Don’t Give a Puppy as a Christmas Gift

Since I’m starting this in December, I thought this would be an appropriate first topic…. 

If you are playing with the thought of giving a puppy, or for that matter, any animal, as a Christmas gift, please think again. It wouldn’t be considerate to the gift recipient or the puppy. Christmas is a highly inappropriate time to bring a new puppy into a home, with all the holiday chaos, decorations and other temptations that could cause undue stress or injury to the puppy.

Christmas aside, puppies are a lot of work and involve a long term commitment, something you could be burdening its new owner with, if they are not really prepared. A sad fact is that many shelters end up on the receiving end of an unwanted present assorted weeks after Christmas has passed.

Unless you are an immediate family member that is prepared to take on the responsibility of owning the dog yourself, should the ‘gift’ not go over as spectacularly as planned, then I would strongly suggest that you consider other options. Why not give a gift certificate or prepaid voucher towards the purchase of a puppy for a date after the holidays, whenever they are ready, or books/dvds on the specific breed the person is interested in purchasing.