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Gwenhwyfar37
I'm owned by 2 cats, 1 dog, many fish...pet ownership is awesome!
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![](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://rightpet.com/Thumbnail/BreedReviewsPhotos/222015_2145237901FishSpc_bettafish.jpg&media=https://rightpet.com/Thumbnail/BreedReviewsPhotos/222015_2145237901FishSpc_bettafish.jpg&description=If you are looking for the ideal "low maintenance" pet...look no further! You just found him! (I say "him" because Bettas, also commonly known as Siamese fighting fish, are predominantly male if you purchase one from a retailer.) Now don't think this is a set and forget...in that case, you'd need one of those virtual pet thingys...but you can't ask for more than beautiful, feed every other day, change water every two weeks, and filtration not required!<br>First of all...when you visit your local pet retailer you are likely to see Bettas on the shelf in little cups of water...this is misleading; especially when you look to the shelf nearby, you see "nano cubes" and "betta bowls" for sale, and these are little! Don't get these...bettas need at least 1 GALLON of water in order to be happy and healthy Preferably two or three gallons...yes, it is true that they are solitary and tankmates are not recommended (and even then, only with careful scrutiny, and absolutely NO other male bettas with one, as they live up to their name "fighting" fish). You can use aquatic plants arranged well to create an excellent habitat. Bettas need a hiding place or two and a very Zen-like environment. <br>You do not need an air pump like you would with other tropical fish; filtration systems may not be necessary either-strictly optional. A tank heater might be a good idea in the wintertime if he's in a drafty room...I never did need one as I kept my Bettas in my bathroom (safe from my pesky, curious cat:) and it was nice and warm.<br>Over the 5-6 years I have owned Bettas....here are some key points I have learned: <br>Feed sparingly...every other day is fine. They enjoy freeze dried bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp (mom and pop pet stores carry these) and the betta flakes are OK too.<br>Change water regularly...once the water gets dirty trouble is brewing...every 2 weeks, remove about a fourth and replace with pure, de-chlorinated h20.<br>Somewhere between 1-3 gallons of water. No bowls please! I'm sad to attribute one or two fatalities from one of those little "betta bowl" habitats.<br>These guys, too can be long-lived, as well as strikingly pretty to look at, just never underestimate the above pointers.<br>Best of luck; as these guys are great to own; college dorms should allow them...other than that...a Betta is right for many pet owners!){kind=link}
![](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://rightpet.com/Thumbnail/BreedReviewsPhotos/222015_21134633320853DogBreed_BOODLE.JPG&media=https://rightpet.com/Thumbnail/BreedReviewsPhotos/222015_21134633320853DogBreed_BOODLE.JPG&description=How popular is this breed? I sometimes think of Marley and Me whenever I think of little Boo. You remember what a handful he was? The family just had to learn to accept his quirks at times...but I digress a little. The backstory: My husband had a purebred female dachshund when we were first courting named Silver. One of his relatives had a death in the family and the said relative had a male deer tick Chihuahua with a grayish-brown coat and husband inherited him. This little Chihuahua, "Johnson" was something else...the negative stereotypes of Chihuahuas of being nervous or overly protective of their owner. Ask my husband sometime to tell you about how Johnson did his "job" on his Game-cube thingy...I guess that thing was ruined by wee-wee; I hope that it did not cost that much. Well, love prevailed between Johnson and Silver, and so Silver got pregnant; in April 2010 she delivered one single mixed breed puppy (only one? that sounded weird at the time.) We named the puppy "Honey BooBoo" after this famous child superstar (well, she's got a honey colored coat kind of :) but now we just call her "Boo Boo" or sometimes "Boo". <br>I hope my experience benefits someone who has gone through the rigors of potty training on pets...where do I begin? Never saw a dog so resistant to "going potty" in the proper dog way, and even now, she is four years old, and if she stays indoors on a cold winter's night (Chiweenies have short coats so they probably should not stay outside all night when temperatures drop.) I scramble to make sure I have a few carpet squares laying around to do her "business" on. I got the idea from a training-pad thingy I must have bought somewhere that had this Astroturf looking piece of material in the middle of it. I can go to a carpet dealer and ask if they ever throw out odd scraps of carpet and they usually do. Before you start thinking I am lazy...well you have never tried to potty train a Chiweenie!! (I hear from my husband who has even more extensive dog knowledge, that Dachshunds are a close second in the stubbornness department.) You should have seen all the throw rugs I have had to throw out (thankfully they were cheap; not some luxury Persian rug...) because they had peepee stains on them. ugh!! Yes, We got some of those puppy training pads from the supermarket that are like 5 to a pack or so....well, you can guess, she ignored them :( <br>Finally, I stumbled onto a resolution with this issue one day visiting my mother in law, who has all kinds of little dogs running around, and of course who could find the time to police the bathroom habits of six small dogs in the house? I asked her what kind of flooring she had in her home and she told me it was linoleum, and that is a good material because it is pretty moisture resistant. We have laminate flooring and it seems to be the low-grade type. Re-flooring was out of our budget so I ended up purchasing some good sheet vinyl. Now if Boo has an "oopsie" I do not lose it anymore; I am not violent or anything, but you should have seen what I went through, on the "pee" issue.<br>On the plus side: She rarely sheds. Never bit anyone (though her daddy Johnson supposedly nipped a friend of ours once) You could not ask for a friendlier dog than this one! I think Boo would fight to the death to protect us...even though some of that could be Napoleon syndrome that small dogs are famous for. We also have two cats and the usual sibling-pet rivalry thing comes up; Boo gets jealous of the cats at times and chases them; I have to correct her at times. I guess this is par for the course at times?? Oh well, we love Boo, and she loves us!){kind=link}
 Currently I am owned by Buddy, a two years young light ginger colored Shorthair. He has a nice tabby ginger coat that I have always classified as tawny colored because he's technically not an "orange" looking cat like Garfield. In my experience American shorthairs are moderately talkative, but Buddy is strong and silent. I think he only meows when he wants outside (and at those times, he gets pretty plaintive about it!) But as far as those "feed me" and "hello" kind of little meows, he never does that, unlike other cats I owned once. Buddy is Mr. Personality at times, he's very agile and when he gets in one of those moods, he's climbing, running, or leaping up on top of something high like the refrigerator or my husband's vintage arcade cabinet :) He grooms himself most of the time and he does not shed much. Buddy has a tendency to nip (it's playful, not aggressive type) even though I think he should have grown out of that stage by now. My other 3 shorthairs were not long-term nippers (2 of them male, they grew out of it, the female, she did not nip.) My cat has a built-in biological clock; he loves to let us know when to let him out, and he is very insistent about it...like jumping up on the kitchen cabinet or on my computer desk (I draw the line when he tries to get on the keyboard!) <br>I think most of the above is accurate about American shorthairs in general; based on my long-time ownership of them. I also have a longer-haired cat and she's more docile and other long-haired cats seems a bit more docile about such things as biting or nipping; and less vocal too. There's a lot to like about these guys as they are playful, active, and full of personality, and don't need brushing too much (if any). The only thing is that the males are a little rough at times...I call it "territory spats". They will challenge another male cat that comes on their turf (this happens regardless of whether or not they have been neutered.) Once they are neutered, they don't roam as much from home, and they don't "spray". Buddy's tail quivers at times and that is because the spraying instinct is still there.<br>He's a fun cat--just full of life and all...every cat has a different and unique personality, regardless of the breed!){kind=link}
 so good idea not to own live plants because they consider them tasty. They do enjoy pellets as well as flakes, I have offered them bloodworms on occasion and they seem to enjoy them as well even though bloodworms are commonly given to bettas or aquatic newts. <br>Goldfish are long-lived, I am told, and quite hardy. About the only mistake I made in the past was 6 years ago not bringing them inside from their mini-pond environment on a night we had a hard freeze. After that I brought in my little school of fish before winter started and they became aquarium dwellers. They are still very happy, healthy, and a few of them have grown quite a bit!<br>Two caveats: They do leave a lot of waste behind with their excrement so water changes every two weeks are very important. It is also important not to have them in a small environment (you need a 20-30 gal tank, at least!)<br>Best of luck! Just do not keep them in a bowl, or a nano-tank...the images you see on TV are somewhat misleading! :)){kind=link}