Beyond a Big Backyard

A new trend: housing built (or remodeled) with the family pet in mind.

May 2018 - Watch just a few episodes of House Hunters on HGTV, and you’ll start hearing a particular refrain repeated by the show’s narrator from one episode to the next: “On the couple’s ‘must-have’ list, a big back yard for Max” [or Bella, or Trixie]. That’s right. Along with a double vanity in the master bathroom ensuite, open-concept living with no wall between kitchen and family room, and “proximity to downtown,” young couples spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on their first home together are making clear that adequate space for the dog to play outdoors is a non-negotiable. In fact, one in three pet-owning clients will refuse to make an offer on a house because it is not ideal for their animal, according to real estate agents responding to a survey by the National Association of Realtors.

Dog as Wingman

Guys in search of a relationship, forget spending grueling hours at the gym in an attempt to make your body more buff and therefore more attractive to women. Just get a dog. Research published in the journal Anthrozoos: a multidisciplinary journal of the interactions of people and animals, found that men with a dog have an easier time getting a woman’s phone number.

Ways for Coping With a Dog Who’s Hard-Wired to Go After Other Animals

The predatory drive is difficult to redirect. But there are some measures you can take.

Joan Gullet’s Old English Bulldog, JuJu, was raised with two kittens when she was a puppy. “They got along great,” says Ms. Gullet, of Victoria, Texas. But something has changed for JuJu, now seven.

Harnessing Your Wayward Dog

Walks can be enjoyable, manageable, and painless.

She lunges. She races. Worst of all, perhaps, is when she digs in her heels and slips out backward, Houdini-like, leaving you with only a leash and collar where once was your dog.