considering a pet for 8 year old. Suggestions, pros/cons, etc.
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Anonymous
| Medium sized dog or kitten. |
Anonymous
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19:02 brings up a good point…we need more info.
OP 1) Has your DC been asking for a pet? 2) Is you DC gentle or not? (makes a difference in pet type) 3) Does your DC like animals? 4) I'm assuming you understand, OP, that you will be taking care of the pet, but is your DC the type to help? 5) How much time/effort do you want to put into taking care of the pet, OP? 6) Is this pet going to be in DC's room or in the family area? |
Anonymous
- Thanks for all the responses thus far! My daughter really, really wants a pet. She has for about 7 months now. She is the gentle, nurturing type- great with her little brothers and into care. She's relatively responsible and conscientious for her age. I don't think a goldfish would cut it. I think it would be good for her to have something/one "to care for and love," as she put it. I'd rather not personally put too much work into the pet myself- yes, I get that we will be taking care of it! or at least should be prepared to do so!- which is why a dog is out of the question. Our family dog died about 1 year ago. I personally wasn't ready to 'replace' him and still am not; I loved the girl to pieces but I'm feeling some freedom now that we don't have a large dog to worry about! Depending on the pet, I would prefer to keep it in her room, which is relatively big. But it depends on the pet. |
Anonymous
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OP again- I suggested our daughter write a list of reasons 1) why she wanted a pet and 2) how we would know that she could take care of it.
Any other hints as to how to set this up to be a good educational/learning experience in caring and committment would be appreciated. |
Anonymous
| When my child asked for a dog we made him learn about caring for dogs and different breeds of dogs. Then we said he had to prove his responsibility and interest in having a pet by earning it. We made a list of what things a dog needs and told him he needed to acquire everything on list first. We had dishes, food, collar, leash, crate, training pads, toys, and other things on the list. We also included visiting an animal shelter or puppy place three times on the list. We told him he had to earn all of these items before he could get the dog. The point of it was that he needed to wait at least 6 months before he got the dog if he really wanted it and that he had to work for it. He was 5 years old then and he got the puppy when he was 6. We also had a list of responsibilities and chores for each day and each night at bedtime we went through the list and checked each item if he did it. At the end of the week, if his checklist looked good, he could get an item from the list. We also had frequent talks about caring for and training a dog. My husband researched breeders during this time and when we found the right one, we lined up an available puppy for him. It was good to take our time & teach him to be responsible and work for it first. The dog is almost 3 years old now and she is more of a family dog, but my son still loves her like crazy, so no regrets at all. |
Anonymous
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Thank you! This is great stuff, 09:57. I love how you used this as a great lesson in responsibility, patience, and consistency... with a "carrot" of the dog as a natural reward.
If you can say a little more about how you had a 5 year old do the research, that would be great! I'm thinking I'll have her write a list of things that need to be done to care for the pet that she commits to doing... |
Anonymous
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Hi, thanks! My husband & I were so nervous to get a dog, which is why we went through all that with our son. But anyways, about the research, we looked at small breed dogs on the internet and read to him about 3-5 breeds that he was interested in. We wanted him to understand that their is more than how a dog looks when the dog lives with you. He looked at dachshunds, beagles, pugs, and I can't remember what else. But we told him about how dachshunds have long backs so he wouldn't be able to pick the dog up and carry it until they were both older. My husband talked to him about different things with pugs. We told him about how beagles and dachshunds were hound dogs and they would be at risk of running off if he wasn't careful and they might bark a lot. We also watched YouTube videos about the different breeds and looked at books together to learn about the breeds. We used the AKC website to teach him about the different breeds. We printed out the pages and pictures for him to look at too.
It was a good thing that we had him wait & do all of the learning and stuff because it made it really exciting for him. Every time he hot an item from his list he would be so proud. And since we did it that way it cut back on the cost of buying a puppy spontaneously and needing to get everything all at once. |
Anonymous
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OP I would say to avoid rodents, because as adorable as they are, they are actually MORE WORK than a dog or cat. Ive owned dogs, cats, ducks, fish, an iguana and mice. Hands down the greatest amount of care was for the mice.
Dogs are low maintenance except for walks. But depending on your lifestyle a dog will blend right in with playground time and walks are great exercise for everyone. However if you are gone all day, a dog is not the best choice as they will need someone to come and let them out to pee. Cats are low maintenance except for the litter box, and since Ive converted to the Breeze system I would say stick with that and you have cut your work down astronomically. If you and Spouse work all day I would say a cat or better yet two cats, such as a pair already bonded, which you can find on rescue sites like petfinder.org. I love the mice we had, and one is still alive, but those weekly cage cleanings get OLD FAST. Please consider adopting - I am always stunned to see just how many animals are out there that will not ever find a home and will be put down.... You can feel good about saving a life! A no kill shleter is a good choice too, like Washington Animal Rescue League. If you adopt one of their animals, you help make room for another. Good luck in your search! |
Anonymous
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Wait- really?! Mice/hamsters/gerbils are more work than cats?!
We are really thinking of the gerbil because it seems like LESS work... but if that's not true we really need to reconsider. I also like frankly that gerbils don't live as long. Cats can live forever! and it's possible we'll be moving more than once in the next 5 years. |
Anonymous
I think getting a rodent to replace a dog is just odd. So is buying a rodent. |
Anonymous
| A smaller animal will not be a satisfactory substitute for a dog, or a cat. |
Anonymous
| A fish at that age. Later, guinnea pigs are fun. They need a large cage and two of them. My son is 10 and adores his. He also does all care and cleaning, with supervision. |
Anonymous
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Two adult cats who already know each other and get along. Seriously, cats are so easy. Sounds like your daughter would be good about feeding them. You would probably want to handle the litter box instead of having her do it. I cannot even begin to tell you how much joy my kids get from our cats. Having 2 is easier than having one because they keep each other company. If you go away for the weekend, you can leave them home with some heaping bowls of food. Our cats are litter mates and were 18 months old when we got them.
Rodents are incredibly annoying, smelly, and a lot of work. DD kept begging me for a hamster. then a classmate brought hers to school one day, and it annoyed the hell out of DD all day. She couldnt' stand the noise and the smell. Now it's the last thing she wants! 
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Anonymous
who said anything about replacing a dog? |
Anonymous
OP wrote that the family dog died a year ago and in another post wrote that her daughter was 8. OK. So the family pet was a dog and now the mom-OP- is considering a rodent. Ask your children if their family member who is a dog died would they want a rodent? Replacement pet of rodent when previously had a dog just wouldn't have made the cut in our family. |