by Jim Lockwood

A child’s role in pet care can be rewarding and challenging. It is exciting that you have a pet cat or dog and want to share the opportunity of pet ownership with your children. What is important here to know that each child has a different maturity level and experience so you can assign age-appropriate tasks fitting their age group. Here are some tasks that as a parent you can assign your child as they get older.

Toddlers

A toddler can help parents with pet care simply by being involved — “helping” a parent fill food and water dishes, grooming, going with parents to take the dog for a walk or to the veterinarian. Another good trick is to have the toddler give the dog a treat for good behavior, i.e. gets in bed or crate before family leaves the house. The toddler and the pet both get to enjoy this special job!

The 5-7 Year Old

This age group is capable of doing some of the tasks above (feeding, watering, grooming) without parental assistance. Still you can’t expect that a child this age will remember to do these jobs or chores without friendly reminders from Mom or Dad. You can provide some incentives for this age group to help them remember their responsibility.

The 8-12 Year Old

Parents will still need to supervise their children in this age group for some tasks, like walking the dog. Before a child is 10-12 years of age it’s not recommended that they walk a dog without adult supervision. But the child in this age group can feed, water and play with the dog alone (depending on the dog’s temperament and area for exercising). In this age group, some are mature enough for you to allow them to train the pet on certain behaviors that need changing.

Teenagers

Depending on your teen’s maturity, you can sometimes allow him/her to take full responsibility for the dog, including feeding, cleaning up after, driving to the veterinarian and exercising and playing with the pet. Allowing the teen to take the dog to obedience classes can also be a good activity for both. Another responsibility is to allow your teen to train the pet to change a bad behavior. What an excellent way for the teen and the pet to bond.

Conclusion

When you know what tasks you can assign your child when you have a pet in the home should be helpful to both you and your child. It’s important that you talk with your children before assigning them a responsibility so that they understand what is being asked of them to do. Taking this extra time will help you, your child, and your pet. Another important issue, if you should have more than one child, each will mature at different stages. So, be sure to assign to each a task based upon his/her maturity. This will require some judgment on your part.  

The bottom line is that you have a family knowing what their role is in the caring of the family’s pet.

A look at Best Friends Pet Care at Walt Disney World. This new luxury pet resort replaces the former keenels at Disney World. Dog owners can choose from a variety of accommodations, ranging from a standard 32-square-foot all-indoor suite, to an expansive 226-square-foot VIP suite with television, raised bedding and private outdoor yard. Cats will spend their visit in the separate “Kitty City” pavilion in two- and four-room condos. There also is a special area for boarding pocket pets such as hamsters, fish and birds. All animals except venomous ones and primates are welcome. For more information, visit attractionsmagazine.com Video recorded and edited by Jimmy Strater.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

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by MaryEllen and Paul

Owning a pet animal is a lot of fun, especially if you have kids in the house. Dogs and cats are the most favored by many pet lovers because aside from being playful, they can also be trained to guard the house or even fetch things for their masters.

But all the fun stops when these creatures start to poop and urinate everywhere. Aside from the awful smell, there is also the risk of contamination since they tend to play around in the dirt and move from one place to another. For most pet owners it comes with the territory. But what if the owners are away or are too busy to take care of these things? That’s where pet poop cleaning services come in.

Pet poop cleaning services were established by people who are pet owners themselves and know how tough it is to maintain cleanliness in the house when there’s a pet inside. They are willing to do the dirty work for homeowners who are either too busy to take care of their pets’ wastes or those who just don’t like the idea of handling their pets’ excretions.

Aside from cleaning, other companies offer extra services that will make pet ownership more appealing to many people. They can also take care of the pets’ needs in hygiene like giving them a bath or brushing their teeth. It may sound too much but there are folks who just love to pamper their pets and pet poop cleaning services are willing to throw that in if one is willing to shell out extra cash.

Many people balk at the idea of paying pet poop cleaning services just to clean after their pets. Aside from costing extra, they think doing it loses the essence of being a pet owner. They believe that dogs and other pet animals must be treated like regular members of the household. They insist that a special bond is formed when owners themselves take a hands on approach to pet care.

No matter what a pet owner believes in, pet poop cleaning services will always be around for people who are willing to have their help in pet maintenance. The most important thing to remember for pet owners is that having animals in the house is a big responsibility and they should make sure they are capable of handling their needs.

It’s not enough to feed and give them shelter. They should be allowed to grow in a clean environment which pet poop cleaning services are advocating.

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by Ozarks Red Cross

Jack’s Pet Care Series

 Great Pet Care on a Budget – Part I, In the Beginning

 It usually starts like this…Someone takes home a new dog or cat and they are very excited and proud of their new pet. It was sooo cute in the pet shop just staring at you with those sad eyes, how could you say “no”?

 The truth is that pet care can be very expensive if you are not prepared. A cute little puppy that eats ½ cup of dry dog food per day can grow up to be a 100 pound eating machine in just a few months. The kitten likes to sharpen his claws on your new leather couch, but he doesn’t mean any harm (smile). The pet owner gets frustrated and or broke and suddenly the cute little pet ends up in a shelter somewhere for the whole cycle to start over again…maybe.

 It is a very sad situation for animals to be returned to pet shelters for any reason. The pet might find a good home but there is also a fair chance that it will be euthanized. It is a very uncertain situation and hopefully one that can be avoided.

 Quality pet care does not have to cost a fortune. With a little planning and research you can have the pet you want and not end up in the poor house while giving your new pet a much needed home.

In this series we are going to discuss how to create such a plan and offer some helpful tips on the following topics:

Choosing the right pet Estimating the cost of pet ownership and pet care Where to find your new pet How to provide great pet care on a budget

 We hope you enjoyed this article from Jack’s Pet Care Series.

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by insidethemagic

Great Pet Care on a budget – Part II, Why do you want a pet?

 First, ask yourself “Why do I want a pet?” and be honest about your answer. Maybe it’s to have a companion to help from being lonely or maybe it’s for protection. Did you grow up in an environment where there were pets around? Did you have them when you were a child? Or maybe you seen someone else with a pet that you admired and you decided that was the right pet for you?

The answers are limitless but whatever the reason you have to have a willingness to care for the animal through thick and thin and not when it’s small new, and cute. Getting a pet on a whim is never a good idea. You need to be ready for all the activities that go along with pet ownership including:

Daily feeding Walking and exercise Cage cleaning Routine veterinary checkups, pet insurance, etc Grooming Training Many more…

Owning a pet requires a lot of time and effort if it is to be done correctly but unfortunately most people don’t realize this until the animal is home and after awhile the owner becomes overwhelmed. 

So when you decide that you are ready for pet care and you are ready to move forward. Be honest with yourself, take your time and look around for the pet that’s right for you. 

We hope you enjoyed this article from Jack’s Pet Care Series. 

Please check out part I & part III of this series for more information on pet care and pet ownership.

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