called the dogs name.
And the dog ran to him, despite all his pain.

"Now DASHER!
Now DANCER!
Now PRANCER and VIXEN!!
On COMET!
On CUPID!
On DONER and BLITZEN!!

To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!
Let's find this dog a home where he's loved by all"

I knew in an instant there would be no gifts this year
For Santa Claus had made one thing quite clear ...

The gift of a dog is not just for a season.
We had gotten the pup for all the wrong reasons.

In our haste to think of the kids a gift
There was one important thing that we missed.

A dog should be family and cared for the same.
You don't give a gift then put it on a chain.

And I heard him exclaim as he rode out of sight,
"You weren't given a gift! You were given a life!"

~ Author Unknown ~

christmas is the wrong time of year to get a puppy as while you are out visiting the puppy will be left at home all day alone i am getting my new puppy in the new year when all the excitement of christmas has calmed down