Is there a best time of year to get a pup?

Fools Motto

Fools Motto

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I've been lightly looking at getting a new family member this year and have applied for 2, but i just wasn't quick enough! Always think, 'whatever will be, it will happen when it's right', so although disappointed I wasn't the chosen one for those, not sad as they went to good homes.
Brings me on to thinking about the right time of year... is there a right time? Thinking house training.. is it better in the summer when the door can be left open so access to the garden is constant, or winter, so you know if they are asking to go out? Summer for longer days, or winter for darker nights?!

What have you done, did you have any issues with times of year?

My old whippet was house trained in september, my spaniel, I wish I had the door open ALL the time, so winter didn't work for us!!
 
Ours have to fit in with our working calender, so if we can - and have managed the last 4 - we get them in January - March. That way they are 6 months old or so before our busiest period, with harvest and poults, when if they can come out with us in the mule they learn a lot.
I think it is easier to teach them housetraining if you do have to open the door, or they don't seem to join the dots so well, just MO.
Not that spaniels do join the dot anyway!
 
there is definitely a bad time and that is when I got mine, end of Jan last winter which was one of the wettest down here and went on forever. It wasn't a case that the door was shut so he had to ask to go out. More that when he got out it was so wet and muddy he wouldn't do anything and came back in.
It was also EXTREMELY unpleasant for the first few weeks taking him out in the dark/wet/gale force wind. He went out into the back garden which was grass. Past tense! By the time he had finished it resembled the Somme with mud and holes he had dug.
If I ever had another pup which is unlikely it would be in spring.
 
We got Stanley in June and it worked out very well. He was outside in our courtyard a good deal during the day and because it was light early in the morning it was easy to take him out very early in the morning for a pee then he went back to bed and so did I. We had one pee on the first night and we've never had anything in the house since! We had our first BT in December and that was much more difficult as no-one wanted to go out with him and he didn't want to go in the cold and dark either!
 
Agreed - spring/summer the best time as so much easier to toilet train. Our lad hated going out in the wet and cold and didn't really get the hang of things until Spring came and the doors could be left open.
 
I'd not want to housetrain in winter-think it would be grim anywhere but I am in a very windy exposed place and it would be awful! We got Quarrie in July-even better it was during the Olympics so I had stuff to watch when up early and late for letting him out. I've never just left the door open though-they need to learn to ask to go out eventually.
 
All my housetraining has been done in freezing rain! Teaches them to get on with it! When we had oldest lab we had a lot of snow and temps of -16 (this is Essex, so exceptional) everything was so frozen you could go out on the lawn in your slippers. I agree rain not so good.
 
I live in the kind of place that regularly gets 50-70 mph winds, sideways rain and sleet in a garden thats pretty much fully exposed 1400ft up. I've had adult dogs flatly refuse to go outside, I'd not wish it on an 8 week old pup :D

snow/ice is somewhat better although I'd not want to have been housetraining this year during the Beast From the East.

If I really had to I would of course (we got Fitz end of Feb and while he was clean in his kennel, he wasn't house trained as such) but would try and avoid if i could.
 
I got my puppy at the end of feb this year, so most of his housetraining was done during beast from the east mark 2. Thankfully young pup adored the snow and had no issues learning to do his business out there. I didn’t mind it too much as although cold, the nights were starting to draw out and bulbs were trying to come up in the garden and it just has that ‘spring is coming’ feel so things got easier rather than harder. I also think the long dark nights helped with encouraging him to sleep all night.

Plus I wasn’t doing much with the horse as everything was frozen, so I didn’t feel bad spending more time with puppy (then horse broke a bone in his leg when the weather got nice enough to ride!).
 
We got our first ever pup 3 weeks ago, so I’m no expert. He was born on May 3rd so we don’t think he’s ever been out in or seen rain! The problem we’re finding is that it’s so hot he doesn’t want to go out! Being a black lab doesn’t help! I’m actually looking forward to the weather cooling down so he can be let loose more outside without worrying that he’s going to fry. I can’t actually believe I’m saying this in this country!!
 
Tronk said:
We got our first ever pup 3 weeks ago, so I’m no expert. He was born on May 3rd so we don’t think he’s ever been out in or seen rain! The problem we’re finding is that it’s so hot he doesn’t want to go out! Being a black lab doesn’t help! I’m actually looking forward to the weather cooling down so he can be let loose more outside without worrying that he’s going to fry. I can’t actually believe I’m saying this in this country!!
Click to expand...

You are not allowed to mention pups and then not post a pic. :-)
 
Clodagh said:
You are not allowed to mention pups and then not post a pic. :-)
Click to expand...

I'll try....this was him a couple of weeks ago - he's doubled in size now!

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We will, thank you, although it’s currently like having a toddler again! He’s from gundog stock, eventually for picking up etc, but an all round pet really.
 
I don't think having doors open is a help for house training, they need to learn to hold and wait (gradually of course!), not just go whenever they want, inside or outside. This was a major issue we had to overcome when we got our 1yo lab aged 4 months. He had been kept in the garage (not in a cruel way, they had a special area with heat lamp, water, bedding etc) with constant access to the outside. So when we got him home, he just peed anywhere literally every 5-10mins, it was a nightmare to house train him! The first two weeks were so painful... We got him on 1st October, so weather wasn't too bad. The 3yo we got at 8 weeks old, he came home mid-Sept and was really easy to house train (but then he is a very intelligent and quick to learn type!), again weather wasn't too bad for those important first few months.
 
We aimed for beginning of the summer holidays as I’m a teacher so had the six weeks to concentrate on them and settle them in. I’d find it hard otherwise.
 
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