11/14/2025
The “gift” of a puppy…
This time of year is full of “gift searchers”. Most are honestly well meaning and just a little uneducated, so instead of demeaning or belittling, I always opt to educate.
For the parents looking to “surprise” the kids, it’s actually wonderful having basenjis since they’re generally not old enough to “go home” until well after the holidays! Haha. But I also explain that a new puppy in the chaos of holidays can just be an overwhelming disaster.
Kids are overly energized, stresses are high, often travel is involved or extra family is in town and staying at the house. Puppies are very easily influenced at a young age and often the experiences at these ages imprint for life. A chaotic environment can lead to over stimulation for the puppy, which could scare the puppy. A scared puppy could imprint that fear for life and you’ll be dealing with separation anxiety, fear of strangers, fear of situations, which could all escalate to fear biting and fear aggression. No one wants to set their puppy up for disaster!
A MUCH better situation for the puppy and the family as a whole is to bring the puppy home after the excitement and chaos of the holidays. This allows much more focus on the puppy too, which will ultimately lead to better training, better bonding, and an all around better life with your new puppy!
The magic of surprising your children with a puppy for the Holidays can still be there without the actual puppy. I’ve had parents wrap up the dog crate, bed, supplies, etc with a stuffed puppy, and have the kids unwrap the supplies. This makes it still a surprise, but the responsibility of the puppy isn’t there yet, and the holiday chaos goes on without the added stress of a new responsibility.
For those looking for a gift for an adult...we still fall into the “basenjis aren’t really ready to go to new homes around the Holidays.” However, the gift idea for kids also can be great for adults! Even a picture frame for the future pup would be a great gift with a “coming soon” notice! So there are very practical ways to surprise without it being a detriment to the puppy or a potentially sad situation later on. Also, most reputable breeders of any breed will NOT place puppies purely as gifts and most will also not place pups around Holidays even if their breed is available around that time frame.
As reputable breeders, our highest concern is for our puppies, and their well being for their lives...not your Christmas or holiday surprise. Also most reputable breeders will require to meet the owner, family, children so that we feel better about placing one of our puppies with the person. So you can contact a breeder, and pop the surprise, but be aware, the household where the pup will be living is likely going to have to meet the breeder...and when I say household, I mean everyone! I’ve had parents with kids (5-6kids even!), parents with other relatives, parents with kids and nannies, married couples and their friends, and even neighbors or old college roommates visit before I agreed to put them on the waiting list.
There are all too many stories of gifts that weren’t wanted or spouses that weren’t on board with getting a dog...a reputable breeder never wants their puppy in that situation, and the one sure way we can make sure that’s not true, it to meet everyone!
My final words on this are, your dog’s breeder should be your biggest supporter and helper along the journey of your dogs life. Training question? Go to your breeder first, they know their dogs, their lines, their genetics, and their temperaments....THEY will know more than Dr Google or a Facebook Advice Post. Health issue? If not an emergency, talk to your breeder! Again, they know their dogs! Plus we as breeders NEED to know about any health issues and concerns...how else can we evaluate our puppies that no longer live with us? Plus, if it is an emergency, the breeder will tell you that as well! THIS is also why it’s soo important to meet with the breeder, develop that connection, relationship, and support system.
When we sell you a puppy, whether you like it or not, we see you as family...in the right circumstances, this relationship will last even longer than the life of your new pup...you may even be a repeat customer! 🎁🐕🎁
