Find the best top dog advice directly from experts, your fellow Woof Report Readers. Read on for quick tips to best care for your dog.
Pet parents can’t afford to keep secrets. We need each other. Who else is going to tell us which doggie shampoo smells best, or how to get your pup to stop eating out of your garbage can? It’s none other than the pet people at the park, on hiking trails, and right here at Woof Report. That’s why we adore your suggestions and pooch solutions. Keep them coming and we’ll pass them on.
Here are just a few of our favorites:
Crate Idea!
“I take my dog’s big crate to one of those self-serve car washes to give it a good cleaning. It’s much easier than trying to wash it at home and the strong water pressure of the hose really gets the crate clean. I put it on the cement – thoroughly wash down the inside and outside of the crate – especially the corners, and pop it in the trunk to air-dry outside at home.
– Linda and Bruno
Butter Them Up
“Do you need a quick, non-toxic way to remove tree sap from your dog’s fur? Butter works like an instant solvent on wet or dry fur. Lather on a few rounds of butter followed by a warm water rinse. As a bonus, your pooch will smell like a buttery cookie afterward, and it won’t harm him to lick off the remains.”
– Stacey and Sadie
Phone Home
“The petsitter that cares for my dog Ruby when I go out of town has an ingenious idea for ensuring she can be reached if my dog goes missing or gets out of her sight. The last time she cared for Ruby, I noticed an extra tag on her collar after I brought her home. It was a tag our petsitter added with her contact information and that she belonged to a pet sitting group if found alone. What a relief to see this was done. This way, if I’m ever out of cell phone range, there’s a local number on Ruby’s tags to help bring her home again.”
– Lila and Ruby
Frosty Paw Makeovers!
“I took your recipe for homemade Frosty Paws and made it even BETTER by making the “cups” out of dog cookie dough. I use various recipes from cookbooks for dogs, using alternatively rice flour, millet flour, even quinoa flour which has the added benefit of being high in calcium. Any dog cookie or dog biscuit recipe can be formed into “cups” using a muffin tin and baked, and when cooled can hold the frozen treat. P.S. In my household we call the frozen treats with banana and peanut butter “the frozen Elvis”!”
– Miss Jan
Chew On This
“My dog Lawrence is a huge chewer and I have purchased many chew toys to keep him away from my shoes and such (he did get to one pair regardless!). I have given him various Nylabones, the small and classic bone-shaped ones and sometimes he’d chew on them, sometimes not. From a friend’s recommendation, I bought an oversized “Galileo,” also from Nylabone, and my dog loves it! He chews for hours, there’s little wear on it and he even carries it from place to place to sit and gnaw on it. It’s a great find for us both!”
Woof Report found these at amazon.com/galileo
– Ted and Lawrence
Umm…Yammy!
“I foster a lot of dogs and the majority of them love raw yams. I cut a raw yam in half and give a half to each dog. The treat is healthy, cheap, and cleans their teeth. They love the texture and the sweet taste.”
– Nicole from Wonder Dog Rescue, San Francisco
iSqueek, You Squeek
“My brother Daniel and I developed the iPhone App, iSqueek, a virtual squeak-toy that reacts realistically to your touch. Press on any of the 18 toys to create long or short sound bursts your dog will dig. It’s perfect for getting your dog’s attention at the dog park.”
www.isqueek.com
– David
The Scoop:
Reader’s Dogest needs you. Send Woof Report your top dog tips today by replying to any Woof Report weekly email newsletter, using the Contact Us form on the site, or sending an email to: woof (at) woofreport.com. Thank you!
See our past Reader’s Dogest, chock full of useful tips you can use!
woofreport.com/readers-dogest-1
woofreport.com/readers-dogest-2
woofreport.com/readers-dogest-3
Originally published January 2011; reviewed and updated March 2017.
