Mom, I want a dog. How to please your child and avoid problems. Natalie Sorokopud

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      When you come home from work and see your house upside down, the first thought you would probably have is “Hey, you …. Stupid, naughty, bad kitten/puppy!” But the cause of such behavior is not that the animal is stupid or naughty, but that it didn’t get enough care and attention. All kids need to be brought up. Dogs need to be trained, to know commands. You don’t need it to know any extraordinary tricks or circus programmes, but any dog no matter if it is a giant bear shaped dog or a tiny pocket dog, should know basic commands. Any mutt should know at least what “no!” means, and where its “place”. Because a dog, in contrast with a cat and other pets, interacts with other people and other animals both in the house and outside. That is why if you take an adult dog, it can be either already trained, or you at least can see its temper and you know what to expect from it. Thus you already understand what exactly you need to tech it. Naturally there is a probability that in your house this very creature would behave differently from the way it behaved in previous owner’s house because the surrounding and attitude is different. However in any case an animal in its early age can give you more surprises that an adult.

      There is one more disadvantage of kittens and puppies is that they produce a lot of noise. They wake up at about 5—6 o’clock in the morning, paly, run over your head. And here no commands will work because kids have too much energy and they have to waste it somehow. This energy will decrease with age. Certainly, every animal has different temper and your pet can be very active and noisy in older age too, but in any case an adult animal is less active than a small one.

      Seniour animals is a separate topic. Some people do not want to take elderly animals because they will die sooner. I should say that in my life the cleverest and the most incredible dog (I do not mean to offend my other dogs whom I have loved, respected and adored very much) was a dog whom I took when he was more than ten years old. Nobody knew his exact age because he was found in the street. He lived with me for only a year and died from a chronic disease that had worsened with age. Nevertheless this year was one of the most wonderful years in my life and I am extremely glad that this dog lived this brilliant year with me.

      If we speak about age of your child, here we should think about the fact that when a kid is up to three years old, he or she tries to learn the world around by means of tactile perception. He or she will want not only to touch the fluffy friend, but also pull, drag to the mouth, embrace, squeeze. If the animal is small – a kitten, a puppy, a mouse, – there is a vast risk that your child can traumatize or even accidentally kill it. To avoid this danger, if you have decided to take a four-legged friend for your child, it is better to take an adult pet. A grown-up animal is able to wriggle if your junior grasps it in a wrong way.

      Besides there is another risk that an animal without wanting to harm the child can give traumas. Therefore without fail all communication of your child and your pet should be conducted under your supervision. When you are beside them, they can interact. When you need to leave, it makes sense to take the animal out, for example, to the other room.

      When your child is older, approximately from seven till twelve, another challenge appears. If you are concerned about the fact that care for the pet, its feeding, cleaning, upbringing and everything else would become your duty despite all assurances from your child, it is a good idea to take less demanding animal. It can be a rat, a guinea pig, a hamster. On one hand it will give your child certain communication with an animal and teach responsibility – your son or daughter will be able to clean after it, feed it, but in this case it will cost you less effort than you would have with a cat or a dog.

      Teenagers are already able to bear full responsibility for a pet, so here you can already take a cat or a dog. Surely you know that jut giving a cat or a dog to a child and demand full accountability is not enough. You should discuss what should be done and how it should be done with your kid. We will talk about this topic a bit later.

      2. Where to look for this treasure?

      2.1. Buying vs gift vs adoption

      If we are talking about giving a pet to a child as a gift, we should think about all pros and cons. To start with – are you 100% sure that your child really wants to have a pet? If he or she just likes playing with small kittens or puppies, it does not mean that he would like to have one as a pet, that he is able to take care about it. It can just mean that your kid likes fluffy and interesting things. You can observe your child to understand it: if he or she reacts positively not only to small animals – kittens and puppies, but also to adult animals, – then it is actually so, your junior truly likes animals. In this case he or she will be truthfully glad to get such present, and will be happy about this present not only for a day, or a week, but for all life of his companion. In any case such present should be thoroughly considered and discussed by whole family, because your family consists not only of your child, and all other members of the family would have to interact with the pet. That is why all family approval is necessary. Only in this case this present will bring joy, smiles, hugs and nose licking.

      So, we need to get this present from somewhere. In many films we hear phrases like “Let’s buy a kitten” or “Mom, buy me a puppy”. It is some kind of a stupid stereotype that brings a benefit to pet shops because people are forced to pay money. I find it thoughtless to pay for something that I can get for free.

      There can be cases when a certain breed (or, better to say, certain parameters). Here there is a definite specifics of taking an animal from a breeder. It is vital to choose only a reputable breeder, with positive reviews, those who really care for their animals, provide the necessary medical support. Unfortunately, there are other people who advertise themselves as the great breeders, but in fact they simply turn their animals into the machines that permanently give birth residing in one of two states – either pregnant or feeding their youngsters. Such “breeders” do not give animals enough vitamins and other nutrients needed by the body, do not provide adequate treatment. The purpose of these people – to get as much money as they can, and, in fact, they do not care about the welfare of their pets: when they are no longer able to produce offsprings – the owners get rid of them and get new birth machine. Animals of such people tend to be ill, weak, with poor immunity. Here you need to be especially careful, and think of these issues before then thinking about where it is cheaper.

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