Top Tips for First-Time Pet Owners

Bringing your first pet into your home is one of the more exciting little milestones in life. This is particularly true if you have children, and this is as much their first pet as it is yours! Pet ownership is an indiscriminate joy, but nervousness about looking after another life is understandable (and particularly if you haven’t already had some experience raising your own humans…).

Whatever the class of pet you’re introducing into your home, it can feel a little like you’re taking things as they come. To assuage that first-pet anxiety, here are some top tips for first-pet owners so you can start your animal-enriched family with relatively little difficulty!

Choose the Right Pet

Firstly, you’ll need to give careful though to what your first pet actually is. Different animals naturally have different needs, and those needs need to line up with your own lifestyle. This is both for the harmony of your home and for the health of your pet! An ex-racing greyhound might not be as prone to regular exercise as they seem, but will still need some nearby green-space to go full-sprint; if you work long hours, you’ll want to select for a low-maintenance cat or dog.

While on the subject, it’s also a good idea to consider costs going forward. Some breeds are more illness-prone than others, and the vet costs alone can be astronomical. This is why it’s vital to look at your pet insurance options sooner rather than later, as having that cushion for unexpected costs can really make the difference between enjoying your pets and barely affording them.

Prepare Your Home

Before you bring your chosen pet home, you should give yourself a week to render your home pet-friendly. This of course means buying up the essentials: food, food and drink receptacles, beds, toys and the life. It also means taking some pet-proofing measures to ensure your new friend doesn’t come to any harm. For particularly smart or rambunctious dogs, baby gates can be extremely useful purchases!

Routine

Whatever your pet of choice, routine is a key thing to establish – whether for you, or for your pets. For less demanding hutch animals, a routine can ensure you don’t inadvertently forget about feeding and playtime, and that your pet remains happy and healthy. For larger, smarter creatures, a routine is necessary structure in the day, and can give them a sense of comfort and relief. Keeping walkies at regular times for dogs can make for great milestones throughout the day, giving them something to be excited for and minimising anxiety in the process.