Young Children and Pets

EDIT: This topic will also discuss the thoughts of ignorant pet owners

Please keep this clean and keep rudeness out of this.

Okay, so I don't know if this is just because of my experiences or if anyone else is seeing this as well, but I'm questioning whether the idea of giving a child a pet (and by child, I mean those ranging from around 5 to 10).

Don't get me wrong, the idea of teaching a child responsibility is great. My parents bought a family dog for us when we were young. But, at that age, I wasn't able to take care of the dog on my own. The most I did was brush and feed her. My parents did the brunt of the work. Was it fair that my parents did most of the work? It depends. Because now if I were to move out at this very moment, said dog would be coming with me.

I've witnessed a few comments/threads on another website about users who are about 8 who have their own dogs, pigs, fish ,birds, etc.

The main question is: Is it fair to the animal?

I can tell you that my 11 year old sister wouldn't know what to do with a fish if it happened to get sick. And she won't even go near dog poop. And as for the hamsters? She won't do anything more but give them food and water, but won't scrub out their containers.

So who has to do it? My other sis and I, or our parents.
My fish, birds, and dogs get 24/7 attention from me when I'm home. i know what to look for when they get sick/injured/etc. And that's only after either extensive research or from others on the internet. How would a 5 year old know when a dog is sick? And what if the parents really could care less about the health of a pet?
My mom and dad don't care about our birds, and they were the ones who claimed they were theirs. So it's pluasible that could happen in another scenario.

It serves responsibility, but only if the parents are putting their work into it as well. I feel like this doesn't necessarily have to happen, seeing as how I know some younger people who are extremely mature and are more educated than I am.

Now, I'm not saying that I'm the greatest at pet care. So please don't accuse me of something when I'm already admitting it. But I'm hoping that when I'm able to control my own finances, I'll be able to give my pets 100% of the care I need.

But these are my opinions and thoughts.

Anyone elses?

Steaks

#108564 • 2012-08-21 17:45:57

#108564

Most children don't understand dog behaviour and how to break up a dog fight (without being injured). If the dog is big, you're looking at possible injury as well if the dog darts off after something.

Aust

#108561 • 2012-08-21 17:11:10

#108561

I walked my dog by myself when I was like 9. If the kid is responsible and dog isn't wild and crazy, I don't see a problem with children and preteens walking a dog.

Alcemistnv [567 candy corns]

#108533 • 2012-08-20 22:29:51

#108533

okay, so it's not just me then... I didn't know if I did something wrong and I started to feel guilty... But now I'm concerned because she said she walked my dog before (presumbley while I was at college). I am so scared of it happening again so I need to set some rules in place before I leave.

Steaks

#108532 • 2012-08-20 22:26:56

#108532

I wouldn't let an 11 y.o walk a dog.

Alcemistnv [567 candy corns]

#108531 • 2012-08-20 22:21:39

#108531

I am infuriated right now. The young girl who I've mentioned a few times has a SECOND betta. She's been keeping both in these ziploc food containers, beither of which is even CLOSE to even being a half gallon. She's also pulling off the whole "I now know everything" attitude. Now, I need to ask a question. Earlier today my 11 year old sister said she'll take my dog, a maltese, for a walk since my 17 year old was feeding my baby brother. I told her no. She asked "why not," and claimed that she will have to walk them in the future anyway. Is it wrong for me to be angry at that comment (I am also on my "female cycle" so I'm a bit more irritable than normal). I told her simply that I don't trust her to watch either of the dogs, and the other dog, my mutt, is aggressive. My mom never walks her for that reason. And my dad causes her to get too excited so she isn't even walkable. I'm the only one able to control her on the walk, and knows what to do if another dog or human comes near us. I explained that to my sister and she got annoyed. I don't know if it was my fault, or if it was just her being her hormonal pre-haircent self...

Roo

#108374 • 2012-08-17 18:50:20

#108374

I had fish when I was younger that probably didn't get proper care (some of them did, but then we started listening to the pet store people - huge mistake that I feel horrible for now D: ). My first pet of my own was a White's Tree Frog that I had researched and researched for months before my parents let me get her. I loved her so much. She sadly passed away a few years ago (she had died and come back to life once before and lived happy and healthy for a couple years, then went through a couple rounds of antibiotics but never quite recovered from whatever she had [vet was nonspecific as to what it was]), but her friend is at least 9 years old and still going strong! Around the same time, I acquired a bearded dragon from my teacher's son - he wasn't caring for the beardie properly (never handled him, tapped the glass of his terrarium to taunt him, etc), so my teacher pulled me aside and offered him to me! I was never able to handle Moko - no amount of socialization techniques changed his mind about people - but he was great fun as a look-but-don't-touch pet. I did have him eating worms out of my hand, though! Ignorant owners drive me crazy. I'll admit, I was an ignorant owner in the past, especially when I was young and the internet was pretty new. It wasn't for lack of love - there just wasn't as much readily available, reliable information as there is today. Now that there are forums with knowledgeable people that can be easily accessed, I'm proud to say that I take care of my pets (now consisting of one dog, three rats, and the 9 year old frog) as well as I possibly can! I think children having pets is just fine, provided that they are closely supervised by their parents till they reach a more responsible age, like around 15 years old (and even then they should be supervised, even if it's more distant supervision). And I wish people were more responsible overall, and much more knowledgeable about their pets. It's such a shame that some folks just flat-out refuse to provide proper care for the lives they take on. :/

Dizzy socks

#108355 • 2012-08-17 05:45:38

#108355

I Got my first dog of my own when i was 8, a cat at 9, a pony at 11, and another pony at 13 :) the responsobility was always mine, and i have always taken care of them.However, from around the ages of 5-8 i had pet rabbits, which i did nothing exept feed them and occasionaly stroke them.My mum did the rest.She didn't mind though, as she knew from the start i was too young to fully take care of them myself.

Dizzy socks

#108354 • 2012-08-17 05:45:19

#108354

I Got my first dog of my own when i was 8, a cat at 9, a pony at 11, and another pony at 13 :) the responsobility was always mine, and i have always taken care of them.However, from around the ages of 5-8 i had pet rabbits, which i did nothing exept feed them and occasionaly stroke them.My mum did the rest.She didn't mind though, as she knew from the start i was too young to fully take care of them myself.

Alcemistnv [567 candy corns]

#108247 • 2012-08-16 19:23:40

#108247

I edited it so now we can discuss ignorant pet owners without going off topic. Both are in the same category anyways.

Alcemistnv [567 candy corns]

#108202 • 2012-08-16 15:04:19

#108202

I feel like what happens is the "It's just a fish" feeling most people get. And people of ALL ages get that... out of all my friend's bettas, mine are the only ones with tanks above 1 gallon AND get the correct amount of cleanings done. I asked my friend to watch Buddha once and it was for a 3 day weekend. She didn't have to clean the tank, but I just wanted her to feed him the food I had supplied her with. And well, she told me she had fed Buddha not only her pellets that he didn't like, but also about 1/3 of the amount of food I asked her to feed him. She ignored my specific requirements for taking care of him for THREE days, and eventually, she stoppped caring for her betta. She didn't care that my fish got unhappy and hungry. It was rude, and I don't like that mentality... But that is off topic...

Young Children and Pets

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