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| my first pet was a dog! and my son is an only child and we have a dog and a cat. Start off with a puppy so you can train them while they are young. My mom used to show dogs and breed dogs when i was little and i loved it! |
| posted by Stephanie on 10/03/2008 02:44 PM
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I think it all depends on what fits your life style.
A dog needs a lot of attention so if you go on trips then what would you do with the dog? Do you have a vehicle that you don't mind putting a dog in to go places, do you have the time and patience to train an animal that needs it?
Do you have a spot for a cat litter that a child can't get into, will you be the only one changing it, or walking the animal or feeding it?
I ask myself all these questions every time I want an animal because we go out of town a lot during the summer, we have 2 cars with leather interior our yard is not big at all, I hate being the only one changing a litter. I love fish but that is a lot of work also.
We have a cat that showed up this morning around our house, my DH and Son like it and I do to, if she sticks around a few days and I don't see any fliers for her They want to keep her but I am going to lay it all out for them that it is a lot more than just playing and petting.
I was an only child and we had big dogs and little dogs and cats and I even got a rabbit one Easter, my favorite were the hamsters it was fun to put them in the little ball that they can run all around in and easy maintenance. |
| posted by Kristhal on 10/03/2008 04:35 PM
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| dana, i do recomend getting a pet. what kind of pet all depends on what type would fit your families lifestyle,personality,activity level; and should consider the same of the pet;plus, all animals have there own personalities,so theres alot to consider. having a pet teaches responsibility, sometimes helps kids have someone to tell things to that wont judge them.some one else that loves them unconditionally.etc. |
| posted by teresa on 10/03/2008 11:01 PM
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We got our daughter a hamster for her first pet. We also had a dog at the time. (But that is more my husbands than anything). Our daughter loved having a hamster. We got her one that was about a year or so old. At the time Amber was three and our son was one. The reason we went older on a hamster was because when we were at the pet store they said that she had been handled more and was very friendly. Tiger was, she was sweet and fun to play with. It didn't take long for Amber to get into taking care of her. The expense of her was out of this world cheap. I think the most that we ever spent on her was her cage and accessories. I think that over the course of a year we had spent a total of $100 on her. Not much compared to our dog.
We opted for the hamster because it would be easy to care for and funner for the kids to play with. I did catch my son squeezing Tiger many times. Not meaning too but still pretty scary, so we did the cage up so that only my husband and I could get her out for the kids. Amber did good with keeping her feed and playing with her. However, they are nocturnal so keeping her going durring the day was our biggest thing. Also you can't stop playing with them durring the day, they will go back to up all night over a few days. Which is not a big deal except her wheel made nioses which would make it hard for us to sleep at night.
Tiger died about a year after we brought her into our home. And that was the toughest part about having her. Amber was four at the time and she found Tiger dead. It was hard to try to explain it to her. But my hubby pulled her out, I put her in a spice box and Amber gave her a treat and blanket (washclothe) and Andrew also gave her a treat to be buired with. I dug a small hole in the garden by the bench and Amber placed her in there. Then Andrew and my hubby covered her up with dirt and we all said a little something special about her. My hubby and I tried to make light of it b/c Amber was balling her eyes out. Amber was down and out for a while (about a month) and then she asked for a bunny, I said no and then we ended up with a cat. That was a bad idea because Amber doesn't like our cat, nor does my hubby or son. I'm not a fan of it because of my allergies. And our dog wants to chew her like a chew toy.
I guess what I am trying to say is that. I think a hamster is great for a kid. My kids now feed the dog and cat and even play with our dog inside and out, they will walk him (with us of course) however our cat they don't play with. I guess it's trial and error with kids. You have to find out what they would have more fun with. I mean you can do anything. A cat, dog, rabbit, fish, frogs, lizards, snakes, chincillas, anything. You just have to take your little one to the pet store or pet shelter, and see what they take too. You can also ask about returning if you think you should need to. I however, will not. Like I tell my kids, when you make that decision you stick with it. When we got Bear (our dog) I told my kids that Bear is our family now and we treat him like that. We will never 'get rid' of him no matter what. I said the same thing with Tiger and with Cricket (our cat). Because I feel that if you take on that responsiblity then you need to stick with it to show your children how important it is to stick to something. No matter what. We found that our kids are more of a dog or cage animal personality.
Sorry, I feel I just wrote you a short story. :) I hope this helps. Good luck in what you decide. |
| posted by Carrie on 10/04/2008 08:38 AM
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We had a dog and 2 cats before our DD was born. Now she is almost 2 and shows them all love throughout the day. She brings me their water bowl and fills up the dogs food if he is out. I think not only is it teaching her responsibility, t aso show her compassion. She knows not to give the animals booo boos and to be sweet to all of them. Kind touches, I think it is very important to grow up with animals. There are so many of her that do not have one and they come over to our house scared to death of our 60 lb dog.
We actually had a puppy for 2 mnths. I thought I could handle the pup along with my 3 ring circus...but I could not. Potty training a toddler and a pup is really hard. And most days neigther were successful. We found a very loving home for him so now we are back to normal...well, as normal as we are gonna get. LoL
HTH!
Shanna |
| posted by shanna on 10/05/2008 08:41 AM
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| We have two boxers, ages 2 and 3. They are my son's best friends. I highly recommend getting a dog. |
| posted by on 10/05/2008 10:21 AM
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| I suggest a cat!! Cats are sooooo easy! Though, we have a dog also, but he is old and isn't going to be around much longer.. Don't recommend getting a puppy. It is like having another child!!! We did and had to get rid of it! Go to the pound and adopt a adult dog! If you want a dog, or go and get a cat from there also. We did and our cat is wonderful! Good luck.. |
| posted by Suzanne on 10/05/2008 11:58 AM
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I just would like to say, everyone says don't get a puppy. Ok, that might be true for most families. However, I say get the puppy and not an adult dog. The reason being is because you can train that puppy and that puppy will grow along side your child(ren). I see that most don't want to do that potty training or deal with the chewing and things like that. But you just have to work at it. I potty train our dog in less than a month. I just stuck with him and kept taking him outside about every two hours or so. He chewed so I just bough rubbermaid tubs for the kids' toys and put the lids on at night. He chewed the shoes one night so I put them in the mud room closet. It's not as hard as everyone makes it out to be. I am no super ma or anything. But I didn't once find it hard to raise two kids, take care of the house and deal with a puppy. As a matter of fact I wouldn't mind having another puppy around. I love it. With some determination and your child(ren) and hubby backing you up all the way you can do it in no time. Our dog is now about a year and a half. And he doesn't chew or anything like that anymore. He goes potty outside. I think that when you get an older dog, you don't know exactly how he was treated and pose that threat of attacks. Me being attacked so often by dogs as a youngster I don't feel that is something that I would want to bring around my family. So with a puppy you still pose that risk but not as bad because it is up to you to teach him/her that they can't do that. Our dog is a great addition to our family. We did have another one before Berry (his name was JD). He was an older dog, loveing and affectionate with the kids, however he would snap when he was outside. JD was a regular Jakyle/Hyde type. He turned on me one afternoon and once he did that I tied him up outside and explain to my hubby that the dog had to go. I wouldn't bring him in the house ever again after he just tried to take a chunk out of my arm. So we had to get rid of him. We had him for over two years when that happened. But your kids are always #1 and I wasn't going to allow that to go on any longer.
So I would say if your checking into a dog, get a puppy! It's like having an infant all over again, but in less than a few months that puppy will graduate to a first grader. So it's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Sometimes fusterating. But if you can find a great vet they will give you ideas and help you along the way.
Good luck! |
| posted by Carrie on 10/05/2008 09:30 PM
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We had a dog and cats before the kids were born. Some people gave me flack when I got pregnant that we should get rid of the dog and ughhhhhhh that old wives tale how cats take a baby's breath.
Anyway, I really think as everyone else said it depends on your time and your household. I will have to say I did watch my kids like a hawk around the dog. He is awesome with both of them my DD is now 5 and DS is going to be 3 soon. We just got the dog right before I found out I was pregnant with my DD and he was very protective of her from day one.
But he also was a bit hyper with all the new noises and the squeeky toys and stuff. Now when Jacob was born 2 1/2 years later he was relaxed around all the noises.
As for the cats they just know how to jump away from the kids when needed. We have one male cat he is hugh and my Son loves to lay on him. The cat seems ok with it and when he has enough he just jumps away. Also one other cat Penny let's Jacob play with her. The others just avoid the kids.
Just some things to consider. Just remember if your kids are young you will be the one taking care of the pets. So my other suggestion is make sure it is one you have the time to add to your already busy schedule as a SAHM.
Lastly my Daughter really didn't play with dolls or stuffed animals because she preferred the dog. Actually for both kids the dog's name was their first word so I guess that is an endorsement for a pet ;)
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| posted by Mary Ellen on 10/06/2008 11:05 PM
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I have 4 dogs, and my kids LOVE them to bits. Even if our blue nose male pit bull can knock them down running past them hehe, they love to pet him. Our white german sheperd loves to play with them too, especially if a ball is involved which can turn into him popping it bringing on tears ugh. We had cats at our old house, my two oldest (5 & 3) loved playing with them yet noticed they got annoyed an wanted to get away faster then our dogs do. We've had a ferret before, hamster and for me dogs have been a match for us personally.
Decided what type of up keep would you like to have, do you have a lot of time to devote to this pet and that will help decide some narrowing it down. I know our girls like our dogs, liked the ferrets yet they can actually play with the dogs vs other play you can do with other animals we could have. |
| posted by Martica on 10/07/2008 05:57 PM
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| I pushed reply to many times LOL, oops! |
| posted by Martica on 10/07/2008 05:57 PM
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| Sorry double posted! Oops! |
| posted by Martica on 10/07/2008 05:58 PM
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