58
votes
Accepted
How can we find a dog to "test drive"?
Fostering is a great way to see if you're ready to commit to a dog, contact your local rescues to see what kind of dogs are available.
The perks with fostering are:
1) You're helping a dog in need.
...
- 12.6k
30
votes
How can we find a dog to "test drive"?
I don't know specifically about England, but here in Germany, many pet shelters are looking for volunteers who (regularily) take dogs for a walk. Even if they might not have your specific breed ...
- 417
16
votes
How can we find a dog to "test drive"?
Other answers are good. One thing you might not have thought of is to go on a walk for an hour every morning and an hour every evening. See how you feel after doing this for a month. Don't allow ...
- 261
16
votes
Accepted
When choosing a cat, how to determine temperament and personality and decide on a good fit?
My advice on how to figure out which cat to adopt is pretty much always, "Talk to the people that are currently taking care of them."
In general, they will know which animals are ...
- 16.2k
15
votes
Koalas as pets in the EU
The Australian Koala Foundation calls themselves "the principal non-profit, non-government organisation dedicated to the conservation and effective management of the wild koala and its habitat". They ...
- 20.1k
15
votes
Koalas as pets in the EU
No, koalas are not good pets.
Koalas can be aggressive. They have very long, sharp, and strong claws for climbing trees, and can bite. Koalas can do enough damage to send you to the hospital. (...
- 16.2k
15
votes
Is it safe to keep bonobos as pet?
Bonobos are NOT pets!
And please, for you and the bonobo, do not try to keep one as pet. There are at least four reasons for this:
Bonobos are not safe.
The circumstances of bonobo capture and sale.
...
13
votes
How can we find a dog to "test drive"?
Many foster agencies will let you let you take a dog for Monday - Friday and then decide. They want to place the dog in a good fit.
Within a breed personalities differ. I would base the decision ...
- 1,015
12
votes
New cat for my other cat
I'm sorry you lost your male cat. Getting another cat will be good for both you and your female cat.
I would get an adult cat, not a kitten. A mature cat will likely be calmer, and less likely to ...
- 7,542
10
votes
Can we leave a pug alone for 9 to 11 hours during the day?
If you are going to be out for 9-11 hours a day then your sleep time will be around 7-8 hrs a day. It means the dog will be alone for almost 16 to 18 hours. Add the time you will do household chores ...
- 101
10
votes
How can we find a dog to "test drive"?
As others have already stated, you'll definitely want to look at organisations that are looking for volunteers for both fostering but also dog walking.
For example, The UK's Blue Cross have a scheme ...
- 5,135
10
votes
How does one go about selecting a "good" rescue shelter?
Years of experience of taking in second hand dogs here - I quickly gave up trying to deal with the sort of private shelter you apparently want to get a dog from. Many of them treat you with a degree ...
- 101
9
votes
Are crows good pets?
Probably not
Good pet might not be the word for it. While very smart, crows need a lot of space, probably more then you can provide. And smart means they need mental stimulation. Think flying border ...
9
votes
Should I get a small animal or a dog to take to college with me?
Adopting a pet just prior to a move is probably not the best choice. The top two reasons for pets to be surrendered to a shelter are Moving and Landlord not allowing pets. Imagine you and your pet ...
- 29.4k
8
votes
Accepted
Is it a good idea to get a kitten for an elderly woman?
Pets and the elderly are almost always a good combination, but a kitten may not be the best choice. Kittens tend to have more energy then their elderly companions, this can be problematic. ...
- 29.4k
7
votes
How can we find a dog to "test drive"?
https://www.borrowmydoggy.com/ is a website that allows just this - you can get matched with local dog owners to give their dogs walks. It's potentially a simpler starter than fostering. I've not used ...
- 179
7
votes
Younger siblings fed cat that is not ours and now the cat won't leave
Don't feed the cat. It will go home when it's hungry enough. It would be better not to give it any attention at all. It will eventually realise that there is no point in visiting you, unless it has a ...
- 1,411
6
votes
Can we leave a pug alone for 9 to 11 hours during the day?
That is a very long time for, especially a puppy, to be left alone. A pug could be fine but I think almost more important than breed is to select the specific puppy who will be ok.
This situation ...
- 748
6
votes
What to look for in a horse for beginners?
So, we probably need a little more information as to your situation to provide a better answer. However, I can probably point you in the right direction.
First, what kind of beginner are we talking ...
- 4,464
6
votes
Pet options for an immunosuppressed family member
As suggested by a comment from @Layna, house rabbits may be a good choice. My wife is immunosuppressed and cares for our 3 rabbits, plus several foster rabbits. In any case you will want to talk to ...
- 29.4k
6
votes
Are crows good pets?
If you were to get a crow it would need to be from a breeder that offers crows legal to America.
"...the only way that you can legally and ethically acquire a pet raven or crow is by picking a ...
- 298
6
votes
How can we find a dog to "test drive"?
I'd suggest looking for your local dog park. Whether you find a "test" dog or not, it'll give you a chance to see a large variety of breeds and how they will interact with other breeds and humans.
...
- 61
6
votes
What would be a good breed of dog for a first time owner?
Could anyone recommend a breed?
Breed doesn't always tell you everything you need to know about a dog, but it can give you a helpful understanding of the general needs and some characteristics that ...
- 61
5
votes
Accepted
Best pet for a blind person
Of the options you listed cat seems to be the obvious answer, they are reasonably independent and quite a lot of them will enjoy a good cuddle.
I don't want to be rude or insensitive as I don't know ...
- 5,470
5
votes
Accepted
How to properly take care of pet slow loris?
Unfortunately, there is no way to properly keep a slow loris as a pet.
This is for several reasons: as nocturnal animals with huge eyes, the bright lights of human houses cause them pain. As animals ...
- 66
5
votes
Should I consider a Maltese or English Bulldog with children (ages 3-11 years)?
Even within any given breed, dogs will have varying personalities. So, "this breed works well with that range of ages" is impossible to answer, especially without knowing more about the family. A ...
- 2,102
5
votes
Accepted
Is black cat hard to get adopted?
People will say that black cats go unadopted more often anecdotally, but from articles on the subject, it seems to be not necessarily the case that black cats are less wanted than other colors of cats....
- 16.2k
5
votes
Family loyal dog for long-term travel
There are several aspects you need to consider, including:
Breed
Traditional herding and guard breeds were bred exactly for your purpose: to protect familiar individuals (animals or humans) from ...
Elmy♦
- 32.1k
5
votes
When choosing a cat, how to determine temperament and personality and decide on a good fit?
Unfortunately, this is difficult to predict even for experienced cat owners.
However, adult DSH or mixed breed cats in general are pretty mild-mannered, bordering on lazy and aloof. If they’re not, it ...
- 4,128
4
votes
How can I find a dog that looks like a wolf?
So, as you said, you've always got the Husky and Malamute to fall back on. However, both of these are high energy, cold weather dogs. It's really not fair to get one if you can't exercise them to a ...
- 4,464
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible