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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Checklist
Winter Hiking With a Dog: Checklist for Cold, Ice and Short Days
A winter trail-day checklist: plan a shorter, sheltered route around daylight, keep your dog leashed and off frozen water, pack water that won't freeze and a coat for dogs who feel the cold, check paws for ice balls and salt, and know when to turn back.
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How-to
Working From Home With a Cat: Fewer Paws on the Keyboard
A home-office plan for cat owners: a warm bed beside the desk instead of on it, cables and coffee out of reach, play before calls, midday puzzle and lick-mat jobs, a kind fix for keyboard walkers and a gentle switch back to office days.
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Guide
Why Does My Dog Bring Me Toys? What It Means and How to Respond
A toy at the door is usually a greeting, an invitation to play or both. Learn to tell which, when to play, say hello or trade, and what to do when it turns into demand play or keep-away.
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Guide
Why Do Dogs Roll in Smelly Things? How to Stop It and Clean Up
Nobody knows for sure why dogs roll in poop, dead fish and worse. The leading theories and their holes, the signs a roll is coming, the leash, leave-it and recall habits that prevent it, a cleanup plan for the walk, the ride and the bath, and when to call your veterinarian.
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Guide
Why Do Dogs Like Squeaky Toys? And How to Keep Squeaker Play Safe
A squeak sounds like small prey and goes off the instant your dog bites, so every chomp pays off. Why some dogs squeak for hours or whine with a toy, what to do about a dog who digs out the squeaker, how to choose a squeaky toy and how to live with the noise.
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Guide
Why Do Dogs Dig in Their Beds? Normal Nesting and When It’s a Problem
Digging, scratching and circling before lying down is normal nesting. Learn why dogs do it, how to tell a normal routine from a frantic one, what extra digging says about the bed, how to handle a bed shredder and when to call your veterinarian.
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How-to
Where to Put Cat Food and Water Bowls, and How Far From the Litter Box
Choosing the spot for your cat’s food and water: how far to keep them from the litter box, why water belongs away from the food, which rooms and corners to avoid, feeding several cats or a cat with a dog, and how to move the bowls without putting your cat off its meals.
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Guide
Why Do Dog Paws Smell Like Fritos? What’s Normal and What Isn’t
That corn-chip smell is usually normal: harmless bacteria that live on every dog's feet, kept warm and damp by sweat from the pads and the fur between the toes. Learn why it happens, which changes are worth a call to your veterinarian, and the habits that keep paws fresher without over-washing.
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How-to
Where to Put a Litter Box in a Small Apartment or Studio
The bathroom usually wins, with the door wedged open. See the next-best spots in a studio or one-bedroom, the places to skip (kitchen, bedside, laundry closet), how to make a screen or cabinet work for your cat, a studio layout, and how to move the box without accidents.
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Comparison
Where Should Your Dog Sleep When Camping? Tent, Car or Camper
Tent, car, camper or outside? For most dogs the answer is the tent, beside you, on a pad that keeps them off the cold ground. Compare the options, see why a tie-out is no place to spend the night, and learn how to keep your dog warm and spot a dog who is too cold or too warm.
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Checklist
When to Replace Dog and Cat Gear: A Monthly Wear Check
A five-minute monthly check for everything your dog or cat uses: the wear signs that mean a collar, harness, leash, toy, bowl, lick mat or scratcher insert should go, the fit checks growing and changing pets need, and what only needs a wash.
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Checklist
When to Replace a Dog Bed: 7 Signs, Plus Cat Beds and Gel Mats
A checklist for deciding when a dog or cat bed is past saving: the fold-and-press test for flat filling, smells that return after a proper wash, tears that put a chewer at risk, worn bases, rims and gel mats, a pet who has outgrown the bed, and what only needs a wash.
