Most people assume that summer is the best time to raise a puppy. That's not true for me. Every year, we keep back one or more puppies for the breeding program. In all my experience over the past twenty plus years of keeping a puppy to raise, hands down, winter is better.

In the winter, 1) I can train my little puppy in the house, in the warmth of my home. Their body is small. They can learn heeling, maneuvering around our living room chairs and sofa and kitchen cupboards. Later on, when their body is bigger, this is no longer as easy.

2. I can take my puppy with me in the car. In the summer, it is too hot. But in the winter, I can take my puppy to dog-friendly stores such as the Mall, Cabelas, Lowes, and Home Depot. But unlike summertime, if I need to run an errand on my own, I can leave my puppy crated in the car while I run short errands. In the summer, with heat concerns, this is not an option.

3. In the wintertime, diseases are less rampant. Under the snow, everything from Giardia to Parvo, lays dormant. I can take my puppy on walks which would be problematic for disease in the summertime.

4. Housebreaking is easy. Depending on your house, you can easily take your puppy out into your yard. But in my house, I prefer to prepare a boxed area with pine chips where my puppy can select to go potty. This builds on the Puppy Foundation started at Candle Hill, where the puppy associates pine chips with a safe pottying spot. It's easy peasy. Come spring, when the puppy is bigger, it's an easy transition to take the puppy outside. Using this method, I have never had puppies associate going potty in the house once the box has been removed.

   Here is Willa, learning to rest quietly in the house, while I work on this article.

   

5. In the wintertime, I actually stop to sit down. This is important in teaching my puppy calm house behavior. There is something very special about being warm in the house, sitting on the couch with a good book--or writing this article, with a precious puppy resting by my feet. In the summertime, I tend to go-go-go. My summer puppies are less likely to learn this calm indoor behavior. Here is Willa, 11 weeks old today, resting by my feet, as I write this. What can be better?

5. Eight week old puppies are too young to go on long hikes or long walks. But the short venture into the cold or snow are welcome for their little bodies. They love playing with you in those conditions and then are ready for snuggle time in the warmth of your home.

But in the summer, you have hot puppies.

1. Your eight week old puppy is too young to go with you on hikes or even adventures at the County Fair. All that is too much to ask of their little bodies. This means having to leave your puppy home alone while you enjoy these summer activities. A puppy raised in the wintertime, is old enough by Summer, to be able to join you for these activities.

2. With it being hot outside, even at 70 degrees, leaving your puppy crated in the car in the summertime, is problematic. This means far less opportunity to take your puppy places for socialization. It also means leaving your puppy safely at home, whenever you go out.

3). Perhaps, like me, In the summertime, you have so much going on. From going to Dog Shows to working in the garden, my summer activities rarely have me home inside and are usually not conducive to the company of a little pup. I can ask more of an older puppy, such that if I keep a puppy in the winter, by the time summer rolls around, my puppy is old enough to require good behavior. In the garden, my older puppy can learn to stay on command and not participate with me in weeding or planting-something that usually does not end well for the tender plants with a little puppy.

4. Little puppies do best with very short, less than five minute, training sessions. They do best in training without the distractions of the outside. But older puppies are primed for outside training and for proofing their training with distractions. Older puppies can handle longer training sessions. Your outdoor training sessions, enjoyable in the summertime, are of much more value with an older puppy.

5. For traveling, it is easier to travel with an older puppy. But if you need to leave your puppy home while you go away, this is problematic with a little puppy as you lose critical bonding time. But with an older puppy, your dog sitter can stay with them, without you missing much in their development.

These are just some of the reasons why I prefer keeping a puppy in the Winter. By summertime, the puppy is six or eight months old and ready for all the opportunities Summer provides.