How do I go about choosing a new pet for the family? What is the best pet for our family? Well you are starting well by collecting information. This is crucial as a pet is for life, so if in doubt do not have a pet.
However there is such a wide range of potential pets to choose from, all of them can be pleasurable, but have different pluses and negatives. You can select from a dog, cat, hamster, guinea pig, reptile, spider, bird and the list goes on and on.

You should to involve one and all  in the decision, it needs to be a complete family decision. Due to its importance I propose you discuss and commit to paper your purpose for desiring a pet. Add to it on a large sheet of paper, with a column for the pet, some columns to rank each pet. The considerations for a pet include, time (yours), cost (pets are costly), pet care, space constraint, ability to fuss, interest, joint activity, any phobias, other points.

Pets take time, some require more than others. High maintenance animals are those that require regular exercise such as dogs and horses. Dogs originated from wolves and maintain many of those characters. Searching for food they walk many miles to search for food, so most dog breeds require at least one to two hours a day walking. This needs to be part of a regular schedule and done everyday. Others may require a lot of grooming, changing water etc. A cat sitter often uses  a lot of their visiting time to grooming long haired cats, though the cat and the sitter enjoy it. You may hanker after a certain  animal, but do you have the time for him? Be direct with yourself and the prospective pet.

Cost, think of costs. There is the purchase cost, which for a pedigree pet can be dear. I would strongly advise you to think of taking a salvage pet, there are increasing numbers of these now as people are unfortunately abandoning them to the pet homes – why not do good and help out? The other set up costs include cages, leads, grooming aids, blankets / beds. After that are the ongoing pet costs, food, which for a large per can be substantial. I strongly urge you to have your pet sterilized, many pet experts and research have suggested that you will have less behavioural issues with a sterilized animal. There are regular veterinary expenditure such as vaccinations, however some are impossible to plan for. For this reason I strongly propose you to invest in pet insurance, so you can manage with any situations that may occur. There are also regular costs for flea treatment etc.  These costs mount up.

Is your house large enough for the pet? Some pets can be watchable, but you may not be able to fuss them, what is the crucial for you? No pet has everything. Can you pick up the pet? Rats are very fascinating, but a few individuals hate the scaly tail, or the idea of one.
You should to revisit the summary paper, do you have the time for dog walking during the week due to work pressures, but this may pay for a regular dog walker. Not enough space for the horse, use stables, but watch the cost.

So once you have chosen a type of pet, there are lots of different types and individual species to choose from, taking hamsters there are five basic types, with very different features. There is also the choice of numbers, some animals are better off alone, others as a pair because they need the company. Then there is what sex, some pets have very different behaviour between the male and female. Male rats are lazier than females and urinate more.

After all of these decisions, I would advise you to organise a pet test drive. Do you know anyone with a similar pet, that you can look after for a few days, or even be a pet sitter for them during the summer vacations. Discuss with the owner about the costs, the effort that is required, and do not forget the pleasure that the pet gives.  An alternative is to do some pet charity work. 
Pet breeders are extremely knowledgeable, so visit and discuss with them.

I hope this helps, go and enjoy a new pet.