Pets, Kids and Families

[MamaCare]

My experience is that family dymnamics are the key to deciding when/whether to get a pet. Dh and I always thought we'd get a dog when the kids were older (I grew up with dogs) but we were "found" by our shiba inu when the boys were 2 1/2 and 4 months. Bartok is a fabulous, low-maintenance dog, and it was really good for me to have him (I think I suffered from PPD, and he forced me out of the house to walk him, and was really theraputic.) I got involved in breed rescue, and a year later, we adopted Ziva, our basenji. She is WAY needier... loves people, is glued to my side, etc. My boys are really good with the dogs... (Merrick is the animal lover, and we adopted a rat from the Humane Society for his last birthday) and things were good until Giselle arrived. All of a sudden I have way less patience for the dogs, and am giving them way less attention. Bart is un-fazed, but Z started chewing things up, losing weight, and in general was being really annoying. When I finally decided I was being unfair and needed to give her more attention, she stopped the negative behavior. It definitely takes time and commitment to be a good pet owner... it's not fair to ignore their needs. (BTW, dh, we now know, is NOT a dog-person. We are committed to the two we have, but after they are gone, no more doggies... maybe a cat, but we'll see.)
Carrie