Do you own pets with your kids?

AokisMa - posted on 01/26/2012

Yes, we have 3 rottweilers, all over 7 years. They used to sleep inside, since re-did carpet and painting for baby, we moved them to the garage. Even though we put all their beds and toys down there with them, I still thought they'd be upset. But to my surprise it has gone amazingly well. Baby sees them, pets them, they just lick her. My largest actually wanted to be with baby all the time when we first brought her home, so cute to see them all concerned over her.

Janice - posted on 01/23/2012

My dog is a grumpy old jerk. We babied him before we ha kids and that was a huge mistake. He was almost 7 when DD was born. He never fully took to her. Unless she has food he runs away from her an now that she is a strong willed 2 year-old who climbs on him and chases him around (despite being discipline for it) he growls at her. It is very upsetting. Its hard to control the "fighting" now that I have a newborn too.



I think it is great for children to grow up with pets. My daughter feeds our dog his kibble and that started before she turned 2. However, timing is key. I think if my dog was younger when kids came he would be nicer. I'm sure the dog after this one will be better too.

Colleen - posted on 01/16/2012

Hello Danielle H,



when the baby was in his swing the only dogs tail i have to worry about is my shepard & thats covered in fur so it doesnt really help... but none of my girls step on him.. they would rather help him eat his food on his face or give him kisses bc hes not strong enough to push them away :o)

when he does make contact to having a finger stepped on .. i just shower him with kisses... theres nothing you can really do but just pay attention to the hairy kids too!

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 01/10/2012

My older daughter has a 'pet' at her grandma's. A blue Beta fish named Blueberry. It's my daughter's job to feed Blueberry when she visits grandma (she has a red Beta at my parents' back in NY too, his name is Rainbow)

This is a funny story about the fish: Over Christmas holiday my MIL's boyfriend knocked Blueberry's tank off the wall when he hit it with his head. My MIL and I were asking if her boyfriend was OK and my daughter came in and asked if the fish was alright and cooed over it. We asked her what about grandpa and she says: Oh yeah, grandpa are you ok? Then went back to the fish.

Kelsey - posted on 01/10/2012

i have a pet corn snake. althouygh my daughter*2* is not old enough to really help out with it she loves to watch her eat mice and drink water. she is not afraid of it at all and actually has to say goodnight to the snake b4 she can go to bed ♥ when she gets a little older i think its fine that she helps us out with it

Danielle - posted on 01/10/2012

Colleen your house sounds like my house. What did you do to prevent injuries to baby due to a tail swinging around? Like in the swing and what not?

Colleen - posted on 01/10/2012

OMY! PETS... We own a zoo for our house haha! I had many pets growing up & loved each one of them
right now we have 3 dogs, 3 cats & some fish . My son is 10 mos old. & loves them all we say good morning to the fish everyday & good night to them. our dogs - my girls love the baby to pieces & even my in laws have 3 dogs which the oldest is 13 she started nesting in the house when he was born and ever since wont leave his side & protects him.
We have all big dogs & wouldnt change it for the world!

Danielle - posted on 01/04/2012

Katrina trust me the bond between your little ones and the cat will be amazing. My nephew has his own personal cat and she is so protective of him and cares for him the best she can considering. She reminds me of "nanny" the dog from peter pan

Katrina - posted on 01/04/2012

I grew up with pets, even now could'nt imagine not having at least 1. We have a 2 year old and atm our only pet is our cat. She has been awesome with our son from day 1. Even more so now as we are trying to teach him to be gentle with her and whatever he does to her she tolerates. (he's not too bad, just wants to give her more cuddles then she wants from him :) )Let's hope when no.2 arrives she will be just as good!

Katherine - posted on 12/30/2011

thats awesome danielle, i did the same thing being around the dog and eating whatever i wanted and not limiting myself......my son at 9 months has eaten peanut butter and eggs with no issues!!!! and he's fine with the dog.....however hubby and i are so freaking allergic it's unreal!! :( and we both love animals so much

Danielle - posted on 12/30/2011

I don't plan on giving up my pets because of my baby, specially not my particular pets. I've grown up with all different types of pets and I'm very thankful for that since I have more knowledge now. Right now at my house/families house we have 17 animals; 4 horses, 5 dogs, 5 cats, 2 ferrets. Only one dog and the ferrets are my own, I hope that with me being around so many animals and not really avoiding foods while pregnant that the chance of allergies of all the different things will be diminished. I honestly love my ferrets and even though they won't be within touching reach of the baby I don't plan on locking them up just because of baby either.

Katherine - posted on 12/30/2011

We have 2 cats that we've had for almost 9 years, we got them a year after we started dating and we've both agreed once they are gone we're not getting anymore pets. We're happy with them and love them but prefer spending our time with our child/ren and not cleaning up cat puke, running to the vets etc etc etc.

we also have severe allergies to contend with and therefore no little rodents will be entering our house (hampsters, rats, mice, gineua pigs etc), love em but we get far to sick to even think about having them here.

We have geckos - but once they are gone there will be no more (they live for upwards of 35years.....I REFUSE to will anyone my lizards).

So I think it's great for kids to have pets, but within reason. if when our kids are older THEY can earn an allowence and purchase their own pet (we will give them a list of pets they can have, and we will either purchase the pet or the habitat)

Leah - posted on 12/30/2011

We have a rotty (Teisha) and my son is now 18 months and they get along great! Sometimes we have to tell Teisha off because she can get a little over excited and accidently knock him over as they are both running, but absolutely trust her!

Lyssa - posted on 12/22/2011

we had 2 dogs when i gave birth to my daughter. one, my husky/shepard mix was immediately attached and very protective of her. the other one, who had been "my"dog, was very jealous, we kept him hoping it would change as he got older, but the first time he nipped at her, i was on the phone right away with a couple i knew who wanted him. it was heartbreaking to give him up, but i love my daughter a hell of a lot more than my dog. our other dog, tucker, is wonderful with her. he is her own personal jungle gym, and simply gets up and moves when he's had enough. having dogs is super imprtant in our household, so especially considering we have an 8 yr old son as well, we plan on getting a puppy in the spring. i too believe children being raised around pets, whether it's a dog, cat or a fish, it's not only fun but does teach them tremendous amts of responsibility, respect and compassion.

Kimberly - posted on 12/21/2011

We have two boxers which we have have for 5 years and a russian blue pursian cat which we have had for 6. They were are children before our daughter but soon got used to be animals when the baby came along( sort of) My daughter is now two and get on really well with the dogs and kind of has a love/hate relationship with the cat. My cat is just that MY CAT she doesnt want any other owners so while she will tolarate my daughter just doesnt really like her and there have been a few warnings, like when my daughter was teasing her and she batted her paw at her(no claws)!!! My daughter respects the animals and does help feed them, we would never leave her alone with the dogs as they are way too big but once she is older we will let her do more with them

Darci - posted on 12/21/2011

I had 4 dogs growing up not all at the same time. My first dog I had from 2 till i was about 17 then we got we got one after and we lived on a busy street and she got hit by a car only 2 years after we got her. Then we had two dogs at the same time we bread them. I had them till i moved out. I had 3 cats growing up that lived out side and one got hit by a car the first few years of having him but the other 2 lived for 17 years and just recently both died of old age. Now as a parent my husband had a Doberman before I met him so she is now our dog she was 9 years old when we had our first baby. I was nervous at first being that she was already 9 and had lived most her life with a single guy and no kids. She was actually really protective of our son and would growl at anyone that would come in or near him she would stand in the door way blocking the way to the baby. If he cried she would run around trying to tell us to go get him. Now that he is 2 he harasses her quit a bit and she will growl at him it makes me nervous but she always walks away. She has never tried to bit him. He has just learned to not bug her and that when she growls he knows she doesnt like what he is doing. It does make me nervous though. One bite from a big dog like her could leave him scared for life so I honestly dont think will will get another dog when she passes away unless my kids are older and wont harass the dog.

Michelle - posted on 12/18/2011

We have a Rottweiller X Mastiff and had her for 2 years before our first child. She was our baby, but we made it clear to her that she was the bottom of the heirarchy and when Alex came home ... nothing changed. She was still at the bottom. When Willow came home .... again nothing changed - she is still at the bottom. I only wish I could show Alex that ... I think he thinks Willow and Bindi (the dog) are on the same level.

I love and trust our dog, but I will still be cautious with the children. If she ever attacked ... I would put her down myself, but I don't think I will be in that situation. Pets bring such joy to the family and teaches children so much. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Renee - posted on 12/18/2011

We have 3 dogs (small) and when she was 1 we got her 2 guinea pigs.. Selling the babies for her pocket money, as she gets older she will learn to be gentle and responsibility

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 12/18/2011

I'm going to be a smart ass for a moment and say that I thought our husbands are already pets.

My brother and SIL also have 2 dogs and a baby. I can't picture then getting rid of their dogs.

Vicki - posted on 12/18/2011

We have 2 cats, they are few years older than my son. He's fine with them. He knows not to hassle our boy cat or he will get a swipe. Our girl cat puts up with a lot although he's learnt to be gentle with her on the whole.

As soon as we get around to turning the large pile of timber from an old fence into a chook shed we'll be getting chooks.

Keli - posted on 12/17/2011

I grew up with animals all of my life and take care of them a great deal, i had 2 dogs for 5years before my baby came,its been a Adjustment but im determined to make it work,the dogs aren't very social and never been around kids before so its challenging but i think we have it under control.

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 12/15/2011

I think our cat reguards our baby as either a friend, a pest or just a loud screechy thing that must be tolerated. He bats at her head sometimes with his claws sheethed and just stands by while she plays with his food

Brittany - posted on 12/15/2011

We had 2 cats when my daughter was born. But one of them couldn't handle sharing the attention (she was like our baby prior to our daughter). So we found her a really good home with older children, 2 dogs (whom she LOVES, I really think she was part dog), and another cat. She hasn't had a single issue there and is loved like crazy.

Our other cat is a lump on a log. She was an abused kitten and was constantly going from home to shelter to home. My inlaws got her years ago, but both my FIL and SIL are heavily allergic to her (even I break out in hives when pregnant or over exposed to her). She's sweet though. She hasn't once bitten or scratched our daughter (or even shown any hostility).

I really, REALLY want a guinea pig. But we don't have a place for a cage. So it will have to wait.

Ashley - posted on 12/15/2011

Have a cat who is an angel, he puts up with more than he should have to lol. But he gets his fair share of love from my boys too. We had a foster dog, and realized the dog was NOT for us... yet. We will eventually get a dog but not until all my kids are walking and able to handle the dog and it is not just me :S. My husband and I plan on getting fish to teach my oldest son about proper care of animals... unfortunatly my cat eats somewhere my son cannot get to nor do I want him at 4 to touch the litter.

Denikka - posted on 12/14/2011

I think pets are awesome when you have kids. If you have the time/energy to take care of kids AND pets anyways.
I grew up with a dog and loved it, even though I wasn't really close with her (she was a one person dog and bonded with my grandpa).
We have been talking about getting a dog since before my son was born (he's 2.5yrs old now) and we'd LOVE to, but our living situation makes it impossible for the moment (we're renting and there are not many pet friendly places around here. Not to mention we want a bigger dog and having a tiny yard just isn't fair to the pooch)
But as soon as our living situation changes, hopefully in the next year or so, we'll definitely be getting a dog :)

As the kids get older and can show that they can be responsible for a pet, I would seriously consider letting them own just about any animal they passionately wanted, excluding extremely long lived animals (parrots and turtles come to mind, 30-70yrs of commitment just seems a little far fetched at 14, 15, 16yrs old). Insects are a BIG maybe. I will have to address that at the time. But just about anything else, horses, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, snakes (within reason XD no 30ft snakes thank you XD) lizards, fish...whatever they want. If I can afford to get it for them and can afford vet care, food and housing (or, depending on the kids age, they can get a job and take care of the financial responsibility too), then I really don't see why not.

I completely see my house becoming a zoo as the kids get older XD Hubby and I both have an animal wish list a mile long XD

Lise - posted on 12/13/2011

Had a dog growing up, loved it. We have 2 dogs and a 2 year old and I can't wait to not have pets. *Sigh* I think it's just that we really don't have the time to appropriately play with the dogs.

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 12/13/2011

We just got a kitten the day after the girls and I moved to BC because my husband had promised my older daughter she could have one. This kitten puts up with everything! My 9 month old will pull on him, pat him and lay on him and he won't even scratch or bite. If he gets fed up with either girl, he runs off to hide. He's like the cat version of my brother's dog!

My older daughter is 7 and she has to remember to feed the cat, give him fresh water (or leave the bathroom sink running) and clean out his litter. She also brushes him and made a bed to sleep on (even though he prefers the baby's crib, my computer chair or under the table with our broken computer.) The cleaning the litter is the worst part though.