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
How to Get a Cat to Use a Scratcher Instead of the Sofa or Carpet
Cats ignore scratchers that are the wrong shape or in the wrong place. Learn to match the angle and texture your cat already uses, where to put the scratcher, how to protect the sofa and carpet without punishment, and when to flip or replace a cardboard insert.
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Guide
How to Get a Cat Used to a Carrier, So Vet Day Starts Calmly
Turn the carrier from a vet-day warning into a bed: where to put it, a step-by-step training plan, practice lifts and short drives, loading a reluctant cat through the top on vet day, and the same steps for a backpack.
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Guide
How Often Should You Brush a Cat? A Schedule for Short and Long Coats
Short-haired cats need brushing once or twice a week, long-haired cats every few days to daily. Get a schedule by coat length, how long each session should take, what changes in shedding season and for older cats, and a simple weekly plan.
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Guide
How to Brush a Cat That Hates Being Brushed: A Two-Week Plan
A cat that hates being brushed can learn to accept it in short, rewarded sessions. Follow a two-week plan, start where your cat likes to be petted, pick the gentlest brush for the coat and learn the body language that means stop.
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Guide
How to Clean a Dog Without a Bath: Brushing, Wipes and Spot Cleaning Between Baths
A between-bath routine for winter, apartments and older dogs: brush out dirt and loose hair, wipe one body zone at a time, spot-clean mud, dry what you dampen, and know when only a real bath or a veterinarian will do.
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Guide
How to Get Mats Out of Dog Hair at Home, and When to Stop
Small mats come out at home with your fingers and a slicker brush, worked from the ends inward. See where dogs get matted, the step-by-step method, how to keep your dog calm, how to prevent mats at collar and harness rub points, and when a mat is a job for a groomer.
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Guide
How to Use a Dog Nail Grinder: Step by Step, Plus Black Nails and Nervous Dogs
A step-by-step guide to grinding your dog's nails: holding the paw, choosing the guard opening and speed, short touches that keep nails cool, how to read the end of a black nail, and a slow, treat-filled introduction for a dog who is scared of the grinder.
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Guide
How Often Should You Brush Your Dog? A Schedule by Coat Type
Smooth coats need a weekly brush, double coats one to three sessions a week, and long, silky or curly coats daily. Get a coat-by-coat schedule, session lengths, a rule for mixed coats, the signs you need to brush more often and a weekly plan you can keep.
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Guide
Dog Shedding Season: When Dogs Blow Their Coat and How to Keep Up
Clumps of undercoat on the floor this fall? See when dogs shed the most, what blowing coat means, how long it usually lasts, a short slicker-and-de-shedding routine, and the signs that call for a veterinarian.
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Guide
Walking a Dog in the Rain: Gear, Short Routes and Drying Off at the Door
How to walk a dog in the rain without soaking the house: whether to go, coaxing a dog who won't step outside, covered routes, reflective gear and a zippered bag pouch, and a paws-belly-coat drying routine at the door.
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Guide
Hiking With a Dog: A Day-Hike Checklist for Water, Waste, Trail Manners and Tired Legs
What to bring hiking with a dog, and how to use it on the trail: park rules, a harness and 6-foot leash, water offered at every rest (even to a dog who won't drink), full bags packed out, passing hikers and horses, a tick check, and when to carry a tired dog.
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Guide
New Puppy Checklist: Supplies, Home Setup and the First Week
What to buy for a new puppy and how to set up your home before day one, from the crate, food and enzyme cleaner to a collar with ID, a harness and leash, plus the first vet visit and a simple routine for the first week.
