Pollyana

Maybe she will teach it to dance around a handbag

Sheff_Sparky

twirling batons!??!!

Pollyana

I find that really sad too - you see these kids peering through the glass saying "I want that one mum" and you know they haven't the faintest clue, they are too small to hhave any idea what a commitment there is when you have a dog, and yet the parents so often give in becuase the kid screams so much when dragged away.

homewardbound

My 12yo daughter got a toy poodle for her birthday it cost a fortune but he is well bred (parents placed at crufts) and has had all his dna testings, he came fully vaccinated, microchipped etc.

Puppies are hardwork and I think you will find it very hard to find a decent specimen at xmas as most good breeders dont breed litters then.

I think 9 is too young to take responsibility for a puppy, my 12 yo finds it hard enough. As part of her presetn i also bought her a puppy training class and she takes him to show training classes weekly.

Clipping him costs around £30 every 6-8 weeks and grooming a poodle takes around 1 hr every couple of days - so big commitment there! Washing and grooming at home takes around 3 hours plus! This is done weekly-fortnightly.

caleb2003

We saw this in Maroochydore in Sunshine coast this weekend, couldnt believe it, it was like travelling back in time 20 years.

There were kids there tapping on the windows and my little girl wanted to do the same but I had to put her right and tell her how it was cruel for the dog to be their.

This country needs dragging into the modern age for some things. (mainly this and also the attitude to doing everything by committee)

Cheetah7

I sincerely hope this is a joke. Buying your nine year old daughter a small dog that she can carry around with her is not the most responsible thing that you can do.

Not all dogs like to be picked up and carried around like toys - During my time as a vet nurse I have heard many parents say 'Oh hes such a good dog, the kids can pick/carry/poke the dog and he lets them do anything'

Responsible pet ownership is about respecting an animals need to privacy and to not allow any child to pick up/carry whenever he/she wants to.

Your child is too young to expect her to take that responsibility, why not sponsor her a dog at your local dogs home/charity, that way she can learn about the pet she is sponsoring, even take him/her for walks and see what dog ownership is about.

But if that doesn't suit and she really would like a dog that she can carry around then I would not risk it because one day that little dog might have enough of being carried around and bite her. And small dogs can do quite alot of damage to a child when they are being held against their will at face level.

MartinH

Oh yes and probably worth adding, if you are not already in Oz then the dog will be the most difficult thing to move. Forget visa's and all the easy stuff.

cathy_rainbow

Ain't that the truth!

It is far more complicted to sort out my 2 girls and their health tests , import permits etc.

Added to that we won't be able to confirm what flight they are on until 2 weeks before they fly, yet have to have quarantine space booked in advance...

re selling puppies in petshops. On a visit to Paris noticed this a lot and the older the puppy got, the cheaper it was.... there were 2 twelve week old golden retrievers there kept in brightly lit aquarium type cages. A few toys were in there too but when I think of the care we gave our pups when raising them socialising them, out on car, meeting people, cats, cows, geese other dogs it really saddened me.

Harrods has a few "toy" breeds too, but in bigger cages, but it is never as good as meeting puppy's mum, dad ,and in our case, big sister and grandparents too, all Crufts qualified for life.

Someone said to me once "A good breeder will seem like they really don't want to sell a puppy to you, they will ask so many questions"....

Cathy

katsmajic

I used to breed and show my dogs.
I only ever had puppies in Spring - to enable easier house training for the new owners.
I also checked out the houses the pups were going too, the new owners signed contracts, i contacted them for follow ups and helped them with any follow up issues, ive reclaimed 2 of my pups who were not being cared for correctly, 1 i was able to rehome successfully, the other lives with my aunt and is the oddest dog you will ever meet. (shes odd too, so they are very happy)
My dogs were all innoculated, flea'd, wormed, socialised, registered, insured before they left me - and it is what i would expect if/when i look at getting another dog in OZ.

Smaller breeds/dogs are more prone to snappyness (IMO) probably because they get poked about so much more than big dogs. (my dogs are small, and are not snappy, just my opinion about smaller breeds in general).

Dont buy a child a puppy for Xmas - or any time really - a puppy is a family commitment! Its going to live 10/15/20 years - is your child going to take it to UNI?

Timber Floor Au

A turkey is for christmas , not for life


Do not buy a kid or anyone a dog they can carry around, it boils my piss seeing ppl do this.
A dogs physiology and bone structure is not akin to having pressure exerted on it by some knob-head carrying it ( adults or kids alike )

Dogs have 4 legs !!! in the majority, let them walk.


Also dont buy a dog for xmas, fgs how pathetic.

As dog breeders and registered with KCGB and CCCQ we would never allow anyone ( no matter who ) to purchase a new dog/puppy/family member for or at xmas.

Instead get a kid some dvd's or perhaps a teddy bear or rag doll.

Another thing whilst we are on the bloody subject...

canoodles spanoodles labradoodles rottweiladors etc etc ... bleedin designer dogs.. what a crock of shit.

Centurion

Sincerely hope you are joking. Its a life you are talking about and not a fashion accessory.

I hope once your daughter looses interest in the dog your happy to walk it everyday, clean up its pee and poo, feed it, be prepared not to be able to go out the house for extended periods.

Oh - and for about the next 12 years....

Please think about this carefully and it you have to do it, give a home to a rescue dog who is facing DEATH rather than add to that statistic and don't support the sickening trade in dogs available in pet shops in Australia. Its heartbreaking and frankly illegal in many other parts of the world for a reason.

The Bloke

A good place to start would be the RSPCA pound, which has many abandoned Christmas presents for sale, check them out before deciding.

Timber Floor Au

How very POIGNANT ! well said

emmyjc1

I think that the puppy for Xmas thing has to be a joke when we were young we talked my mum into getting a Rabbit - big mistake - we lost interest in it after 2 months and then my mum ended up cleaning it out twice a week and caring as we didn't pet it enough it went really vicous and she could only pick it up with rubber gloves on - for it for the next 7 years.
I to find it very sad seeing the pups in the boxes at all malls on the GC. Some of the time they end up being surrendered to the AWL which just creates more work for that charity. If people are seriously thinking about a dog or cat in QLD have a look at

http://www.awlqld.com.au/rehoming_ne...omepuppies.htm

they will check that you are the right person for the dog etc.

JenniGee

That's a really good idea! We got those tamagotchi things for our kids when they were nagging for a puppy - the blessed things never stayed alive for more than a few hours & the girls realised just how much time they spent on doing other things apart from playing with it. We still got our puppy the following Christmas (well it was New Year actually) but at least we did so with our eyes wide open & I had a good idea about ow much of the work was going to fall on me

Can I just say - dogs are not meant to be carried about - they need a healthy diet & regular excercise. They need to be treated like a dog, not a trinket or a fashion accessory otherwise it will cause your daughter & your family many, many problems.

I'd think long & hard about getting a dog & to be honest, any dealer that's going to keep one for you til Christmas Eve, isn't going to be a very reputable one that has the best interests of their animals at heart.

Very best wishes