Outdoors & Adventure
Guides for getting outside with your dog: hikes, camping, beach days, rainy walks and hot or cold weather, with what to pack, how to build up distance and how to keep a dog visible and close. Check trail and park rules before you go, and ask your veterinarian before big changes in activity.
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Buying guide
Dog Toys That Float: What to Bring to the Lake or Pool
A toy that sinks in two feet of lake water is a toy you have lost, and a wet toy that never dries turns mouldy in the car. This covers which materials float, why colour choice matters more on water than on grass, and the rinse routine after salt or chlorine.
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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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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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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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Checklist
Taking Your Dog to the Beach: Checklist for Sand, Salt Water and Heat
A beach-day checklist for dog owners: the rules to check before you go, water so your dog doesn't drink the ocean, hot sand and heat, waves and rip currents, and a fresh-water rinse before a covered ride home.
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Guide
National Parks With a Dog: Where Dogs Can Go, Rules and What to Bring
Most national parks welcome leashed dogs on roads, in campgrounds and at picnic areas, but not on most trails. See how the rules differ across 11 parks, what the B.A.R.K. Ranger principles mean in practice, why your dog never waits in the car and what to pack.
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Guide
Hiking With a Small Dog: How Far, What to Bring and When to Carry Them
Small dogs can hike, on the right trail. Plan by time and climb rather than miles, clip the leash to a snug small harness with ID on the collar, offer water and tiny snacks often, watch heat and cold closely, give big dogs and coyotes room, and bring a backpack your dog already knows for the way back.
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Checklist
Hiking With Your Dog in Hunting Season: A Trail Checklist
Trails shared with hunters need a few extra steps: find out whether and when hunting is allowed where you hike, put blaze orange on you and your dog, keep a 6-foot leash on, skip dawn and opening weekends, and know what to do if shots sound close.
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Checklist
Dog Camping Essentials: A Packing Checklist for Tent and Car Camping
What to pack for your dog for a night or two at a campground, and why: pet rules to check before you book, ID that stays on after dark, dog food stored like your own, a pad off the cold ground, a tent-door clean-up routine, safe tie-outs and what to leave at home.
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Guide
Camping With a Cat: Is Yours Ready, and How to Keep Them Safe at Camp
Camping suits a confident, harness-trained cat, and only with someone always beside them. How to tell if yours is ready, rehearse at home, make the tent or car a safe base, handle litter and food at camp, explore on a leash and find a cat who slips away.
