Pets are just as much a part of the family as children and parents. You love them and they love you in return. At least that is the case most of the time. If you don’t have the right pet in your life, you may not love it much at all. I’ve been through my fair share of pets, and along the way, I learned which pets will and will not work for me. Here are just a few tips to help you avoid the same trial and error process I went through.
Dogs
At first, dogs seem like the ideal family pet, and they very well could be for your family. The problem with dogs is that they require a lot of work, more so than most people anticipate when they get one. When you have to balance a family, online college courses, work, and all other aspects of life, taking care of a dog may be dang near impossible. Think of a puppy as an infant human being because that is basically what it will turn into work wise. You may not have time to take care of a dog if you already have a tight schedule.
On the up side, dogs are very affectionate and many of them are great with kids. They are also great for protection, and they have enough energy to play with your kids. If you have a member of your family who can bathe, feed, water, walk, and clean up after a dog properly, this could be the perfect pet for you. Check out this dog breed selector to find out which dog breed is right for you.
Cats
Unlike dogs, cats are incredibly easy to take care of. They bathe themselves, and they use the restroom in a litter box instinctually. They require almost no training, and if you get a cat declawed, you don’t even have to worry about ruined furniture. Some may argue that this is an inhumane process, but if you keep the cat indoors and get the procedure done when he or she is young, the negative effects will be minimal at most. I love my cat to death, and all I have to do for him is put food and water in his automatic feeders once a week. Finish care up with a few scoops of the cat litter, and I’m set.
The down side to cats is that they shed a lot, and they can be very timid at times. Most dogs will come right up to you, but cats take a little time to warm up. Cats are also curious creatures, so you have to be prepared to train them not to jump on counters and other areas. I find mine on top of my refrigerator all the time, just to illustrate the curiosity of this curious creature. Eventually though, you can turn just about any cat into a lap pet that the whole family will love.
Fish
Fish die easily, and they’re not exactly easy to take care of. In theory, all you have to do is feed them and clean out their bowls regularly. If you’ve never had fish though, you have to learn about the sizes of tanks you need for the fish you want, and the amount of food each fish needs. Also, you may be lured into the idea of having a bright, beautiful tank of fish. If you’re working with freshwater though, you may not have that sort of tank at all. Saltwater tanks are hard to take care of, and all the equipment for them can get very expensive. At the end of the day, you may not get as much out of a fish tank as the amount of money you put into it.
On the plus side, fish can be cheap to replace if one of them happens to die. Since you can’t pet or hold fish, it is not as easy to grow emotionally attached to them as it is with a cat or dog. Thus if you’re not the best pet caregiver out there, fish may be perfect for you.
Check out the Next Post…
Since I seem to have a lot more to say about family pets than I thought, I’m going to split this into several posts. Check out Picking the Perfect Family Pet: Rabbits, Rodents and Reptiles andPicking the Perfect Family Pet: Birds, Bugs, and Hermit Crabs for more information about pets for your family.