A friend is about to get their very first pet. What's one piece of advice you'd give them?

A natural way to answer

My main advice would be to do some research first. Make sure you know how much time and money the animal needs, so you don't bite off more than you can chew.

Key phrases to use

• clean up after — tidy or remove the mess that someone or something makes“Someone has to clean up after the dog.”
• bite off more than you can chew — take on more than you can realistically handle“Getting three puppies at once? You're biting off more than you can chew.”
• settle into a routine — get used to a regular, repeated pattern of doing things“Once the puppy settled into a routine, nights got easier.”