When to Extend the Animal Family

I need a canine friend My husband and I want another dog. Whenever we go to the dog park, we always come away wishing that we had another dog for Chihiro to play with. Cole has his companion, so it would be nice if she had one too. Also, having two dogs and two cats just seems like the right amount of pets for me. Jonathan and I did seriously talk about whether or not we wanted another dog. As I’ve mentioned before, we ultimately decided that it would be better to wait a while. We still take frequent overnight … Continue reading →

What to Consider When Getting Another Pet

Room for more? Most pet owners are animal lovers and that often means we want multiple pets. We know, however, that we can’t be pet hoarders; we have to draw the line somewhere. How do we know where that line is? I’m thinking about getting another cat. Cole gets lonely both overnight (cats tend to be nocturnal) and when we are away for long. My dog Chihiro doesn’t play with him as much as she used to. The perfect solution is another feline companion. But how to know if that’s the right thing to do? When thinking about getting an … Continue reading →

Adopting When Renting

As I’ve stated many times before, I’ve been an animal lover for as long as I can remember. I began the process for adopting a dog and then a cat as soon as I knew I would be able to take good care of them. I knew that my husband and I wouldn’t have the easiest time adopting a dog because we were renting an apartment. I thought it might help that our apartment was part of an actual house; our landlords were fine with most breeds of dogs and had their own cat. Many rescues in our area, however, … Continue reading →

What to Consider When Getting a Bird

Now that I’ve covered the things we should think about when adopting America’s two most beloved pets, cats and dogs, it’s time to branch out into the other many species of pets commonly available. Today I’m going to go over the basics of what to think about when getting a bird. It’s hard to cover the details required when considering getting a bird, because unlike most breeds of cats and dogs, different types of birds often require very different types of care. Still, there are some universal ideas to ponder when determining whether or not your lifestyle is appropriate for … Continue reading →

What to Consider When Getting a Cat

Between cats and dogs, the two most popular pets in America, cats are the more low maintenance. They can ostensibly be left on their own for longer periods of time, and they don’t require quite the same levels of attention as dogs. Because of that, however, sometimes people think they can just adopt a cat and let it be, when there are still several things to consider when determining if a cat is suitable for your lifestyle. First things first, you’ll have to consider your cat’s vaccinations. Depending on how young of a cat you adopt, and from where you … Continue reading →

What to Consider When Getting a Dog

I realized the other day that in my short time as families.com’s Pets Blogger I’ve talked a lot about being a responsible pet owner, and all the things a person should consider before getting a pet, without actually expounding on what those things are. So today I’m introducing a new recurring column on what to consider when getting a new pet. This month’s topic is dogs. Dogs are some of the most common pets, and they’re also one of the ones that come with the largest responsibilities, particularly in regards to time. I’ll start with what to consider after adopting … Continue reading →

Cats and Dogs Really Can Get Along

They’re as universal an example of opposites as up and down, day and night, right and left. Even the line “cats and dogs getting along” is sometimes used as a turn of phrase for unbelievable events. Thus there’s an idea out there that one has to be either a cat person or a dog person. One can’t love both equally, or one certainly can’t have both as pets without inviting a fur-flying frenzy into the home. At best they’ll get along by avoiding each other for the most part, and at worst they’ll need to be separated. Except that simply … Continue reading →

How Dogs Can Train Each Other

In my home there are three teenage girls, three cats, a rat, and two dogs. The cats are the least amount of trouble since all they require is food, water, a clean litter box and love-on-demand. I’m not very fond of the rat, but he was about to become homeless since his owner packed up and moved out of state, so “Spock” now lives with us. The teenage girls? Well, that’s where my gray hairs and stomach ailments have come from, though for the most part our home is fun, if not slightly disorganized. This brings me to our dogs. … Continue reading →

Tips for Puppy-Proofing Your Home

There’s something irresistible about baby animals, isn’t there? Puppies, kittens, chicks, and more… so innocent, sweet, and cuddly! But for baby animals, some things around your house may be irresistable… and dangerous. It’s best to puppy-proof (or kitten-proof, or whatever animal you have-proof) your home BEFORE the new family member comes home. Even if you don’t get every potential hazard out of the way, you’ll still be ahead of the game! First things first: get a pet’s eye view on the world. That means crouching down — or crawling on your hands and knees — to see what the room … Continue reading →

Adopt a Less-Adoptable Pet Day: August 12

Petfinder.com has declared August 12th “Adopt a Less-Adoptable Pet Day”. For all the overlooked pets in shelters, this day’s for you! What constitutes a “less-adoptable” pet? Petfinder asked their member shelters which pets were the hardest to place. 30% of responders had the hardest time finding homes for senior pets 15% of shelters had a difficult time adopting out pets with health issues 13% of Petfinder shelters had problems with breed prejudices (and many shelters mentioned pit bulls specifically as being hard to adopt because of breed prejudice) 10% of responders had difficulty placing pets who need to be the … Continue reading →