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There are a surprising number of pets in Minecraft. The oldest and most iconic are the tamed wolves, with horses and cats coming after. The newest pets would have to be the parrot, horse variants, and the axolotl. Technically, axolotls aren't tamed but will instead trust players. However, players can take them on adventures and breed them to get more pets, so they count.
And while all these different pet mobs have unique utility to offer players, none of it really means anything if players aren't able to keep them alive. Detailed below are some very useful unwritten rules for keeping pets alive in Minecraft.
NOTE: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinion.
Unwritten rules for owning Minecraft pets
1) Avoid other dimensions
The different dimensions of the game are incredibly useful to players. The Nether is needed to get blaze rods, which are needed to start with the recently expanded Minecraft potion brewing system and reach the End dimension, while the End dimension itself is a required stop for actually beating the game.
However, both these dimensions are also filled with threats to the different pets players can have. The Nether, for example, is filled with lava, fire, and falls, all of which can quickly kill a tamed wolf, Minecraft cat, axolotl, or parrot.
Meanwhile, Minecraft's underdeveloped End dimension is uniquely situated directly above the void. This means that any mistakes pets make here are guaranteed death unless players manage a high-octane elytra-lead catch.
For these reasons, players should probably avoid bringing pets through any dimensional portals, as it's almost guaranteed to end poorly.
2) Pets can't have feather falling
As unfortunate as it is, there's no way to keep pets safe from falls outside of avoiding them outright. Other than parrots, which can fly down to safety since they're literal birds, all the pets players can have will suffer fall damage. And due to the sometimes strange way in which they teleport, these falls can be more common than a player might expect.
This means that pets should preferably only be taken into biomes that are relatively flat, such as plains, deserts, and taigas. Additionally, ravines should be avoided, both due to their fall-damage potential and also due to the creepers and other hostile mobs often dropping down onto players and pets out of seemingly nowhere.
3) Keep animals stationary when not adventuring
Similar to how pets can sometimes end up falling off of surfaces that damage them, their pathfinding and random mobs appearing can sometimes cause crazy and unpredictable things to happen.
This can be avoided if pets are kept safe and stationary in between adventures. Dogs, cats, and parrots should be forced to sit, while axolotls should be returned safely to bucket form. Though rare blue Minecraft axolotls should be kept safely at home at all times. This will help ensure that no random creepers or other hostile mobs can cause any pet injuries.
4) Leads can be used with elytra
Leads are a very useful, if somewhat hard-to-acquire, item. They can be used to lead mobs around on a leash, which is incredibly useful specifically for moving passive mobs into farms. However, an interesting fact is that flying on an elytra does not automatically break a lead.
This means that elytra and firework rockets can be used to move rare mobs incredible distances from their spawn biomes to Minecraft survival bases. However, use caution when transporting mobs this way, as breaking the lead will almost certainly kill the mob from fall damage. Consider transporting mobs over oceans if using this method to avoid this risk.
5) Listen to the animals
Another unwritten rule for pets is to listen to them. If a tamed wolf randomly takes damage, assume it's a real threat and act accordingly. Additionally, if a parrot is resting on a player's shoulder, it will imitate nearby hostile mobs, which can be used as a sort of proximity alarm, assuming a player stops to listen.
This rule seems like it would be common sense, but it can be easy to assume that wolves are taking random fall damage or that a hostile mob a parrot is imitating is on the other side of a wall. However, stopping to make sure will only keep players safer. One of the biggest advantages pets give players is safety, after all, so make the most of that offering.
