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PETS for 9 year old (1 Viewer)

belljr

belljr

Footballguy
I can't find my other thread. So we tried the fish thing when she was younger. Dog and Cat are out. One we are not home during the day and I don't want the dog to be sitting in a crate all day. Two, my daughter is allergic. Not terrible in short burst but prolonged exposure she breaks out.

We tried fish. That lasted a few years.

I've heard mixed things on Guinea Pigs.

How about a rabbit?

 
belljr said:
I can't find my other thread. So we tried the fish thing when she was younger. Dog and Cat are out. One we are not home during the day and I don't want the dog to be sitting in a crate all day. Two, my daughter is allergic. Not terrible in short burst but prolonged exposure she breaks out.

We tried fish. That lasted a few years.

I've heard mixed things on Guinea Pigs.

How about a rabbit?
Click to expand...
Rabbits crap like crazy.

This is a odd suggestion but snake? I hate snakes - despise them. My brother had one as a pet though, and they're about as low maintenance as you can get and only need to feed them every weeks to a month.

 
We were thinking snake but my daughter would like something a little more "cuddly" :lol:

Was looking at cockatiel but don't think I want a bird.

 
Hedgehog. Pricey but cute and well mannered.

Guinea Pig is a good one too. Dont go hamster because they bite a lot, and dont get two because they might eat eachother. A solitary male is fine because they usually roll solo in the wild.

 
question about rodents... IME (spending time with friends who have them), pretty much across the board their MO is about escaping: the cage, your grasp... gtfo of their situation. Some of them are soft and cuddly- but they don't seem to cuddle (see: escape). Most of the ones belonging to kids seemed to end up living in the walls after achieving their goal.

Is this just because I was the stranger (a lot of cats and some dogs suffer from this- avoiding strangers), or is that pretty much how they are all the time?

 
I love the whole "I don't want the dog to be sitting in a crate all day" reasoning. Sitting in the shelter 24/7 is just so much nicer.

 
El Floppo said:
Is this just because I was the stranger (a lot of cats and some dogs suffer from this- avoiding strangers), or is that pretty much how they are all the time?
Click to expand...
My daughter recently got two hamsters for her birthday. They definitively behaved that way at first, but they slowly got used to us. Now they do not mind being periodically held and petted. About once a week we have to clean their cage and that is when they go into their hamster balls. Seeing those two things roll around the house in hilarious. They can get up a pretty good head of steam slamming around into things. It's like demolition derby for hamsters. :)

 
Guinea pig.

Got one for our daughter's 9th bday in May. Everyone loves the thing (3 kids and wife). I don't touch her. Well, I don't pick her up. I'll hold her if my wife hands her to me, and I'll pet her, but that's about it. Never liked little critters. Oh and she peed on me the first time I held her.

Anyhow, she's a sweet pet. She snuggles. We have a pouch made out of an old baby blanket that she loves to be in when being held. She's even fallen asleep a few times. The whistles are very high pitched when she's excited (hungry), and the "doo doo doos" are pretty cute too. She loves kale and carrots. She's fairly clean, but messy. When we give her timothy hay, she searches out the "fluffy" tips and leaves the rest.

 
belljr said:
NutterButter said:
I love the whole "I don't want the dog to be sitting in a crate all day" reasoning. Sitting in the shelter 24/7 is just so much nicer.
Click to expand...
Nothing says caring for a pet like putting him in a crate 8am and letting him out at 6pm !!!!!!
Click to expand...
Nothing wrong with crating but 10 hours is a bit much. Eight hours is about the max they should be kept crated. They need bathroom breaks. I have 4 dogs and I know what they do when I'm not home: they go to their spot and sleep. Even when I'm here that's what they do. :lol:

 
Rat(s) or Gerbil(s). I think they do better when there is more than 1.

 
belljr said:
NutterButter said:
I love the whole "I don't want the dog to be sitting in a crate all day" reasoning. Sitting in the shelter 24/7 is just so much nicer.
Click to expand...
Nothing says caring for a pet like putting him in a crate 8am and letting him out at 6pm !!!!!!
Click to expand...
What I don't understand is the "we don't have to time to take care of a pet, so let's get a wild rodent and throw it in a 2 cubic foot glass case for the rest of it's life" mentality.

I don't understand the rodent/bird/snake/reptile thing.

On crating, I don't think 8AM-5PM crating is especially cruel though. Ideally, that should just be for training, and really wouldn't be necessary after a year once the dog is used to waiting to go out, but even if it wasn't, I don't think it's that bad. Dogs just sleep all-day anyway.

We don't use the crate anymore, but we left it out for a year or so after we stopped "crating" and our dog still seemed to spend much of the day in it with the door open.

I'd make a point to transition away from the crate, but if not, I don't think it's a huge deal if the dog is getting plenty of attention/exercise in the evenings.

 
We have a 10/7 year olds. Cat is out due to allergies but we have a dog, parakeet, hamster, rabbit, fish.

Rabbit was the most recent. Ours took like a day or two to litter train. We built our own cage for this (I highly recommend - it's not hard, cheaper, and you'll get a larger space which a rabbit needs for proper exercise). We used carpet for the bottom of each of the levels of the cage, have had this rabbit for several months now, and the carpet is still in fine condition.

Hamster isn't bad, but they only last a couple years so we're already on the 2nd one and the kids freaked out on the first one. You'll have to deal with death more often, which is a life lesson if you're into that, but the kids don't exactly like their pet dying.

Parakeet makes the most mess of anything because we let it around the house so it gets proper exercise. Craps ALL over the place. But it's a good pet if you train it right.

Fish are boring and kind of suck.

 
WhatDoIKnow said:
Rat(s) or Gerbil(s). I think they do better when there is more than 1.
Click to expand...
You should get females for this. Males are territorial and will most likely fight based on our research. Females might fight too, but your odds are better.

 
Also, crating a rabbit is only cruel if you put them in one of the tiny ones they'll sell you at the pet store. You build one of these multi level cages and these things have PLENTY of room to get their exercise. Google "make your own rabbit cage" and you'll see lots of examples. Like this one - small children are playing inside the friggin cage: http://bunniez.hubpages.com/hub/Best-Bunny-Cage

Ours isn't that big, you want to keep them in an area that gets sunlight and the only place I could make something that big would have been the basement. It's 2 levels, 3 squares by 2 on each of them. We're thinking about adding a 3rd level at some point but this has been great for now especially with how much it gets out to play.

Then you just have to litter train it and you're home free. Kids take this thing out to play with it all of the time, we even have a harness and leash so they can take it for walks. It's actually a lot better than I had envisioned.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
pollardsvision said:
belljr said:
NutterButter said:
I love the whole "I don't want the dog to be sitting in a crate all day" reasoning. Sitting in the shelter 24/7 is just so much nicer.
Click to expand...
Nothing says caring for a pet like putting him in a crate 8am and letting him out at 6pm !!!!!!
Click to expand...
What I don't understand is the "we don't have to time to take care of a pet, so let's get a wild rodent and throw it in a 2 cubic foot glass case for the rest of it's life" mentality.

I don't understand the rodent/bird/snake/reptile thing.

On crating, I don't think 8AM-5PM crating is especially cruel though. Ideally, that should just be for training, and really wouldn't be necessary after a year once the dog is used to waiting to go out, but even if it wasn't, I don't think it's that bad. Dogs just sleep all-day anyway.

We don't use the crate anymore, but we left it out for a year or so after we stopped "crating" and our dog still seemed to spend much of the day in it with the door open.

I'd make a point to transition away from the crate, but if not, I don't think it's a huge deal if the dog is getting plenty of attention/exercise in the evenings.
Click to expand...
That's fine an all but everyone has missed the my daughter is allergic part also

And to add how do you train a dog the first year if you are not home?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Another point on rabbits - they're actually reasonably intelligent and trainable. Parakeets are too. Hamsters and gerbils and stuff are really dumb and worthless.

 
DrJ said:
Another point on rabbits - they're actually reasonably intelligent and trainable. Parakeets are too. Hamsters and gerbils and stuff are really dumb and worthless.
Click to expand...
are rabbits responsive? do they seem to like affection/petting? the ones I've been around (very limited exposure) seem disinterested.

 
El Floppo said:
DrJ said:
Another point on rabbits - they're actually reasonably intelligent and trainable. Parakeets are too. Hamsters and gerbils and stuff are really dumb and worthless.
Click to expand...
are rabbits responsive? do they seem to like affection/petting? the ones I've been around (very limited exposure) seem disinterested.
Click to expand...
Ours has been, it clearly wants to be around my daughter when she lets it out. It's always interested in saying hey and checking you out if you put your hand by/in its cage. It even gets along with our dog. It takes a fair bit of time and effort because they're prey for just about everything, but eventually they warm up more and more from what I've seen. We've only had it since early June though so it's still a bit of a work in progress.

 
belljr said:
That's fine an all but everyone has missed the my daughter is allergic part also


And to add how do you train a dog the first year if you are not home?
Click to expand...
The allergy part is certainly a deal breaker, but since you asked....

You could always get one that's already house broken. Contact a rescue group or a local shelter they'll match you with a dog that's right for your house. We have 4 dogs that we've never crated (although we're not opposed, just not needed). All 4 were at least a year old and house broken. IF you get a younger dog that's not house broken, some time in the crate should do it. As long as the crate is the right size for the dog (not too big) they learn to hold it till you get home and let them out. You have to lead them immediately to the door, and you may have some accidents along the way, but they learn the appropriate place to go. Just be consistent getting home around the same time and then straight to the door to go out. Praise them when they make it to the door. Lots of attention and small treats - nothing big, just a reward.

 
El Floppo said:
question about rodents... IME (spending time with friends who have them), pretty much across the board their MO is about escaping: the cage, your grasp... gtfo of their situation. Some of them are soft and cuddly- but they don't seem to cuddle (see: escape). Most of the ones belonging to kids seemed to end up living in the walls after achieving their goal.

Is this just because I was the stranger (a lot of cats and some dogs suffer from this- avoiding strangers), or is that pretty much how they are all the time?
Click to expand...
Also, on this one, our hamster likes the kids at this point and doesn't try to get away at all. Kids handle it ALL of the time. In fact, the ones we've gotten are Russian Dwarf and they're basically nocturnal. Start out sleeping all day long and running on their wheel at night a ton. With how much the kids handle them they start staying up during the day to be played with and sleep at night. But they're still dumb and don't really do much.

 
Osaurus said:
El Floppo said:
DrJ said:
Another point on rabbits - they're actually reasonably intelligent and trainable. Parakeets are too. Hamsters and gerbils and stuff are really dumb and worthless.
Click to expand...
are rabbits responsive? do they seem to like affection/petting? the ones I've been around (very limited exposure) seem disinterested.
Click to expand...
They also chew on wires...good times
Click to expand...
Haven't had any problems with this, but it's always either in the cage or being played with by the kids so it's not like we let it run all over the house unsupervised.

 
DrJ said:
WhatDoIKnow said:
Rat(s) or Gerbil(s). I think they do better when there is more than 1.
Click to expand...
You should get females for this. Males are territorial and will most likely fight based on our research. Females might fight too, but your odds are better.
Click to expand...
Good point. I was :confused: when my son said he wanted a rat. After having it around for a while, they do make pretty good pets.

A point in favor of gerbils is they smell less than other rodents.

 
Osaurus said:
El Floppo said:
DrJ said:
Another point on rabbits - they're actually reasonably intelligent and trainable. Parakeets are too. Hamsters and gerbils and stuff are really dumb and worthless.
Click to expand...
are rabbits responsive? do they seem to like affection/petting? the ones I've been around (very limited exposure) seem disinterested.
Click to expand...
They also chew on wires...good times
Click to expand...
Sounds like a win-win.

Either the kid gets a nice pet or the wife doesnt have to cook lunch that day.

 
belljr said:
pollardsvision said:
belljr said:
NutterButter said:
I love the whole "I don't want the dog to be sitting in a crate all day" reasoning. Sitting in the shelter 24/7 is just so much nicer.
Click to expand...
Nothing says caring for a pet like putting him in a crate 8am and letting him out at 6pm !!!!!!
Click to expand...
What I don't understand is the "we don't have to time to take care of a pet, so let's get a wild rodent and throw it in a 2 cubic foot glass case for the rest of it's life" mentality.

I don't understand the rodent/bird/snake/reptile thing.

On crating, I don't think 8AM-5PM crating is especially cruel though. Ideally, that should just be for training, and really wouldn't be necessary after a year once the dog is used to waiting to go out, but even if it wasn't, I don't think it's that bad. Dogs just sleep all-day anyway.

We don't use the crate anymore, but we left it out for a year or so after we stopped "crating" and our dog still seemed to spend much of the day in it with the door open.

I'd make a point to transition away from the crate, but if not, I don't think it's a huge deal if the dog is getting plenty of attention/exercise in the evenings.
Click to expand...
That's fine an all but everyone has missed the my daughter is allergic part also

And to add how do you train a dog the first year if you are not home?
Click to expand...
That's where the crating comes in. Dogs generally won't pee where they sleep. Its just a matter of time before the dog no longer needs the crate.

 
NutterButter said:
belljr said:
pollardsvision said:
belljr said:
NutterButter said:
I love the whole "I don't want the dog to be sitting in a crate all day" reasoning. Sitting in the shelter 24/7 is just so much nicer.
Click to expand...
Nothing says caring for a pet like putting him in a crate 8am and letting him out at 6pm !!!!!!
Click to expand...
What I don't understand is the "we don't have to time to take care of a pet, so let's get a wild rodent and throw it in a 2 cubic foot glass case for the rest of it's life" mentality.

I don't understand the rodent/bird/snake/reptile thing.

On crating, I don't think 8AM-5PM crating is especially cruel though. Ideally, that should just be for training, and really wouldn't be necessary after a year once the dog is used to waiting to go out, but even if it wasn't, I don't think it's that bad. Dogs just sleep all-day anyway.

We don't use the crate anymore, but we left it out for a year or so after we stopped "crating" and our dog still seemed to spend much of the day in it with the door open.

I'd make a point to transition away from the crate, but if not, I don't think it's a huge deal if the dog is getting plenty of attention/exercise in the evenings.
Click to expand...
That's fine an all but everyone has missed the my daughter is allergic part also

And to add how do you train a dog the first year if you are not home?
Click to expand...
That's where the crating comes in. Dogs generally won't pee where they sleep. Its just a matter of time before the dog no longer needs the crate.
Click to expand...
Right I understand that but I was asking because people were telling me you don't have to crate after a year and my point was if we are not home all day isn't it cruel to crate them all day

 
With you on that belljr. We've had 2 dogs for most of the last 15 years. Lost one of them this summer, but between the rabbit and it being middle of the summer we opted not to get another one yet. Probably next year when the wife is off for the summer again. And when you've already got one that's trained, it's a whole lot easier and doesn't take as long because the older one sets the example. I don't think it's fair to get a dog and leave it in a crate for half of the day for months/a year at a time. And we want a puppy - we don't want a dog with a somewhat unknown history around the kids.

 
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