Fun ways of telling daughter her gift is a puppy.

[Skippersocks]

We have been waiting for years to get a puppy and at last the time is right. We have found the right breed and breeder for us and will be bringing the pup home at the end of January.
On Christmas day, my daughter will be completely over joyed just to know we are getting a puppy. However, in the absence of the actual puppy, I would like a fun/exciting way for her to discover what her gift is. I have thought of a picture in a frame or a box of dog toys, but I would like to do something a bit more cryptic - she is 12.
Does anyone have any good ideas?

Do you think she will really care ? They are getting a dog - that is all that matters.

I have often given animals as presents - rats for christmas for DS1 many years ago, guinea pigs to DD as a well-done for working so hard on her GCSEs, a bearded dragon for DS2 this year. It's only inappropriate if you haven't looked into the whole thing and prepared thoroughly. HOW the animal arrives isn't relevant.

I love the coat and Wellies with lead in the pocket idea!

A puppy arriving at christmas is a bad idea. Too much noise and distractions and excitement.

A puppy arriving at A.N.Other time of year, but the arrival being announced at Christmas isn't such a bad thing.

Animals given as gifts without drilling in the responsibilities of ownership is a bad idea. Animals being acquired full stop drilling in the responsibilities of ownership is a bad idea.

But getting given a dog as a present at a similar age to OP's DD is what sparked my lifelong interest in dog training and dogs in general

A soft toy in the puppy breed with a real collar on it for the puppy when you get it with a puppy training book. Photo of the actual puppy in a frame.

Surely the problem with getting animals as presents is when some idiot gets one for someone who didn't expect/want it and/or is unable to care for it properly. This case is a bit different. It's not like uncle nobhead turning up on Christmas Day with an unexpected Great Dane 🐕

I don't really get the 'pets shouldn't be presents' thing either. The best birthday present I ever got was our dog. Obviously I didn't get him boxed up to unwrap and obviously it wasn't a spur of the moment purchase - we'd spend months discussing the costs, pros and cons of different breeds, agreeing who would do what to look after him. But he cost money to buy so he was my present (obviously all on-going costs and oversight of care fell on my parents. Equally obviously he was in reality a fa,ily pet, albeit one I'd been pestering for).

Buying pets without thinking things through carefully is a problem. Buying pets for someone who doesn't want one/can't care for one is a problem. Buying a pet as a present for someone who wants and can care for it - not a problem.

I love the idea of a waterproof/walking boots/wellies with a lead or dog treats stashed in them too- it's all I seem to wear currently! To be opened after that a picture of the dog so she can see it and add the date to a calendar if she gets one normally.

This was my fantasy Christmas from when I was old enough to get the concept of having a dog! Waking up on Christmas morning to find 'clues' and eventually a puppy. Lucky, lucky girl. (Yes, I know the puppy wont be there, but I'd have understood that and spent the entire month like this 😬😬😬😬😬)

There's a big difference between getting a puppy when the time is right & you've thought it through and just 'getting the kid a puppy for a present cos the kid will think it's cute' it's lovely to be able to tell her on Christmas Day,

If people can't understand that, that's their problem.

She's 12, so I'd go with 'not too obvious' & building up, something like...

A calendar
A note to open the Calendar & spot something unusual (date circled)
A rolled up newspaper (that might be too dated now)
A new pair of outdoor boots/shoes (if she needs them)
A storage box (whatever you'll put the digs toys in)

Anything else that will be buying anyway, that will make her go

Then a photo frame with a picture of your puppy and a voucher for Pets at Home as I'm sure she'll get more fun out of choosing the bowls, lead etc herself.

I'd love to be at your house on Christmas morning

Mop and bucket for laminate floors
Vax for carpets
Shit loadsa toilet roll for all the.. well...shit..

Or

As pp suggest coat n wellys with lead in pocket (love this)
Dog training gift certificate and training books with toys and chews
A shed load of anything suitable for a dog to chew or a personal chair it can rag at when you leave it alone in the house
A dog bed used as a hamper with the above inside.

I agree with what others have said about surprise pet presents being a really bad idea but a planned pet that has been planned for is a lovely gift.

I would do a box and in the box have a pair of wellies, a lead, poo bags and a photo of the pup.

The puppy is being brought home in JANUARY.

OP just wants her DD to know what it is, but in a n exciting way.

Will you be able to visit/get photos before then OP?

You could get an album for her to keep all the puppy memorabilia in (pedigree, microchip details etc)

It's a cockapoodledoodle isnt it's? For Christmas! Oh you are dead meat!

Only joking! My friend bought her daughter a horse for Christmas. She gave her a photo in a frame but also riding gear and other things to keep her busy. Horses are lots of work too!

You could get a photo in a frame and arrange to visit the breeder over the Christmas holidays. Also get her a collar and lead etc, maybe some knitting needles and pattern for a dog jumper.

She deffo needs another present though.

I love the idea of a waterproof coat and a pair of wellies. Definitely a dog collar and lead in one pocket and poo bags in the other!

I would say get your daughter the wellies and coat, plus a gift that is a thing that she can own.

Then, also, put a present under the tree with a tag saying 'Dear ' (leave blank if you're letting her name the dog, or put the dog's name in if you've decided it) and having it contain a bowl, lead, etc. Then she can open it, and get the announcement that it's the puppie's Christmas present and it'll be coming home to join the family at the end of Jan.

When I was little I had flu(or some other childhood thing) I was lying on the sofa under my eiderdown(it was a long time ago!) , I must have fallen asleep, because when I woke up there was a brown paper bag on my lap. inside it was a red leather puppy collar.

I have never forgotten the absolute joy as I realised what it meant , especially as I had spent the last few weeks at the neighbours sighing over their litter and mentally choosing my favourite.

Some good ideas.

The only issue I can forsee is while you have found a breeder presumably the puppy has only just been born? (Unless you're buying a breed/found a breeder that doesn't let them go until 12 weeks). Which will mean you likely haven't met the litter or your potential pup yet. What if you don't like any or the breeder thinks none of them are right for your family? You could end up with a very disappointed dd.

I think a pp's advice to give a calendar with the date marked first is wise because it would be very disappointing to think you're getting a puppy now and then have to wait a month.

Googling puppy pendant brings up some pretty results and might be a nice gift in its own right for her.

Many thanks all - some absolutely fabulous ideas. I think I will go for the Pets at Home voucher. The poster that mentioned cost is absolutely right. Dogs aren't cheap and so just stockings for all of us this year!
For those that are concerned about the dog being a Christmas present, the 'gift' is that of us bringing a dog into our lives, not the dog per se. I am happy for the dog to be called 'her dog' but she fully understands the limitations of what this means.
The dog is a working cocker spaniel. I had three when I was growing up and they were a god send during my teenager years (I truly believed that they were the only living beings that understood me!). My siblings and I each had one dog which we called out own, but in reality that didn't mean much. We all mucked in with giving care and attention to all of them (alongside my parents of course).

Bernard - The puppy has just been born. We have met the breeder on several occasions and family members have dogs from previous litters. We are number one on the list and so am very confident that all will be well.
If disaster does strike, my daughter will know that it is a matter of time until we do get a dog - this is what she wants to hear and is yet to know.

Such predictable replies

Good luck OP, I'm sure she will be thrilled.

In that case you could wrap up her existing coat with a lead in one pocket and poo bags in the other

Come back and tell us her reaction after Christmas OP!

To be a little more cryptic than the collar and lead, wrap up the less glam stuff, and open that first.

roll of poo bags
bottle of disinfectant spray
then an old blanket
then the bowl
then the collar etc.

But I have to say I love the waterproof with the lead in the pocket idea.

Oh and if the puppies have been born, definitely have a photo ready, even if it is on your phone to show her.

Poo bags