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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How-to
How to Protect Leather Car Seats From Your Dog
Claws, grit and wet coats are what mark leather seats. Fit a waterproof cover that stays put, keep nails short and smooth, clean paws at the car door, tether your dog so they lie down on turns, and wipe the leather the right way after muddy rides.
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How-to
How to Protect Hardwood Floors From Dog Scratches and Spills
Long nails, grit on paws and skidding on smooth turns cause most dog marks on wood. Here is how to fix each one, keep water bowls and accidents off the finish, and tell a scuff you can touch up from damage that needs a flooring pro.
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How-to
How to Prepare Your Dog for a New Baby and Their First Meeting
A timeline for expecting parents with a dog: move walks, meals and attention early, set nursery and couch rules, build a retreat, practice stroller walks step by step, plan the first meeting and know when to call a trainer or behaviorist.
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How-to
How to Prepare Your Cat for a New Baby: Before and After the Birth
A month-by-month plan for expecting parents with a cat: who scoops the litter during pregnancy, moving the box and bed early, crib and nursery rules, baby sounds and smells, a retreat your cat can always reach and the first weeks home.
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How-to
Potty Training a Puppy in Winter: Cold Mornings, Snow and Dark Nights
Cold mornings, snow and early dark can stall a puppy’s housetraining. Here’s how to keep it on track: a cleared spot by the door, a trip routine that works in the cold, a winter schedule, salty paws, accidents, and what to do when your puppy refuses to go out.
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How-to
How to Measure a Dog for a Bed: Curlers, Sprawlers and Crates
Measure your dog in the position they actually sleep in, then add room to stretch. This how-to covers curlers and sprawlers, outer size vs the sleeping area inside a rim, measuring a crate, car or corner, and what to do when your dog falls between sizes.
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How-to
How to Make Your Home Senior-Cat Friendly: Litter, Beds and Perches
When jumping gets harder, an older cat needs everything on one easy level. Here's how to rearrange the litter box, food and water, beds, perches and scratching for a stiff senior cat, what to change first, the mistakes to avoid and the changes to report to your veterinarian.
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How-to
How to Make Vet Visits Less Stressful for Your Dog
For a dog who shakes, pulls for the door or won't get out of the car at the vet: happy visits, handling practice at home, what to tell the clinic, waiting in the car, a lick mat for the exam and when to ask about medication.
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How-to
How to Make Vet Visits Less Stressful for Your Cat, Start to Finish
A calmer vet visit for a nervous cat, from booking a quiet time and lining a top-opening carrier to waiting in the car, an exam in or beside the carrier, pre-visit medication and the other cat who hisses when you get home.
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How-to
How to Keep a Dog Calm and Safe During Fireworks
A fireworks plan for the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve: ID and harness checks, an early walk and dinner, a quiet den, a licking job, how to comfort a scared dog, practice for next year, cats, and when to call your veterinarian.
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How-to
How to Keep a Dog Busy While Working From Home: A Workday Plan
A workday plan for dogs whose people work from home: exercise before the first call, a bed beside the desk, a settle cue, quiet lick-mat jobs for meetings, short breaks, a calm fix for demand barking and practice at time apart.
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How-to
How to Keep a Cat Calm With House Guests: A Retreat Room Plan
Guests bring noise, new smells and doors that keep opening. Here is a host’s plan for your cat: a retreat room set up a week ahead, play and a meal before the doorbell, what to tell visitors, overnight stays, suitcases and visiting dogs, and the stress signs that need a veterinarian.
