Kids love a pet, but sometimes parents don't love pet's quite so much. Pet's make a mess on the carpet, they're expensive when you go to the vet and they are always a headache when you go on holidays. So if you've got children who are pestering you for a pet what should you do? Should you just say no?
Have you considered buying your children a guinea pig?
Guinea pigs make wonderful pets for the kids. They are small, not too messy, cute and cuddly, don't get sick frequently and can be left outside. They don't drop hair all over your carpet, they don't chew your furniture and they don't bark until the neighbors complain. They're cheap to buy, cheap to house and cheap to feed.
In fact you can't get a better pet for children or parents than a guinea pig. They don't live so long so you're not committing yourself to pet ownership for more than 15 years. In fact a guinea pig usually lasts no longer than 5 years.
A guinea pig is easy to handle and easy to tame and turn into your best friend. They rarely bite and they will happily sit on your child's lap for hours while they are brushed or stroked.
Like all animals you should supervise your young children when they are handling their guinea pig. Guinea pigs don't like being dropped.
They like to be with people and other guinea pigs, so it's usually better to buy 2 at a minimum.
Guinea pigs are very cheap to feed, and apart from a little extra vitamin C from time to time require little else other than some vegetable scraps, fresh grass and some grains or guinea pig pellets.
But before you buy your first guinea pig you need to understand a few things about housing them. They must be housed in a good guinea pig hutch.
It's important to spend a little time thinking about how to house your guinea pig before you buy him. The guinea pig hutches sold in pet shops are generally too small. Your piggies need to be able to run around and play and most guinea pig cages don't allow them to do that.
Some simple timbers, some wire and a few hinges and clasps can make yourguineapig cagethat he'll be happy with. It's possible to house your guinea pig outdoors however they are susceptible to particularly cold or hot weather and care should be taken on hot or cold days. It's essential that they have a sleeping area in the hutch that is dry and free of wind, where they can have a bed of straw or hay to sleep on.
So if the kids have been pestering you for months to buy them a pet give some serious consideration to getting them a guinea pig, and even spending some quality time with the children building your piggie a great guinea pig hutch.
If you are brave enough to go with a dog or cat then consider containment products like an underground dog fence, wireless dog fence or pet deterents.
I just heard about the new Radial-Shape Wireless Dog Fence from Havahart Wireless that doesn’t require any digging. Set up is fast and easy! With this fence, my dog and I can eventually train outdoors without the leash.
ReplyDeleteHere's the wireless fence I'm talking about:
http://www.havahartwireless.com/store/wireless-dog-fence/5134g