# Puppies Around Christmas



## Gharrissc (May 19, 2012)

If you have happen to have a litter that is ready around Christmas do you usually wait until after the holiday has passed to allow the puppy to go home or will you let the new owners go ahead and get it if they are ready to go?How do you handle people who have to have the puppy on Christmas? I'm not a breeder nor do I plan on becoming one,I just wanted to know what some of you do when you are in that situation.


----------



## BlackthornGSD (Feb 25, 2010)

If it were me, I'd talk with each puppy buyer and evaluate their situation. If someone is ready and waiting and has been prepping for a puppy for months, I think over the holiday can be a great time to bring a puppy home--especially if they already have a long period of time off work/school/etc.

If I were talking to someone who was looking for last-minute holiday gift puppy purchase... well, I wouldn't be selling a puppy to them anyway.


----------



## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

Not a breeder, but I am a foster and have had puppies and adult dogs available for adoption during the holidays. For my own peace of mind I don't allow them to go to their new homes during that intense Christmas period. 

For those that wanted to have a puppy or dog under the tree, so to speak, I recommend that they get some cool food/water bowls and a collar and leash, wrap those items and have them under the tree. Then, a day or two after Christmas, they can bring the puppy/dog home for real. And I absolutely refuse to adopt to someone who is giving the puppy/dog as a gift to someone who does not know/has not agreed to owning a pet.
Sheilah


----------



## selzer (May 7, 2005)

So far, I have not been in this position. I have not a litter ready for Christmas. I have had litters born in August that were ready to go in October, and a couple went home a few weeks late. Cujo went to Mom and Dads around the middle of December when he was 14 or 18 weeks old. He was great, didn't bother the tree or the gifts (except his stocking), and managed the hoard of people coming through too. 

I think that if someone wanted to surprise kids or spouse with a puppy on Christmas morning, I wouldn't sell. There is too much wrong with that picture. But a LOT of people have some time off between Christmas and New Year's and they may want to bring home the puppy early in that period so they can have a full week to ten days with the puppy before going back to work. These people I would definitely send the puppy home with no problem. 

Oh, I know Christmas can be a stressful and hectic time. I really don't aim to have puppies around Christmas because I have a life too. But at some point you have trust that the people who you are trusting with your puppy will be able to make the decision to take the puppy home and ensure that it has some peace, etc or to ask me to keep the puppy until after the company goes home, so that the puppy will be able to settle in easier. Every situation is different. My parents may have a few dozen people tramp through their home for three days, while my house will probably have just me there. Just because it is Christmas doesn't mean everyone is going to have a crazy scene going on. And if we do that for Christmas, do we do that for the Jewish, Hindu, Buddist, and Muslim Holy days as well? Do we not send a puppy home during Martigras, Easter, Spring Break, Oktoberfest? I think it is worth mentioning to folks, but at some point you either trust them, or you don't. If you don't don't sell them a puppy.


----------



## cliffson1 (Sep 2, 2006)

Wouldn't bother my pups one iota!....seriously...They would make the adjustment. They are not going to my home, but a new home. As long as the home isn't abusive, then it's like my puppy taking a plane ride to Europe....should have no problem making the adjustment.


----------



## bocron (Mar 15, 2009)

I'm not breeding anymore, but when I was I made a judgement call. If it was an experienced buyer then I'd ask what worked for them. If it was a newb I would encourage them to wait until after the craziness if they were expecting a houseful of company or were planning on traveling over the holidays. I don't think the pup would mind, but distracted people overlook simple things (like not allowing the kids to totally wear a new pup out or allowing visiting idiot relatives to treat the pup like entertainment). I've brought home my fair share of new pups during the holidays and it's been fine but I usually prep my life first so everyone is ready.


----------



## selzer (May 7, 2005)

cliffson1 said:


> Wouldn't bother my pups one iota!....seriously...They would make the adjustment. They are not going to my home, but a new home. As long as the home isn't abusive, then it's like my puppy taking a plane ride to Europe....should have no problem making the adjustment.


I agree with this, but if someone insists it must be Christmas morning, I guess, I just have a problem with having a puppy competing with all the other THINGS that people are showering each other with. Things that will be piled up and dragged away. Things that will be laid aside and forgotten about when the next thing is opened. I don't know that GSDs make great surprises for under the tree. Adults should be on board and have a say in picking a puppy, and children, well, children should not view a puppy as someTHING they got for Christmas. 

I hear the horror story about what happens to puppies that were supposed to be great surprises on Christmas and end up landing in a shelter somewhere between February and March. 

If someone tells me they want to pick the puppy up Christmas Eve when they get off of work, well that is fine. That starts their time off kool. If someone tells me they have to pick the puppy up Christmas Eve so they can have it under the tree Christmas morning, well that just doesn't sit real well. 

But no, the dog shouldn't have a problem. If people can handle a pup the rest of the year, they ought to be able to handle it on Christmas. Christmas at 8 weeks old when puppies are pretty much open to people and things is probably easier for a lot of people than Christmas at 8 or 10 months old when the puppy is going through Butthead stage.


----------



## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I think any kind of holiday/birthday pups are the ones given up the most often. They aren't planned and a surprise gift that more often then not does not work. I hate seeing ads that offer puppies/kittens as a perfect Christmas gift. I did get my GSD at the beginning of December last year, she was my christmas gift, but not advertised that way. I don't think I've ever planned for a dog, but I'm not one to give up a dog because its to much work, they aren't potty trained, or they knock the kids down, etc...I expect lots of work and go through with it from start to finish. I know that most of your regular people out there are not like me or anyone on here.


----------



## bocron (Mar 15, 2009)

Gift puppies are pretty much always a bad idea. One of our club members got her dog because the breeder refused a sale. The pup had been sold to a professional football player, deposits made etc. On the week that the pup was supposed to be picked up the football player let slip that the pup was going to be a wedding gift for another football player. Needless to say the breeder refunded the deposit and the pup ended up being sold to the girl in our club.


----------



## SummerwoodSoaps (Feb 3, 2011)

I bought Stella as a birthday present to myself last year. I do not have a problem with that as long as the people are committed. I was just able to justify the expense if it was my birthday lol. And if my husband wanted a puppy I would get him one as a gift. I would be the one to do all the research and planning anyway. I do not think I would do it if it was for a child though.


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

My DH surprised us with a puppy on Christmas. We were on our way to my moms for dinner and he said we had to stop somewhere first. I was not happy at all...first because the breeder was not a responsible one and second because I would have gone with a rescue if I'd known we could add another dog to the family.
The breeder only had two pups left at her place out of 9....they were matched previously to their owners/they were only 7 weeks old. 
Red flags everywhere, but I couldn't tell my DH this was a poor idea. He planned out everything(except choosing a good breeder!) and it would have broken his heart if I'd refused the pup. 
Looking back it was fine to get a pup on Christmas, as posted above, people do have time off to get puppy adjusted.
The 'surprise' factor is the main issue I see. And no breeder that is responsible allows a pup to be gifted as a surprise like that...it isn't fair to the pup if everyone isn't on board with it.


----------



## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I'm fine with Christmas litters. You can't control when a bitch goes into heat and a lot of people are trying to balance access to a good stud dog, the bitch's training and trialing schedule, etc plus most of the breeders I know have a waiting list or people who have expressed interest in the *litter*/bitch not the timing of the litter. I don't really see it as being any different - screen potential homes, match the puppies appropriately. If someone says they just want a dog as a gift for someone, don't sell the dog.


----------



## phgsd (Jun 6, 2004)

Gizmo (my male JRT) was ready to go just before Christmas. But when it came time to schedule when we took him home, the breeder told us we had to wait until after New Year's. I didn't argue with her, but it irked me. Christmas is a great time for us to bring a puppy home. We don't travel, don't decorate the whole house, and we just have a few people over on Christmas day. We DID have 2-3 weeks completely free that we could have devoted to him. As it was, we brought him home on January 1st or 2nd, right before we had to go back to work/school. I felt like, if we'd had the 2 weeks to devote to him, we would have been able to have him housebroken more quickly. 

I'm sure there are plenty of people who shouldn't bring a dog home just before Christmas, but I don't think it's a rule that applies to everyone.

I wouldn't skip breeding a litter just because puppies would be ready to go around Christmas. However, I HATE to see litters of anything being advertised intentionally as "Christmas litters."


----------



## AngelynsMom (Dec 9, 2012)

We are expecting our new baby on the 27th. The breeder knows we have children and although I brought it up first she reminded me that not everyone celebrates Christmas.
I do rescue for kitties and always have the families with children under twelve wrap up a photo (I usually make a little photo book with cute sayings!) and have them out goodies in there too. I would say it really depends on the family.


----------

