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Should You Get a New Family Pet?

Should You Get a New Family Pet?

new family pet

Many of us were lucky enough to have grown up with a pet in the house. But when faced with a proposal from our own children of a new family pet, many of us find that we have to stop and think.

After all, when your child asks your for an adorable puppy, you can bet it won’t be them that has to pick up all of puppy’s ‘presents’! And there are many other aspects to pet ownership that should also be taken into account when thinking about whether or not a pet is right for your family home.

Can You Afford to Have a Pet?

The hidden costs of pet ownership can be potentially astronomical. It’s not enough to simply buy your pet a bed, some toys and a lifetime supply of food – not that these things aren’t costly in themselves. Depending on what type of pet you get you will also need to purchase vaccinations, flea and worm treatments and insurance – and that’s just for starters.

However, there are ways to manage the cost of a pet. You can bulk buy food for dogs and cats, and even buy quality fish tanks online. And pet insurance will protect you against any unexpected veterinary bills.

What Will Your Pet Need?

Time consuming and costly, your pet will need to be feed, exercised, played with, groomed and have regular checkups with a vet.

It’s important to factor in all of these things before you make your decision, because there’s nothing worse than getting a pet and finding out afterwards that you aren’t well equipped enough to take care of it. Draw up both a budget and a time schedule, to ensure that you will have the time and resources to look after your pet properly.

Are Your Children Responsible Enough?

If your children have never had a pet before, the answer here should always be ‘no’. But a part of pet ownership is learning responsibility.  And, under your watchful eye, your kids can learn begin to take more responsibility by shouldering a small part of the care of their new pet.

The trick here is to start off slow. Begin with something easy and low maintenance, like a goldfish, before working your way up to a more demanding pet, like a cat or a puppy. Don’t assign important jobs, like feeding, to your younger children, and get the whole family involved as much as possible.

Comments

  1. It’s so good to do A LOT of research before buying a new family pet because it’s a daily commitment for sooo many years! Although dogs and cats sure are cute aren’t they. I think the main thing is be able to afford the costs of a pet. Not just the food! I like this post.

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