A Puppy for Christmas?
Who has seen a Christmas Wish List with a puppy written on it? Show of hands please. By the time you are reading this is will be early December. The frenzy will have begun. Calls may have been made, and arrangements may even be in place. In the interest of preserving your family’s sanity I ask that you think really long and hard before bringing that puppy into your house on Christmas.
Christmas is a joyous time filled with fun traditions, lots of boisterous relatives and mountains of food. Puppies are fun too, but need lots of attention to make sure their young lives get off on the right “paw”. House training and manners-minding starts on day one. Will you be home enough to never have puppy alone for more than 2 or 3 hours? And do you have some serious winter gear to don when your house training sessions always seem to involve 30 minutes out in the blowing snow? When the kids go back to school will there be someone at home who is ready and willing to be in charge of training, feeding, exercising, more training, and more exercising?
Every year shelters prepare for the onslaught of surrenders that inevitably come in January through March. That cute puppy that someone thought would be a good gift and was promised to be cared for by responsible children suddenly has taken control of the house and is growing big enough to claim the sofa and growl at anyone who tries to sit there. No training was undertaken and the little ball of fur is on his way to being a full grown out of control dog who will have a tough time being adopted as an older dog.
The impulse buying of a pet, especially at Christmas is the way that puppy retailers stay in business. They count on love at first sight, which makes it difficult for buyers to walk away. Once a customer has seen "their" dog, they're sold. Details become less important. Caution may be thrown into the wind. It's ironic that this human tendency of compassion and affection is one of the chief supporters of the horrors known as pet mills.
If you're currently considering buying a puppy, you want to avoid ANY retail store that sells puppies. The store may be darling inside, bright and even clean but there is simply too great a risk that you will purchase a puppy that has been bred in a puppy mill situation. Despite the claims of the store owner that you are purchasing a properly bred dog-perhaps even bred out of the country and specially flown in - you want to preclude the heartache and expense of acquiring a sick pet, and you don't want to inadvertently perpetuate the misery of puppy mills. You will not be “rescuing“ the puppy from the store. You will be enabling the trafficking of factory farmed companion animals. If you desire a pure bred dog you must do a lot of investigation and networking. Go to dog shows and speak with the breeders. Good breeders don’t advertise-you have to work to find them. You might think you are being interviewed quite harshly by the breeder, but that is because they want the best for their dogs.
Did you know that there is a breed specific rescue group for virtually every purebred dog? Just Google search the breed you would like and then ad “rescue” to the search. An older dog may be just the ticket for an active family. Many will already know their manners, be housebroken and ready to join the kids in the SUV as they go off to soccer, hiking and more. It will be like Christmas morning to that shelter dog when they come home for the first time. They will leave a life of uncertainty and fear and get the gift of a loving forever family with warm beds, fine food, and tons of toys and kids to play with.
So instead of the barking fluff ball under the tree consider wrapping up a beautiful collar and leash and a book about dog breeds. Make a promise that the whole family will start researching what kind of dog to get. Make it a thoughtful and fun process for all. Vow to never go to a puppy store “just to look” and if it takes a couple of months to find the right dog remember that potty training a dog is much more pleasant in warmer weather!
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Christmas is a joyous time filled with fun traditions, lots of boisterous relatives and mountains of food. Puppies are fun too, but need lots of attention to make sure their young lives get off on the right “paw”. House training and manners-minding starts on day one. Will you be home enough to never have puppy alone for more than 2 or 3 hours? And do you have some serious winter gear to don when your house training sessions always seem to involve 30 minutes out in the blowing snow? When the kids go back to school will there be someone at home who is ready and willing to be in charge of training, feeding, exercising, more training, and more exercising?
Every year shelters prepare for the onslaught of surrenders that inevitably come in January through March. That cute puppy that someone thought would be a good gift and was promised to be cared for by responsible children suddenly has taken control of the house and is growing big enough to claim the sofa and growl at anyone who tries to sit there. No training was undertaken and the little ball of fur is on his way to being a full grown out of control dog who will have a tough time being adopted as an older dog.
The impulse buying of a pet, especially at Christmas is the way that puppy retailers stay in business. They count on love at first sight, which makes it difficult for buyers to walk away. Once a customer has seen "their" dog, they're sold. Details become less important. Caution may be thrown into the wind. It's ironic that this human tendency of compassion and affection is one of the chief supporters of the horrors known as pet mills.
If you're currently considering buying a puppy, you want to avoid ANY retail store that sells puppies. The store may be darling inside, bright and even clean but there is simply too great a risk that you will purchase a puppy that has been bred in a puppy mill situation. Despite the claims of the store owner that you are purchasing a properly bred dog-perhaps even bred out of the country and specially flown in - you want to preclude the heartache and expense of acquiring a sick pet, and you don't want to inadvertently perpetuate the misery of puppy mills. You will not be “rescuing“ the puppy from the store. You will be enabling the trafficking of factory farmed companion animals. If you desire a pure bred dog you must do a lot of investigation and networking. Go to dog shows and speak with the breeders. Good breeders don’t advertise-you have to work to find them. You might think you are being interviewed quite harshly by the breeder, but that is because they want the best for their dogs.
Did you know that there is a breed specific rescue group for virtually every purebred dog? Just Google search the breed you would like and then ad “rescue” to the search. An older dog may be just the ticket for an active family. Many will already know their manners, be housebroken and ready to join the kids in the SUV as they go off to soccer, hiking and more. It will be like Christmas morning to that shelter dog when they come home for the first time. They will leave a life of uncertainty and fear and get the gift of a loving forever family with warm beds, fine food, and tons of toys and kids to play with.
So instead of the barking fluff ball under the tree consider wrapping up a beautiful collar and leash and a book about dog breeds. Make a promise that the whole family will start researching what kind of dog to get. Make it a thoughtful and fun process for all. Vow to never go to a puppy store “just to look” and if it takes a couple of months to find the right dog remember that potty training a dog is much more pleasant in warmer weather!
< Back to Pets with Patti Articles
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