Choosing a Pet that Suits Your Family’s Lifestyle

What Pet Should I Get? Choosing a Pet that Suits Your Family’s Lifestyle

The book What Pet Should I Get? by Dr. Seuss shows us well that choosing the perfect pet for your family takes a lot of consideration! You can’t just pick the kind of animal or breed that you like the best – there are many other aspects to consider too to ensure you choose a pet that will fit into your family’s lifestyle well.

Getting a family pet is a very exciting event but most pets do require quite a lot of work so be ready to commit your time. They also come with a cost!

Let’s have a look at some things your need to consider before choosing a pet:

• Do you have the space for a pet?

Some pets require very little space while others need more. If you live in a smaller home, choose a pet that doesn’t need much space. Whether you have a garden or not will also affect the kind of pet that is best suited to you. Some dogs and cats love spending time running around or exploring and a garden can be very useful for that.

• What kind of budget do you have?

Most pets come with an initial cost of buying the pet itself and any equipment you need. Then it’s the ongoing cost of feeding your pet and any veterinary costs which vary from pet to pet and breed to breed. Large dogs eat much more than smaller dogs for example and some breeds are more prone to certain diseases which will add to the medical bills.

Another cost can be if you need to put your dog in a kennel or your cat in a cattery for when you’re working or travelling. You can travel with your pet too but that also comes with added costs and careful planning to ensure it works.

• Have you got the time?

That brings us to the question of time. Do you have the time to commit to looking after a pet? Some require minimal effort, but they all require some work. Some pets need lots of exercise in the form of long walks several times a day – is that something that will fit into your family’s schedule? If there are a few of you that can help, you can work out a routine where you take turns walking the dog to ensure it gets the exercise that it needs.

Conclusion

Having a pet – whether it’s a dog, a cat, a horse, a snake, a tortoise, a fish, or something else, requires some work but is usually beneficial to your family’s life and happiness. Having a dog is a great way to become more outdoorsy as you need to get out for walks several times a day and any pet is a great way to teach children responsibility as they learn to care for a different creature.

Think carefully about the above – space, time, budget – to ensure that the pet that you choose will happily fit into your family’s lifestyle.