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do think it's possible and of course takes a lot of dedication in the parents. Once the pets have been around a while and the novelty and newness is worn off, then they accept the animals presence.
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I think this is very true!
Our next-door neighbors have two small dogs and a 2-year-old boy. When he sees OUR dog, he just goes nuts and wants to grab and pet and squeeze her ... but he isn't like that with his OWN dogs! I think it is just the "newness" of another pet.
That said, I don't think that families with children under 6 or so should generally adopt very small kittens (15 weeks or younger) or small-breed puppies. There are certainly exceptions -- I have known many gentle, trustworth children under that age -- but as a whole, I think most of them just don't understand how badly they could accidentally injure a pet.