Where do I start a new pet for the family? What is the best pet for the household? 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 one.
A bit negative there, but there is such a large choice of potential pets to pick from, all of them can be engrossing, but have dissimilar advantages and disadvantages. You can choose from a dog, cat, hamster, guinea pig, fish, spider, bird and the list goes on and on.
It is important to involve everybody in the assessment, it needs to be a whole household decision. Due to its importance I recommend you thrash out and commit to paper your aim 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 headings for a pet include, time (yours), cost (pets are expensive), pet care, space needed, aptitude to fuss, interest, shared activity, any phobias, other points.
Pets take time, some have need of more than others. Time eating animals are those that require regular exercise such as dogs and horses. Dogs evolved from wolves and still have many of those characteristics. They are used to regularly covering large areas every day to search for food, so most dog breeds need a minimum one to two hours a day walking. This needs to be part of a regular schedule and done rain or shine. Other animals may need a lot of grooming, changing water etc. A cat sitter often uses much of their visiting time to brushing long haired cats, though the cat and the sitter enjoy it. You may crave a certain animal, but do you have the time for him? Be direct with yourself and the prospective pet.
Cost, consider all expenditure. There is the purchase cost, which for a pedigree animal can be dear. I would like everyone to consider taking a salvage pet, there are increasing numbers of these now as families 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. After that are the ongoing pet costs, food, which for a large animal can be substantial. I strongly recommend you to have your pet neutered, many pet specialists and studies have indicated that you will have less behavioural issues with a neutered animal. There are routine vet expenditure such as vaccinations, however some are difficult to plan for. For this reason I strongly advise you to take out pet insurance, so you can cope with any problems 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 interesting, but you may not be able to fuss them, what is the most important for you? No animal has it all. Can you pick up the pet? Rats are outstandingly interesting, but some individuals hate the scaly tail, or the idea of one.
You may want to revisit the summary paper, do you have the time for dog walking 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 identified a type of pet, there are lots of diverse types and breeds to choose from, taking hamsters there are five basic types, with very diverse characteristics. There is also the choice of numbers, some animals are better off alone, others as a pair because they must have the company. Then there is the choice of sex, some pets have very different behaviour between the male and female. Male rats are less active than females and urinate more.
After all of these decisions, I would recommend you to take the pet for a test drive. Do you know anyone with a similar pet, that you can borrow 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 work that is needed, and do not forget the pleasure that the pet gives. An alternative is to do some animal charity work.
Pet breeders are exceptionally knowledgeable, so visit and talk with them.
I hope this helps, go and enjoy a new pet.
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