Are you considering getting a family pet? Before making any commitments, it’s important to do some research to determine the type of pet that will be best for your family and your living situation. While pets can be wonderful companions for children, caring for them does require work, and it’s important to have a realistic view of who will actually be doing that work. Everyone in the family will need to be willing to pitch in and help out with pet care. These 50 blogs will give you the tips you need for caring for your household pets.

Choosing the Right Pet

You know you want a pet, but how do you know what type of pet to choose? Research is key to making an educated decision about the type of pet that is best for your family. Ask yourself who will be taking care of the pet, how much time and money you have to invest in one and if you have the resources to support the pet as it grows. It’s also important to consider what your family wants to get out of the pet. Are you looking for a guard dog to offer protection or a bunny to snuggle with on the floor? Keep these points in mind as you read through these 10 blogs.

• Choosing the Perfect Pet for Your Kids Read this blog article to find a list of factors to consider when choosing a pet for your kids.
• More than Puppies: Choosing the Right Pet for Your Family If you are thinking about getting a pet for your family you may want to start with something simple, like a fish or a hamster.
• How to Choose a Pet for Your Children This blog post poses several questions regarding choosing a pet and explores some possible answers.
• Children and Choosing a Pet Take a look at the advantages of pet ownership for a child and see if you think your child could benefit.
• Pets and Kids: Choosing the Right Pet for Your Child Different breeds may be more appropriate for your kids based on the their age and maturity level.
• Choosing a Pet that’s Good with Kids When picking out a pet try to replicate some of the things the pet may experience in your home, like loud noises or tail pulling.
• How to Choose the Best Pet for Kids Think about the costs associated with different pets and make sure that you are ready to afford those expenses.
• Teaching Kids Animal Compassion: Choosing the Right Pet is Key It’s important to pick a pet that will fit your lifestyle. For instance, if you’ll be gone a lot, you’ll want to get a pet that is OK with that.
• Ask the Trainer: Choosing the Right Dog for Your Family Pay attention to the body language of the dog to see if it’s the right pet for you.
• How to Choose a Kid-Friendly Family Dog Keep size in mind and make sure that your child is big enough to not get hurt by a large dog.

Caring for Pocket Pets

A ‘pocket pet’ is a cute way of describing pets like mice, gerbils, rats, hamsters and guinea pigs. These animals are all small enough to fit in your pocket, are inexpensive and won’t take up a lot of room in your home or budget, making them a popular choice for a child’s first pet. While your younger child may be able to help care for a pocket pet, it’s always the parent’s responsibility to ensure that the pet receives the care it needs. Take a look at these 10 blogs to learn more about caring for a pocket pet.

• Pocket Pet Pointers Take a look at this home created for pocket pets that gives the pets plenty of things to do.
• Davenport’s Veterinarian’s Guide to Pocket Pets Read about different things you should consider before getting a pocket pet for your family.
• Pocket Pets & Small Animals This blog supplies a list of things you should watch out for to determine if your pet may be sick.
• What the Heck is a Pocket Pet? Find out about different pocket pets that are available and the types of cages they will need.
• Dwarf Hamster Care—A Pocket Pet for You? Read about this small pet and how to care for it to see if this is the right pet for your family.
• Pocket Pet Care You’ll find plenty of information regarding pocket pet care in this post.
• Caring for Pet Mice Mice and rats are inexpensive to buy and care for and are not difficult to train, which makes them a smart choice for many families.
• “Starter” Pets While starter pets require less care than a dog, they still require proper care. Make sure your kids understand that they need to be careful and responsible with their pet before agreeing to purchase one.
• Pet Mice-Fancy Mice Mice are very social animals and can be trained to do simple tricks like getting a treat from your pocket.
• Dwarf Hamster Care These common pocket pets are smaller than a regular hamster, so you need to use care when handling them so they don’t get injured.

Dog Care

Caring for a dog can be expensive and time consuming. It’s a big commitment, and one that shouldn’t be entered into lightly. Before deciding to get a dog, ask yourself and your family a few questions. Do you have the space and the time to exercise a dog? Who is going to potty train a puppy if you get one? Can you afford vet bills? Owning a dog can be a rewarding experience for you and your family, if you are ready for it. These 10 blogs will help you learn how to take care of a dog and teach the kids to care for it as well.

• Tips for Teaching Kids How to Care for Pets Teach kids to be calm around animals and to be gentle when handling them.
• How to Get Kids to Take Care of Pets There are ways to get the kids to help take care of the dog, but ultimately an adult will need to be in charge of pet care.
• Dogs and Kids Be mindful of how old your kids are when you pick out a dog and make sure that the dog is good with kids before you take it home.
• How to be the Best Human: Dog Care Tips You’ll find a wealth of dog care tips in this post that you may not have otherwise considered.
• Learn All About Caring for a Dog Train your dog in a quiet place so that he is better able to pay attention to you and not bothered by distractions.
• Teaching Kids to Care for Pets—Whether it’s a Cat, Dog, Fish or Bird Encourage your child to research a pet before getting one and show them how to be kind to the pet.
• The Importance of Teaching Kids and Families How to Treat Pets Learning to care for a pet can help children be patient with other people and can help them reduce stress.
• A Pet Can Teach Kids Responsibility As the parent, you need to be ultimately responsible for the pet, but you should also encourage your kids to take responsibility for some of the pet care.
• Toby the Doggie, Your Child’s Guide to Caring for Their Dog This blog post shares an e-book that will help teach your child to take care of their dog.
• Dog Care Tips for Kids This blog article is written for kids and explains how they should exercise, play with and feed the dog.

Cat Care

Cat people tend to enjoy the independence that this pet affords them, as cats don’t need to be walked or let outside to go to the bathroom. Cat care requires less time and effort than dog care, which make them good pets for busy people. It is important that you provide your cat with toys, food and water. You also need to make sure that your environment is safe for them to roam.  For more tips on caring for cats check out these 10 blog articles.

• 5 Tips for Teaching Your Kids How to Properly Handle a Cat Make sure that you teach your child how to pet and handle a cat with care.
• Solid Ideas on the Topic of Caring for Cats Make sure to keep your cat’s litter box in a quiet area away from noise and that the area is well ventilated.
• Cat Care is Simple with this Sound Advice Trim your cat’s claws every two weeks and provide him a place to scratch to avoid him tearing up the furniture.
• What Everyone Needs to Know About Caring for Cats Have your cat implanted with a microchip in case he gets out so he is able to get home.
• Expert Cat Care Advice from the Pros Cats require brushing on a regular basis to reduce shedding and prevent hairballs.
• 9 Things Parents Should Know About Cats and Kids Keep your cat inside and help your kids understand how to handle and care for the cat.
• How to Keep Your Cat Healthy and Happy Ask your kids to feed the cat and scoop the litter box. An adult should be the one to empty and change the litter box though to avoid children coming into contact with disease.
• New Kitten Care—Ten Tips for Raising Your Kitten Make sure to brush and wash your cat when he’s a kitten so that he gets used to it and will be fine as an adult cat.
• Choosing Kittens for Kids When considering a kitten for your child you will need to choose a breed that is good with kids and then be sure to teach your child to be gentle and caring with their kitten.
• Bengal Cat Care Tips When you bring your Bengal kitten home make sure to bring along at least four weeks’ worth of the same food it is used to so that it continues to eat.

Exotics

Caring for exotic animals like lizards, rabbits, potbelly pigs or birds can be a good learning experience for the entire family, but if you have young children you need to be careful bringing some exotic pets into your home. Some may carry germs that pose a danger to the health of children and others simply aren’t suitable pets for families with young kids. Keep these things in mind as you read these 10 blogs that provide a peek into what goes into caring for exotic pets.

• 10 Different Types of Pet Birds for Children Read about these different types of birds to determine which breed of bird might be the right match for your family.
• Top Three Parrots for Kids Keep in mind that birds tend to live longer than your child will live at home, so at some point you’ll need to consider who will keep the bird when your child moves out.
• Different Kinds of Birds for Kids It’s important to get a bird that has been hand raised so that it’s simpler to handle after you buy it.
• Bunny Care Part Three: Are Your Kids Ready for a Rabbit? Kids must be shown the proper way to handle their bunny and need to be supervised.
• Rabbit Care for Kids: Rabbits as Pets Make sure that the cage for your rabbit is big enough that your bunny can get enough exercise.
• Do Pot Belly Pigs Get Along with Children and Other Pets? Read this blog to learn why you probably shouldn’t get a pig if you have young kids.
• Care and Feeding of Ferrets There are a lot of things that you will need to do to make sure that your ferret is a pleasure to have as a pet.
• Think! Before You Get a Ferret Ferrets and babies don’t mix well according to this blog post.
• A Kid’s Introduction to Hedgehogs Watch this video to learn why a hedgehog may not be a good choice for young children.
• 8 Care Tips for Bearded Dragons/ Pet Reptiles This video will explain why caring for a bearded dragon isn’t as difficult as you might think and why they make good pets.

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