"Please, mummy, may we get a puppy?" The coldest of people would relent, seeing their excited little faces... and that often completes the perfect family picture! Bringing home a pet multiplies a family's joy and teaches children amongst other things, a sense of responsibility. A pet signifies a commitment you make for the next 10 to 20 years; it pays to know exactly what to expect to avoid disappointment and heartbreak later.

Prepare Your Family

Before you bring home a pet, be certain that every member of your household is going to be happy with the decision. Plan your pet's arrival such that at least one responsible member of your household has enough time to spend with the pet for the first few weeks, when it needs the maximum attention. Delegate and rotate the various responsibilities between all members of your household so that everyone gets a chance to interact with the new 'baby' and participate in its care and upbringing. Take your children along to shop for the pet and when visiting your veterinarian - this makes them feel more involved in the pet's upbringing.

Pet-Proof Your Home

The next step is to 'puppy-proof' or 'kitten-proof' your home.

Young puppies need to chew when they are teething. To keep your puppy safe, keep all electrical wires out of its reach. The same goes for footwear, socks and such.

Kittens love to jump onto tables and cupboards, so keep all fragile objects locked away in showcases till they grow up and develop that perfect sense of balance and spatial relations that cats are famous for.

Till your pet is about five months old, it has very little control over its excretory organs, so keep all carpets, 'dhurries', etc, away for those few months. If your pet happens to mess on any absorbent surface, removing the scent from it will be Mission Impossible - remember that dogs and cats have very powerful noses and hence, your pet will keep going back to mess in the same spot. Also plan where your pet is going to sleep and where you would like it to 'mess'. Ensure that the places that you have designated as 'mess areas' are accessible to your pet from any part of the house to minimise the occurrence of 'accidents'. Keep a box filled with cat litter material or sand for kittens and cats. Make sure the sand is clean and change the soiled portion of the litter/sand regularly - cats often contract infections from dirty litter boxes.

Use old newspapers to toilet-train pups. Whenever your pet 'messes', pick it up, or absorb it with an old newspaper and transfer it to the designated 'mess area'. Spray the area of the 'accident' with a commercially available deterrent spray like 'Get Off' (available at pet shops), or wipe the area with vinegar to conceal the scent.

Keep a few basics ready for your pet's arrival - two feeding bowls, a few toys and 'chewies', and a bag of puppy food or cat food should be good enough to start off with.

Lay Down Ground Rules

• From day one, your puppy must accept the authority of all members of your household. Dogs are descendants of wolves, and hence, are pack animals. To your puppy, your family is its pack. In a pack, dominant members always eat the 'kill' first. In a domestic setting, establishing dominance is as easy as eating your meal before feeding your pup each time. Every member of your family must follow this basic rule. Avoid giving 'snacks' between meals, except during training sessions.

• The second basic rule: Never allow your pup onto beds, couches, chairs, etc.

• Third, teach your pet to respond to its name from the day you bring it home. Whenever you call your pet or give a command (once you have started training), ensure that your command is obeyed EVERY TIME - no exceptions! Once your pet begins to realise that it can get away with disobedience, it is only a matter of time before it becomes a habit.

Consistently following these three golden rules from the start prevents the problems of dominant aggression that cause many families to take the painful decision of parting with their pets. An aggressive dog is never a happy dog. You do your dog, yourself, and most importantly your family, a great disservice when you fail to discipline your pet.

Keep Up The Good Work

A pet needs your time and attention. Dogs, being pack animals, crave interaction with their owners. Cats, on the other hand, are relatively independent and make ideal pets for those who have less time to spend with their pet. Dogs must be groomed daily, irrespective of age and coat-type. This could take anything from five minutes for short-haired dogs to half-an-hour for dogs with long, silky coats. Grooming not only keeps the skin and coat healthy, but also enhances the bond between you and your dog. Though cats groom themselves, it is a good idea to give them a once-over with a soft brush or towel every day to remove loose hair that the cat may otherwise swallow during self-grooming sessions, leading to a dangerous hairball obstruction in its digestive tract.

Exercise is very important for the physical and psychological wellbeing of dogs of all shapes, sizes and ages. Consult your vet on the amount and type of exercise most suited for your dog. Cats tend to wander and hence don't need to be walked.

Use toys to play with your cat; this increases interaction between you and your pet and keeps your cat fit. Obesity is a serious health risk in dogs and cats since it is very difficult to make animals shed those extra kilos!

I can never emphasise enough the importance of training your pup yourself. The bond between a dog and its human family is crucial and nobody, not even the best of trainers, can build that bond for you. Buy a book on training or take the guidance of a pro behaviourist or your vet before you begin training.

It may take a while to get used to being the mother of a furry bundle of joy, but the rewards are more than worth those first few days of running behind a bouncy pet with a mop! Take the plunge and you'll understand why millions of people around the world choose to bring a pet into their homes and hearts.