Best pets for your family

Which pets are the best pets for families? Getting a pet can be a very complex decision which can impact your entire family for years to come.

Pets tend to be a big responsibility. They ask for a lot but they give back even more.

Before making any selections think well how much free time you will have, will you be willing to clean after the pet as well as how much money will you be prepared to put aside for the maintenance of your family pet.

Dogs

Dogs will be the best pets, as long as you have time for them.

Folks have very strong connection with dogs. As we all know, puppies are actually excellent pets. However let us not overlook that dogs need the most attention. Kids may often promise to clean after it as well as take it for long walks but these promises are rarely kept.

From time to time,"who is going to take a dog for a walk" might develop into a big problem in a family. Our puppy had to go out at 6 AM every morning and believe me, it was terrible for me, a 12 year old back then, to get up that early and go out. He was still being trained so he did not know better.

The dog I have now, was even worse when she was little. She would whine at night to go out, so I had to take her out 4 times every night, no matter the hour for first 3 months!!!

For those who have young children - it is highly unlikely the kids are going to take the dog out or perhaps clean after it. So, before you get a family pet dog you need to make a deal with all of the family members.

Everyone needs to understand exactly what their part of the job is going to be.

Cats

Cats are best pets for strong personalities.

Everyone knows that cats are rather independent. They are often satisfied when you simply leave them alone. However, when they want to play, you better play with them.

The idea of that warm, furry pile purring in your lap simply makes you happy? Then get a little kitten and I am sure you are going to adore it from the first moment. They truly are adorable.

Make sure, before you get a kitten, that you are not allergic to cats.

Parakeets

They can start screaming early in the morning (like mine does). They will make a mess and they do not like to be alone.

Different parakeets have diverse personalities so inform yourself before you pick out a new bird. Budgie parakeets are incredibly playful whilst larger ones tend to be serious talkers.

Parakeets live long so you should be prepared to look after your pet for a long time.

Turtles

What I said regarding parakeets and long term devotion to them, applies much more on turtles. They live very long lives so it would be natural to have this kind of family pet for life.

Turtle does not demand you to spend time with it however it does need a lot of care.

Fishes

Everyone claims fishes are best pets for newbies but we should not overlook the fact that this pet also needs care. Unless you want to flush it down the drain, you have to be careful how much you feed it.

So, if there are young children around, fish food should definitely be out of their reach. It is not rare for a child to drop the entire box of fish food into the fish tank.

Fishes are very quiet pets, but the tank filter is not that quiet.	Not all species of fishes can live in the same tank.	Do not put turtles and fishes in the same tank, turtles will eat them.

What also happens is that a child does not realize that a fish is just not the type of pet you are able to play with. We had to pull our baby sister out of the fish tank several times when she was little.

Hamsters - for people with insomnia

They are small, delicate as well as intelligent. They require some care but not too much of it. They are in fact quite easy to maintain. So they can make a very good pet for a child. However they might bite so you will have to introduce your youngster to the pet and clarify to him how to handle it.

Another issue to think about: a young child does not understand that he or she could hurt the pet so hamsters get injured frequently by children. The majority of accidents result from children dropping them on the floor or squeezing them too hard.

Folks rarely give consideration that this is a nocturnal pet therefore it sleeps throughout the day. This makes them the best pets for people that do not spend lots of time in the apartment since he will not miss you.

They are also great for families that want pets but not the ones that need a lot of attention.

It is very important to keep in mind that hamster gets stinky very easily. If you do not clean it frequently, wow, you better get ready for some unbearable odor.

This can be a great pet if you do not want a long term responsibility given that its life span is about two to three years.

Rat - for learning tricks

Rats are really intelligent and clean. Perhaps you do not believe so at this point as you are visualizing those awful sewer rats. However these are different. Rats you keep as pets are going to spend a lot of their time making themselves clean and lovely.

Pet rats ought to be kept in pairs simply because they do not like to be in isolation. The truly amazing factor regarding rats, particularly as pets for kids is that kids can teach them tricks which will end up being a lot of fun for both of them.

Guinea pigs (love them)

Guinea pigs are simply fantastic. I have two at the moment. Guinea pigs are better than hamsters especially for children. They are not as delicate so kids can easily play with them without worries.

They are active throughout the day, at least mine are, running around the apartment all day long. As opposed to hamsters they hardly ever bite and you really have to get on their nerves for them to bite.

I have fun with our guinea pigs all the time and they seem to be really tolerant with me. Regardless of whether they just woke up, they will put up with you cuddling them.

They need a cage that is a bit bigger but it will be easy to clean after. Compared to hamster, it is easier to clean their habitat since they don't have all those tubes to play with.

Guinea pigs are really social with people and even in couples they still want to play with you. At the same time, guinea pigs are usually quite clean and like to take baths.

Rabbit

Rabbits are simply so cute we can see absolutely no reason for not getting one as a family pet. It lives about five years.

They are fluffy and like to be played with. Some rabbits tend to be smarter that guinea pigs and can be trained not to mess up the apartment.

However, you need to clean them often so they wouldn't get smelly.

Ferrets - for active people

Ferrets are great for teenagers. If you want them to be truly happy, get a couple of them. However, be careful since they love to explore so you might have to pull them out of your wardrobe or even behind the bed.

They require a lot of attention and they also prefer to be active. Therefore you will need to organize yourself good.

Snakes - for those who love unusual

Corn snake is usually a good pet to start with. It is not very costly and it could be an ideal pet to a student in a dormitory. That is in case your room-mate is not terrified of snakes.

If you are planning to keep pet snakes as house animals this is a great specie to learn from. It is not too hard to keep this particular pet and it provides you with a terrific opportunity to learn how to look after more demanding snakes.

Spider as pet

OK, for many people this kind of pet is something they would not keep in their apartment. Yet this is actually a good solution for small apartment, provided that you are not terrified of him.

Tarantula is not as scary as it looks. It does not require too much room, you can keep it in a tank.

You do not have to feed it with live creatures even though he loves them.

It is also not a bad option if you don't have a lot of free time, as it really does not need to be played with. He prefers people not petting and cuddling him.