Great Gifts Come In Big Packages!

Is it ok to give your wife a pet puppy as a surprised birthday gift? A good rule to follow regarding presents is simple. Never buy a living gift for anyone without the recipient's total agreement. The only thing worse than an unannounced gift of a puppy is the impulse to buy a large dog, anytime, without proper thought and planning. If a birthday puppy is agreeable, be sure the entire family has fully considered sharing their space with the pup. Purchase his bed, food, bowls, and toys in advance; install puppy-proof gates on doors and stairways, reinforce fences, and buy a pen and sleeping crate.

To mall shoppers, pet stores are like magnets. They are clean, odor-free, and clumsy, healthy-looking, sad-eyed puppies with enormous feet are enticingly displayed in plastic cubicles. Bookshelves are filled with descriptions and pictures of dozens of large dog breeds. You remember seeing a big dog that you like at a friend's house, and there sits a puppy of the same breed looking right at you and waiting to be pet.

Different kinds of collars, leashes, dishes, grooming tools, and dog foods are elaborately displayed for immediate purchase and delivery. Time-payment plans are available, and return policies apply if the dog is proven to have hereditary faults. The big pup has been vaccinated, veterinary health certification is included, as well as American Kennel Club puppy registration documents, and sometimes even pedigrees are provided.

If you plan on purchasing a pet shop puppy, select him only after consideri-



ng the following: In order to choose the most desirable puppy, you should be able to meet and handle his parents, or at least his mother. Litter mates should be present for comparison. Personality traits are more easily determined if you can see how other puppies behave in similar situations.

Should you get a male or a female?

You will need to decide whether you want to buy a male or a female dog. If you are considering breeding your puppy, entering him in field trials, or conformation showing, gender has more implications. Typically, the female is slightly smaller, more gentle, and less aggressive than the male. She is almost always' chosen for obedience work and makes a reliable pet. The male has a more rumbustious nature and is constantly attracted to the opposite sex, unlike the female which does not look for a male companion except during her twice-yearly season. However, some people prefer the male's more zestful and enthusiastic approach to life.

Most puppies are neutered or spayed before reaching physical maturity. The male puppy should be neutered before he reaches seven or eight months of age. A female may be spayed at about any age, and the cost of this surgery is usually slightly greater than the corresponding cost of male castration. -