A good friend just asked me:

"Is there place you can go where there are tonnes of puppies running around and you can play with them (even for a fee)? That would be awesome."

Can anyone help?

I sincerely hope that there is NOT such a place. Please think about it!

But many shelters need volunteer to take rescue dogs for walks- and that is wonderful.

Manor has a pretty decent toy department.

I don't know of such a place, but my little boy would probably love it!

I can still remember when i picked up my dog from his mommy. She had 5 pups and i got to play with all of them. It was awesome! I can only imagine how much fun 10 of those would be or even 20

I was just trying to emphasize the cuteness of the puppies in general

I know - but puppies, however lovely and fun - are not ever meant to be 'toys'

Visit any Welpenspielgruppe.

http://www.hundesport-tornado.ch/welpenspielstunde.htm

Honestly, Odile, I don't think that any of the OP's posts were really implying that she thinks puppies are toys.

The last I knew, puppies do enjoy being played with.

I am a dog owner and I honestly don't think I ever mentioned puppies being toys...puppies need a lot of attention and interaction and that means playing. It's their way of socializing at that early age. So please don't mix up the words in my post. It was supposed to be a well intended post, not one calling for puppy torture...

'Playing with tons of puppies for a fee' does indeed sound cruel, sorry. Glad to hear this wasn't what you really meant.

I know there are a lot of crazy people out there but at my last check-up the doc said I was fine

It sounds a bit childish to me, but not cruel. Whatever.

OK - last post. If such places existed - where people wanted to play with tons of puppies - even if not cruel at the time, what would happen to those puppies next??? Think about it!

Glad to hear that this is not really what the OP meant. Cheers.

I think to rent a bunch of little puppies to play with, not knowing them, them not knowing me, and assuming they would be thrilled and comfortable, etc. makes me think of petting zoos and little ponies in circle to ride on. The fact they are cute and make us feel good does not mean we are entitled to treat them as rentable objects. They are fragile. There is a protocol on how to treat new little creatures, hygiene issues, etc.

Anyways, don't you think baby donkeys are cuter? Or puffins. I like puffins.

Puffins on a wild Scottish cliff - fabulous indeed

Is your friend some kind of petophile?

Odile, I didn't mean the place. The hypothetical one with tons of cute little puppies running around....of which I'm actually absolutely sure it doesn't exist. Fortunately, because you never know.

I only found childish someone's desire to go to some place and play with tons of puppies....and I restrain from reading too much into those lines and assume that OP's friend was actually planning to treat those cuties badly. It was only a question. No such a place exists.

Your idea of going to a rescue shealter and taking dogs for a walk is excellent though, and much more realistic. It also gives someone a better feeling of how is it like to have a dog, because puppies do grow older... Finally, people could have silly thoughts they might as well keep for themselves.

Cristina, one thing that your friend should understand is that dog ownership is viewed very differently in Switzerland to what one might expect coming from other countries. The responsibilities of owners, breeders, trainers, those working in rescue, dog carers, and anyone working directly with dogs are regulated to a greater degree, and animal welfare is taken very seriously.

How a puppy is raised in the first weeks of life is one of these things. No responsible breeder or trainer would allow unrestricted public access as your friend's question seemed to suggest. Yes puppies need socialization - but that means a proper socialization program. Bad experiences during the puppy phase, which is all t oo possible when random people are allowed access, is the cause of many later behavior problems.

And, just a note: A Welpenspielgruppe is an owner and puppy training class, and should be a controlled atmosphere. I would seriously question a trainer allowing strangers access to the class.


If your friend is truly interested in puppies, I would suggest that she take the SKN theory class. No,she won't get to play with puppies, but she will come away understanding why the question was inappropriate.