Where can I find a puppy in time for Christmas . . .

beertons

My sister is going to pick up a puppy today, I'm a bit disgusted by the whole thing. CKC, in the kitchen every day from 7-7. Doubt she'll be getting many walks, as too tired from commute to Dublin. I expected more of Nearsea's to be selling them at this time of year.

jandm

In addition to all that has been said would like to add that some people are under the impression that if they pay big bucks for a "pedigree" puppy that will be a well behaved example of goodness by comparison as opposed to a dog of mixed breed ancestry.

Pedigree just means you know what the parents are and you will have a better idea what motivates them given their breed. Much easier get a new dog when the days are longer - both of mine arrived around Christmas meaning standing outside in the cold teaching them to go "piddlies" in the garden :-D

laoch na mona

<snip>

Read threads properly before posting on them!

Mr Moxie

Hi

Its great to see so many heartfelt and passionate posts re our animal friends.

However, in my opinion there seems to be a some inexperienced opinions being put forward as fact.
Firstly I am not a breeder, although we do have a (male and female) rare breed which we purchased from the first litter brought into the country a few years ago. We were looking for another companion animal at the time and my better half was the vet who helped to whelp the litter. We decided that it would be great to help keep a beautiful rare breed in the world.
We also have a rescue, we had two until recently but one died after 13 very spoiled years : ( we have a rescued cat, 4 rescued birds (1 is actually being fostered) 4 rescued/fostered goldfish (I know, but our neighbour passed away and they were left in the pond, I will be rehoming them in the spring). I also built a Koi pond in our garden to attract wildlife/birds, it works great. We have no kids, so it is possible to devote enough time to all.

Well said by adrenalinjunkie in the OP, but I would disagree that "These 'cheap' dogs are rife with health problems, aggression..." etc
In my opinion it is more accurate to state that irresponsible 'breeders' of dogs for pure profit are far less likely to notify you of any inherited heath issues that a dog may have, it is always always vital that any puppy is taken to a vet immediately for a health check, no matter how nice the 'breeder' was, if the puppy has a health issue you have got to decide if you are willing/able to care for it for its entire life.
Pure bred dogs do tend to have acute breed specific issues eg. German Shepards can suffer from more hip dysplasia than other breeds etc and it is equally true that crossbreeds can suffer all the same issues, but they do tend to suffer less with acute issues, they are generally a little healthier.
Also, whilst it is certainly possible that a dog is born with aggressive tendencies, it is always a lack of care attention and socialisation or downright abuse that a dog receives that will bring that to the surface, ultimately humans are responsible so I respectfully reject adrenalinjunkie's comment.

I believe that for every irresponsible (thats putting it nicely) breeder out there, there are thousands of equally irresponsible (also putting it nicely) people who will buy them without ever having the intention to care properly for them, I'm sorry to be so blunt but people can be sooo stupid and heartless!
As someone who's involved in the fringes of the pure bred dog world, I believe that most breeders of pure dogs are very responsible in how they operate. However, like with all areas in life there are always the... I'm not going to say what I'd like to so lets just call them the irresponsible ones.
I have come across behaviour that would be criminal in other countries and should be the same here if we had any proper laws against it.
However it would be grossly unfair to say that all breeders who sell their pups are only in it for the money, that is simply not true.

The Bigger Issue.
This rather longwindedly leads me to the main point of my post, the bigger issue in Ireland is the lack of good legislation to protect our animal friends and the proper enforcement of the few laws that we have.
I believe that we need a well funded authority with responsibility for animal welfare that has far greater powers than any today, with the ability to give far tougher penalties to people who act irresponsibly.
In my opinion, what we have at the moment is vastly under-resourced and the funding it receives is a mere token gesture from the government. As a nation we depend heavily on the kindness of volunteer charity organisations who work tirelessly to do what they can.
Its not good enough, but why would the government spend more money and resources on something that is so visible that many many kind individuals contribute their own time and money to?
Q: Who is the minister responsible for animal welfare?
A: There is none.
I say better legislation, better enforcement and larger fines with money going directly back to caring for abused and neglected animals would go a long long way to improving things and as a bonus on top of that, I believe it would actually be less expensive than the current capture, hold, kill policy that our Co Councils operate...

It is up to us, the animal lovers of Ireland to come together and make it happen.
Unfortunately, in my opinion there is more lip service than action on this subject and I definitely include myself in that.
Although I have recently met with ANVIL to discuss a renewed campaign, I have not had the time to do anymore than that : (

All the best

Mr Moxie

scudzilla wrote: »

Ah but come on, what beats running downstairs on Christmas Morning, diving towards the tree and opening the box that's moving. When ya tear off the wrapper a little puppy jumps out, ya honestly don't know if it's happy to see you or if it's just glad of some oxygen after being stuck in the box for 3 days.

Happy memories, happened every year for us in our gaff :rolleyes::rolleyes:

@adrenalinjunkie: Is is possible to ban certain posters from certain forums?
I think it is fair to say that scudzilla has the sort of attitude that contributes to the issue being discussed and should kindly go look for another forum for the humorous comments, one that is less about the pain and suffering of innocent helpless animals inflicted by uncaring individuals?
That is of course unless I'm completely wrong and scudzilla is actually an animal lover with an unfortunately misplaced sense of humor..?

laoch na mona

laoch na mona wrote: »

<snip>

Read threads properly before posting on them!

i did

star-pants

Mr Moxie wrote: »

@adrenalinjunkie: Is is possible to ban certain posters from certain forums?
I think it is fair to say that scudzilla has the sort of attitude that contributes to the issue being discussed and should kindly go look for another forum for the humorous comments, one that is less about the pain and suffering of innocent helpless animals inflicted by uncaring individuals?
That is of course unless I'm completely wrong and scudzilla is actually an animal lover with an unfortunately misplaced sense of humor..?

If you have an issue with a post you use the report post function, which is the red triangle with an exclamation mark in it. A moderator will the review the post that was reported and take action if they see fit.
In this instance I certainly would not ban that poster for their remark. In context it was perfectly fine, they were being humorous but in the way of highlighting the problem that exists of that being the feeling people want to achieve by purchasing 'Christmas puppies'. If you have any further issue on this or other posts, either report them or PM one of the moderators directly. Please do not respond to this post on thread as I do not wish to derail it any further.

Discodog

Inexile wrote: »

my local free newspaper has an ad in it advertising pups for sale with the line "lovely Christmas present".:mad:

Of course its not the newspapers fault its the person who placed the advert. However, think I will contact the newspaper and remind them that a dog is for life....

It is the newspapers fault. They should know that a puppy should never be a Christmas present. If the papers & websites refused puppy ads from October to January we wouldn't have this problem.

Hellrazer

Discodog wrote: »

It is the newspapers fault. They should know that a puppy should never be a Christmas present. If the papers & websites refused puppy ads from October to January we wouldn't have this problem.

True--Ive just fired off a load of emails to most of the adverts sites that are allowing puppy sales(all of them to be honest) voicing my disgust that they are allowing this at this time of the year.

Maybe I`ll get a reply,maybe I wont but I feel that if every user that frequents this forum did the same then that would be a lot of objections and the point just might get to someone in these companies that it shouldnt be allowed.

With some of these sites it cant even be about the revenue its bringing in since they are free to advertise on so the company wouldnt loose anything by banning these animal sales for a few months around christmas.

Hellrazer

Should have also said that looking at some of those puppies on DD and the likes that are "free to good homes" has me thinking.

If I was to hypothetically rehome one of those pups would I be contributing to this whole issue??

Is buying a dog the same as rehoming a free pup??

Answers on a postcard!!

Discodog

I have had quite involved discussions with donedeal & the gist of it is that they would consider a ban but only if other websites & publications do as well. So they will not take the lead.

Hellrazer

Just got a reply back from one of the sites I emailed.

Apparently they are removing any animal ads with the word Christmas in them--fat lot of good thats going to do since everyone knows thats why they are being advertised now.

Inexile

Called into the newspaper offices the other day re the advert. Had to explain why the ad wasnt approrpriate. It seems that the message " a dog is for life not just for Christmas" hasnt reached all corners.:(

DBB

Hellrazer wrote: »

Just got a reply back from one of the sites I emailed.

Apparently they are removing any animal ads with the word Christmas in them--fat lot of good thats going to do since everyone knows thats why they are being advertised now.

I was in contact with one of the sites (okay, it was *that* website ) a couple of years ago about the Christmas puppy adverts, and even then they put a ban on ads which included the word "Christmas".
At which point every ad published contained words like "Xmas", "Festive Season", "Ready in time for Dec 24th", and the like.
But I'm sure the website owners felt they'd done their bit:rolleyes:

Discodog

The annoying & hypocritical aspect is the way that they claim to promote responsible ownership but that goes out of the window when money is involved.

Allgäuerin

Please remember this christmas... Dogs are not presents, should not be given as presents, and breeders should not sell puppies at xmas. Wait until a far less stressful period, when your daily work routines are back to normal and you havent got xmas trees for puppies to pull down, roast turkeys for them to steal and relatives leaving doors and garden gates open. Dogs bought as presents only end up in shelters, so save new additions until after the festive period (this applies to kittens as well)

daenerysstormborn3

I bought my pup before Christmas and collected him on 3rd January 2010. He will be with me 2 years this January. He wasn't a result of the breeder rushing to get puppies ready for Christmas, it just so happens that her last litter of the year was in October and she didn't have a litter at that time the year before nor did she have a litter at that time this year.

If someone is destined to be a bad owner they're going to be one regardless of the time of year.

lilteach

get a puppy from a rescue centre, or an older dog......

Graces7

Hellrazer wrote: »

Should have also said that looking at some of those puppies on DD and the likes that are "free to good homes" has me thinking.

If I was to hypothetically rehome one of those pups would I be contributing to this whole issue??

Is buying a dog the same as rehoming a free pup??

Answers on a postcard!!

Sounds like the discussions re ex-battery hens.

Theory might be fine, but to me, being a practical old soul, it is one more dog rescued from the non-professional breeders who probably could not be bothered to get their bitch speyed and she got caught.

Always would prefer to rehome than buy. As we have done, twice....

ConTheCat

Ok so my dog died of 10 years a few months ago and I am finally allowed a new one! I was wondering can anybody offer me advise on where to go and what to look for?

The Sweeper

Hellrazer wrote: »

Should have also said that looking at some of those puppies on DD and the likes that are "free to good homes" has me thinking.

If I was to hypothetically rehome one of those pups would I be contributing to this whole issue??

Is buying a dog the same as rehoming a free pup??

Answers on a postcard!!

Ring up the free to a good home folks.

Ask them if they're getting their dog desexed. If they have no plans, walk away. (Because by taking the pup from them you're essentially making it 'easy' for them. If they had even three pups left up to 16 weeks you can be damn sure they'd be getting the bitch desexed.)

Alternatively tell them you'll pay 50 yoyos for the pup, but you'll pay it direct to the vet off the desexing account for the bitch so they don't end up in that position again.

If they're looking to get rid of the pups for free, you know it was a litter that happened due to carelessness rather than deliberately breeding two small white fluffies to try and make money. However as I said, if they offload all the 'cute puppies' at six weeks of age, the problem goes away, the urgency goes away and the bitch doesn't get desexed and ends up knocked up again. Plus if they offload them all that young they were probably still barely weaned so they didn't even have to buy them food so there's no incentive for them to desex the bitch.

If people don't have actual concern for their pets, if they really don't give a shit either way because it's "just a dog" or "just a cat", money is the only incentive that persuades them to do anything. They won't spend the money desexing the bitch unless caring for puppies hits them in the pocket. If they sell the pups, it's an incentive for them to have more pups. If they give them away young without having to spend money on a vaccination or food, it's all of a muchness to them so they won't desex the bitch.

Some folks who are really careless will just dump the pups at the pound every time at six weeks of age - the best you can do with that lot is basically offer money towards the bitch's desexing cost, but direct to the vet, not into the pocket of the owner.

whippetgood

ConTheCat wrote: »

Ok so my dog died of 10 years a few months ago and I am finally allowed a new one! I was wondering can anybody offer me advise on where to go and what to look for?

I look here nearly every day <snip> and it melts my heart . see a good few being marked as booked out so that always makes me happy knowing that the homes are going to be checked!!
I definitely echo the "get a rescue dog" point of view, there are so many absolutely gorgeous ones that I would love to bring for w-a-l-k-i-e-s everyday

ConTheCat

whippetgood wrote: »

I look here nearly every day <snip> and it melts my heart . see a good few being marked as booked out so that always makes me happy knowing that the homes are going to be checked!!
I definitely echo the "get a rescue dog" point of view, there are so many absolutely gorgeous ones that I would love to bring for w-a-l-k-i-e-s everyday

Ohh forgot about looking there yesterday, will look now thank you
My mam called out to the pound today and they only have labradors and other bigs dogs. The womans son is selling dogs though so waiting for him to send me pictures

Toulouse

ContheCat I think you're missing the whole point of this thread. No decent breeder will have pups available for sale at Christmas. If you buy a pup at Christmas you're just fueling the whole thing.

Pounds get new dogs in every day. Just ask them to give you a ring when a suitable one comes in or wait until after xmas when all the cute xmas puppies bought as unwanted presents start coming in in need of a good home like yours.

ISDW

ConTheCat wrote: »

Ohh forgot about looking there yesterday, will look now thank you
My mam called out to the pound today and they only have labradors and other bigs dogs. The womans son is selling dogs though so waiting for him to send me pictures

Sorry, someone who runs a pound is selling dogs? Which pound is this please.

Zapperzy

ISDW wrote: »

Sorry, someone who runs a pound is selling dogs? Which pound is this please.

Don't know if it's the same pound as ContheCat has rang but the crowd that run a pound in the north west (I'm sure you'l gather which one I mean, not sure if I'm allowed name it here) also breed and sell dogs.

Con new dogs come in every day so just keep ringing, I'm surprised they didn't have any small dogs, terriers like jack russels are very common. Keep ringing anyway both this side of christmas and in January, people dump dogs before christmas to make way for the new christmas puppy and after christmas when they get bored of the new puppy, so pounds (and rescues) will be full this time of year.

whippetgood

oh ok sorry I didn't know that. Do you just mean active links are not allowed? You removed the whole thing without replacing what I meant so now it looks a bit weird and the resource is lost for people on here... It's a great section on a good site and very appropriate for this thread - can i describe in text how people get to the Rescue Dog section of the site ?? Sorry i'm new need this cleared up thanks

Cherry Blossom

You can send them the information by PM.

whippetgood

oh ok thanks!

whippetgood

it said something about needing to have 25 posts! boo. ah well sure.