National Pet Parent's Day 2025 is on Sunday, April 27, 2025: how do i convince my parents to let me buy a pet dog?

Sunday, April 27, 2025 is National Pet Parent's Day 2025. VPI Pet Insurance - 9 out of 10 veterinarians recommend‎ VPI, America's Trusted Choice.

Unfortunately, it's your parents' house, your parents' money and your parents' rules - until you have a job and get out on your own. Ask them to let you get an easier pet to start and show them that you can take care of that properly. Maybe they'd let you get a rabbit or a guinea pig - they're not as much fun as a dog, but they're easy to keep, live in a cage, don't have to be walked or trained. You could volunteer at a local shelter - many of them love to have kids that can help walk, feed and socialize the puppies.

Dogs require a lot of time, energy and money to take care of properly. If the dog isn't properly trained, it can chew up your house and your stuff. If it's not housebroken, it can ruin your floors and your furniture. Your parents may assume that you'll get bored with the dog when you start playing sports and dating and go away to college. You can't keep a dog in a dorm or in most apartments. They don't want to be stuck taking care of a dog for 12 years if you can't handle it.

A good pup can cost $1000 or more. Even "free" dogs cost money to take care of. A crate, books and supplies can cost up to $300. Puppy shots are $200, then $100 a year for boosters. Annual Heartworm test and preventative medication $100. Professional trainer $600 and up. Going on vacation? Boarding kennel $40/day. Spaying? $250. If you can't afford to pay for a good dog, maybe you can't afford to maintain one either?

BEFORE you get any dog you should read some great books on training. (Try not to pick books randomly - there are a lot of bad books out there also!) These are some of my favorites and you can get them on Amazon.com

What All Good Dogs Should Know - Volhard

Good Owners, Great Dogs - Brian Kilcommins

Dog Tricks : Eighty-Eight Challenging Activities for Your Dog from World-Class Trainers by Haggerty and Benjamin

Don't Shoot the Dog - Pryor

Training Your Dog: The Step by Step Method - Volhard

Dog Problems - Benjamin

Cesar's Way - Cesar Millan

Also, watch the Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel. Cesar Millan is the best trainer I've ever seen on TV.

If they ever say yes, find a good breeder by going to www.akc.org or talking to people at dog shows. You can also find info about the breed clubs on the akc site - they probably have a rescue group where you can get an older dog for less money. The best breeders will be members of their breed club, promoting healthy dogs with great temperaments. They should ask you a bunch of questions to make sure their puppy will be getting a good home. If all a "breeder" seems to care about is whether your check will clear, you can be sure he won't care a week later when the pup is dying from distemper or parvo and you want your money back.

Whatever you do, DON'T go to a pet shop, a flea market or buy one sight-unseen off the Internet!!!! You'll pay top dollar for what is usually a poor quality puppy mill dog. And you'll be supporting one of the cruelest industries in the country. The breeding animals are often kept in deplorable conditions - spending their entire lives in small wire-bottomed cages. They probably haven't been vaccinated against contagious diseases or tested for any health or temperament problems or genetic diseases - that costs money and cuts into their profits. A female is often bred every time she comes into heat. When her poor little body can't take it any more, she is often clubbed in the head and tossed into a dumpster or an open ditch. Most puppy mills ship their pups to pet stores at wholesale prices and many pups die before they even get there.

i want a bulldog but cannot get one. how can i persuade my parents to get one and understand why i want one.?

Bulldogs look cool, but they are expensive to buy, stubborn to train and can have many costly medical problems.

Unfortunately, it's your parents' house, your parents' money and your parents' rules - until you have a job and get out on your own. Ask them to let you get an easier pet to start and show them that you can take care of that properly. Maybe they'd let you get a rabbit or a guinea pig - they're not as much fun as a dog, but they're easy to keep, live in a cage, don't have to be walked or trained. You could volunteer at a local shelter - many of them love to have kids that can help walk, feed and socialize the puppies.

Dogs require a lot of time, energy and money to take care of properly. If the dog isn't properly trained, it can chew up your house and your stuff. If it's not housebroken, it can ruin your floors and your furniture. If it's not properly exercised, it can have a wide variety of behavior problems. Your parents may assume that you'll get bored with the dog when you start playing sports and dating and go away to college. You can't keep a dog in a dorm or in most apartments. They don't want to be stuck taking care of a dog for 12 years if you can't handle it.

A good pup can cost $1000 or more. Even "free" dogs cost money to take care of. A crate, books and supplies can cost up to $300. Puppy shots are $200, then $100 a year for boosters. Annual Heartworm test and preventative medication $100. Professional trainer $600 and up. Going on vacation? Boarding kennel $40/day. Spaying? $250. If you can't afford to pay for a good dog, maybe you can't afford to maintain one either?

BEFORE you get any dog you should read some great books on training. (Try not to pick books randomly - there are a lot of bad books out there also!) These are some of my favorites and you can get them on Amazon.com

What All Good Dogs Should Know - Volhard

Good Owners, Great Dogs - Brian Kilcommins

Dog Tricks : Eighty-Eight Challenging Activities for Your Dog from World-Class Trainers by Haggerty and Benjamin

Don't Shoot the Dog - Pryor

Training Your Dog: The Step by Step Method - Volhard

Dog Problems - Benjamin

Cesar's Way - Cesar Millan

Also, watch the Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel. Cesar Millan is the best trainer I've ever seen on TV.

If they ever say yes, find a good breeder by going to www.akc.org or talking to people at dog shows. You can also find info about the breed clubs on the AKC site - they probably have a rescue group where you can get an older dog for less money. The best breeders will be members of their breed club, promoting healthy dogs with great temperaments. They should ask you a bunch of questions to make sure their puppy will be getting a good home. If all a "breeder" seems to care about is whether your check will clear, you can be sure he won't care a week later when the pup is dying from distemper or parvo and you want your money back.

Whatever you do, DON'T go to a pet shop, a flea market or buy one sight-unseen off the Internet!!!! You'll pay top dollar for what is usually a poor quality puppy mill dog. And you'll be supporting one of the cruelest industries in the country. The breeding animals are often kept in deplorable conditions - spending their entire lives in small wire-bottomed cages. They probably haven't been vaccinated against contagious diseases or tested for any health or temperament problems or genetic diseases - that costs money and cuts into their profits. A female is often bred every time she comes into heat. When her poor little body can't take it any more, she is often clubbed in the head and tossed into a dumpster or an open ditch. Most puppy mills ship their pups to pet stores at wholesale prices and many pups die before they even get there.

how can i get my parents to say yes to a cute puppy?

Unfortunately, it's your parents' house, your parents' money and your parents' rules - until you have a job and get out on your own. Ask them to let you get an easier pet to start and show them that you can take care of that properly. Maybe they'd let you get a rabbit or a guinea pig - they're not as much fun as a dog, but they're easy to keep, live in a cage, don't have to be walked or trained. You could volunteer at a local shelter - many of them love to have kids that can help walk, feed and socialize the puppies.

Even cute dogs require a lot of time, energy and money to take care of properly. If the dog isn't properly trained, it can chew up your house and your stuff. If it's not housebroken, it can ruin your floors and your furniture. Your parents may assume that you'll get bored with the dog when you start playing sports and dating and go away to college. You can't keep a dog in a dorm or in most apartments. They don't want to be stuck taking care of a dog for 12 years if you can't handle it.

A good pup can cost $1000 or more. Even "free" dogs cost money to take care of. A crate, books and supplies can cost up to $300. Puppy shots are $200, then $100 a year for boosters. Annual Heartworm test and preventative medication $100. Professional trainer $600 and up. Going on vacation? Boarding kennel $40/day. Spaying? $250. If you can't afford to pay for a good dog, maybe you can't afford to maintain one either?

BEFORE you get any dog you should read some great books on training. (Try not to pick books randomly - there are a lot of bad books out there also!) These are some of my favorites and you can get them on Amazon.com

What All Good Dogs Should Know - Volhard

Good Owners, Great Dogs - Brian Kilcommins

Dog Tricks : Eighty-Eight Challenging Activities for Your Dog from World-Class Trainers by Haggerty and Benjamin

Don't Shoot the Dog - Pryor

Training Your Dog: The Step by Step Method - Volhard

Dog Problems - Benjamin

Cesar's Way - Cesar Millan

Also, watch the Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel. Cesar Millan is the best trainer I've ever seen on TV.

If they ever say yes, find a good breeder by going to www.akc.org or talking to people at dog shows. You can also find info about the breed clubs on the AKC site - they probably have a rescue group where you can get an older dog for less money. The best breeders will be members of their breed club, promoting healthy dogs with great temperaments. They should ask you a bunch of questions to make sure their puppy will be getting a good home. If all a "breeder" seems to care about is whether your check will clear, you can be sure he won't care a week later when the pup is dying from distemper or parvo and you want your money back.

Whatever you do, DON'T go to a pet shop, a flea market or buy one sight-unseen off the Internet!!!! You'll pay top dollar for what is usually a poor quality puppy mill dog. And you'll be supporting one of the cruelest industries in the country. The breeding animals are often kept in deplorable conditions - spending their entire lives in small wire-bottomed cages. They probably haven't been vaccinated against contagious diseases or tested for any health or temperament problems or genetic diseases - that costs money and cuts into their profits. A female is often bred every time she comes into heat. When her poor little body can't take it any more, she is often clubbed in the head and tossed into a dumpster or an open ditch. Most puppy mills ship their pups to pet stores at wholesale prices and many pups die before they even get there.