Adopting a new animal into your home can be a wonderful experience that strengthens the bond between you and your family and can bring so much happiness into a home. However, depending on the timing and your current living situation, bringing home a new pet can sometimes be the wrong decision and can be worse for you and the animal. Here are some things to consider before adopting a pet.
Housing Situation
Review your housing situation to determine if it can hold a new animal. Puppies are adorable but apartments are not always easy to house them and may require crate training. If you plan on moving soon it may be best to wait until you’re settled at your new place and save you and your new family member a lot of unnecessary stress.
What Your Budget Looks Like
Animals can be an expensive expenditure, especially early on when you first take the animal home. Review your budget and income to decide whether you can afford it. Each breed and animal has different needs and thus, different expenses tied to them. Do research on the breed and plan out what they need and if you can afford to meet those needs. You can try and save money by baking your own treats such as these peanut butter pumpkin cookies!
Pet History
This concerns both the animals life history and your own. Animals can carry trauma just like humans can. Frequently, animals may not like men due to previous experience of abuse or have shown aggressiveness towards other animals. The age, breed, and health history is also an important factor to consider when looking at the future you’ll have with the animal.
You should also consider your own personal history with owning pets and how your lifestyle can play into it. If you travel a lot for work, it may be hard to obtain a consistent pet sitter and may cause the animal extra stress by being dropped off at a pet hotel.
Other Animals
Having other animals in the home is one of the more important factors on whether a new animal will be a fit or not. Whether it’s your pets or the possible new one, not all animals will get along. Some are best as the only animal in the home or may not like a certain animal such as dogs or cats. Getting a new pet can also be stressful for your current animals and can be a tough transition period with the change in lifestyle.
Children in the Home
Not every animal likes children, and not all children are gentle with animals. Younger children are sometimes too rough when petting/playing with animals which can inadvertently provoke the animal. Meet the animal before hand with your children so you can see whether or not it’s a match and to see if your child is allergic or not.
Be Patient With the Animal
If you do take an animal home, give the animal some patience in transitioning to the new lifestyle and environment. Follow the 3-3-3 rule. This rule states that it will take the animal 3 days to stop being overwhelmed, 3 weeks to settle in, and 3 months to build trust and bond with you. Giving the animal room to breathe and adjust will only strengthen your bond and make the transition as easy as possible.
If you adopt a puppy, consider purchasing this snuggle puppy to help reduce stress and anxiety for your new friend!
Don’t Rush it
The right animal will come along, don’t take home the first one you fall in love with. This should be an informed decision and take your time researching the animal and your situation. Animals should not be an impulse buy. There’s a big difference between buying a shirt you like at the store adopting an animal.
Pet store chains like PetSmart and Petco frequently hold adoption events and often partner with local rescues you can adopt from!
Hopefully this article can help you make an educated, informed decision on pet adoption. If you do end up getting a new family member for adoption week, we would love to see your new pet by tagging us @homebygeneva on Instagram!
