Should We Get a Dog with Kids?

Kids love animals. They can sit and look at pictures of them forever, and they may love going to the zoo to see the animals as well. If you have family or neighbors with pets, they probably love to see and watch those animals as well. At some point, your kids will likely come asking you to get a pet. They want to experience the joy of having a pet all the time. Of course, there is a lot more to think about before jumping.

First off, you need to make sure your child isn’t allergic to dogs. It would be a problem if they have allergies to a dog - the dog will be the first to go in that scenario. In order to figure this out, you will need to make sure that your child has spent some time around plenty of other dogs. Get them around different breeds of dogs and make sure there are no allergies before jumping into getting a dog.

Assuming that there are no allergies, then you need to make sure you also understand the financial obligations that come with owning a dog. Some of the expenses can really add up quickly, and if your dog needs any type of medical care, then expect to pay a good chunk of money to get them taken care of. There are expenses beyond just food for a dog, so keep these in mind.

Just a few of the beginning expenses that you can expect to pay include spay/neuter fees (although you can get this done cheap or free in many cases), initial dog needs such as leashes, containers for feeding the dog, and potential dog house or bed. For ongoing costs, you’re going to need food, hygiene (cutting nails, hair, shampoo, etc.), and possibly day care costs as needed. All of these can really add up quickly.

By far the most expensive part of a dog though are those unexpected trips to the veterinarian. Expect to pay $100+ per visit, and if you need any type of procedure done, then you can expect to pay far more than that. You can get pet insurance that will help with these costs, but that’s an additional monthly amount you’ll be paying if you choose to go this route. Having a pet dog can put a real financial burden on your family if not prepared.

Beyond expenses, you also need to take care of the dog. Dogs don’t take care of themselves, so you'll have plenty of added responsibilities that will come along with it. If you think that your child is simply going to do all of those tasks, then you should probably reset your expectations a bit. Most kids simply don’t understand the work that will be involved with having a dog. Be prepared to do many of the tasks yourself.

Initially, you’ll want to potty train them so that they don’t do it in the house, but even then, you’ll need to be cleaning up after them - dog poop can’t just sit in the yard or someone will be stepping in it. Expect to clean up dog poop a couple of times a month from the yard for the lifetime of your dog. This is the job that most kids want to get out of quickly after having a dog, and no one really wants to do.

There’s also the matter of going out on walks with dogs - they need plenty of exercise. You’ll want to walk your dog at least  30 minutes per day, and many will want or need more than that. Plan to spend plenty of time walking the dog as part of your responsibilities with having a pet. This is a job that kids will generally take on more willingly, but just realize that you need to get the dog out regularly.

Those are just a few of the considerations that you need to consider when figuring out if you want a pet. Further things such as feeding, sleeping, and washing are all additional responsibilities that you’ll have with a pet dog. You should consider all of these before jumping into dog ownership - the worst thing to do is to get a dog only to take it to the shelter at some point down the road.

Make sure you’ve done a full analysis of the responsibilities that come with dog ownership and that you know what you’re doing. Dogs take a lot of work, but can be quite rewarding.