It's Christmas time, so you want to surprise your kids or a friend or relative with a puppy sitting under the Christmas tree. Sounds like a good idea.......but it's not.
Puppies are not toys!
Puppies do not make good presents any time of the year.
Getting a puppy/dog is a lifelong commitment 10 - 14 years, that the entire family should be involved in. This decision requires all members their emotional stability and
financial responsibility and should not be taken lightly.
Pet ownership might be a financial burden. There is the expense of dog food, pet supplies and adequate veterinary care. Besides annual exams and vaccines, there would be the cost of medical emergencies.
Some breeds require the need for a professional groomer. Frequent travelers will have an added expense of boarding kennels, pet sitters or looking for a motel that will take pets. Let's not forget about the training either.
Remember that no matter how much it costs to buy the puppy/dog, the initial purchase is a small fraction of the actual expense of owning the pet.
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A puppy's first experience at life away from his mother and litter mates should not be in the midst of all the chaos, noise, guests walking & moving around, and all the excitement of the holiday season. Christmas has a lot of stress, hustle, spending and preparation. With a houseful of guests and a holiday dinner to prepare, who will make sure the puppy isn't being mauled over by excited kids and guests? This could be very devastating to the pup. After all, he is in a strange new environment.
Holiday season also means winter, and housebreaking a pup at 20 or at 20 below weather with 12 inches of snow on the ground is not fun and isn't fun for the puppy either.
It might be warmer in the South, but the stress is still present.
Put yourself in the puppy's situation. Mom weans you and your litter mates. One by one, your litter mates start leaving their happy home. Now, it's my turn and these strange people pick me up, hug me and kiss me and I'm scared to death. I'm shaking to death and I'm worried about what is going to happen to me. We travel to a new place and there are new smells, frightening noises in this new place. They give me food and water but I'm too upset. I want to go home.
This can be normal for a lot of puppies. Some can handle new situations better than others. There is an adjustment to be made for the puppy too. Are you ready to handle the situation of a scared, stressed puppy that comes down with diarrhea and/or vomiting especially during the Christmas season? Are you really wanting to clean up diarrhea or vomit while your trying to put dinner on the table?
Think about it for the puppy's sake.
If the puppy is to be an outside dog, he might not be able to adjust to the outside cold weather at such a young age. Puppies/dogs placed in cold garages or sheds can result in a dead pup/dog if their body wasn't able to regulate to the cold temperatures.
Giving a pet as a present could result in a short life for the pet. Read the adoption ads sometime in January/February that the shelters are full from the aftermath of the holiday pet giving.
These puppies are alive, they breathe, they have emotional feelings and want so much to be part of your life. Don't buy a puppy for any holiday. The puppy can give so much unconditional love that they deserve so much more.
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Dogs who grow up unmannered, unsocialized and without house training often never get a chance to grow up at all. They are hard to handle, very destructive and when called to come, they come when they feel like it or when they are good and ready to. Some people work with their dogs but too many just dump them or give them a dog house, chain them to a tree, feed and water them and tell them to "shut up" when they bark. Dogs are good for kids and kids are good for dogs. Dogs and puppies just love it when you play with them and it can be a rewarding experience. But Christmas is not the best time for a promising relationship.
Housebreaking takes lots of time, teething can be a nightmare and costly, plus all the holiday decorations and goodies. Puppy proofing your house at anytime can be difficult but is next to impossible during the holidays. The holidays also present household dangers such as electrical cords, candles, tinsel, pointsettas, chocolate, pine needles, ribbons, ornament hangers, burning log in the fireplace and too many other places and things to get into. Besides doing the "Christmas Holiday Activities" do you really have time to be house training a puppy?
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