# Winter, fall, or spring litter? Need help deciding.



## Clavendog (Jan 1, 2013)

Hi! We're on our way to finding the perfect puppy for our family but I've been concerned with the timing of the litter. I've been focusing on a litter born this winter or next or in the fall. I did not want a spring litter due to the amount of time the puppy would be left alone during the day in the summer. We are out and about in July and August and no the puppy couldn't come (amusements parks with the kids, pools, day trips to the beach, etc). 

So I've been set on a winter or fall litter. However I'm starting to read more about puppies (I've never had a puppy, only a dog), and I'm reading the puppy can be alone for one hour longer than its age - 4 month puppy alone for 5 hours. I do not know if this is true as I said I've never had a puppy. 

What are your thoughts? Should I stick with a winter or fall litter or would spring be ok knowing the puppy will be alone often during the day. 

FYI - the puppy would not be alone during the day for long periods any other season.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Personally I'd go with the litter that has the pedigree/parentage you want no matter the timing of the litter, if you don't have any other potential time conflicts during their formative months. I was all set for a spring litter but after talking to the breeder and seeing what a great match she had in store for a fall litter and looking at the dogs' pedigrees and health clearances, I knew the puppy would have a great chance of getting the specific characteristics (temperament wise) we were hoping to get. So I applied for a fall litter. The pups were born on Oct. 15 2012 and we brought the puppy home on Dec. 7. I am glad we did this for many reasons, but particularly because I think this is a really wonderful litter and we got a beautiful well-adjusted puppy with a great pedigree and shot at good health/longevity. The breeders upcoming litters would be great too, but there was something about this pairing that really got me interested! 

At first I wanted a spring litter because of potty training concerns (being outside in the cold at 2 a.m. is NOT something I enjoy) and for socialization efforts. Of course having a young puppy needing opportunities to meet and greet as many different types of people during the busy holidays is challenging, but we got creative and it worked out. We also made sure to expose him to as many noises as possible. Parvo is a problem here so our vet told us NOT to let the pup go out for walks where other strange dogs have soiled until 2 weeks after his last set of shots. Having a puppy right now with that type of restriction is good because it's cold and when it's starting to warm up we will be free to go out on walks and enjoy the weather without freezing. Also we are doing outside training- training in Feb and March here is generally much better than training outside in July- September. 

There are some practical concerns, such as potty training and climate; however, the bottom line for me was getting the right puppy with the best parentage that have the health clearances. Had we gotten a pup with a litter that required us to be outside in 110 degree heat and blazing sun, we'd make do, knowing the end result is a dog that has the best shot at a good healthy and stable life!


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

DallasGold basically beat me to my post. I had a very similar experience, and was also going to say, make your choice by the breeding and the litter, not by the time of year.

My pup was also supposed to be a spring puppy. I knew I wanted a puppy from the breeding of her mother and father - but the breeding didn't take first time around. I decided to wait until they tried again, and so she became a fall puppy, born in September. She came home at the end of November, and so housetraining was indeed in the Montreal cold and snow, but I believe it made us stronger! : 

You might look into dogwalkers who do puppy visits for the long summer days. There are lots if options out there for making sure a dog isn't left alone for too long.


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## Holly (Apr 12, 2012)

Isla was born in February which meant she was big enough when summer came to go out. Remember christmas falls during winter so think how you'll cope with that and a puppy.

I notice you said leaving a four month old puppy for five hours. Isla is 11months and I've only left her that long once. I don't think leaving that long is really doable but that's just my experience on sure others will disagree. 

When ever your puppy comes, you will work something out and it will be ok


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

I have a similar thought with you, OP. I was looking for a litter at a specific time, right after I got out of school for the summer so I would have 3 months to work with my pup before I had to go back to school and change his world upside down. But it all worked out really well! I had originally found a great breeder, but the breeding did not take and I was heartbroken. But I did find another breeder who was having a litter about the same time. She was 6 hours away, though. But it all worked out and I have a great dog that I wouldn't change for the world. 

So, I think personally, I would wait for a fall baby if you can, just make sure you go through a reputable breeder who does all health clearances. There is nothing wrong about wanting to bring a dog home at a certain time. You would definitely not want to leave a puppy alone all that time during the summer.

And to member Holly, we often leave all our dogs home for extended periods of time (of course nothing outrageous). It doesn't happen often, but they all do fine. Of course when Beamer was a young pup, he was never left alone more than a few hours. Once he hit about 7-8 months I could trust that I could leave him home (in a crate at that time) and he would be fine for longer periods of time.


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## Holly (Apr 12, 2012)

That's cool, rain heart. As I say others will have different experiences. For Isla it doesn't work to leave her that long but everyone's different. It's not great for us because of the toilet situation but maybe that will change as she gets older.


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

I have always tried to follow that time frame for housebreaking. If a puppy is 4 months, I would make sure not to leave him longer than 4 hours. 


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## Winniesmom (Jul 7, 2012)

We lost our last dog in May and decided to get a new dog after the summer. We lucked out with the breeder we wanted had a litter born in July and we took her home the end of August. We wanted the summer off so we wouldn't. Have to worry about the dog being alone. I just have to say that it was a perfect time to get a puppy and house break her. By the time the cold weather came around there were no more 2am walks.


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## leesooim (Nov 1, 2012)

Hi Calvendog.

I definitely understand your concerns. It's true that you really shouldn't leave a puppy alone for more than 4 hours a day when they're 8 weeks old. That being said, we were lucky with Sasha, who came home to us on Dec. 15th at exactly 8 weeks. She only woke us up for the first 3 days in the middle of the night, and since then has slept through the night with a few "waking up 20 minutes early" exceptions. And even though Sasha sleeps through the night for 7-7.5 hours, I wouldn't want to leave her during the day consistently that long while she's still young since during the day she's not really "deep" sleeping and wakes up to chew on her KONG or Nylabone, etc.

Also, since my boyfriend and I both work full time during the day (I work from 7 - 3:30, he works from 8 - 5), we hired a bonded/insured pet sitter to come Monday thru Friday at 12 PM to feed Sasha lunch and let her out to potty/play. This system has worked very well for us, and every day I come home at 4 to a happy puppy. I highly recommend interviewing several pet sitters in your area if they are available to come over on days that you plan on being out of the house. Good luck!


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

I've had different season litters but late summer/early fall is my favorite because of potty training. Going out during the night in the winter is not fun.


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