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
Walking a Dog in the City: Crowds, Crossings, Hazards and Potty Spots
Busy city sidewalks need their own habits. Learn how to keep your dog close in a crowd, teach a sit at every curb, pass doorways safely, spot glass, bones and rat bait before your dog does, and find a potty spot when grass is scarce.
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Buying guide
Types of Dog Brushes: Which Brush Suits Your Dog’s Coat
Slicker, de-shedding tool, pin, bristle, rubber curry, comb or rake: what each type of dog brush does, a coat-by-coat table of the ones your dog needs, the three tools we stock and the ones we don’t, and the signs a brush is wrong for the coat.
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Checklist
Traveling With a Senior Dog in the Car: A Checklist for Easier Rides
A car-trip checklist for an older dog: what to ask your veterinarian before a long drive, how to help a stiff dog in and out without a jump, a padded, secured spot in the back seat, hot and cold cars, more frequent stops, and the medications and records to keep in the cabin.
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How-to
Traveling With Two Dogs in the Car: Seats, Tethers, Loading and Stops
How to set up one back seat for two dogs: a seat each with a gap between, tethers short enough that the dogs can't reach each other or tangle, a booster for a small dog beside a big one, which dog loads first, rest stops on two leashes and what to do if they squabble.
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How-to
Traveling With a Dog and a Cat in the Car: Seating, Stops and Hotels
How to set up one car for a dog and a cat: the carrier wedged in a footwell away from the dog, a tether short enough to keep a nose off the mesh, who goes in and out first, stops where only the dog gets out, and a hotel room that keeps the cat behind a closed door.
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Guide
How to Travel With a Dog in a Pickup Truck: In the Cab, Not the Bed
Your dog rides in the cab, never the open bed. See where a dog sits in a crew, extended or regular cab, how to tether and cover truck seats, how to get in and out of a tall cab, and why a parked truck is no place to wait.
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How-to
How to Train Your Dog for Hiking: A Gradual Build-Up Plan
Start with a veterinarian check, then build from brisk neighborhood walks to hills, uneven ground and a first easy trail, one change at a time. Practice a loose leash, stepping aside and leave it on everyday walks, and learn the signs that mean rest, turn back or drop back a step.
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How-to
Teaching Kids to Walk the Dog: When They’re Ready and How to Start
Your child wants to take the leash. Here’s how to tell whether your child and your dog are both ready, how to run practice walks with a backup leash, and what your child should do when the dog pulls, lunges or meets another dog.
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How-to
How to Teach a Dog to Wait for Their Food Bowl, Step by Step
Lower the bowl only while your dog stays sitting, then release them to eat. This step-by-step plan uses your dog’s own meals and covers longer waits, distractions, jumping, barking and lunging, multi-dog kitchens, and what to do if your dog guards the bowl.
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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.
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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.
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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.
