1. Skip to navigation
  2. Skip to content
  3. Skip to sidebar

Topics:

Toddlers and pets

With proper precautions, your toddler and pet can coexist happily and safely

By
//
Originally published in Today's Parent December 2003

Let’s start with a dose of reality. If you think it would be fun to have a puppy and a toddler at the same time, think again.

“Every family is different,” acknowledges Shelagh MacDonald, program director for the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, “but I don’t think getting a dog is usually the best decision at that point. Toddlers require so much time, and puppies can be almost as demanding as children. And the early stages of a puppy are so important – the time and effort you put into the first two years in training and shaping their behaviour pays off years down the road. It would be a real challenge to train and socialize a puppy at the same time as having a toddler.”

So if you’d like your child to be pals with a puppy, a couple of years from now is likely to work out better.

But maybe you already have a dog, or are taking in an adult dog for a friend who’s become allergic. Maybe you’re considering a lower-maintenance cat, or also have an older child who is begging for a smaller pet like a guinea pig or budgie. With proper precautions, your toddler and pet can coexist, happily and safely.

Subscribe to Today's Parent for just $14.95* That's only $1.25 an issue!

May We Also Suggest...

What do you think?