What Are the Best Starter Pets?

So one or maybe more than one of your children has asked to have a pet. Now, if the family has never had experience with pets before, this can feel like a daunting undertaking. It can be quite easy to say ‘no’ to reduce the hassle, cost, and possibly the mess as well, but having a pet can teach children a lot about care, responsibility, ownership, and dedication. So when it comes to pets, what are the best options to start out with? Well, there are several options.

Get a Family Cat or Dog

Getting a family pet means that the burden can be more evenly spread throughout the family, and it also does mean that you and your partner, if you have one, can pick up the slack if your child doesn’t step up to their share of the workload. Something like a cat or dog can be easily manageable, which is in part thanks to the fact that they’re both really popular pets, so there are loads of resources out there all about how to take care of them. Cats are generally easier to take care of, because they’re more independent; you can let them leave the house for good portions of the day, and they will usually find their way home. Dogs need a little bit more attention, but can be seen as more affectionate in return. However, if you and your family live lives where you have to be out of the house for most of the day, that probably isn’t the best scenario to leave a dog in. If you do decide a cat or a dog is right for you, then firstly, it'll be a big undertaking, and secondly, it could cost a bit of money. However, thanks to sites such as Discount Promo Codes, they have a host of offers from pet food and equipment retailers such as Argos, Sainsbury’s and Pets at Home, meaning that you don’t have to fork out to get the best for your new pet.

Smaller Animals

If you want to see your child take on the responsibility primarily themselves, then it might be worth considering getting a smaller pet, one that is a bit easier to take care of than a cat or a dog, and one that can usually be left to its own devices in a cage. If you don’t mind small furry creatures, then a gerbil or hamster might be apt. Or, something bigger like a guinea pig or rabbit could be an option instead. Small rodents generally live inside, whereas rabbits or guinea pigs can exist inside or out. Hear how guinea pigs can make such great pets.

A Fish?

Let’s be honest, we’ve all found ourselves at some point in our lives in a garden centre, staring at all the little fishies in the aquarium. There’s something relaxingly calm about the mood lighting, the gentle purr of the water filter, and a whole variety of tiny fish swimming about. In cartoons you could win a goldfish at the fair and take it home, which makes it sound like keeping a fish is easy work if they can just give them out like that. However, keeping fish, even a single one in a small tank, can be delicate work. If fish are grabbing your fancy, then there is quite a bit you’ll need to know.

So there you have it. I hope you’re now a little bit more informed on some of the basics of pet-keeping, so that you’re now in more of an informed position and in a better place to make the right call as to whether you should get a pet, and what it would be.