Animal/ vet gifts for a nearly 9 year old

[Gintime74]

DN really wants to be a vet when she grows up, and has asked for a present to do with animals or vets, she still likes playing with toys ,dolls etc, so had thought of puppy in my pocket type sets but they don’t seem to be around anymore. Any ideas would be most welcome .

Subscription to 'Animals and me' . DD loves it. Fun and informative.

Animals and You' sorry

My dd is 8 and loves animal toys. I got a set from the disney store with Lady soft toy, little pull along hat box and bowl/dog bones. Or how about a vet playset? Im sure Melissa and doug do one or maybe ELC?

Or small figures, littlest pet shop, lol pet surprise, polly pocket, who's your llama, enchantimals (doll and pet), disney figure's or my busy books.

You can still get puppy In my pocket or jungle in my pocket, they are fuzzy now though.

How about a build a bear? They do things like kennels, bowls, leads, brushes and casts for the animals. Could pair with a doctors/vets kit :)

Playmobil have a Vet set

Does DN have a pet you could get items for? My dds spend hours constructing toys and mazes for their pet mice, and grooming them and teaching them tricks.

My 9yo dd has recently enjoyed getting a Pup in mt Cup toy, and she is very keen on a massive wolf from Wild Republic she got a couple of years ago. We have a medical set that she uses for vet games - not a bought one but a tin with a load of crepe bandages, a real stethoscope, giant pack of plasters, some real syringes (obviously without needles). We kept one of those vet cone collars from when ddog needed it and she uses that with her toys too.

Bug hatching kits - coming out of season now I think but would be lovely in the summer.

Is she too young for a meet the alpacas type gift?

Thank you lots of great ideas. I will look into the alpacas idea and magazine subscription I think.

My Dd has just got into doing jigsaws. She’s 10 and enjoys the Ravensburger XXL 300 pieces puzzles. Most of the pictures in that puzzle range are animals.
She also likes Brainbox games and there’s an animal version www.johnlewis.com/brainbox-animals-memory-game/p231290684

Some local zoos etc. Do sponsor or adopt animal schemes with tend to include a ticket for entry to meet them. Might be worth a look into? X

My DD is the same, last Christmas I bought her two books aimed at children wanting to be vets. One was stories from vets and the other was a book to identify what a medical condition might be - she loved the stories one and the medical condition book she reads occasionally

Scheich figures
Bat detector
Authentic model farm - see Brushwood toys and others

I just found a lovely Melissa and Doug set for my son - also comes with cuddly toys www.thetoyshop.com/baby-pre-school/wooden-toys/Melissa-%26-Doug-Pet-Vet-Play-Set---Examine-and-Treat/p/536180?gclid=CjwKCAjwkoz7BRBPEiwAeKw3q0VxrTDVLWTQViKJAw17PJCggXMMWThjQPZMcWVu8qZxCboJNE1LpBoCzWsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Best present my animal mad dd got at that age was a real cat carrier (small plastic one for around £10) and a cuddly cat and you could also get a stethoscope as well depending on your budget.

An animal encounter at a local zoo or a ‘keeper for the day’ experience could be fun

Have a google for local animal rescues. I know you can visit some horse and goat rescues. There may be restrictions with Covid. A trip to somewhere like that where she can see the animals and talk with people about their care might be good.

You could get a soft toy vet set (e.g. Melissa & Doug Pet Vet Play Set).

We have two amazing cats from CPL , last Christmas I got DD one of their Sponser Packs - you sponser a 'pen' so they tell you about the cat currently staying ( on their way to their new home )

Something like that maybe ?

I used tonite the Animal Ark books by Lucy Daniels 😊.

I used to love the Animal Ark books by Lucy Daniels 😊.

My DD got 2 baby guinea pigs for her 9th birthday, and has loved andlooked after them daily since.

She is now 14 and we still have one of the original 2 ( poor Lightening passed away last year ) and an addition, a very mad haired piggy called Elvis Pigsly...
Is she ready for the real thing? They are fab pets...

I’ve recommended this penguin adoption site before. The website is very basic looking and there’s no toy or poster but you get several lovely chatty emails each year from your penguin talking about hatching eggs, the work of feeding chicks, moulting, the annual vacation to Brazil, returning to the nest. We’ve had it for four years now and each email has been different.
The only problem was that dd felt very short changed when we adopted an animal from a different site, and all she got was a toy, magazine, and a letter that wasn’t particularly child friendly. Then she wanted to adopt a penguin too which would have ruined the illusion as they’d be getting the same email.
It’s a very hard act to follow.

It's an oldish toy now but the Animal Hospital stuff was good for my animal mad DD2. You can get it on ebay we have some we need to sell too e.g. here

Otherwise, though this might not be the year for it, we have done

• farmer for a day at local activity farm
• junior keeper at local wildlife centre (could hand feed wallabies, play with otters, throw cabbages to bison)
• husky riding

There is a great wooden vet hospital depending on your budget with all the accessories

Great ideas, the animal ark books look perfect. We have dogs so I’m not sure I want any more animals but maybe in the future..
I’m going to search wooden vet hospital and animal hospital stuff.