# Do you sell your puppies at Christmas?



## Lauri & The Gang

Do you?


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## Packen

They get all sold out on Black Friday.


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## robinhuerta

Honestly Laurie...
The Karma/Pascha puppies are available for homes on Dec 13th (8wks old).....so technically...some people might consider them Xmas time puppies.
I have been "screening" prospects for over 2 months.....so I am satisfied...and even though they are "available" to new homes in December...they are *not* Xmas Puppies.
*I actually don't like having puppies available around the holidays......they can be born around the holidays...just not available.*


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## qbchottu

robinhuerta said:


> *I actually don't like having puppies available around the holidays......they can be born around the holidays...just not available.*


I'm eternally grateful you held onto your December puppies from last year till the summer.


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## holland

I bought my first dog right around the holidays-the breeder kept him until after Christmas-


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## JakodaCD OA

I think (and I'm not a breeder here that it depends on the home they are going to.

I got Jynx a week before xmas however, she was not an impulse buy, it just happened they were ready to go home then.


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## VTcoach

You obviously have to screen buyers appropriately, but actually around the holidays isn't a bad time because the people are usually on vacation from work and can spend alot of initial time with a puppy. So from that aspect it is not necessarily a bad time. What you are getting at though is people buying on holiday impulse and/or for the wrong reasons. Breeders have to screen appropriately throughout the year though for this.


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## GSDElsa

I think the holidays is a GREAT time depending on who the puppies are going to. I would love it if I got a puppy over Christmas some time. The years we are here, it is one of the rare occasions I take a whole week off of work. My mom and dad--huge dog people--will stay around a few extra days ususally. Great opportunities for socialization. It's my dream time. 

Well, except for the snow around here. It would definitely be my dream time if I lived somewhere warmer


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## Lilie

Unless the breeders standards change regarding processing through potential buyers, I don't see why it would even matter. 

I would love to get a pup over the holidays. As stated above, I have additional time off and I usually have guests coming by. So if nothing else, the pressures of crate training and potty training are made just a little easier. (Please! For the love of all that is Holy! Stop screaming in your crate! It's 2:00 a.m. and I have to go to work in the morning!)


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## Emoore

Replies: 8

Breeders: 1


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## LaRen616

Emoore said:


> Replies: 8
> 
> Breeders: 1


:laugh:


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## GSDElsa

Hey, figure after 12 hours and the breeders haven't bothered to reply it's fair game to insert your own opinion


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## wolfstraum

My Ks were born on Halloween...so they are 8 weeks old on Dec 26th....3 are flying to people I have been in contact with - some for a few years....they are not "Christmas Puppies"....one will be able to go home locally that week - met buyer about 6 months ago, young professional couple, he an FBI agent, she from Germany with warmblood horses, so not a Christmas "present"....the others that will be flying will fly AFTER the holiday craziness...no way am I putting pups on planes between Christmas and New Years....

Have had a few inquiries about presents for Christmas - but from people who I have been in contact with over time as well....

the Christmas puppy inquiries - I just don't have anything available..... 


Lee


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## GSDBESTK9

Nope, if we happen to have a litter ready to go to their new homes around Chirstmas time, we hold them till after the New Year.

Not only to keep away the puppy buyer doing it out of impulse and/or wanting a puppy as a Christmas gift, but also because x-mas time is a very stressful time for a lot of families... having other family members coming, traveling, etc. No need to put a puppy into that kind of stress.


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## Liesje

I have not noticed Nikon's breeder "hold" puppies because of Christmas just because (unless the new family asked for that). A few years ago I "borrowed" a puppy over the holidays (breeder wasn't sure which one(s) to keep so a few friends took one for some individual attention and training).


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## NarysDad

robinhuerta said:


> Honestly Laurie...
> The Karma/Pascha puppies are available for homes on Dec 13th (8wks old).....so technically...some people might consider them Xmas time puppies.
> I have been "screening" prospects for over 2 months.....so I am satisfied...and even though they are "available" to new homes in December...they are *not* Xmas Puppies.
> *I actually don't like having puppies available around the holidays......they can be born around the holidays...just not available.*


I'm like Robin and many others here, I usually plan my litters to be before Christmas or their availability to be after Christmas. But on occasion we do have litters that are ready around Christmas although usually these are planned litters that have already been reserved well ahead of time. I don't like the idea of selling a said puppy for a Christmas present.


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## Betty

I think there is a very big difference between having a litter that is ready to go home about Christmas and planning a breeding and advertising Christmas puppies.

If you screen your owners you screen your owners. Depending on circumstances the holidays could actually be a good time to place a pup because of time off work for some people. For other families it could be the worse possible time. A breeder that has talked to the owners would know.

And I've never had a litter ready to go for Christmas, I've had litters born on Christmas Eve and New Years day. I would not skip a breeding I was planning though because they would be ready to go about the time of the holidays.


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## Smithie86

Betty said:


> I think there is a very big difference between having a litter that is ready to go home about Christmas and planning a breeding and advertising Christmas puppies.
> 
> If you screen your owners you screen your owners. Depending on circumstances the holidays could actually be a good time to place a pup because of time off work for some people. For other families it could be the worse possible time. A breeder that has talked to the owners would know.
> 
> And I've never had a litter ready to go for Christmas, I've had litters born on Christmas Eve and New Years day. I would not skip a breeding I was planning though because they would be ready to go about the time of the holidays.


 
Same here. The S litter is ready to go home in 2 weeks, but that is also due to having to keep them for the import regs. We do follow that; I know some people do not.

Plus, with this litter - these are for working homes and we have been very particular since this is a similar breeding to two other ones that we have done and need strong handlers.

I know Lee is doing the same.


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## bocron

I had litter born on Halloween once. Count forward 8 weeks and you get Dec 26th. I kept most of that litter until after Christmas day. I let one go a couple of days before Christmas but she was going to a fellow breeder whose schedule worked out that way. But this was a litter of Beaucerons and most of my puppy buyers had placed deposits close to a year before, the timing just worked out that way. With a rare breed you kind of have to do the breeding when all the stars align. I knew when I did the breeding that they would be Christmas pups, but it was fine.


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## lhczth

I haven't had a litter in the fall before so never had to worry about it. With my screening process and the types of homes that most of my puppies go into I doubt this is something I would even consider. I might suggest that a buyer wait if they were going to be leaving for the holidays or have other plans that would not be best to throw an 8 week old puppy into the middle of.


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## Kaity

I got Vida two weeks before Christmas. Just made wrapping presents more of a hassle because this cute little bear/puppy kept coming up trying to play with the wrapping paper . I don't think a responsible breeder would purposely sell their pups as Christmas puppies. The worst is when people get pups as presents for eachother.. oh, fun. Not really!


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## selzer

I do not cause my bitches to come into heat by some artificial means so I have have puppies ready to be brought home on Christmas Eve. I think that would be an infernal pain in the backside anyway. So far it hasn't been an issue. But if all the stars lined up just so, and a bitch had the audacity to come into heat just in time to have puppies available at Christmas, yeah, I would let them go home. It would not mean that I would do anything less in looking at the prospective owners.


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## cliffson1

I am receiving a puppy on Dec 27th. Coming from Slovakia....fortunately they don't abide by the same concern as here. I will be leaving on the 28th for Boston and back on 12/30. Pup will stay with my daughter for those two days,,,don't expect pressure or stress or new people to have any effect on this puppy. Most stress will come from my daughters two kids,6 and 10, and I'm sure that puppy will be glad to see me again....haha. Xmas is just like any other time to me as breeder or buyer.


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## carmspack

Cliff I am surprised they let live cargo fly at that time of year --


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## cliffson1

Don't jinx me Carmen....the puppy is coming from Prague, so many things are different from there.


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## JakodaCD OA

well I wanna see pics of the new puppy, and hey if he's not something you like, you can drop him off to me in CT on your way back thru))


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## GSDBESTK9

We received 2 phone calls yesterday from people asking for puppies, as soon as we told them they would not be ready for their homes for another 2 months, they hang up. :rofl: Clearly they were looking for x-mas gifts.


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## Caja's Mom

Errow came from Belgium just a few days before Christmas, 23rd maybe. I remember being at the Buffalo Airport late at night waiting for him and it was pretty busy. He was supposed to come in sooner by a day or 2 but got delayed from Europe.


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## holland

My aunt lived in a 2 family house and her in-laws lived downstairs One year I arrived to visit for the Christmas holidays and the in-laws were keeping a collie puppy for the nieghbours who had bought it for their child -I think They called him Elmo when they went to work Elmo came over and stayed at my aunts in laws. Elmo went home when they arrived home. Elmo had a pretty good life


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## EJQ

I've never had a Christmas litter, but unless I personally knew the family looking for a puppy the answer would be NO. Kind of like the little chicks and bunnies at Easter.


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## marshies

My pup is coming before Christmas, and I CANNOT be more thrilled.

For me, and many other working families and students, holidays and planned vacations are the only good times to bring pets home. Christmas happens to be my longest break from school. I'd be devastated if my breeder told me, nope, you can't have her because you want her for Christmas.

There are many reasons to reject potential buyers, and wanting a Christmas gift may be one of them. But wanting a puppy on Christmas doesn't make a buyer an awful buyer. Having puppies are Christmas doesn't make a breeder an awful breeder either. 

Though, holding the puppy after Christmas, if it's something the buyer's family wants done, is a thoughtful action.


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## Chris Wild

I really don't see how time of year matters. Not if a breeder is screening buyers as they should be. It's pretty easy to weed out the people looking to impulse buy something for under the Christmas tree. And those same sort of people will impulse buy at other times of the year too, not just Christmas, and should be avoided altogether regardless of what time of year it is. Likewise just because a litter is ready to go around Christmas and people are ready to take them around Christmas certainly does not mean that they are "Christmas puppies".

We've placed pups around the holidays, sure. They're ready to go when they're ready to go. We don't have some magic wand that allows us to pick and choose when a bitch will come into heat, be bred, whelp and then pups will hit the 8-9 week mark. Whether that happens to fall around a holiday is totally up to her. We don't get any say in the matter.

But it's never been a concern because of the types of homes we place pups in and the screening those people go through. If the pups hit the go home age of 8-9 weeks right in the middle of the holidays, then we just work with the person to figure out the best time for them to get the pup. For many people, the holidays are good for bringing a puppy home because they have time off work during the holidays and nothing much else going on. For others, the holidays might not be a good time if they're travelling, hosting lots of parties, or for any number of reasons. So we just handle that on a case by case basis to see what makes the most sense for that individual situation, and if it means us holding a puppy for an extra week or two until things settle down for the new owner and they are ready that's fine.


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## CelticGlory

I want my puppy around Christmas time, only because I will be on vacation. The only concern I would have is delayed flights due to the weather, that would be bad for a puppy to be stuck in a kennel for who knows how long. So I thought about changing my date of getting my puppy for an earlier date, but it will depend greatly on if I get a teaching job next year or not.


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## robinhuerta

There is very little importance on *when* a puppy is available....the importance will always be to *whom* the puppies are available to......


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