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.
-
How-to
How to Teach a Dog to Catch: From Treat Tosses to a Soft Toy
Does your dog let the treat bounce off their nose? Start with slow tosses from about two feet, pick up every miss so catching is the only way to win, and keep sessions short. Then move up to a soft toy, with fixes for dogs who flinch, jump or grab and the safety rules for low tosses.
-
How-to
How to Teach a Dog to Fetch, Even One Who Won’t Bring It Back
Teach fetch from zero: choose a toy your dog can carry, start with short hallway throws, make the return the best part of the game and teach a drop without a tug-of-war. Then move outside on a long line, with breaks and water on hot days.
-
How-to
How to Teach Your Dog the Names of Toys, One Toy at a Time
A step-by-step naming game: one favorite toy and one name, then household distractions, a second toy and a real choice between two. See what to realistically expect, how to tell whether your dog knows the word or is reading you, and how to fix guessing and favorite-grabbing.
-
How-to
Taking Your Dog to a Restaurant Patio: Manners and What to Bring
How to take your dog to a restaurant or brewery patio: practice a settle at home, check that day’s dog policy, pick a table out of the servers’ path, keep the leash off the table, bring your own water and leave while your dog is still calm.
-
How-to
Taking a Dog on Public Transit: Rules, Carriers and Practice Rides
How to get a small dog onto the bus or subway calmly: what to look for in your transit agency’s pet policy, choosing a carrier by your dog’s size and your own back, carrier training at home, short off-peak practice rides, stairs, crowds and heat, and how service animal rules differ.
-
How-to
How to Stop a Dog Darting Out the Door: Manage Now, Train a Wait
A dog who bolts through the door can get lost or hit by a car. Manage the door from tonight with a leash, a gate and ID, then teach a threshold wait and a go-to-your-bed doorbell routine, plan for guests and deliveries, and know what to do if your dog slips out.
-
How-to
How to Stop a Dog Barking in the Car (and Why It Starts)
Most car barking is excitement, frustration, alarm or worry. Learn which one you have, cut what your dog can see with seat position and tether length, teach quiet in a parked car step by step, and settle two dogs who set each other off.
-
How-to
How to Stop a Dog Begging at the Table: A Mealtime Plan That Holds Up
Make the table stop paying: a no-scraps rule everyone keeps, your dog’s own dinner served as you sit down, a go-to-your-bed cue with a lick mat as the job, and a gate or tether while the habit forms.
-
How-to
How to Stop a Kitten From Biting and Scratching
Kitten biting is usually hunting practice aimed at the wrong target. Here’s what to do the moment teeth land, how to time play before the usual attacks, where claws should go instead, and when a bite means fear or pain.
-
How-to
How to Stop Your Cat From Waking You Up at Night
Cats wake you before dawn because it is hunting time, the gap since dinner is long and waking you has paid off before. Here is a three-step plan: a bedtime hunt and meal, breakfast that doesn’t depend on you, and a firm no-response rule, plus a night setup, troubleshooting and signs to see your vet.
-
How-to
How to Stop a Cat From Running Out the Door
Indoor cats dash for the door because it offers more smells and movement than anything else in the house, and often because that is where they get greeted. Learn a household door routine, how to teach a rewarded spot away from the entry, how to handle guests and moving day, and what to do if your cat gets out.
-
How-to
Staying in a Hotel With Your Dog: A Calm Room and Quiet Hallways
How to keep a dog calm and quiet in a hotel room: the policy questions to ask before you book, a quiet corner, hallway noise and knocks, elevators and late-night potty breaks, and when you can leave your dog alone.
