It is a question that crosses everyone’s mind from time to time. Should I get a pet? This is especially true when raising a family as it can be hugely beneficial to raise your children around animals. But, what animal should you choose?

The most common answer is usually a dog or cat, sometimes a rabbit. But out of all the animals you can pick to raise with a family, a dog is probably the ideal pet. This article is about why we think this is the case.

Dogs can teach your children

As crazy as that sounds, dogs can and will teach your children. It is immensely valuable to have a dog in the family, as the dog has their own free will. You won’t be around your kids all the time when your dog is there, so the dog will need to teach your children about boundaries.

What is okay, what isn’t okay, what the dog likes, and doesn’t like; these are all things that you can tell your children, but the dog will teach them. If a dog doesn’t like something your kid is doing, they will distance themselves. On the contrary, if your kids play with the dog, the dog will enjoy it!

Your children will pick up on this and learn what boundaries are first-hand, rather than just teaching them about it. This ties in nicely too;

Your dog can be a friend to your kids

Dogs love to play, and they also love to have attention. This needs to line up nicely with kids; as they also love to play and want attention. Your dog and children can play for hours out in the garden with a ball, or a stick.

This will also teach your children about sharing, companionship, and friendship. If you only have one child, getting a dog can act as a surrogate for a sibling in a way.

No matter how hard a day your child has had at school, they will always come home to a best friend they can spend time with. And this sentiment goes both ways!

Dogs can teach responsibility

This is another big and often overlooked one. Dogs are a huge responsibility. They look to you for their food, water, care, and to maintain their health. As a natural off-shoot of this, your child will learn this also – and will probably take part in the caring process.

This will teach your child to be responsible, and that caring for others is just as (if not more) important than just caring for themselves. Perhaps give your child the responsibility to feed your dog two or three days a week. Not only will it teach them valuable life lessons, but will also strengthen the bond between your dog and child.

While we are on the subject of food, it is crucial to make sure that if getting a dog, that your dog is kept healthy. Bella and Duke offer a lot of helpful information about dog health and also stock a wide range of healthy food products; certainly worth checking out!

To conclude

Dogs are wonderful animals, and every family should consider getting one. Not only will they bring joy and vibrant energies into your home, but they will also teach you all valuable lessons, show unconditional love, and elevate your life like you can’t imagine!

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