Tuesday, December 14, 2010

A rather belated guide to picking the perfect dog to give as a Christmas present.


Dear Person Who's About To Give A Dog As A Present,

Please don't worry. I'm not going to climb onto A Very High Soapbox and sermonise. That would be judgemental, rude and naive of me. Besides, there'll be enough of that this season.

If you've already made up your mind to give a dog to someone this Christmas, there's nothing more I can say, that hasn't already been said by much more informed people and organizations.

So instead, I've decided to help you pick The Perfect Dog!

It won't be the definitive guide, of course. I'm not an expert in these things. But I'm hoping it'll be helpful and a good start. At the very least, it'll be a most convenient one-stop page for shopping for a dog [and not just at Christmas].

I must warn you that it will take some time to read the links, and view the video. But I can definitely guarantee you that an hour or so spent here, WILL save you a lot of time, money, disappointment and grief later.

So here goes.


Step 1. If you're giving a dog as a Christmas present, why not consider getting one from a rescue?

If you're in Australia, here are 2 excellent links. They are a collection of dogs from different rescues and sources. You'll be able to immediately shortlist your preferences by gender, state and size and see pictures. You won't have to drive 2 hours out to a pound until you see something you like. Given that there are only 10 more shopping days till Christmas, that must be good news!

http://www.petrescue.com.au/

http://www.dchanimaladoptions.com/


Step 2. Oh dear. Those links are just showing you mutts and you've set your heart on a pedigree. What is a pedigree? Hmmm, let's see...



Step 3. You think that video was nonsense made for bleeding hearts. You still want a pedigree.

No worries. Believe it or not, you won't need to go to a breeder or [heaven forbid] a petshop to get one. You'll find many tossed away ones here:

http://www.dogs4sale.com.au/Rescue_Organisations.htm

"Mummy, can I please, please, PLEASE have a snow dog? Please?"
http://www.winterpaws.com.au/index.html 

http://greyhoundrescue.com.au/ 

Interesting Note: Rufus B Thumper was abandoned twice before he was even 8 months old. Over the years, we've had people offering thousands of dollars for him and wanting to breed him. [Sorry, neutered.] You can see how cute he is, even at age 10 and a half, HERE.

See? It is possible to fool everyone and pay [something like] AUD200 for YOUR very own pedigree. Go on, check the links. Plenty more if you google your preferred breed.


Step 4. You've decided you want a Great Dane/Blue Heeler/Pug/Jack Russell/_ _ _fill in the blank_ _ _

But will it be the right dog for The Lucky Person Who's Going To Get A Dog This Christmas? THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Would you buy a pair of size 40 shoes for someone with size 37 feet? No, because that would be silly!

So, check the fit here: http://animal.discovery.com/breedselector/dogselectorindex.do

If you're feeling industrious, googling will get you to many other helpful breed information and selector sites.


Step 5. You've changed your mind! It does sound like giving a dog as a Christmas present might after all be something to think about a bit longer. But you  really REALLY want to give something warm and fuzzy away for Christmas.

Why not try this?

http://www.oxfamunwrapped.com.au/ChooseAGift.php

I have a feeling the recipients will really REALLY treasure your gift.


That's it then! Thank you so much for reading. Maybe you know someone who might find this page helpful. If so, please feel free to share it!

Love & pe*ace 
&
Happy Christmas to you :)

The wonderful stickers that you see here come from a rescue in South Africa:
http://www.africantails.co.za/

12 comments:

koko said...

Thanks for the timely reminder to future pet owner before it's too late... there are just too many irresponsible pet owners around these days.

The stork is suppose to bring my hooman sister home sometime early Feb... and I can't wait to see her.

Licks, hero

georgia little pea said...

yes, christmas is a bad time. lots of dogs here get dumped as well, as families go off for holidays :(

february! still some time off then. have a good holiday season! xox

simon pender said...

Thanks, we will pass this on. Poor Monty and Daisy were both rescued from the Lost Dogs Home and have found a happy home with us. There have been a few times when we almost had a 3rd or 4th hound to join the clan. A Happy Christmas back to you and your clan. Si and Monty and Daisy

simon pender said...

Thank you again for the reminder. We have done a similar thing on the FADB. See... http://montydaisyblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/dogs-are-for-life-not-just-for.html

We'll be looking out in the Herald for a new mutt. It's time to break in a fresh one because poor old Monty is growing long in the tooth.
See ya. Si and M and D

georgia little pea said...

How old is Monty, Si? I know you always blog about how slow he is, but I guess I never really thought that he was OLD. Sad. Good luck with finding a 3rd. It'll be lucky to be in your family. I'll check your post. Thanks and best wishes to all of you xox

simon pender said...

Poor old Monty is 14, maybe 15. Anyways, if we have to rescue a few mutts at Christmas, and there's no room at our house, guess where they're going !!!!! Just shove over Sweetpea and Mr Thumper and be ready to share the foodbowl!

Kristine said...

What a fantastic compilation of links all in one place. I am going to have to link to this in the future. Several times over, methinks. Thanks for this!

georgia little pea said...

You're welcome! Always good to be useful ;p xox

sonia a. mascaro said...

What a great post, Georgia! It's a very important article and very informative. My dear friend Flora (now with 13 years) was rescued by my daughter at the campus of her University. I am so glad she did!

Love your new banner! So cute!

georgia little pea said...

Thank you! Rescues are my favourite, I must admit.

Isn't the banner GREEN? Haha. It's summer! xox

Anonymous said...

oh my goodness!
Thank you for visiting so i could discover you!

You are going on my blog roll immediately!

as for this post - let me say I have just successfully persuaded the neighbours to re home their designer dog who was never walked or trained or even had a lead when I realised it had been there for months!

Some people are so ignorant, even ones with two successful very prominent, reviewed in Gourmet traveller last month restaurants...

clicking FOLLOW now

georgia little pea said...

!!!

!!!

i am SO excited that you are here - thank you :)

it was A Very Good Thing that you did, regarding your neighbours, and especially for the dog. hopefully, it'll now have a chance to be a real member of a family. well done grrl!

xox