Last Updated on August 18, 2021 by Kimberly Crawford
Owning a pet and sharing your life with a pet can be incredibly rewarding, and it can be a way for you to add a new dimension to your home life.
Deciding what pet to get will determine what care, time and commitment you need to give, so firstly you need to decide what type of animal you want to get.
The type of pet you get needs to fit in with your life and your lifestyle so think about what you can give a pet, just as much as what they can give you.
Your Current Lifestyle – What Type of Pet Will Suit You?
Dogs give you a lot back but they do require a lot of time and effort. From feeding and grooming to daily walking and cleaning up.
A dog is a large and long commitment in terms of time spent daily and in terms of years too.
On average, you need to have a couple of hours to care for one dog properly every day, and you need to commit to this period of time for the next 10-15 years.
Related: Getting Ready to Bring Your Pet Home
Making the Time to Look After a New Pet
Of course, you will still have to make time within your daily life as time gets taken away from you before you know it. So, make sure that you can make that hour in the morning before work to walk and feed the dog.
Make sure that you are not too tired when you get home from work to spend an hour cleaning out and feeding a cat, sorting out the fish in the tank or cleaning out a pair of budgies.
You will have to make some compromises’ when it comes to pet ownership to ensure you have enough time to look after and care for your pet correctly.
Does Your Pet Need Looking After When You Leave the House?
All pets will need looking after if you leave your home for longer than a few hours a day, so have you thought about who will look after them.
For example, if you get a dog will you look at a dog day camp in Phoenix or will you rely on friends and family, who can let you down at the last minute. Having the provisions in place and have suitable accommodation for your pet is part of your responsibility as a pet owner.
Counting the Cost – Feeding, Grooming and Veterinary Care
All animals cost money, whether you get a hamster, a cat or a dog. Of course, the amount of money they cost depends on a number of factors, but ideally you should work out if you can afford to keep a pet before you commit to getting one.
There are more costs associated with pets than just feeding them, you have to ensure they have access to suitable veterinary care, and you have to make sure that they are looked after when you are not around.
Working out the monthly cost and then looking at the figure for the next few years at least will help you see whether owning a pet and looking after one properly is something you can do.