Latest news with #dogadventure
New York Times
18-07-2025
- New York Times
I Took My Dog to a Psychic. I Think It Actually May Have Worked?
Buddy loves the Diggs Enventur Travel Kennel so much that it's sometimes hard to get him to leave the car. Annemarie Conte/NYT Wirecutter It turns out that despite his often lazy ways, my pooch loves adventure — from lying in the grass under the sun to romping through the woods on a hike to swimming at a dog-friendly beach. But dude gets a little stressed in the car, and that can make taking a drive challenging. He is often wedged between my two kids, and he will lick or pant his way through a road trip. He said he wants to feel safe, which is good not only for him but for the whole family. And the fact is it's crucial for your animal to be secured in the event of a crash. 'Your 50-pound dog can turn into a projectile and kill you,' behaviorist Savocchi said. 'The safest thing is to restrain your pets in the back of the vehicle, either on the back seat, on the rear floor, or in an SUV's cargo area,' Mel wrote in our guide to traveling with pets. 'As much as you may want them near you, they shouldn't ride shotgun — airbags can also injure an animal.' I own both a sedan with a bench seat and a van with captain's chairs, so I needed multiple solutions. Buddy is too big for a crash-tested carrier, such as the Diggs Passenger or the Sleepypod Air, our travel carrier picks for cats and small dogs. So I started with a crash-tested harness, the Clickit Sport Plus, which is designed to be used with your car's seat belt. Crash-tested to meet federal child-safety standards, this harness is designed to have the seat belt threaded through it, to prevent injury in an accident. It can also be used as a walking harness when you're on the road. Buddy has a 28-inch chest, which puts him right at the top of the range for the medium-size harness. Yet this harness had plenty of space to adjust it to fit him. I watched all of the instruction videos on the company's website, and it seemed straightforward in theory, but it took some practice. To make sure Buddy was sitting in the correct position in the car so we could buckle him in, we had to do a little coaxing — with kind words and treats. But we got there, and he settled down with enough room to get comfortable (but not so much that he'd go flying in a crash). For longer car trips, the inflatable Diggs Enventur Travel Kennel — which Mel uses with their 65-pound dog, Dave — fit the bill. Quick to inflate (using the accessory pump) and simple to install (with the added tie-down straps), this crate will prevent your dog from flying through the air in the event of a crash. However, it will eat up the majority of your cargo space. Diggs sent me a medium-size crate (34 by 22.5 by 27 inches), and it was quick to inflate using the accessory pump (the crate comes with a bike-pump adapter, if you choose not to buy the proprietary pump). The additional tie-down straps were also easy to install in my van's metal anchor points. I left the crate inflated in our house for a couple of days — occasionally tossing treats inside for Buddy to retrieve — before installing it in the van to take a quick ride around the block. He took to it almost immediately, lying down and chilling with no whining. By our third trip, I no longer needed to lift him into the crate because he willingly jumped inside for a ride. 'My main caution with the crate in the back of the car is to make sure your dog has enough airflow back there — especially in the warmer months,' Mel said. The only downside is that the crate takes up a fair bit of the cargo area, so we all had to pack less to accommodate it. But I like that it uninstalls and deflates quickly, and it stores with a relatively small footprint, making it easy to set aside when Buddy isn't with us. I know there are a lot of psychic skeptics out there, but I went into this experience with an open mind. In the end, it helped to further build my relationship with my dog, and that's a real win. Buddy's desires aren't so different from my own: safety and security, good food, and a sense of fulfillment in the daily routine. It's been fun trying new things with him, seeing how he reacts, and getting a better understanding of who he is and what he likes. But regarding his desire to ride on a big boat? I think he's going to have to wait for the inevitable Below Deck: Dog Edition spinoff. This article was edited by Maxine Builder and Hannah Rimm. Necessary at times for training and safety, our firsthand tests found dog crates that are hospitable to your pet and convenient to store. We think the Ruffwear Front Range Harness and the Coastal Pet K9 Explorer Reflective Dog Harness are the best options for most dogs (and their people). From tiny teacups to big galoots, we've got gifts for every kind of dog and dog lover.
BBC News
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Escapee dog boards train alone and joins girls day out
You can meet some characters on public transport, but you don't expect to be sitting next to a four legged furry companion on a solo what happened when 10-year-old cavapoo Millie escaped from her garden in Lenzie and managed to make her way onto a train bound for Glasgow Queen Street on was found by a trio of kind women who used a bag strap as a make shift lead and handed her into police when the arrived in made it home safe and sound, and was reunited with owner Lauren Stirling who said the pooch has been "unfazed" by the adventure. Lauren, a wedding photographer, told BBC Scotland News she was taking photos at a ceremony when her smart watch "started going a bit crazy" with phone calls. She was initially worried that she had double booked but when she answered the phone, the police were on the other explained that Millie had been handed in at Queen Street station, eight miles away from her emerged the clever pooch had snuck out of a gate that was accidently left open and made her way to the local station before somehow managing to board the train headed for Glasgow. Onboard, she was spotted by Joanne Rankin and her friends, who were on a day said: "I noticed her running up the train, and she jumped up on the seat next to my friend, she then jumped up next to another group of girls."She was really cute, we knew she wasn't a stray because she was really well looked after."The women called the number on Millie's collar and posted on social media they had found a dog. They made a lead out of a bag strap and handed her into police once they arrived in Glasgow. Millie made herself at home with the women, and seemed to enjoy the adventure."At one point, she was actually cuddled into me, she was quite happy just sitting getting clapped," Joanne said."The only time she didn't look happy was when we were walking out of the train station. She was quite happy on the girls day out."She added they were delighted when the learned the dog had been reunited with her owners. Lauren's husband and two sons went to pick up Millie, who was completely unfazed by the added that it is completely out of character for the Cavapoo, who is normally a "complete lap dog"."She is very friendly, very calm usually but she has got a bouncy side to her. Even though she is 10, people always mistake her for a puppy," Lauren continued."She's had a couple of escapes over the years but normally she would run to where we would walk her. We still can't understand how she ended up going in that direction because it's not familiar to her."There has been a wee of a joke in the family, that because we had her before the kids, she has done this because she wanted a bit of attention."Lauren added it's a happy ending, but Millie is definitely grounded following her bid for freedom.
