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pets

Benefits of Pets and Homeschooling

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

I’m sure that there may be benefits of homeschooling without pets too, like no distractions, but since I can’t even imagine a life without pets, our homeschool is never without pets, two cats, two dogs, plus a varying number of fish. We’re never without a cuddle buddy when feeling blue or overwhelmed here. Or feeling under the weather like we have been this past week, I had no idea our couch could hold that many bodies.

Benefits of Pets and Homeschooling

Benefits of Pets while Homeschooling

*This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

Our morning routine starts with our reading with history read aloud on the couch. In the past we spent the read aloud time with a tiny little Siamese cat walking person to person until she found the most comfortable lap, she has since moved on to sitting on the coffee table as our pup has taken her place on the couch. Want your kids to sit still while read Mr. Popper’s Penguins or any other book? Have a 40+lb German Short Hair Pointer lay on them. He is great at cuddling with lots of long legs to pin them down. While I’m kind of joking about needing to pin them down, he does do this because he just wants to be with us and give unconditional love to us all, and sitting on us means we can’t ignore him.

Breaks

Having pets is the perfect excuse for taking a mid morning break, because those puppy dogs need to go outside, they need to be exercised. Pointers are high energy runners, kids are high energy runners. Getting everyone out for a run in the middle of the morning makes lessons later on easier without wiggling around as much.

Those breaks also great for stress you and your kids might be feeling over a tough lesson. A wet, doggy kiss is a great break, great way to change the mood. And great for transitioning to our science lessons.

Benefits of Pets and Homeschooling Austin and Pup

Responsibilities

Pets are a great way to teach your kids responsibilities from the moment you get them. I currently have one child who would love to be a vet because we’re responsible pet owners and pets require check ups and vaccines too. Plus a tail-door emergency trip taught us about being a little more careful of our cats.

Sometimes kids get so excited about the prospect of having a pet that they forget about the responsibilities that come with it.

Pet Care

We have two cats and a girl who has cat allergies. They have learned about keeping our pets clean and our home clean of as much cat (and dog) hair as possible. Part of pet care is treating them right, not crawling on them because that’s just asking for someone to get bitten at no fault of the animal. Plus pets occasionally need baths, which can be fun and messy and a learning experiences for all. We do buy wipes for our cats to help cut down on dander.

 

Similar posts that you may be interested in:

welcoming a pet into your home

Welcoming a Pet into Your Home

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Living with a Cat Allergy

Filed Under: Homeschool, Natural Homeschooling Tagged With: Homeschool, pet care, pets, Responsibilities

Welcoming a Pet into Your Home

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

If you have been on my Facebook or Instagram pages you may have seen that we adopted two kittens. Welcoming a pet in your home can be exciting and scary, fun and annoying.

After the death of our cat a few months ago we had no intention of getting more cats. Then RHS did a promotion in which their adult cats we free and their kittens were only $50 (includes spay/neuter). We started thinking about it and went back and forth, a lot.

welcoming a pet into your home

We have a handsome 11 year old cat, Shady, and an almost 9 year old dog (who thinks he’s a cat), Luca. We decided on adopting two females, to let our cat keep his king of the household feeling.

This is Whiskey. Our one year old cat, she’s young enough and curious enough that we think of her as a kitten.

Blogging my desk my have just gotten harder to do. My chair seems to be a favorite place of hers.

A photo posted by Ashley (@forgetfulmomma) on Jun 19, 2016 at 2:06pm PDT

This is Kalhua. Our 11 week old kitten. She’s so shy only Hubby and I can pick her up, though she is coming around.

This little girl is starting to get used to me. I'm the one shooting her from the table/counter so it took some work to her to like me. #catsofinstagram #petstagram #pets #cat #petrescue #pet #kahlua

A photo posted by Ashley (@forgetfulmomma) on Jun 27, 2016 at 11:36am PDT

Introducing them to the other pets in our home, we let our pets decide the pace. Our older cat has been keeping his distance and our dog sniff them and walk away like they are old news.

*This post contains affiliate links. You can see my disclosure policy for more information.*

Teaching our kids to move a little slower has been challenging. But they are getting better.

Welcoming a Pet into Your Home

Be Patient.

It takes time for new pets to feel safe, for them to feel comfortable in their new home. Don’t rush them to be playful, happy pets right away.

Give them space.

Give your new pet space from you. Let them explore on their own. (Amazon has amazing prices on cat houses and condos.)

If you have a pet already, make sure all the pets involved have their own space before introductions are made. Separate rooms works great switching blankets so they can smell the new pet without being face to face.

Give them their things.

Toys and bedding that is theirs. Younger pets especially like to play. They will play with most anything, but make sure that it is safe for them.

Stay Positive

Positive reinforcement is best, just like with children. Kitty/puppy treats to encourage good behavior. A little catnip on the scratching post to encourage them to go there, a little lemon juice where you don’t want them to scratch.

How many pets do you have? What kind?

Filed Under: Family Tagged With: cats, family pet, humane society, introducing pets, pets, rescue pets

Keeping Your Pets Healthy – #DentalPetFacts

by Ashley Mullen Leave a Comment

As a pet owner I take care of all my animals needs just as I do my children. And just as I make sure my children are getting their teeth brushed and see the dentist, I’m making sure that my cats and dog have good dental health as well with check up with our veterinarian.

According to the survey, conducted on behalf of Royal Canin, while nine in ten Canadian pet owners believe dental disease is linked to their pet’s overall health, a quarter of them are unaware of the clinical signs of the disease

Pet owners don’t always recognize the signs of dental diseases. Pets may not show obvious signs of discomfort because these are gradual changes — and cats and dogs tend to hide their pain. Signs of dental disease may include: bad breath, lost teeth and excessive drooling.

Dental diseases are present in nearly 85 per cent of all pets past the age of three. And small dogs are especially prone to dental disease. [Read more…] about Keeping Your Pets Healthy – #DentalPetFacts

Filed Under: Family, Giveaway, Sponsored Post Tagged With: #dentalPetFacts, Giveaway, pets, Royal Canin, Twitter Party

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A Little About Me

I'm Ashley, a Canadian secular homeschool mom of 3, living in Nova Scotia.

I share our adventures in homeschooling and parenting.

You can usually find us at the library surrounded by books.
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