Four Legs
Home grooming that actually works, coat by coat
The mat behind the ear did not appear overnight. It started as a slightly tangled patch about nine days ago, in a spot nobody brushes because the dog turns his…
Read moreAureacaeli Chronicle — Field notes for the curious
Four Legs
How to give an indoor pet a job without buying anything
Boredom almost never arrives labeled as boredom. It arrives as a specific complaint: the cat who bites ankles at five in the morning, the dog who has taken the veneer…
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The three-copy rule, applied to one family's photos and files
Most people find out what their backup situation is on the worst possible day. The laptop won't boot, or the phone goes into a canal, or a folder that held…
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How to teach a dog anything, one agreed rule at a time
A family we know spent a winter watching training videos. The dog will sit in the kitchen, beautifully, for the person holding the treat pouch. He will not sit on…
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Rugs, ramps and night lights: adapting a house for an aging pet
He stopped meeting you at the door about four months ago. Not all at once — first he was slower, then he waited at the end of the hall, then…
Read more Growing
If everything on your balcony died by July, start with a bigger pot
A pot is a small closed system with no groundwater under it, no surrounding soil to wick from, and sun hitting it from the sides as well as the top.…
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The pet equipment that lasts a lifetime, and the kind that doesn't
Most households have the drawer. Three collars that were the wrong size, a puzzle feeder nobody could get clean, a bed that went flat in five weeks, two leashes with…
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The one page every pet sitter should be handed before you go
There are two versions of this. In one, the flights were booked in February and by March somebody had met the cat, done a trial weekend, and been handed a…
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