Pet Jealousy

[DebraGill]

For those who own several kinds of pet, do any of them get jealous of the other? What do you do to avoid this?

I'm planning to get another dog or a cat next year but I'm afraid there will be jealousy among them. I've read somewhere that their pets develop a bit of behavior problem or is it just adjustment period for them?

[Justontime]

I have always had more than one pet, but not usually more than one dog. I have found that as long as they are well fed, cared for and given plenty of attention there is not usually a problem with jealousy. My mum has always had several dogs and cats, they know that one doesn't get more than the others and I have never known her to have any significant issues regarding jealousy. Animals always establish their own pecking order anyway.

[kernow]

I have not had a problem with the pets being jealous of each other, but my cat is jealous of my husband. If my husband ever tries to sit next to me or put his arm around me the cat pushes himself between us and sits on my lap until my husband backs off. It isn't really a problem, mostly we don't sit next to each other, so the cat is happy.

[Kristen]

^ that's funny. the cat is possessive. LOL my daughter is giving much attention to our new pet and she's more focused to the dog than playing with us now. I'm not so sure if the dog will be jealous if my baby will play with us rather than him.

[Justontime]

Kristen, the dog that we had when my children were young was a very special little chap. he loved having the children to play with him. He was never jealous of us playing with them, I think in a way he recognised them as 'his' to protect, almost like a canine uncle. He was fantastic with the children, but I always remembered that he was a dog and I kept a close eye on them for his sake as much as theirs, little children can be rough sometimes and accidents can happen.