Universal Press Syndicate Puppies are easier to raise when the days are longer and less hectic.

Despite the warnings of those in the know, every year parents give in to the begging of their children and pop for a puppy.

The attraction is understandable: Who doesn't love a puppy, and who wouldn't want to delight a child? But there are reasons why shelters, rescue groups and responsible breeders are uniform in their advice to think twice about a Christmas puppy.

Christmas puppies are often a parent's headache by February, when the animals are still not house-trained, the kids are tired of the responsibilities involved in caring for a pet, and it's still too cold and dark outside for dog-training after work and school.

Puppies are not toys. They are living, breathing beings who need a lot of attention. Who has time for a pup during the holidays, that stressful season of socializing and shopping? With a houseful of guests and a holiday dinner to prepare, who will make sure the puppy isn't being mauled by overly enthusiastic children and guests? Who has time to get house-training started right?

Dogs who grow up unhouse-trained, unmannered and unsocialized too often never get a chance to grow up much at all. From summer to fall, pet experts hear from people who are tearing out their hair over their now-adolescent Christmas puppies. Some people work with the dogs, but many just dump them.

Dogs can be great for children, and children can be great with dogs. But Christmas is not the best time to launch such a promising relationship.

Somebody has to be the grown-up here, and if you're the parent, it should be you. Wait until late spring or early summer to find the perfect pup, and get your pet off to a great start.