Lifestyle

Five types of dog-to-dog supervision, from left to right (or from 1 to 4 stars): No adult supervising dogs; Adult present but distracted; Reacting after the dogs are too close; Having a plan, being prepared; Fully present, adult supervision

Poor agreement was found between visual breed assignments and DNA results in 14 of the 20 dogs (70 percent). Moreover, there was low inter-rater reliability, meaning that the dog experts did not show a high level of agreement regarding breed assignments to the 20 dogs. More than half of the evaluators agreed on the predominant breed in only seven of the 20 dogs (35 percent). These results provide evidence that physical appearance is not a reliable method for breed identification.

What comes to mind when you think of things you need for your dog? (Not necessarily things you want: much as I might like a diamond-encrusted collar or a $1,000 plush dog bed for Frankie, they’re not really necessities. Not in my world, anyway.) When it comes right down to it, pretty much everyone has a different idea of what items are considered essential for a dog.

1.Place both hands briefly, gently, on either side of your dog's spine, and then feed him a treat.2.Gradually move your hand down and under your dog's ribcage on the far side, touching and feeding him a treat several times at each step.3.Gradually move your other hand around the front of your dog's chest to his opposite shoulder, touching and feeding him several times at each step.4.Put light pressure on your dog with both hands, gradually hugging him toward you, and then feed him a treat.5.Gradually increase pressure, feeding him treats several times at each step.6.Hug your dog against your chest, lifting upward slightly; release and treat.7.Gradually increase the amount of lift pressure until you are picking him up, giving him a treat several times at each step.

Work hours mean very little to my young, extremely energetic dog. While I’m fixated on my computer screen, she’s hanging around getting bored. It can be a challenge to figure out what to do to keep a dog happy and engaged when you—and the dog—are stuck at home.

If your dog spends a lot of time snoozing in their bed, a washable dog bed will last much longer (and stay much cleaner) than one that can’t be easily cleaned. Whether you have a dog who sheds, drools, or likes to chew bones in her bed, a washable dog bed makes cleanup easy for pet parents.

We tested 5 popular dog beds with washable covers at a variety of different price points to find the ones that are worth the money and will hold up to your dog’s daily sleeping routine.

Recently, I found myself with too many dogs who needed exercise, and not enough time to put in the miles that could have worked off all that excess energy. I rooted through the dog-toy baskets in my office, looking for things I could throw for the pack to fetch. I used to have a Chuckit! tennis ball launcher, but some puppy or other chewed up the part that holds the tennis ball, so I threw it away and hadn't yet replaced it. Then I remembered that I had bought a very similar device that is used for launching small rubber discs for dogs to chase: the Winga.

The number of dog friendly hotel chains is growing, making it easier to decide what to do with your dog when traveling.

A purebred dogs is simply a dog bred from parents of the same phenotype while a mixed breed dog is bred from two or more phenotypes.

Hands-free dog walking belts are worn around the waist to provide a place to attach a dog’s leash so it doesn’t have to be hand-held. Some of these dog walking belts are as simple as a nylon strap with a single buckle fastener, one piece of adjustment hardware, and a lone D-ring where the wearer can use a carabineer or clip to attach the dog’s leash. Others offer padding, pockets, and multiple attachment points for dog leashes, and accessories

Pet food companies that are the size of Hill’s Pet Nutrition (a subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive Company) and Iams and Eukanuba (both owned by Procter & Gamble Pet Care) can afford to conduct a variety of research and development studies, as well as conduct their own feeding trials to meet regulatory requirements for nutritional adequacy. The following are the types of studies that large pet food companies typically conduct.

I have floofy dogs, so I learned to remove dog hair from my car. I also became a fan of preventatives. For example, if...