Christmas puppies...some advice

Hi, The best advice I have as far as puppies and holidays is give a stuffed animal and say as soon as the spring comes we can get a puppy. Its so much easier to house break a dog when the weather is nicer. Plus there is so much more to do when the weather is good, exercise helps release alot of puppy energy. The holidays are so hectic that its hard to give the pup the attention they deserve. Hope this may have helped.

Even tho' it is well passed C'mas, I wanted to share this.  I am well aware of the pitfalls of bringing home the C'mas puppy.  I am a firm believer that it should be done ONLY under extra-special circumstances, but guess who had a puppy at C'mas time.  Yep!

A puppy was NEVER in the mix for me and most assuredly not at C'mas.  It just so happened that a co-worker decided to do the next worst thing to buying a C'mas puppy.  She decided to buy a puppy as a gift for her mother who had already stated that she did NOT want any more dogs.  I tried to advise her against buying the puppy.  One, it was not a wanted gift.  Two, it was a pet store pup of unknown breeding.  Three, it was a Pom... a challenging breed for the inexperienced.

Four WEEKS after the happy arrival, mom and daughter were looking for a way out.  It was the week before C'mas.  I felt so bad for my co-worker.  She asked if I was interested, but I already had three, and two of them have health probs.  I could not offer her the $500 she paid for the pup, and just before C'mas, she would have a problem getting even a portion of it.  I have worked rescue for many years and offered to help her find a responsible buyer.  When I returned to work the next day, there was a note for me that she and her mom just wanted the pup to have a good home.  They wanted to give him to me.

There I was, C'mas week.  A 5yr old Yorkie, an 11yr old Shih Tzu and a 13yr old Yorkie...... AND A 3 1/2mos old POM!!!  Merry Christmas!!   I can now say from FIRSTHAND experience that the Holidays are really REALLY difficult with the responsibility of a pup.  It all went well for me, but I work part time, I am single and I have no children.  It was still difficult.  I am fortunate in that I can take my guys with me, and C'mas was a good time for socialization.  It was not convenient, but it was absolutely necessary for me to start right away with him.  I had to take him everywhere with me, spend a lot of MY visiting time standing in the cold backyards of the folks I was visiting.  I had to leave early when the pup was gettin overwhelmed or hungry.  I had to decline a number of invitations where I could not take him.  He did not need his initial days with me to be spent in isolation.  On two ocassions, I had to hire a puppy sitter because of extra activities I could not get out of.

Puppies, ANY TIME OF YEAR, are huge responsibilities, but the Holiday pups need much more attention.  They seem to be the ones folks insist on having and the first ones the same folks will justify neglecting.

Well, just had to share.  All is well with my new pup, but I would not have chosen to get a pup during the Holidays.

The idea that dogs should not be adopted (or puppies received) at Christmas time, as in the breeder who doesn't send pups home in December, presumes that 1) the family is Christian or religious, 2) that the family can't adjust their holiday for the puppy. While many, many people shouldn't take a puppy at the holidays, this is actually a time where lots of people have extended vacation time, so they have the time to crate train, look for puppy classes, etc. It's also a great time to socialize the puppy, done right. So, given the right advice, people could do well with a puppy over the holidays. That said, live animals as gifts is a *bad idea* unless it's given to a child with the full adult knowledge that the puppy is really their responsibility. People should never give their partners or friends dogs as gifts!