To think more thought needs to go into getting a pet

[Beachcountrysidetown]

I am so confused as to why people get pets without really considering the responsibility they are taking on.
A lot of people talk about getting small pet shop animals for the children then get annoyed when it’s the adults having to look after the pets and remind the children to check food water etc. What did they expect? There is a reason charities only rehome animals where there is an adult with enough time to properly care for the pet.
Another one I hear a lot is “this small pet is rubbish because it bites” again what did they expect when they only get the animal out once a month or when the animal is taken out it is not handled gently?
I also see animals being kept in such unsuitable houses - too small and often without enough room to behave naturally at all!
“farm” type animals being kept in the same condition as intensive farmed animals (garden chickens for example being kept in tiny hutches)
Animals being treated badly because it’s “only” hamster, chicken, gerbil etc.
Dog that need a lot of walking not being walked nearly enough.
It upsets me. Animals take time and need owners to research properly to make sure that the animals are being kept the best way possible.
AIBU? Should I be a bit more light hearted towards animals?

@Blue thats made my day. Very unfortunate auto correct

YANBU, this is why I’ve said no to getting a pet for DD despite incessant begging, none of us are really gonna have time to care for it properly.

I agree with PP some people don’t give a shit about animals. BIL (my DH’s brother) is a special kind of idiot, so it didn’t surprise me when he bought his 5yo DD and 8yo stepdaughter a hamster each despite him and his GF working full time and having numerous dogs and cats (the dogs don’t get walked as they have no time to walk them).

2 months after getting the hamster, it was summer and blazing hot. They put the hamsters on the kitchen worktop to mop the floor, but left them there all day by the window which had the sun blazing through. His DD’s hamster died from the heat. The other one survived initially but died a week later. He has absolutely no remorse and said they were too much work anyway. As if these hamsters just rocked up to the house one day and claimed squatters rights, rather than he made a conscious decision to buy them himself.

He’s a cock and I’m pleased that my DH seems to think so too and that we have little to do with him.

I feel so sorry for all the small animals like hamsters and rabbits spending their whole lives in a small cage. They aren’t supposed to sit in a bloody cage all day everyday for the rest of their lives
I had a rabbit years ago he was let out into the house and hopped around the garden. And the cage was big.
Our hamster was the sweetest little thing and ran around my bedroom for exercise.
Our dog is walked and looked after and spoiled.

I won’t have any more small pets because they take a lot of looking after and I haven’t got time for it now.
Makes me so angry when people get pets and shut them away and ignore them because they can’t be bothered..don’t get a fucking animal then.

@Wolfiefan I thought the recommendation was to see them with Mum and Dad too if at all possible, and make sure they're registered. What else can you do? Genuinely want to learn more about it as it's not widely publicised (or if it is I missed the memo).

Totally get what you mean about the rabbit hoping around, stressedmum, mind was more like a dog in terms of how much he was part of the family and came into the house!

verystressed that is a horrific story!! So cruel!

@NeedingSolutions.
I would be hugely put off if a breeder owned both parents TBH. Unless there's a good reason it screams backyard breeder breeding their pet dogs for cash.
KC reg is worth sod all.
Find out about breed club and society. Go to shows. Talk to people. Find out which health tests are necessary in that breed. Eg mine both parents should pass heart testting before breeding.
Ask around. Find out which breeders are well respected in the breed. Do your research. Expect home checks and to have to jump through a few hoops. Expect to wait on breeder's waiting list.
There's plenty you can do.

When my ds wanted guinea pigs I spent a fortune on them!

Decent multi story hutch, a run that attatches to the hutch so then can go outside when they want to. It costs a small fortune in high quality food, bedding etc a month and of course fresh food.

They have tunnesl to run through/hide in and play things in their hutch (balls of hay with bells in to push around etc)

They are moved inside to the garage in the winter but their hutch means they still have a bit to run around in upstairs and downstairs. (and they are brought into the house for a cuddle and run around too)

They are right little characters and love to sit on our laps and stuff their faces when getting nails clipped etc.

Regular vet checks, mite drops etc all mounts up and I think many people just dont think of 'small' animals as costing much.

But I agree a great many people dont think ahead when buying a pet. They never think of the running costs, the vet bills, they things the pet needs to stimulate it or train it, keep it healthy etc. It should be compulsory for anyone selling pets to ensure that the person buying it can prove they have the first idea of what that animal needs. Having kept Gps and rabbits as a child I knew what we needed so it wasnt a problem for us.

My mum had hamsters and they were very pampered, lots of running around in those balls in the living room and they would stop at our feet when they wanted fussing and sit on our laps and get fed and fussed over and settle down on us for a snooze.

(I do know several people with chickens and they are all very well looked after and kept safe and pampered!)

You are absolutely right. I work in rescue and the 'reasons' people give up animals are unbelievable.

'it doesn't match the furniture'
'I got a puppy and my 18 year old cat who I've had since 12 weeks old doesn't get on with it so the cat has to go'
'I'm pregnant'
'it scratched me'

Or people who want to give their pet up for behavioural reasons. When you explain that the behaviour is easy to tackle with consistency and perseverance they still want to give the pet up because they basically can't be bothered to put the effort in.

I'm not saying there aren't legitimate reasons for giving up a pet, there absolutely are. But there are so many spurious excuses from people who basically can't be arsed because they view the animal as a throwaway commodity.

And don't get me started on people who don't neuter their animals. Or people who insist on going to some shitty backyard breeder rather than a rescue, then wonder why their dog has parvo or their kitten is actually 5 weeks old and is dying of flu. For a 'nation of animal lovers' it often feels like we love therm when it suits us...

My cat was stray for 4 years. They think he had a home before that because he's litter trained etc but if he did have a home, he ended up on the streets. How he survived four years i will never know, he is the most affectionate loving cat and is usually found clinging to me
The photos of him in rescue nearly break my heart with how ill he was

When I had spinal surgery people said "oh well, you'll have to get rid of that horse"
Um, no? I've had her for 7 years and there is no way in hell I am giving her up. The first question I asked my surgeon was "when can I ride again??"
I don't understand how people can do it, I would be absolutely devastated without my pets

YANBU. When I got dog 1 I knew full
Well it would be worse than having a baby for a good year in terms of commitment to adhering to its needs and routines and workload. I've now got another dog, with the full
Knowledge that it would double the workload.
Friends looked at me oddly when I would say I could only be out for two hours at the beginning when they were tiny. people just don't get it at all!
So worth it-I get such alot out of having them-but it has to go both ways-you get out what you put in.

would be hugely put off if a breeder owned both parents TBH. Unless there's a good reason it screams backyard breeder breeding their pet dogs for cash.
KC reg is worth sod all

When I said "if possible" I meant I assume that both dogs aren't living there as such, just that it used to be a good thing to be able to have access to the other parent details and to meet them if you can. It used to be that reputable breeders would accept this would be requested of them. Obviously that has changed then.

Do breeders attend dog shows then? I thought it was just people who want to show their very pedigree pedigrees!

OH used to volunteer at a rescue in Australia. They had a cat returned after 24 hours as it was " too friendly"! He took that one home.
Current cat is a rescue and over the years I have had various waifs and strays - cats, rabbits, rats. They all made great pets once they were treated properly.
On a related subject, went to our local fair a couple of weeks ago. So many stalls with goldfish as prizes and they were selling tanks to the "lucky" winners, that honestly were smaller than shoe boxes

I absolutely agree. I love my dog to bits but he costs me an absolute fortune. With daycare, insurance, hydrotherapy, food, supplements, worming, flea treatments and toys it's easily £300 a month. I'm scared to tot it up!

Our rabbit was cheaper however took no less of our time. He had the run of our house and garden and only went in his hutch to sleep.

I see no end of people who get a pet only to get bored a few weeks or months later. It seems to be part of our want-it-now culture without thought for the years that the pet stays with us and what it needs. Our rabbits lived until they were 10. It's a long term commitment.

People really do have an awful attitude to small pets like hamsters. I know a few adults who love their dogs and cats to bits but are so dismissive about 'the kids' hamster who 'no one cleans him out or bothers with him now we have the dog' they'll say laughing 😡We had a hamster and of course being nocturnal the kids got bored as he was usually asleep and took a while to like being held but I got him out every night, and let him run around the playroom for a good hour every day, got him a huge cage that took ages to clean, bought all the recommended food, rotated his toys etc... I used to really worry about him but other owners just forget about them.

My horror is how people treat birds: a tiny cage:"that's suitable for canaries" say the pet shops.NO ! Canaries are birds, with WINGS, they need to fly,to explore, to stand rubbernecking at the neighbours from a convenient perch on a window sill(paper underneath)not hop along one lonely perch.
"The budgie won't talk, he's boring" NO, he does talk , he speaks with a variety of sounds and will burble happily when you chat softly to him.
"They just eat seed", NO they don't, they eat fruit and vegs as well, and love and need the nutrition and variety,have personal tastes just like people.They have friends and rivals just like people, they like routine and knowing what's going on.They like regular hours,some are early risers, some like a kip.Some will wake yawning, others are ravenous and first to grab a bite.They need people to research what's involved before owning them be prepared for mess,people prepared to be company and comfort,to love them and enjoy them and take proper care of them.

@NeedingSolutions
Please feel free to chat via pm if you like. Or start another thread about finding a pup!
A decent breeder should of course allow you to know the pedigree history and give you the option of meeting dad. I have a bitch. Won't breed. She's my pet. But IF I did I would study genetics and traits of different dogs to mate her with. Not just allow my male dog to have a go!
My girl is a wolfhound. There aren't many breeders TBH. Many of them are people who show and want to breed to continue their bloodlines and try and preserve some of the best traits for posterity.
I learnt so much from going to shows. Exercise and grooming. And feeding. And breed traits. And can they live with a cat? What sort of collar for a giant hound?! What health issues are there? What pre breeding tests should happen? People who love the breed should be more than happy to chat about them!

I've always thought how cruel it is to keep a bird in a cage, and clipping birds wings seem like a form of torture. We did have a budgie when I was young but it was only locked in the cage at night. The rest of the time it just flew round the house.
I always feel sorry for terrapins. Most people have them in a tank half filled with water and they always look like they are desperate to get out.

I completely agree that people do not stop to consider an animals welfare before they get a pet. I have had various pets over the years and have looked after each and everyone properly.

I remember talking to a work colleague and mentioning I wasn't looking forward to walking the dogs that evening because the weather was awful. She couldn't believe I still walked them in winter!

I just don't understand what possesses people who are stressed and have little time to add to their load by getting a pet. They need a lot of time!

Bil and sil are getting a puppy next year. They both work full time, they hope to start ttc in the next year or so, they love going on multiple holidays and they have a cat they barely bother with. The puppy is just about having the lifestyle and picture perfect family life. It makes me so mad but nothing gets through to them.

I third birds in cages - it's an abomination - poor little things I would love to see some sort of training for potential pet owners to learn how to care for, exercise and feed whichever animal and receive a certificate upon completion which would be needed to enable them to obtain a pet. It would deter some people which may save a lot of unhappy animals, but it will never happen.

It would also be nice to get to the point where if an animal's eye is hanging out of its socket (wild example) that the owner doesn't leave it a few days hoping it will pop back in, nor come on here to ask AIBU to not take pet to vet yet, the eyeball has only been hanging out for a week, we don't have insurance and it's Christmas next month .....

Couldn't agree more . Every dog , cat and horse we've got , is a rescue . Two out of my three horses were taken on after being bought by people with much more money than sense , who had no idea of the work or commitment involved . One was going for meat , the other the owner was trying to give away after his granddaughter turned up her nose at him . He cost me a pound . The first one became an advanced medium dressage horse , the other , he'll be eventing . But they could have ended up depressed , wasted , and ruined , because of a knee jerk purchase . Idiots .