January, 2014
Pets Worksheet
Requirements for the Pets merit badge:
- Present evidence that you have cared for a pet for four months. Get approval before you start.
- Work done for other merit badges cannot be used for this requirement.
- Write in 200 words or more about the care, feeding, and housing of your pet. Tell some interesting facts about it. Tell why you have this kind of pet. Give local laws, if any, relating to the pet you keep.
- Show that you have read a book or pamphlet, approved by your counselor, about your kind of pet. Discuss with your counselor what you have learned from what you read.
- Do ONE of the following:
- Show your pet in some pet show.
- Start a friend raising a pet like yours. Help your friend get a good start.
- Train a pet in three or more tricks or special abilities.
Pets Worksheet
(Optional worksheets are maintained by usscouts.org and they have sole control over their updates.)
Comments:
Aug 20, 2014 - Brent Gear
Does anyone know what animals are pictured on the Pets Merit Badge? I see some blue thing, a fish and a cat. Is the blue thing a parakeet or some other sort of bird? Even our Scout Shop folks don't know what it is.
Oct 01, 2014 - cameron
the yellow one is a fish the black one is a cat and the blue one is a bird,you have to look very closely for the cat.
Mar 09, 2015 - BalletMomto4
I have a brand new boy scout. He just got a hermit crab for the first time. I told him to look and see if he could use learning about the hermit crab and taking care of it toward a merit badge. I think it is a great idea until we get to requirement #4. Don't think there is a pet show that will accept a hermit crab and doubt we can teach it any tricks. So I guess we have to convince a friend's parent to buy them one....lol Wonder if that is doable?? Do you think it would count if the troop held it's own pet show?
Mar 20, 2015 - SJohn
BalletMomto4,
I think a troop's own pet show would be an awesome activity and it does not say in the requirements what type it has to be. You may be able to get with a 4-H group and see if your pet can join one of their practice "shows". Of course it would not be at the county fair.
Apr 09, 2020 - Bryan Fender
I definitely support a previous
input where an individual
recommends that the troop have
it's own pet show exhibiting one
another's pets!!! Trying to
enter a mix breed dog or cat into
a established pet show would be
quite embarrassing when other
individuals are showing pure
breed animals.
May 29, 2020 - Amanda Buchanan
Our troop is planning a "virtual" troop pet show via Zoom! A
fun way to fulfill requirement 4 and a break to the Stay-at-
home boredom. All pets are welcome, even fish and lizards!
Jun 01, 2020 - Quinn Ellis
Bryan Fender -- I don't think entering a mixed breed pet would be embarrassing. They're just different. I think they can learn and behave just as well as purebreds with proper training.
Jun 02, 2020 - Jane
For requirement 4, the Scout has three options. Showing the pet in a pet show is just one of those options. It also says "some pet show", which means that it's not limited to any one particular type of pet show, such as an AKC dog show.
Jul 07, 2020 - Dean Anderson
Our nursing home has had some local dogs brought to
visit recently and this sounds like a great
opportunity for a "pet show!"
The residents remained inside while the pets and thier owners were outside.
The residents remained inside while the pets and thier owners were outside.
Sep 26, 2020 - Angela White
ooohhhh, the blue on the patch is
like a bird's head... I see it now.
Like the blue macaw from Rio. Lol.
Like the blue macaw from Rio. Lol.
Sep 19, 2021 - Donna the animal trainer
Hi BalletMomto4 Actually, you CAN teach hermit crabs tricks using
the same principles we teach dogs and dolphins: clicker training. A
flash of light becomes the marker instead of a click and use tiny
bits of food that your crab really likes. I taught my crayfish to
pull a string to ring a bell. Didn't take very long. Read "Reaching
the Animal Mind" by Karen Pryor to get other ideas and inspiration.
Has videos for each chapter. Have fun!
Apr 24, 2023 - BjornWang
If a scout takes care of a pet that dies part way through. (Not the fault
of the scout). Can they pick up with a different pet for the remaining
time, or does it need to be a single pet for the full 4 months?
Apr 24, 2023 - Scouter Paul
@Bjorn - That is such a unique situation that the scout should contact
their merit badge counselor if their pet dies, to find out what to do.
The requirement does say "A pet for four months", so that sounds like
one, single pet for one continuous time period.
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