pet dog for the family

I really want to get a pet dog for my family and think it's a great way to teach kids about responsibility and love. But my sons are afraid of them. How can I help overcome their fear? They are 11 and 12. #pets #dogs

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Since your kids are 11 and 12 years old, perhaps you could ask why they're afraid of them then try to handle it from there? It's usually linked to a previous experience - I'm personally scared of dogs because I had two encounters where dogs just chased after me and tried to bite me, but I would also like to have a pet dog someday (although I'm not sure whether I'd be allergic to their fur). Give them the exposure at pet shelters, volunteering or helping out with a friend's pet - please don't buy/adopt one back home without telling them. While it could be a good experience, it may also scare them even more and you would have to give the dog away because of that - it's not fair for the dog to be treated that way. If your main goal is to teach them about responsibility and love, there are many ways to do so - not just by having a pet dog at home. You can consider other animals, or even just regular volunteering is good enough! Also consider about the life changes that your kids may be going through, would they be transitioning to a next grade? Will they have extra-curricular activities to commit to? You have to greatly consider everything because the last thing you'd want is to be unable to take care of it because of financial or time constraints (it's not cheap for the vaccinations, checkups, food, grooming etc).

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