Advice for pet for 4yr old

Lex Luthor

Our 4 yr old has been asking us lately for a pet. He's itchin for a dog but we live in a housing estate and I'm not too keen on keeping a dog as I or my wife don't have the time to walk him and our son would be too small to do it.

We had a look in the pet shop yesterday and might consider a rabbit. The wife isn't too keen on anything resembling a rodent (guinea pig, mouse, hamster) in the house....

She'l only go for it if it can be kept outdoors..

Are rabbits hardy enough animals to be kept outdoors for the whole year even with suitable housing?

Anybody who has pet rabbits and any hands on info on all the problems associated with them and what's involved in keeping one, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,

Tom

Victor

4 is too young for a pet. My niece (the age 5) nearly flushed the goldfish when she was "changing the water" (7am Sunday).

If the child is looking for interaction with animals, maybe a trip to the zoo or Newbridge House (or is it Ardgillan Demesne, it's been a while - phone them) which has a petting farm or borrow a friends / relations pet for a week. See what the responsibility and boredom curves are like.

http://www.fingalcoco.ie/services/PARKS/regional-parks.htm

ferdi

you will put the animal in real danger if you give it to a 4 y ear old, and as victor says, kids that age have zero attention span so chances are you'll end up having to get rid of the poor creture.

Rew

I agree as well. I know a young child that killed a pet rabit because they really didn't understand the whole thing (and because the child was vicious for its age).

Any pet youy get is going to be yours and your wifes really as it will be you who really takes care of it.

In saying that my niece is growing up (they were all around before she was born) with 2 cats and 2 dogs and she loves animals. The cats/dogs just avoided her if she is rough with them.

Victor

Rew wrote:

I know a young child that killed a pet rabit because they really didn't understand the whole thing (and because the child was vicious for its age).

/me thinks of neighbour's 2 year old "Nice cat, nice cat." Kicks cat.

eth0_

How about Sea Monkeys?

luckat

A pet isn't a thing for one of the family. A pet belongs to the family; it may be particularly one person's favourite, but it's not just for that one person. So if the parents don't have time to walk a dog, perhaps it's not the right time to get a pet. You might, later, consider a cat; but on the other hand, if you're going into the project with the attitude that you can't spare the time, what will you do if the cat sharpens her claws on the furniture or something?

Nope. You only take on an animal if you take it on for good or ill - and you're clearly not ready for that.

An animal is a big commitment; there are vet's bills - for instance, I met someone who'd got a dog from the pound recently, and had paid €123 for its vaccinations and microchip, and was now about to have it spayed, which would have been another €80 or so. There is a lot of responsibility - and if you're not *wholeheartedly* committed to this, do not under any circumstances take it on. You get back much more than you give - but if you're not able to commit to giving what the animal requires, please don't get one.

Doper Than U

Have to echo above, 4 is really too young to fully understand the responsibility of taking care of an animal. As someone suggested above, see if you can borrow a friends pet. Animals are ALWAYS harder work than you first imagine. *says the girl with two Jack Russell pups who just had scorching diarrhoea this morning...yup, puppies are fun* (They're fine btw, just in case anyone was worried) So far my dogs have cost around 1000 euro in vets fees (one of the poor things broke his leg while jumping a log in the back garden) and that is all before they've reached their first year. Having said that, they are wonderful dogs and I'd be lost without them. Pets are great fun, but don't get one unless YOU (the parent) really want one, you'll just resent the animal after a while because you WILL be left to look after it.

Lex Luthor

I'm not suggesting that we'd let the 4 yr old loose on the pet un-supervised. I grew up with dogs in our house as kids but I feel he is too young for one. I'm not familiar with the responibilites associated with keeping rabbits, but would have just thought they stay in a hutch all day, but find that particularly cruel. Surely they would need somewhere to stetch the legs?

p.s. Cats are not even in the running.

Doper Than U

I know only a tiny amount about rabbits. They can be housetrained. They must have room to run about, preferably have grass to eat as well. Lettuce is actually a terrible food for rabbits, it's mildy poisonous. They need their teeth trimmed regularly by a vet. I would imagine, as an animal that lives in a community, that it would need company. They take as much looking after as a dog or cat. They also bite if so inclined.

Lol, ...I didn't for one minute think you'd let the 4 y/o play unsupervised with the animal. It was more a concern of him/her losing interest rapidly, and you left looking after a rabbit you didn't really want in the first place.

http://www.rabbit.org/care/new-bunny-index.html

Falkorre

OK, first off, a rabbit wouldnt just need a hutch, are u mad? a rabbit needs a "run", an enclosed area on grass for it to, well, "run". Like any other outdoor animal.
If you buy a rabbit without reading up on the basics at least, the rabbit wont last a week. Aside from how damned cruel it would be.

Anybody who buys a pet for a 4 year old, is, in my mind, rather naive.
4 year olds have no idea of care, at four you world revolves around you and your parents. At least wait till he is 7 or 8, before you sentence some poor animal to a painfull existence.

(PS, whether or not he is left alone with it does not matter, it takes one second for a child to pinch, then animal bites, then animal is "disposed of" child ends up at best, inconsolable, at worst with a very very nasty infected wound).
Very very silly thing for a responsible parent to do IMHO.

B

Dancing_Priest

When I was 3 my parents got a Golden retriever puppy, we did live out in the country and needless to say I had no hand in keeping it alive. She lived for about 14 years and we got on great together. My parents had no problem leaving me alone with her because she was so laid back about everything, even when I would jump up and try to ride her like a feckin horse. If you ever end up with a dog I would reccomend a golden retriever to babysit children.
As for rabbits outdoors, my cousin had a rabbit in an outdoor hutch for the best part of 18 years, but I think thats bordering on world record lifespan for a rabbit

Nala

Lex Luthor wrote:

I'm not familiar with the responibilites associated with keeping rabbits

In that case, it's a bad idea to get one. Like with any animal, to take good care of a rabbit means knowing a reasonable amount about them. Not just their care, but the animal itself-its biology and behaviour. Knowing how an animal would behave in its wild state greatly helps you to understand their behaviour.

Lex Luthor wrote:

but would have just thought they stay in a hutch all day, but find that particularly cruel. Surely they would need somewhere to stetch the legs?

Yep! They need a run. Ours have always lived in a hutch with a run attached to it 24/7 and they've all lived happy and extremely healthy lives. Unless you're good with wood, I suggest you buy the hutch (it has to be watertight you see) but the run is easy to make, just a frame covered with wire, with a detachable roof. It must be tall enough for the rabbit to stand on his hind legs without banging his head. Rabbits that don't get enough exercise become fat and unhappy.

Lex Luthor

Falkorre wrote:

If you buy a rabbit without reading up on the basics at least, the rabbit wont last a week. Aside from how damned cruel it would be.

Anybody who buys a pet for a 4 year old, is, in my mind, rather naive.

Hence, the reason I posted here. I wasn't jumping in head first without first asking a few questions and doing a bit of research. Thanks for all the advice though.
We thought we were lucky with the idea of a rabbit initially, cos the day we went into the pet store the first thing he asked was "Mammy, where do they keep the dinosaurs?"

Doper Than U

lmao!! awww....where do they keep the dinosaurs? ... thats too cute. What a sweetie.

Zulu

I grew up with a golden lab.
She was bought a couple of months before I was born. Beautiful dog; beautiful temperment. Definatly recommend.

Lex Luthor

Zulu wrote:

I grew up with a golden lab.
She was bought a couple of months before I was born. Beautiful dog; beautiful temperment. Definatly recommend.

I agree about those dogs being a perfect pet, but we had one when we were kids. Sis was 7, I was 5, brother was 2. When he grew up to adult size, he was too big a dog for our house and a housing estate. We were too young for him at the time. We gave him to a friend you had a bit of land to live out the rest of his days.

samo

My kids aged 2 and 4 have a rabbit and have to say I probably love it more than they do, it was a real novelty at first and there were a few squashing incidents but then when explained to them that if they loved it they shouldnt hurt it theres been problems. We have a hutch out in the garden with a little run and happy enough out there, I didnt think much of rabbits till getting one but they are actually (unless ours is an exception) very clean and dont require very much hassle.

The kids bring him out lettuce and carrots and are very fond of him and he's pretty sweet too. only prob is he hops around garden during say and neighborhood cats are after him but definitly think if you go for pet, rabbit is good option. DO NOT bother with gerbils or hamsters, waste of time money and effort!

Nala

samo wrote:

The kids bring him out lettuce and carrots and are very fond of him and he's pretty sweet too.

Iceberg lettuce can upset a rabbits stomach so try to avoid feeding it. Romaine, red leaf, green leaf, escarole, etc., are all good though! I personally find lettuce goes off too quickly so I prefer to feed my little chap cabbage.

samo wrote:

definitly think if you go for pet, rabbit is good option. DO NOT bother with gerbils or hamsters, waste of time money and effort!

Agreed! I found hamsters to be very boring.

Rew

Guinea Pigs are surprisingly entertaining and cute heres Topsy: