showdan

Hi,
My nine year old daughter really wants a dog for Christmas. Preferably a poodle but has to be (and stay) small so she can carry it around with her. Anyone any ideas where's the best place to get one? Looked at pet shops but need one they can save so we can pick it up Christmas eve.

Thanks for any feedback
Mrs Showdan

wmoore

A dog is for life, not just for Christmas.

alipally

Kennel Club have a puppy register of litters due and litters ready... My advice is find a litter that is not ready yet and arrange for your daughter to visit the darlings during Christmas week... that way you don't have to cope with a new puppy over the holiday season and it means that your daughter can choose the pup that she wants also gives some space to prepare for the new arrival... You should buy books and beds etc as part of the deal and make sure she understands the responsibility of pet ownership....
www.ankc.aust.com/
As a breeder I would NEVER buy a puppy from any source where I could not see the mother and the environment into which they'd been bred!
I hope that this helps a bit!

Ali x

Shakmaty

Not in China

BTW OP whereabouts are you?

UK/OZ.....give us a clue

Whingin Pom

Buy a turkey they taste better and last longer

MartinH

Before making the commitment make sure your daughter understand that it is her dog and her responsibility to take care of it which includes.

1. Feeding it.
2. Cleaning up after it.
3. Walking it.
4. Removing ticks (nice one).
5. Training it.

Insist that you have absolutely nothing to do with it and only on those conditions would I agree. Trust me.

Also be prepared to have the rest of your life totally disrupted (including finding a dog sitter everytime you want to go away for the weekend) and to be bankrupted (vets bills, aforementioned dog-sitting, ruined furniture etc.)

Doesn't she just want a playstation instead?

johnnyyt

Get her a Nintedo DS with Nintendogs to see if she is really prepared for a pet.

Johnnyyt

moneypenny20

Sorry but I find that really worrying, I assume you don't really mean that

wmoore

Most dogs have 2 more legs than most humans.

moneypenny20

Get updating your blog

wmoore

Paint my fence

cathy_rainbow

I agree. A dog is not a toy to be carried round in a Paris Hilton style.

I breed dogs and would never sell a puppy as a Xmas present.

To arrive at Xmas is about the worst time to be houstraining a puppy and teaching it to become a proper part of the family.

You need to take it out every 1/2 hour from 6.30am til 11pm or so to teach it to be housetrained. This needs to be done for days... that is set aside the difficulty of keeping a puppy safe in the house environment where there will be toys with bits that could be swallowed, chocolate (which is poisonous to dogs) etc. Do you intend to keep the puppy in a crate? Where will it sleep ? Who will walk it, worm it, clean up after it etc? What are the health problems associated with the breed you have chosen, there will be some for sure.

I could go on - but I won't.

Bad idea.... very bad.

Cathy.

Sheff_Sparky

please dont tell me she is going to dress up the dog??

moneypenny20

Yeah right Come and dig my creek.



I almost wish I hadn't typed that

linloo

It was a real shock for me to see the pet shops in the malls with those poor animals, anybody can walk in with the money and take it away like buying a paper We bought our puppy from a recognized breeder, who questioned us about our home enviroment, past experience etc and offered us help if there were any problems. We also saw the parents of our puppy, which I think is really important. The breeder has made a couple of follow up phonecalls which I appreciated and understood. I would much prefer this than some 16 year shop assistant, who had to look at the signs to check what breed she was holding?? Dogs have a lot of needs and they are all year round and especially the first year which can be a long time for a 9 year old!