Guides
Plain, practical guides to the everyday jobs of living with a dog or cat, from measuring for a harness to lifting hair out of the carpet. For anything about your pet's health, ask your veterinarian.
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Guide
Apartment Dog Etiquette: Hallways, Elevators, Lobbies and Noise
How to handle your dog in a shared building: a short leash and a wait at your own door, when to ask, wait or carry in the elevator, lobby manners and pet rules, and how to cut the barking, late-night zoomies and nail clicks your neighbors hear.
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Checklist
Adopting a Senior Cat Checklist: Shelter, Vet and First Two Weeks
A checklist for bringing home an older cat: questions for the shelter about history, health, food and litter habits, records and questions for the first vet visit, a short supplies list, the carrier ride home and what’s normal in the first two weeks.
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Guide
How Cold Is Too Cold to Walk a Dog? Signs to Head Home and a Winter Walk Plan
The AKC says dogs are at risk of frostbite below 32°F, and small and short-haired dogs, puppies and seniors feel it first. Learn the signs it’s time to head home, a shorter winter walk plan, who needs a coat, how to handle ice and road salt, and how to stay visible after the clocks change.
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Guide
How to Keep a Cat Out of the Christmas Tree: Setup, Deterrents and Better Distractions
Cats climb Christmas trees because they are tall, new and full of things that swing. Here's where to place and anchor the tree, what to hang and what to skip, how to cover the tree water, which deterrents are worth trying, and how to give your cat better places to climb, scratch and play.
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Guide
Thanksgiving Dog Safety: A Host’s Plan for the Kitchen, the Guests and the Leftovers
Tire your dog out in the morning, gate off the kitchen, brief guests on scraps and the front door, serve your dog a slow dinner of their own and get the turkey carcass out of reach. The day step by step, for hosts and for guests bringing a dog.
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Guide
Halloween Safety Tips for Dogs: Doorbells, Costumes, Candy and the First Dark Walk
Halloween safety tips for dogs, from the week before to the morning after: doorbell practice, a quiet back room, candy and decorations out of reach, costume checks, reflective gear and ID for trick-or-treating, plus a short section for cats.
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Guide
What to Get Your Cat for Christmas: Gifts for Hunters, Scratchers, Nappers and Snackers
Choose a Christmas gift by instinct: a chase toy for the hunter, a floor scratcher for the rug clawer, a warm cave bed for the napper and a lick mat for the fast eater. Plus safe unwrapping, gifts for cat owners and what to skip in a home with cats.
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Guide
Practical Gifts for Dog Owners: Holiday Ideas for the Walk, the Car and the Home
Useful gifts that make a dog owner's daily chores easier, from a water bottle with a fold-out bowl and leash-clip bag holders to a paw cleaner cup and a carpet rake, plus which gifts need a size and when to order for Christmas.
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Guide
Do Cooling Mats Work for Dogs? How Gel Mats Cool and When They Help
Yes, within limits: a gel cooling mat gives a warm dog a cooler place to lie, but it can't cool the air or replace shade and water. How the gel works, where to use one, getting your dog on it, chewing safety and the heat signs that need a vet.
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Guide
How to Keep an Indoor Cat Warm in Winter: Warm Spots, Beds and Drafts
Indoor cats feel cold floors and drafts more than you do. Spot the signs of a chilly cat, find and block drafts, set up warm beds off the floor, use heaters and heating pads safely, and decide what to do with the thermostat while you're out.
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Guide
How to Keep a Dog Warm at Night Indoors: Bed, Blankets and Drafts
Do dogs get cold at night? Some do, especially small, thin-coated, young and senior dogs. Here is how to tell, and how to keep yours warm indoors: a bed off the cold floor and out of drafts, a blanket to burrow into, drying off before bed and safe use of heaters and heating pads.
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Guide
How to Get Your Dog to Sleep in Their Own Bed: Where to Put It and a Calm Bedtime Routine
Where to put a dog bed so your dog will use it, how to match the bed to a curler or a sprawler, a step-by-step “go to bed” cue, a two-week bedtime routine and how to move the bed out of your bedroom a few feet at a time, for puppies and adult dogs.
