Lifestyle

With the sun heading to bed a little earlier and the cold, blustery winds waking up to take its place, you and your pets have every reason to stay huddled indoors beside the manufactured heat. While it’s tempting to truncate your walks and playtime for comfort’s sake, it’s important to remember that your pet’s need for activity and stimulation won’t dwindle with the temperatures.

Here’s some good news for those allergy-prone would-be owners: There are a handful of dog breeds that are actually hypoallergenic. Low-shedding or with a coat that more closely mirrors human hair than dog fur, these breeds are suitable for those with animal sensitivities, and their presence won’t leave you sneezing or with watery eyes. We here at Nom Nom have determined the most popular small hypoallergenic dogs using 2019 data (released on May 1, 2020) from the American Kennel Club dog breed popularity rankings and dog breed characteristics. Each dog breed on this list is registered by the American Kennel Club, is small in size, and does minimal shedding—a common cause of allergies in pet owners. Click through to find your new, sneeze-free, furry best friend.

While the holiday season comes overstuffed with to-dos and but-once-a-years, you can always make a little extra time to make sure you’ve got your house properly pet-proofed before the celebrations begin. Next time you find yourself with a free afternoon (as if there were such a thing in December), here’s what you can do to make your winter wonderland the absolute safest it can be for your dogs and cats.

They can manage to get into all sorts of places on your dog, from their face, to their genitals, to the cracks in between their toes. But the discomfort doesn’t end there. Foxtails can actually burrow into your dog’s skin and become a painful splinter and even cause an infection.

Keeping pets safe for Thanksgiving is all about staying a step ahead of wherever their nose takes them over the course of the day. Whether you’re the cook, the guest or just here for the mulled wine, we can all do our part in letting our pets in on the fun without letting them in on too much fun.

The days are getting shorter but your dog still needs the same amount of exercise. We have the tips and tricks you need for exercising your dog safely after dark.

When you have multiple furry friends in one household, it’s not uncommon for one to get a hold of another’s toys and treats. Luckily, the curiosity is relatively harmless, and if your dog eats catnip they should be fine. In fact, a small amount of catnip may even have some health benefits for your canine friend.

What we can be, however, are prepared pet parents. Because the bite marks they leave in our cottons and peace lillies are ultimately the least of our worries. When an actual emergency strikes, you’ll want something to rely on.

The answer might just be instinct. In most cases there is no clear reason why dogs eat grass, but it has been found to be an incredibly common behavior that is generally seen as normal, especially among our more youthful companions. However, veterinarians and researchers are still learning what else may be behind this plant-eating behavior, and there appear to be a handful of possible reasons why grass-grazing is more than just natural.

We’d argue that no day of the year requires quite so much pet maintenance as October 31st. No heebie-jeebies intended, of course. Even with all the foot traffic, bizzaro sounds and even more bizzaro decor, cats and dogs are perfectly capable of having as much fun on Halloween as we do. In fact, as concerted pet parents, we see it as our responsibility to make sure they have as much fun as we do.