Pup is not a toy - A puppy for Christmas

THE debate is as much a part of Christmas as excited children and over-eating, but the argument has to be won every year.

Just this week, some parents are trying to hold the line, trying not to give in to demands from children that they get a puppy for Christmas. They are trying to convince their children that a puppy, a demanding, often dirty and noisy pup, will not fit easily into their household. Indeed, our modern, time-poor and largely urban, commuting lifestyle is becoming ever more inimical to small animals, especially in homes where both parents work and children are at school all day. Those who keep a puppy or a dog, the most highly socialised animals, but leave it alone and confined during the working, daylight hours, would reject the charge of cruelty, but that is what it is, even if it is unintentional. In human terms, we call that kind of isolation solitary confinement.

A pup or a rescue dog, but only in the right circumstances, is a wonderful companion, but for most young urban families taking on the responsibility of a pup is an indulgence too far and should be resisted. Have the courage to say ‘no’.