Hi
I wonder if you can let me know if you're due any Cocker Spaniel puppies around Xmas time.
I do realise they're for life, not just for Xmas.....but we're thinking of getting one, to join our family this year.
I'm in Cardiff and we have two daughters 12 & 14 who would love to spoil it!
Thanks

You will find it hard to get awell breed  puppy for Christmas as good breeders avoid homing puppies at this time of year.
  It isnt just that they are not considered the same as other gifts its also because that the busy Christmas period is not the best time to introduce a puppy to its new home. People are busier than usual and may have visitors or be going visiting. Puppies in their new homes need alot of attention to settle them in happily and start the process of house training. They can also miss their litter mates and dam so will possibly cry through the night and will need taken out as they physically will not be able to wait till morning. Much better to wait until after the festivities are over both for yourselves and the puppy.
Contact the breed clubs Links herewho will be able to put you intouch with a breeder for a prospective new family member in the new year.
Best Wishes
Gill

Agree with the above.

You will certainly not find it hard to get a puppy for Xmas, there are plenty out there that will have puppies to pay for their Xmas, but if you want a well bred and health tested puppy, from a responsible breeder, you are best advised to contact the breed clubs and wait. Far better to 'promise' yourselves one as a Xmas present, put the money to one side, contact breeders and then in the New Year either collect the puppy or wait till one is ready. Don't be tempted by the 'reduced price' ones that didnt sell before Xmas, unless of course you have been directed there from a breed club because the breeder still has a puppy left that her bookings didnt cover. genuine breeders will not let their pups go just before Xmas, they think to much of them. Your New year will be more exciting than Xmas I think...:D

Admin deleted

Could I ask if bitches can be bred from at any of their seasons? 
Do I understand correctly that some only have seasons once a year thereby only being able to produce at an inconvenient time in some cases.
I had my puppy at Christmas time but I would have been happy at any time, the breeder was aware taht I work albeit part time and knew I would be around more at that couple of weeks. So allowed me to bring him home although it was a couple of days before Christmas.
I do agree completley that generally it is a bad idea, but surely there are always exceptions.

Karen

>Could I ask if bitches can be bred from at any of their seasons? 

Yes. Some of the more primitive (that's not being rude, by the way!) breeds have a single season each year, usually in spring (so I'm informed by owners!) leading to a summer litter. Other breeds have more frequent seasons, and can be bred from at any of them, so there's usually no need for a Christmas litter, unless the bitch would be too old at her next season for the litter to be registered.

I breed my litters when it suits me which is preferably in the winter months. 

I have bred one litter on the 1st of October so pups ready for new hoems about 4 weeks before Christmas, also November so going just after.

If they were ready the week before then I would delay the homing until after Christmas.

if you plan to register a litter the Kennel club will not register a litter a) when the dam has whelped 6 litters b) the dam has already reached the age of 8 yrs at the date of whelping c) the dam was under the age of 12 months at the date of mating and you are only allowed to register one litter during a 12 month period from the same bitch hope this makes sense

hayley

you are only allowed to register one litter during a 12 month period from the same bitch hope this makes sense

That's only for licensed breeders -i.e. those that breed 5 litters or more a year and has to get a license from their local council. The 12 month rule doesn't apply to others.

did you find out this from the kennel club your self

It was announced in the canine press at the time, as at first the KC used the 12 months rule for all breeders when the law of the land changed regarding breeders license rules.

Breeders had to seek permission to bred with less than 12 months and I suspect it was becoming a bureaucratic nightmare, as most could get a Vets letter to support the breeder, especially in bitches who had long or short season intervals perhaps giving 9 to 11 months between the litters.

so if i wanted to breed my bitch twice in one year and register both litters of puppies i could?

just to add that i would not breed my bitch twice a year as in my opinion its not right to do that

2 of my puppies have come home a week before Christmas (one 12 years ago and one last year) both bred responsibly they just happened to be born in October/November and both breeders had puppies already booked. For me personally Christmas is a great time to bring a puppy home, as I have more time not less. It's probably a bad time for new owners or those with young children but if you already own dogs, and aren't particularly sociable then I don't see a problem getting a dog around Christmas time.

I agree with Kayenine really. Our bitch came home the week before Christmas. She was bred responsibly, we booked her before she was born. The whole litter were booked before they were born. It meant we had to change our plans a bit, but we didn't mind. My Fiance is in the forces, so Christmas is a time when he has three consecutive weeks off, so would be home to be with our pup when she came home. (For me it was a great excuse not to have a Christmas Tree! ) I think for a lot of people it is a time when all family members can be at home to share and help in the new arrival.

I have a litter now, two weeks old that will be ready to go mid December. Again, most were booked prior to being born, a few booked after birth, but all homes have been thoroughly vetted. We are keeping two pups until after Christmas for two families. One because they have pre-arranged to visit relatives abroad, and one because although they usually work from home, Christmas is a period where they cannot. I do realise though that breeding a litter at this time of year brings an added responsibility.

I appreciate that there are probably alot of puppy farmers that breed specifically with the intention of their puppies being a "christmas present" but i also think that there are also alot of responsible breeders that just happen to have puppies ready at this time aswell. They obviously just need to be extra careful when trying to suss potential owners out.

Thats the difference though, responsible breeders will already have a waiting list of vetted people before they even breed a litter for december, should their circumstances make it they need to breed around then, and they will be prepared to keep a puppy until the festivities are over. The papers and dog for sale sites will be overloaded with the popular breeds looking for homes at Xmas, and then after Xmas with 'knocked down' prices because they couldn't 'shift' them before xmas. The desperation to sell by Xmas, with some even advertised as Xmas presents, and allowing them to go days before Xmas without any concern for the pups welbeing is so obvious.

Yes i was looking at one particular website today that advertised puppies as an ideal xmas present!!!

Problem is until people stop buying from these people they will continue!