I am looking for a basset hound puppy for my husband for xmas and have been looking in n.i. for some time .
I now realise l am going to have to go to scotland or england
Can anyone help

Does he actually want a dog? does he have time for it? If so, this would be something better for you both to select a dog together.
You will hear it a thousand times, but dogs arent presents...If he wants a dog, why not raise the suggestion and then you can both go and look around. Also, christmas isnt a great time to bring a pup home...it is very hectic and they would not like that.

I would hate it if someone chose a dog for me - I would want to choose my own. So your best bet is to let your husband choose the pup he wants - if he really wants one that is!

Hi guys- I would be EXTREMELY surprised if any reputable kennel will sell you a puppy at Christmas time. In my experience, any good breeders will keep pups for a few extra weeks so that they dont go to new homes at this busy time of year. You don't say that you've had Bassets before, sorry to ask but are you really sure that they're the breed for you.? Yes they are incredibly cute as puppies, but they grow into big dogs with selective hearing when it comes to breaking off from any scent when they're out and about, and they are not the easiest to train either, they need a lot of patience. If you still want to go ahead, contact some breeders and get your husband in on the act-I'mm sure he'll appreciate it!

Having said that............ say the litter just happened to come around that time? should the breeder hang on till there 9 /10weeks old to home or would it make them a unreputable breeder if they passed them on . i know that when i breed mine it could possibly fall in the christmas time.? what would you suggest. we cant change the due date ?

Hi again guys!
Lovelylady, ref your query, I would say it depends on how 'hands on' you wanted to be with the pups. I might be opening a huge can of worms here, but my most recent pup came home at 6 1/2 weeks old although I know that some people want to keep hold of pups until they are 8 weeks plus.
A friend of mine got her Flatcoat pup at 9 weeks as she was on holiday when the pups would have normally gone to their new homes. Her breeder did a really excellent job of starting to socialise any pups that she was keeping for people, but not everyone has the time (or inclination!) to do that. I totally understand your problem though. Hope that I've helped in some small way. Good luck with future litters :) Ali

Hi lovelylady

I know of quite a few breeders who will plan their litter to make sure thy're not available around the festive season, so avoiding the 'Puppy as a present' problem. The ones who do have pups will generaly insist on keeping them until after Xmas and the New year. So although you can't change the due date, you can work round the potential problem by hanging on to your babes a bit longer than normal.

liberty :)