is it a bad idea to get a puppy during the school holidays?

[LovelyMuffins]

I am only asking because, despite having our name down for a litter due in August and ready for October, I have seen a litter t(via Champdogs) and there are three pups left (all boys). They will be ready for their homes in August. I got all excited thinking how wonderful to bring a puppy into our lives when we can all get to know it etc. but then it occurred to me that we wil pretty much be housebound until after the jabs and I would be like a wee and poo ninja and not able to concentrate on my children. It would also put paid to any lie ins (such as they will be with a 5 year old!). But I feel so ready. What do you think?

heloooooooooo

I'm not an expert as ive only had my 9wk old pup for a week.

in just ONE week my kids havent stopped picking her up, fighting over who's stroked her longer - generally getting in her face. so when time for school arrives its a big sigh of relief that the dog will be left alone!!

im like the poo & wee ninja plus having to repeat ''put the DOG DOWN!!!'' i need eyes in the back of my head.

as for lie ins...
my oldests are old enough to walk themselves to school, luckily toddler is a lazy moo - so i never rolled out of bed til 8am. now my days are started at 5.30/6am by crying, barking puppy.

you will need to be in alot to work on toilet training, feeding times etc, like you said you cant take pup out until jabs are done so you may just be housebound through out the hols?

cant say you will be in same boat as me, as i dont know the ins & out of your daily routine. but i know if i didnt have those 6hrs of school time for some peace and to work on pup i would have lost my patience! also that im finding it hard to give my 23mth old some quality time as every 20/30mins i have to stop our play to sit out side and get pup to wee, clean up wee. DD has started to push the pup away and moan if she dont have my attention. like i say may be different for you, but thats my thoughts.

good luck and all the best :)

Another load, you have actually confimred my fears and reservations. I do think that it will be too much for us durhing the holidays even though I am so excited I CAN BARELY BREATHENS and the wating is so hard!!!. I think I will stick to plan A. I did look at a rescue or two where the dogs are already vaccinated, so are ready to walk but even then I think there will be an adjustment period for both dog and us which is not fair on my children during their holidays if I am honest with myself. My children are 5 and 14 so not really as difficult as a toddler but even so, in reality, probably bitihg off more than I can chew during the hols. Oh well, I will wait for my puppy until October. I am sure it is probably the right thing to do. good luck wiht your puppy and 23 month old. I am sooo glad I have waited until my children are both at school!

I agree with Anotherload. We've had our new pup for almost 3 weeks and I also breathe a sigh of relief when the children go off to school and we get some quiet time. Saying that no time is ever a good time as you will doubtless always have loads of stuff going on and it is a major life changer that is for sure!

I've put black out curtains (black bin liners) up at the kitchen windows which has helped no end to keep him asleep

I will wait. I was just researching life with a puppy online and their breeder page came up and I let my heart rule my head for a minute or two. Glad there is always MN as a leveller!

We pick up our puppy in just over 2 weeks. We are in scotland so our holidays have started. I wanted to get puppy in the holidays so that getting up during the night and really early still meant we could sleep a bit longer in the morning without having to stress that i needed to get dd up for school. We get back from our holiday and pick him up so i will (hopefully) save money because the kids will be happy to play with pup rather than want me to take them to expensive places. I cant wait to get him and by the time dd goes back to school he should have had all his jags so we can walk to school with him

oooh,how lovelly Slutttyb, I be tyou are all very excited. I hope your theory is correct and that it all pans out for you. I defnintely think I have made the correct choice by waiting. Though, Having to wait until October is going to be very difficult! What are you getting?

I did it last year and it was very stressful, no sleep in the hols, wouldnt do it again.

We made sure we got ours way before the school holidays. The thought of being stuck at home during the school holidays with a puppy that is not aloowed for walks until after injections.

Also I wanted a bit of peace and quiet to establish house training and basic manners!

NO-ONE should be stuck at home with a puppy until after vaccinations!

By doing so, you miss one of the most important periods of a puppy's life. Puppies must be socialised from when you bring them home to ensure they are solid, capable, calm adult dogs.

It does mean that all your outings need to be planned around your puppy - that they are short, and not overwhelming. AND that your puppy must be CARRIED everywhere that unvaccinated dogs have been, but puppies must still go out.

To meet people, gallons, short ones, loud ones, smelly ones. Ones in hats, ones in wheelchairs, people using sticks, children, old people. To hear cars, lorries, busses, sirens, bicycles, metal shutters, car alarms. Everything you can think of in your everyday life. They should also play with other known vaccinated dogs.

A puppy has a short window where it has little fear. Fear starts to creep in as they mature - and if they've met most things before they feel the fear - they don't get nervous and useless.

It is SO important.

Daisy, how do you carry a squirming golden retriever puppy? :-o How do you know unvaccinated dogs have beeen where you are going? Or do you just assume that all other dogs have been unvacced? It would be a lot easier if we could assume taht all dogs have been vaccinated! I wonder (hypothetically speaking) how high the risks of disease are if you put a puppy on the floor before the 2nd vacc? Is it mainly parvo you are innoculating against?

Just don't put on pavements or grass in public places dogs walk they are quite content to be carried in your arms, or a basket. Hullypuppy travelled in the basket of the pushchair, and was content enough to fall asleep in there.

Your puppy will be fine in your garden, and the houses and gardens of other vaccinated dogs.

Sorry, by stuck in I meant not being able to go for long walks, days out with puppy and short outings without puppy. Typical summer holiday stuff. etc

I agree totally with how important socialisation is. We did take her out heaps before she was allowed out on walks. She went to town/school/vets/beach/people's houses (with and without dogs)/walks (carries!) in the woods/pets at home/in the car. etc. Recently we walked her past an airport with planes taking off and she hardly noticed

We did let her walk at the beach because the tide had just gone out and we could see there had been no other dogs

Also they aren't too squirmy when you first get them. It is like when you come home with a newborn and they are so quiet and sleepy and you think you've got a lovely calm baby...

I use a big old scarf as a sling thing. Or a rucksack which I wear forward facing. They sit there quite happily and take things in (I have a gang of lumpen Labradors). Sit on a bench in the middle of town/village and take 10 minutes to take things in.

With regard to risk - I use common sense.

If I was in an inner city, or a park or wood where the world and his wife walked their dog, the balance of probabilities is that unvaccinated dogs are more likely to have been there, so I would carry the puppy.

If, on the other hand, I was somewhere quiet, or on the beach below the low tide line; somewhere that was less USED, I would pop my puppy on the floor for a little run about. It can only be for a few minutes, the 5 minute guideline still applies, but IMO, it will do no harm.

Really, socialisation before 12 weeks old is one of the most important things you can do for your dog - and for the long term for your family. It is the only way to make a bullet proof hound.

Vaccinations are against parvo, leptospirosis, distemper and canine influenza off the top of my head.

We are getting a cocker spaniel (pic on profile)

this is all sounding perfectly do-able for us. I am getting so excited as we live on the beach!

I think the toughest thing you'll find will be cutting play dates short and things like that, to get back for the puppy.
Or
You can consider it a crash course in the burden of responsibility.

no, I am definintely going to wait. I know it is the right thing to do. I think i would be unreasonably stressed if I had to take care of new puppy, a 5 years old and a beligerent teenager during the Summer holidays

Personally, I'd wait

am doing :-)

Octobers good, still warm and dry enough for toilet training nd by Christmas it'll be into everything

I know, I cannot wait HoneyDragonWL! Keep getting brief moments of panic though...is that normal????????? Going to start a thread about crates. Unless there is one on here already. I'll take a look. I dont want to drive anyone nuts but repeating the same old questions!

Look at PuppyPanics original thread - you'll relate to the panic