Every year around Christmas time, the RSPCA calls on everyone to think before buying a puppy or any other pet for Christmas. The RSPCA’s message is “A dog is for life, not just for Christmas”. This advisory is for people to think about and consider the implications of having a pet.
It’s a wonderful experience to see your child’s face light up when you present him with an adorable puppy. There’s no escaping that, however it doesn’t last long and it’s just one side of the coin.
Puppies are hard work. They chew, mess, can disrupt sleep, dig and demand a lot of attention, it’s like carrying another child.
Although puppies grow quickly, training them is a slow process, even if you have an intelligent breed. During the education and socialization of your puppy, you must remain calm and patient at all times and, above all, you must be constant, even if you are at the limit of your strength. A small slip confuses your pup and can set his education back.
Puppies tend to take up a lot of time, like a child. Your pup would need to be walked (rain, blizzard or shine) training, feeding, brushing, cleaning up after as well as playing with him. Children soon lose interest in all these tasks and they inevitably fall to the parents. Do you have time for all these little jobs every day? If not, your bored and depressed pup will probably eat your couch.
Of course, puppy farms are applying hard sell tactics in the run up to Christmas. They prey on people who aren’t sure if they should buy a puppy or not. Puppy farms force people to make rash decisions that are not well thought out. Sellers can say “Well someone else is interested in this puppy”, of course there isn’t anyone else, they just want to force the sale by making buyers believe they may lose their chance to purchase the cute little puppy. have shown interest in Puppy breeders don’t care if you’re ready and able to adopt a puppy, they just think about what a wonderful Christmas they can have once they get their hands on your cash.
Christmas day will certainly be a wonderful day with your new puppy and happy children. Any puppy mishaps will be considered as little accidents and mischievous behavior and all puppies’ mischief will be touching and laughing.
Six to eight months later, the pup continues to have little accidents. Puppy is now a big pup and is proving to be a bit of a troublemaker. The children have lost interest and everything is covered in dog hair.
This is when the RSPCA sees a boom in puppies that have been placed in their care. The RSPCA can’t possibly rehom all the adorable pups that come their way. Anyway, who wants their wayward pup in the RSPCA when they can go to the puppy farm and buy a younger, smaller, cuter puppy there?
The fact is that some cute and lovable pups found in the RSPCA have to be destroyed, through no fault of their own, other than no one wants them.
Merry Christmas Puppy!
