Pets Do Funny Things, Pets Make Us Laugh


Pets add so much fun to our lives. Dog, cat, bird, horse, critter - no matter what the pet they do funny things that make us laugh. They're a source of hugs, kisses, cuddles and giggles. They entertain us. Their actions make us smile. They make us feel better! We celebrate the good things pets bring to our lives. Some of our pets even smile at us!

Pets Help Children Communicate

Even the smallest children will want to communicate more when they have a pet to talk about. They want to talk to us about their pet and tell us what s/he did, where he sleeps, what she eats. They may even try to talk to their pet. As kids get older, they do talk to their pets. Many pets are trained to be therapy dogs (cats, bunnies, even horses!) who LISTEN to kids read to help improve their reading and communication skills! (Tests show reading levels improve when kids read to pets.) We can't forget that talking to our kids about pets in general or especially about the family pet helps kids learn to communicate! Picture by sheknows.com 

Kids Learn Life and Death from Pets


Children are fascinated by baby animals at an early age because of their size, their warm body, their 4 legs, the way they "talk," they can see and feel it breathe and feel the heartbeat. Kids learn pets are "alive" - like they are. Sometimes parents expose their kids to the birth process through animals. 


Kids also sometimes learn their first lesson on death from the loss of a beloved pet. Losing a pet hurts and we go through the same stages of grief when we lose a pet as we do when we lose a good friend or relative. Guilt, denial, anger and depression are natural responses. Talk about it, write about it, maybe put together a photo album about the pet. Tell your kids how you are going to respectively take care of the remains and make sure they understand. Pets give us the opportunity to talk about birth, life & death and hopefully teach our kids about them. 

Protect Your Pets on Halloween

We always worry about black cats on Halloween because our black cat, Cinder Mittens, was so special to our family. If you have a black cat, keep it inside for the week before Halloween too. Many black cats are pet-napped around Halloween by pranksters who may abuse them. Most shelters won't let people adopt black cats in October. It's our job to protect our pets all the time but especially when there are holidays that scare our pets or can be dangerous for our pets. If noisy, loud kids in costumes scare your pet, put him/her in a quiet room away from the front door. Don't let them (dog, cat, bird, critter, reptile, or horse!) eat any of your Halloween candy - put it where they can't reach it. Give them treats made for pets. Keep pets away from candles. Make it a safe and happy Halloween for you and your pets!

Halloween Costumes for Pets

Costumes for Pets are so much fun! But be respectful about putting costumes on your pet. Dogs and cats aren't born to wear clothes. Select a costume that has plenty of room for them to move around. Make sure it won't make them too hot - remember they already have a fur coat! Most important, make sure it won't limit their vision - many pets panic when they can't see in all directions. A costume needs to be safe for your pet. Make sure they won't get their legs tangled in the costume and fall. If they are chewers - make sure there are no small buttons or attachments they can chew off easily or choke on. Make sure it's easy to take on and off in case you need to get it off quickly if your pet panics. 


Try your costume on your pet and see how well he or she tolerate its - most pets don't mind at all if they can see and it doesn't restrict their movements. Limit the time they wear the costume to an hour or so. If you are taking them "trick or treating" with you - don't forget - dogs shouldn't eat chocolate at all and sugar's not so great for them either. Be safe and have fun with your pet!
Dancing dogs - Yorkie Cheerleaders

Exercise - It's Not Just For Kids

Exercise is essential for pets. They need to play and run and burn off energy just like kids! If we don't have a fenced back yard where we can play fetch and run with our dogs, we need to exercise them by walking with them - everyday. Playing with pets, and going along when we walk the dog, helps keep children active and exercising themselves. It stimulates their interest in nature when they see how interested their dog is about sniffing every tree and looking under every leaf. It helps them learn about the environment if we are along to talk about it. Having a pet helps the whole family get more exercise! picture from Ehow.com

Pets Help Children Learn Fairness


Kids are very concerned about what's FAIR. Especially when it comes to siblings. It's hard for parents to convince kids that we need new shoes when our shoes wear out or become too small, not when our brother or sister's shoes wear out. But there are issues that require the same responses from everyone. The house rules apply to everyone. Manners are the same for everyone. Even pets are required to respond to certain manners in the house. Understanding that the rules for pets are different from the rules for them, contributes to understanding that being "fair" is sometimes different for each individual, be it a brother, sister or dog.