How to convinece my perents that I can take care of a dog?

Your parents are doing this because it’s a full time responsibility. I know you have heard this before but it’s only to benefit you, trust me. Let’s look at the responsibilities you will have as a loving pet owner who will not let her pet starve until mom has to take care of it. Don’t just look at this and think that it’s easy enough and it doesn’t matter because your parents will get rid of the dog unless you do these things.

1.) Daily feeding, this will mean having to feed your pet atleast 2 times a day if it need be in the snow, rain, or hail. So lugging 20 pound bags of dog food and gallons of water.

2.) Grooming,

(a) This means giving your new family member a bath (very fun when he splatters water on you, I love that part because I splatter more on him). So you will need to spend allowance money and shampoos and flea baths. 
(b) This will also mean clipping those nails on his paws. Take note this isn't as fun as the bath because this can be painful for your dog and he can cause harm to you because of the pain. Not bite, but scratch you.

3.) Walking and Other Recreational Activities As we all know, a new pet can mean a boatload of energy that needs to be walked off if you want a stable, happy pet. You will have to take your dog out for activities multiple times a day no matter the weather to get this energy worn off or it could cause damage to your pet and your furniture. If your furniture is damaged then the parents are going to make you say bye bye to your pet. Which we don’t want. Below are a few methods of wearing down the pets energy… (a) The first method I would like to mention would be the most classic one. Walking your dog. This must be done daily or your pet may become unstable. This is simple and easily done with a well trained pet and may take up to 30 minutes per session. (b) The second method is a well known one also. It is Frisbee. Every well trained dog enjoys this because they wear off a lot of energy. Pet owners enjoy because they get to conserve energy. All this activity takes is the flick of the wrist.

4.) Training I have saved the most important thing for last. In order to keep your pet it must be trained. We do not want an unruly dog in the home because they can cause much damage. You must always keep your pet in line by constant training and discipline. If you do not then it will be removed by the parents. This will take hundreds of hours of trial and error to master.

   If you have read this and think that you are able to handle all of this grueling work for the reward of owning a loyal friend then I suggest working to pay for the pet and getting pet training by volunteering at the local animal shelter for 50 hours to show your parents that you are responsible. Not to mention you will pick up skills on the way. 

I deeply recommend volunteering at the animal shelter to help benefit your community and pick up pet owner experience. If however it seems like too much of a difficult task to volunteer your time then you are not ready for the responsibility of volunteering time for your own pet. I hope you make the decision to benefit you best. Take your time and think it through. Best of luck!