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Christmas Puppies?
Each Holiday Season well meaning families consider giving the kids or
themselves a puppy or dog. This is the very worst time to bring a dog
into the home. Once Thanksgiving is over, shopping and decorating time increases. Many guests visit, lots of meals to be prepared, which allows little time for a new K-9 friend. Puppies can be housebroken very early and quickly if their caretakers are very attentive. During the Holidays, this is not possible.
Why create a bad habit of allowing the dog or puppy to use your home to relieve his or herself? Once you teach your puppy to let you know that he or she needs to go outside, is it fair to not be attentive to what they are trying to tell you? This is only one of the reasons to wait to acquire your dog or puppy until January 2. Kids have new toys, you are entertaining guests, so your new dog or puppy is left to their own devices. Just as you would child proof a home for a toddler, puppy proofing is a MUST. Do not be fooled into thinking that only puppies get into trouble. If you bring an older shelter dog into your home, it is admirable that your heart is in the right place, they also can get into things and even escape your home as doors are being opened and closed. Nothing can put a damper on a party or celebration like your dog being lost, or even worse, hit by a car. Most guests do not guard the doors when entering or exiting, as we dog people do, which sets up your new family member for potential disaster. It could be hours before you realize that your dog has escaped.
Christmas lights can be fascinating for puppies and dogs, but those tree lights can be deadly for your new family member. A well meaning guest might give the new love of your life a poultry bone, resulting in a very expensive trip to the vets. (If you have a K-9 family member put your trash can in a cabinet with a securely closed door to keep them from getting the turkey bones) Dark chocolate can be deadly to dogs and since puppies are much smaller, it takes much less chocolate to be harmful.
You may state, " well, I have a crate for my new family member." Crates are great training aids, but their use can also be abused.
In this time of so many who want, what they want, when they want it, this will fall on blind eyes and deaf ears, but I am hoping it will help one dog or puppy this year.
Don't buy a puppy when shelters and rescues all over the country are filled with puppies, adult and senior dogs. If you must purchase a puppy, look for a reputable breeder. These are people who spend thousands on the parents of the puppies. A good breeder has both parents hips tested, as well as the heart, thyroid and test for Von Willebrand disease, a type of hemophelia in dogs.
Testing for genetic defects specific to their breed is most important.
A reputable breeder is one that will take any dog back no matter what the age, even if the dog is a senior.
Do not fall prey to those who live off these animals souls. Every time
a puppy is purchased from a less than reputable breeder you are encouraging them to create more misery by breeding again.
Reputable breeders also want to check YOU out. These are people
who love their breed and love dogs.
Reputable breeders also attend dog shows where their dogs are judged on each breeds standard.
Shelter's are filled with Christmas puppies by March. Those who thought it was a great idea to bring a puppy home back in December are now finding out how much work a dog can be, especially if no time was taken to train their dog. It is no longer cute when you come home to find your $100 sneakers chewed up. These are the things that test true dog lovers. Many people fail that test and the dog ends up dumped at their local shelter.
We are offering a great way to give a puppy or dog as a Christmas Gift, but delay his or her arrival into the home until January. How about a certificate for a dog as a gift?
The recipient still gets something to open, but now the dog will not be forgotten during the busy Holidays. Why not print out one of our certificates and give this as a promise of a new K-9 family member?
DO YOUR HOMEWORK! Make sure the breed you are choosing is a fit for your lifestyle. Mixed breeds make wonderful family members, so do not overlook them. Please consider adopting a senior, you will get back so much more than you give. It is not fair to any dog to end up in a shelter because he or she was bought or adopted in haste. Put yourself in the dog's place. How would you feel if you were crated all of the time or tied outside all of the time? Or dumped in a shelter to await death or a life threatening illness?
Dogs are pack animals you are their pack leader, they want to be with you. A dog tied outside to a dog box is a sad thing. www.dogsdeservebetter.org/
Be kind to your dog. Live by the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." If everyone followed that simple rule and parents started teaching this to their children, this world would be a wonderful place to live. For animals and humans.
If you need a special certificate, feel free to write to me and I would
Click on the links between the certificates to print them out. Click the "back
button to come back to this page. Closing the printable pages out will close
out the whole website.
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