Lifestyle

The fact is, purebred dogs are everywhere. You can find them at shelters, in rescue groups, free in the newspaper, running loose in the streets, for sale by breeders, and, unfortunately, in pet stores. There are pros and cons to acquiring your next family member from any of these sources; you can find good dogs from any one of them, but each venue can also supply you with dogs with minor to severe health and behavior problems. Much of the dog breeding industry seems to subscribe to the caveat emptor" philosophy. The average dog owner is very much on her own when it comes to acquiring a new canine companion

Not all foam beds can be thrown in a washing machine (we love the ones that can). But at least they can be taken outside and hosed off, which is a good thing to do occasionally, since immersion is an amazing anti-flea technique (see the article "Integrated Pest Management for Flea Control"). It’s a little difficult to wring them out – letting them drain by propping them up on one edge helps – but they air-dry surprisingly quickly. In contrast, many beds that are stuffed with cedar chips, fiberfill, or a combination of the two are almost impossible to wash.

Blushing brides used to come to their new marriages with a hope chest and a trousseau – a collection of the basic necessities for setting up a new household. It occurred to us that dogs should come to their new homes with a trousseau, too – containing everything dog and owner need to lay the foundation for a successful lifetime relationship. We put our minds to the task, and came up with the following collection of items that should be in every dog owner’s hope chest.

Putting a coat on your dog shouldn't be about making a fashion statement. Rather, it should be about keeping a chilly dog warm, thereby preventing hypothermia, a dangerous condition characterized by a reduced internal body temperature. (The normal canine body temperature is 100.5 to 102 degrees. A dog whose temperature drops below 95 degrees can die.) A dog's natural protection against cold varies from breed to breed. Labradors and certain Northern dogs (Huskies and Malamutes, for example) have developed with special physiological responses for coping with cold.

Most trainers would agree that it helps immeasurably to be very clear about what you are asking for when you work with a dog – even to the point of visualizing in your mind the behavior or movement you are seeking from your dog. Unquestionably, your focus will help you communicate your wishes to your dog, making it easier for him to interpret and understand your cues. Life is demanding and stressful for many people these days. We rarely have enough time to be as reflective as we’d like. But as you work with and care for others, including your dogs, take a moment to focus purposeful thought on your tasks.

A healthy home is a happy home. We can all agree on that. How can you make your home healthier for you and your animal companions? We can tell you 20 ways, right off the top of our heads. We’ll divide our suggestions into four areas: Cleanliness, Diet, Environment, and Lifestyle.

Once again, it’s time to look back at all of the great products we’ve reviewed over the year and pick out our very favorites. The following are our top (four paws) picks from the last 12 months – great suggestions for gifts to put under the tree of your favorite dog-obsessed human friends or relatives, stuff in your dog’s stocking, give to the hostess of that upcoming holiday party, or buy for yourself as a reward for doing another whole year of positive training with your canine pal.

Often, after we have reviewed a certain type of product, we get calls, letters, and e-mail from Whole Dog Journal readers telling us about similar products that we did not review. While we do not – and cannot – test every example of a product concept, when we learn about an exceptional or unusual one that we missed, we like to bring it to your attention. The following are a few notable additions to our product reviews from the past year.

You’re getting a dog from the shelter? Good for you! We’ll tell you how to choose the best dog for your family. There are a number of steps you need to take before you even set foot inside the shelter door. Doing some pre-visit homework can greatly increase your odds of finding the perfect pup. Caution: If all dogs on a particular shelter’s website are described the same way (sweet, friendly, loving) then the shelter probably doesn’t know the personalities of their dogs very well, or chooses not to be forthcoming with the information. This would be a good shelter to avoid.

Not very many dog owners look forward to bathing their dogs, and most dogs are even less enthusiastic about the ritual than their owners. However, having the right equipment can make the task less burdensome for human and canine participants alike. There are a number of accessories on the market that claim to make your bathing chore less onerous. These include tools to help you get your dog wet, tools to get her dry, and tools to hold her in place while you do all the stuff in-between.

Consider your dog's dinnerware, a topic more complicated than you might have thought. A visit to your local pet superstore, for example, will reveal dozens of choices, in plastic, stainless steel, glass, nylon, ceramic, and possibly aluminum. Among them are many simple, practical and economical models, meant for long-term everyday use, which are the focus of this article. Of course, bowls also come in a million different specialty" models – to feed automatically

Summer is in full swing, and dog owners all over the country are hiking and camping with their canine companions. WDJ decided to take a look at several of the products on the market that are designed to make hiking with our dogs more fun and easier for dog and/or human: a canine backpack, two pairs of doggie hiking boots, and two portable food and water bowls.