The Flip Side of Christmas Puppies

Imagine your new eight-week-old fluffy puppy wearing a bright red bow around his neck as he sits placidly in front of an exquisitely decorated Christmas tree. The flip side of that image is a rambunctious pup that munches on new presents and then topples the Christmas tree which scares the dickens out of him, so he piddles on the freshly cleaned carpet.

The breeder or shelter says your new pup is ready to join you for the holidays but is this a smart idea? Are the holidays a good time to bring a pup into your home? (References to puppy also pertain to a new adult dog.) You’ve promised a cute, cuddly Christmas puppy to the kids but wonder if you have the time and energy to cope with the added stress of a new furball during the busy and hectic holiday season. To help resolve your dilemma, answer a few basic questions:

• Have you thoroughly researched your chosen breed or mixed breed, if ancestry is known?
• What are the potential health issues of your breed or breeds?
• Have you located a reputable breeder or shelter?
• Do your kids really want a pup?
• Have you discussed responsibilities for the pup’s care with your kids?
• Are you prepared to care for the pup when they are away from home or lose interest in the dog?

If you want to give a canine to someone outside your household, make sure the intended recipient wants the dog. Does he fancy a particular breed of dog, know about the breed’s health issues, and believe that he is physically, mentally and financially ready to commit to a lifetime of care for his new ward? Such a conversation ruins a surprise gift but puppies/dogs aren’t a new sweater or camera.

After you’ve done your basic homework, ask yourself some more questions to help decide whether the holidays are an okay time for a new puppy to join your family. Will added holiday chores and guests allow sufficient time to focus on your pup during his critical time for housebreaking and adjusting to a new home?

Will you make certain that you take your pup outside for a potty break every time that he wakes up from a nap, and after he eats or plays? Or will you be too preoccupied with your guests to notice your pup piddling on the floor? Inattention will set back any housebreaking progress.

Remember that you may lose sleep while your pup adjusts to his loss of littermates and learns to sleep through the night. He’s likely to wake you up at 2 a.m. for a potty break, especially during the first couple of nights. You probably need more, not less sleep, to cope with your holiday activities.

If you still think you can cope with a holiday pup, ask yourself these questions:

• Are your carefully wrapped presents lying under the Christmas tree safe from your pup’s jaws? Grandma Millie might be less than humored when she discovers that her new sweater sports a few holes thanks to your new pup.
• Are the tree’s ornaments out of your pup’s reach? Can the puppy pull over the tree?
• Will house guests remember to put away their shoes, hats, gloves and presents that ordinarily are cast onto the floor or a chair?
• Will dinner or house guests know how to carefully pick up your pup without dropping him when the wiggles set in?
• Will guests refrain from feeding your pup table scraps or dog goodies?
• Will your visitors unintentionally step on the pup or trip over him?
• Will your pup be going through a fear period during which he’ll be scared by boisterous voices, clattering of pans and otherwise loud noises?
• For those living in northern climates, are you prepared to supervise your pup in frigid temperatures to make sure that he piddles and poops? Or would a warmer season better suit your situation?

  

Don’t to forget that you need to carefully supervise your pup’s interactions with other dogs. Intervene when the pup pesters your generally reliable older dog to avoid injuries to the youngster.

Oh, you say, I’ll just keep my new ward in a crate when company comes over to avoid any potential problems. But is it fair to keep your new family member crated for hours and hours while you celebrate the holidays? Instead, don’t you want to accelerate your pup’s adjustment and housebreaking? Both take lots of attention.

If you still want a Christmas puppy, consider asking your breeder, rescue organization or shelter, to hold the pup until after the holidays. That way, you can freely celebrate the holidays and then give your pup all the attention that he needs and deserves.

Sometimes a new pup must come into his new home during the holidays. He’s eight weeks old and deemed ready to leave his littermates thanks to the timing of his mother’s decision to come into heat!

That was true for Ranger but his breeder kindly offered to keep him until after Christmas. That year, we didn’t put up a Christmas tree. Instead, we hung decorations well out of the reach of a young pup. We emptied the lower shelves of bookcases and removed our coffee table books so that he wouldn’t learn to read at an early age. Layla celebrated Christmas with us, opened her presents in peace and shared a bit of our traditional turkey dinner. Then we put away our presents. When Ranger arrived home, we carefully supervised his interaction with eighty-plus pound Auntie Layla to make sure that she didn’t step on him or otherwise scare him. We all didn’t sleep much for a night or two before Ranger adjusted to sleeping through the night in a crate in our bedroom. We took lots of cute puppy pictures, just not in front of a Christmas tree!

Ranger wants a couple of weeks off from his editing duties, so I’m scheduling my next blog post for early January 2016. Have a very safe and happy holiday season!