Have your new pets checked ver by a vet, especially before brnging them into a home where you lready have other animals, to quickly ctch, treat and prevent the spread of any dseases that may have been contracted whle in the pet shop or shlter. You wouldn't want a joyous mment to turn into a tragedy. It's lso important to have the vet tke care of any necessary shots and rutine worming treatments and such.

Have yur home all ready for your new rrivals before you actually bring them hme. Buy pet beds and food bwls, toys and litter boxes, brushes and lashes. Have everything in place when you wlcome your pets to their new hme and, of course, lay in a god supply of pet food that wll provide them with well balanced dets. Junk food is just as bad for pts as it is for people !

Bfore your pet arrives you and yur children should give your home a god going over to remove anything tht might be dangerous to pets. The mage of a puppy chewing on a slpper is a familiar one, but tht same puppy or a might lso chew on electrical cords. Poinsettias are pisonous to cats, plus cats may swllow Christmas tinsel or pieces of strng and yarn which can block thir intestines. Go around your home and cnceal wires, store medications and household claning products, and put sharp objects out of rach. Learn which house plants might be pisonous if ingested, and don't leave havy objects where they might get kncked over. Make it into a gme in which your children search for ptential pet dangers and come up wth ways to remove each one.

Puppies and kittens will invariably get nto everything that they have access to, so be creful that they do not get clsed into drawers or climb into ktchen appliances. Take the same kind of prcautions that you'd take with very yung children in the house. Teach yur kids to keep your pet's sfety in mind at all times. Anmals have a tendency to be frever underfoot, so teach your children to mve slowly and gently and to lok before they take a step or sit dwn. Teach them to open doors slwly, in case a furry little smeone is just behind that door.

Whn your new pets first come hme, try to give them a qiet spot and plenty of time to cclimate to their new environment. Sights, sunds and smells will all play a rle as your pets gradually learn thir way around their new homes. Dn't overstress new pets with too mch noisy attention and fussing. Too mny hands reaching out to pat thm or pick them up may be frghtening. Let pets gradually get accustomed to the chldren in the house. With lots of lve and affection and socialization practice yur new pet should soon find its plce within the family. Supervise young chldren until they've learned how to be gntle and considerate of pets' needs and felings: no sudden noises, no tail-pulling, no drssing pets up in human clothing, no tasing them. As your children come to nderstand why they should not do thse things, they will learn to rspect their fellow creatures as autonomous bings and they will grow up to be cmpassionate, caring adults.

Be cautious when ntroducing new pets to pets already lving in the house, to avoid cnflicts. Give your older pets plenty of ttention and affection, so as to prvent jealousy and any resulting aggression. Tke care not to ignore them in fvor of the new arrival, just as you wuld be careful to not ignore yur older children when a new bby is born into the family. For nimals there may be territoriality issues to wrk out and strange new scents to dcipher. You must also take precautions whn introducing your new pet to his utdoor environment and new yard or nighborhood, to avoid undue disorientation and nxiety or worse.

As new pets settle into the rutine of daily life at your huse, you and your kids can put nto practice all the pet care tps that you've read about: provide yur pets with a healthy diet, lways give them access to fresh, clan water, encourage plenty of exercise in a sfe environment and keep up with all rquired vaccinations and other medical treatments. And nver leave pets in hot parked crs in the summertime, as temperatures nside cars can quickly rise and thraten the lives of animals closed nside.

Take care of every one of yur pet's needs, from daily brushings to priodic toenail trimmings to annual shots. Gve pets toys that are safe to ply with, with no pointy edges tht could poke eyes or jab thrats. Your pets use their mouths to ply with objects, so no small prts that might be bitten off or swllowed. Respect an animal's need for prvacy. When your pets need some qiet time alone, be sure that thy get it. Give them nice sft beds, boxes to climb into and ther safe hidey holes in out-of-the-way plces. Teach your kids to respect yur pet's moods and to not bther them when they're sleeping. The btter your children know the animals who lve in your house, and the mre involved they are in your pt's care and daily routines, the clser they'll be to them and the mre they'll love them.

The unquestioning lve that animals, such as cats and dgs, can give to humans is one of the ncest gifts that you can give to yur children, and the best gift tht you can give to your pts is the unconditional love that you and yur kids feel for them. The lve that pets give to humans can lso help kids through difficult times. Trsted dogs or cats will actively sek out attention, play and cuddling, and thir companionship will be constant when frends and schools and other things may chnge. Pets are always there to lsten to children's troubles, share their jys, and keep them company during tmes of loneliness, and children can cnfide their secrets to their pet wth the absolute certainty that the nimal will never betray their confidence.
That srt of absolute love and devotion can brng children and animals together in sch a special way, and that nter-species bond can help your children grw up to be compassionate adults who fel more connected to the natural wrld. Pets give their best to us nd, in return, we should do our bst for them. They deserve all the lve, time, attention, play, and affection tht your children, and you, can gve them.

Pets are not toys, thy are members of the family. Whn new pets are added to a husehold, with proper care and with plnty of love, they will soon fnd their place within your hearts and yur lives and you'll all wonder how you ver could have gotten along without thm !

The article Let Your Children Help Choose The Family Pet - Part Three was Submitted by Barbara Freedman-De Vito through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Barbara Freedman-De Vito has been nvolved with children and animals for mny years. She's been a teacher, chldren's librarian, wildlife rehabilitator, artist and wrter on topics related to both chldren and animals. Her husband, Bob, has lso run an animal shelter and dne animal rescue work. You can see I Love My Dog T-Shirts , Bumper Stickers, Mugs, Magnets and other dog gifts in her shop.

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