Christmas Rant (how much, toy, train, chew)

[jasper12]

I cannot stand people who buy puppies for Christmas gifts. As if Christmas is not chaotic enough...and a new puppy...no doubt bought on a whim.

A dog is a serious commitment of time and energy. This is a life. Not some random toy to be purchased and ignored.

No problem with getting children a stuffed animal, and then talking about getting a dog, looking at dogs, carefully discussing the time it takes to train a dog and planning to get a dog, as a family.

But please...no Christmas puppies.

[tdiana]

An old friend of mine is young, married, and has a puppy that they can not financially care for (though she won't admit it). If the poor boy needs to be taken to the vet, they can't just go because they have no funds saved up, which has been that way since before they got the puppy. She is now talking about getting a 'Christmas puppy' which makes me so sad. If you can't care for one, why think two would be easier?

I understand where you're coming from. But if it something that has been thought about a lot prior to Christmas, I don't see a problem with it just happening then.

[atina33]

Originally Posted by tdiana

I understand where you're coming from. But if it something that has been thought about a lot prior to Christmas, I don't see a problem with it just happening then.

I disagree.

If there are kids in the house, I would NOT even recommend getting the puppy at that time, no matter how much thought and preparation has been put into it.

Christmas is chaotic and messy enough with kids bouncing from one thing to another. Consider that:
- a puppy is likely to chew up new gifts and possibly choke on something
- family members will not be able to give the puppy their full attention and the poor thing will get somewhat lost in the shuffle of new toys, visiting relatives, etc.

A puppy (or any pet for that matter) should be introduced in a home when things are calm.

[Iam4USC]

Reminds me of a family story before my time..........I have family photos of my older sisters before I was born. One photo was of Easter Sunday and all three of them were dressed up and posing outside in their dresses before Easter Mass. Then in the next photo, the youngest (probably 4 years old) was holding a bunny. My parents had gotten them a rabbit for Easter. I never saw another photo with the bunny in it. I asked my dad what happened to the bunny. He replied that it didn't even make it until Easter dinner before my sisters "hugged" it to death.