Dec 21 2009
Ideas for a New Pet
Where do I start a new pet for the family? What is the ideal pet for our family? Well you are starting well by collecting information. This is vital as a pet is for life, so be 100% sure, otherwise do not have a pet.
However there is such a large choice of pets to choose from, all of them can be engrossing, but have different advantages and disadvantages. You can opt from a dog, cat, gerbil, guinea pig, fish, spider, snake and the list is never ending.
You need to involve one and all in the assessment, it needs to be a whole family decision. Due to its importance I advise you discuss and write down your purpose for wanting a pet. Add to it on a large sheet of paper, with a column for the pet, some columns to rank each pet. The considerations for a pet include, time (yours), cost (pets are expensive), pet care, space requirement, aptitude to fuss, interest, collective activity, any phobias, other issues.
Pets take time, some require more than others. High maintenance animals are those that require regular exercise such as dogs and horses. Dogs evolved from wolves and still have many of those characters. They are used to regularly covering large areas every day to search for food, so most dog breeds necessitate a minimum one to two hours a day walking. This must be part of a routine and done rain or shine. Others may necessitate a lot of grooming, changing water etc. A pet sitter often spends a lot of their visiting time to grooming long haired cats, though the cat and the sitter enjoy it. You may yearn a certain animal, but do you have the time for him? Be honest with yourself and the potential pet.
Expenditure, consider all expenditure. There is the potential cost of the pet to start with, which for a pedigree pet can be dear. I would strongly advise you to think of taking a abandoned pet, there are more and more of these now as people are unfortunately abandoning them to the pet charities – why not do good and help out? The other starting costs include cages, leads, grooming aids, blankets / beds. Then there are the weekly pet costs, food, which for a large per can be substantial. I strongly recommend you to have your pet neutered, many pet specialists and research have suggested that you will have less behavioural issues with a neutered pet. There are regular vet costs such as vaccinations, however some are difficult to plan for. For this reason I strongly advise you to invest in pet insurance, so you can manage with any situations that may occur. There are ongoing costs for flea treatment etc. These costs mount up.
Is your house large enough for the animal? Some animals can be watchable, but you may not be able to fuss them, what is the key for you? No animal has everything. Can you handle the animal? Rats are very exciting, but a few individuals do not like the scaly tail, or the idea of one.
You should to review the summary paper, you may not have the time for walking the dog during the week due to work pressures, the upside is you have the money to pay for a professional dog walker. Not enough space for the horse, use stables, but watch the cost.
So once you have chosen a type of animal, there are lots of diverse types and individual species to choose from, taking hamsters there are five basic types, with very diverse characteristics. There is also the choice of how many, some animals are better off alone, others as a pair because they need the company. Then there is what sex, some pets have very different behaviour between the male and female. Male rats are lazier than females and urinate more.
After all of these decisions, I would suggest you to take the pet for a test drive. Find someone with a similar pet, that you can look after for a few days, or even be a pet sitter for them for a couple of weeks during the holidays. Discuss with the owner about the expenditure, the effort that is required, and do not forget the pleasure that the animal gives. An alternative is to do some pet charity work.
Pet breeders and dog trainers are exceptionally knowledgeable, so visit and discuss with them.
I hope this helps, go and enjoy a new pet.
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