Introduction
If you have already decided to become a “Pet mom” or “Pet dad”, I think you have made one of the nicest decisions of your life. This nice relationship will bring you joy, unconditional love and loyalty. Simply this decision will help you to make your life more meaningful.
At this time Adoption of a pet has become a trend in society than past. Becoming a “Pet parent” is really not a simple job, because as a parent you have to take some responsibility for your pet animal. We clearly noticed an improvement in animal welfare problems due to the ignorance and careless behavior of pet parents. On the other side pet parents also have to face some problems due to this ignorance.
That’s why I bring you this article to inform you of some basic things that can be missed when you choose a pet animal. The things that I mention below can be applied to any animal species that you are willing to adopt and mainly I get examples from cats and dogs.
I divide this article into 3 key areas. You (pet parent), Your Pet and Your environment.
1) You – The Pet Parent
As I mentioned above you have some responsibilities that should done from your side by considering you.
Time & Lifestyle
With this point I try to question you from yourself, ‘Have you time for your pet ?’. As in other relationships in this relationship, you have to allocate time for your pet. Caring, feeding, playing(giving exercises), training & regular vet visits are the things that basically you have to consider under this point. When you have decided to become a pet mom or pet dad, this is a really important thing that you should mainly focus on.
Health Considerations
I’m sure you may have heard about allergic conditions that happen to some people due to allergens from pet animals. Pet dander, saliva, and urine can act as allergens for that particular person. Before you decide to bring a pet animal to your home, you should check whether there are any possibilities of allergic reactions to the family members from that pet animal.
Financial Commitment
You have to spend some money on the maintenance of your pet animal. Basically for food, vaccinations, grooming, parasite control & medical care. The total cost for these things may vary according to animal species and animal breed. So, it’s your choice to choose an animal that is affordable for you.
2) Your Pet – Understanding the Animal
With this sector, I try to inform you of the things that you should understand about pet animals and should consider when you do your role as a pet parent.
Species and Breed
Different animal species and different animal breeds have different lifestyles/requirements. So, simply lifestyles/requirements of your pet animal should match with you, your lifestyle, your personality, and your activity level. If these lifestyles/requirements of both pet animal and pet parent are totally different, it will lead to a weak relationship. You can clearly understand this point after reading the below points.
Special Health Requirements
This matter is usually an uncommon thing for a lot of pet parents. Some animal breeds have unique, special medical conditions and requirements rather than other breeds. As an example, bulldogs are prone to Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS) because of their flat faces. So, one who is willing to adopt bulldogs should pay more attention to their diet, exercise, and living environment like factors to prevent this disease. Likewise, it will really help you to know about these types of specific health conditions that are more prone to the particular animal breed that you are going to adopt. For this, you can get help from your family vet or our email section.
Grooming & Hygiene
With this point I try to simply say ” If you haven’t time or facilities to maintain the breeds which need frequent grooming and good hygiene, don’t try to adopt them “. Specially when we consider dog breeds with long hair like Poodles, Shih Tzus, Yorkshire Terriers, and Cocker Spaniels really need this. If a pet parent fails to maintain good hygiene and grooming, it will negatively affect the appearance, and health of the pet animal.
Temperament and Behavior
Considering this factor is important to choose a pet that is really needed for you and suitable for your environment. Genetic information has an effect on the temperament and behavior of the animal, in simply one animal’s temperament and behavior are specific for that breed/species. So, if an owner expects a totally different behavior from the animal that he is going to adopt, it will never happen. As an example by considering the difference between the two species, you should never expect loyalty from your cat as your dog, because it really depends on the factors I mentioned above. So, I will show you some examples, if we consider these factors between different breeds of the same species(dog).
Friendly & Sociable / Loyal & Protective: Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever
Independent & Calm: Chow Chow, Shiba Inu
Energetic & Playful / Alert & Vocal: Labrador, Collie, Beagle
Legal and Ethical Considerations
Adopting wild, exotic or endangered animals may be illegal or unethical depending on the law of your country or you may need special permission to adopt a particular animal. When you buy a pet animal, it’s really good if you can get it from a legally approved source with clear papers that prove it.
3) The Environment- Your Home & Surroundings
Simply, the Environment is the place where you are going to adopt your pet animal or where you live. It’s really important to make sure the environment is suitable for your pet animal. If it’s not, it will cause extra stress to or nonwellbeing of your pet animal.
Space Requirements
With this point I try to question you in yourself, “Is there sufficient space for my pet animal ?”. So, you have to ensure the space that you provide to the pet animal for its living place is enough. Due to the size, temperament and behaviour of your pet animal, you have to think about this matter. I will show you some examples of animals which need relatively big space.
Large Dogs: Great Dane, Saint Bernard
High-Energy Cats: Bengal
Other Pets: Rabbits and large birds like Cockatoos and Macaws require space to roam or fly safely
Safety Concerns
Safety is a very important thing that you should consider. If you love to adopt small animals like hamsters and rabbits, you have to be more conscious as they are easily injured and vulnerable to household dangers or predators.
Environmental Sensitivities
Some animals are very sensitive to the environment and also usually every animal is sensitive to the different parameters of the environment at different levels. Animals like guinea pigs, squirrels, and rabbits are very sensitive to temperature changes and stress. So, you have to consider the housing, temperature control, noise level and parasitic distribution like factors basically when you are going to adopt a pet animal.
Water Quality for Aquatic Pets
As you know, this is the most important factor for aquatic animals to live. Basically with this point, you have to consider the color, chlorinized or not, pH, temperature fluctuations, possibilities of toxin exposure & filtration system of water that you use to adopt your aquatic pets.
Toxic plants or Poison Exposure
We have experienced some clinical cases that caused serious health conditions in animals, due to this toxin or poison exposure. Basically, this happens due to the careless behaviour of the pet parent. Think if you send your pet rabbit to a place that has well-grown grass without any investigation of the types of grasses in there, this toxic plant ingestion can occur, and also in some cases due to the arrangement of poisons like pesticides, rodenticides near the living area of the pet animals can be led to toxin exposure of your pet animal. So, if these are very simple things, you have to be more aware to prevent serious & fatal health issues in your pet animal that can occur due to these matters.
Conclusion
Adopting a pet animal is not just selecting a nice companion. It’s the beginning of a new relationship which makes you parents. That’s about a relationship making a promise to love, protect and understand your pet for the rest of its life.
With the sound of ‘pet parent’, there are some responsibilities that you should be done. Like in every relationship in this relationship understanding the pet animal, understanding yourself as a pet parent and make comfortable of the pet animal as it needs to be done.
So, with this article, I try to give a basic and simple idea about your role as a pet parent and to prevent the missed out of any basic single point.
Before you make this wonderful decision, ask yourself ‘Am I ready to be a pet parent?’,if ‘yes’ then welcome to a loving journey filled with unconditional love, loyalty and unforgettable memories.
If you need further clarifications or if you have any questions, connect with our email section.
