6 Things All Little Dogs Need

[honestkitchen]

Even when you find a pet product labeled “One Size Fits All”, they rarely do.

Dogs on both ends of the spectrum, from the giants to the teacups, need special gear. For the tiny tots, safety reins supreme (even though cutesy comes in a close second). No tiny dog lover should be without these products.

Booster Seat

Just as small children need booster seats, small dogs need one too. Car seats for little dogs work the exact same way as a child’s booster seat, elevating the dog to be safely contained and secured in case of an accident while allowing your pup a view of the scenery from his perch. For dogs up to 30 pounds, Kurgo’s Skybox Booster Seat contains the pup safely and securely when clipped into the crash-tested tether, and installs on the front or back of a bucket seat.



Carrier

While there are some carriers that double as car seats, which could save you money, many carriers have not been crash-tested. Plus, if you’re a frequent flier, you need to get an airline-approved carrier to tote your tiny companion. Sleepypod Air is designed to comply with airline regulations and is crash-tested, so it can travel safely in the taxi with you when you reach your destination. The design includes a slot along the side that allows you to slip the carrier over your luggage handle to wheel your pup around airports in comfort.



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[Nina_W]

Honest Kitchen, usually I really enjoy your longer posts - they are informative and useful. This one, though, is full of slightly off advice - some harmless, some really not so.

For starters, that booster seat has not been crash tested either, and is a pretty unsafe place for a dog to be. On the front seat in a car with airbags is a deadly spot for a small dog. They will be MUCH safer in a crash tested harness, or a crate strapped down well in the back seat.

A nice crash tested crate can double as a carrier. You won't save money, though, good crates cost a goodly pile of money. I'm not talking about aluminium wire crates - these are a very unsafe choice. Fabric crates are safer than those, but still not great (and likely to fail if you strap them down well enough). You do get solid, tested plastic crates, though. And then there's this beast:
Variocage dog crates, Variogate dog gate, Safety net partitions, Universal net partitions and accessories. Variocage hundburar, Variogate hundgrind, MIMsafe säkerhetsnät och tillbehör för säker transport av hund

There is definitely a case to be made for the correctly sized brush. But have you ever watched your local master groomer? Those teeny tiny little dog brushes are not on their shelf. Medium sized is typically the thing for the itty bitty guys (and, typically the thing for the big guys too). Good brushing technique is what will make the biggest impact. Using smaller brushes can make grooming take very long, and can increase your pets discomfort which in turn makes grooming harder to get done over all. Mostly harmless advice, this one, though.

The advice to use human nail clippers not so much. Human nail clippers are rarely sharp enough to make a nice, neat, clean clip. They compress the nail as they clip - fine for a thin, flat nail like our human ones, not so fine for a round nail. Dogs nails clipped with human clippers (or blunt clippers) tend to feather and little bits shear off. Very uncomfortable. A set of small nail shears, with a blade that you can sharpen, is a much better bet.
With one exception - if you have access to human nail industry nail clippers, and keep them VERY sharp, you're probably fine. That silver thing you buy over the counter at Boots not so much.

Please do thank Maggie, the author, for her efforts in writing so many of these articles, but in this case, especially about the booster seat and the nail clippers ... not good advice in general, not if safety is your aim.

[honestkitchen]

Honest Kitchen, usually I really enjoy your longer posts - they are informative and useful. This one, though, is full of slightly off advice - some harmless, some really not so.

For starters, that booster seat has not been crash tested either, and is a pretty unsafe place for a dog to be. On the front seat in a car with airbags is a deadly spot for a small dog. They will be MUCH safer in a crash tested harness, or a crate strapped down well in the back seat.

A nice crash tested crate can double as a carrier. You won't save money, though, good crates cost a goodly pile of money. I'm not talking about aluminium wire crates - these are a very unsafe choice. Fabric crates are safer than those, but still not great (and likely to fail if you strap them down well enough). You do get solid, tested plastic crates, though. And then there's this beast:
Variocage dog crates, Variogate dog gate, Safety net partitions, Universal net partitions and accessories. Variocage hundburar, Variogate hundgrind, MIMsafe säkerhetsnät och tillbehör för säker transport av hund

There is definitely a case to be made for the correctly sized brush. But have you ever watched your local master groomer? Those teeny tiny little dog brushes are not on their shelf. Medium sized is typically the thing for the itty bitty guys (and, typically the thing for the big guys too). Good brushing technique is what will make the biggest impact. Using smaller brushes can make grooming take very long, and can increase your pets discomfort which in turn makes grooming harder to get done over all. Mostly harmless advice, this one, though.

The advice to use human nail clippers not so much. Human nail clippers are rarely sharp enough to make a nice, neat, clean clip. They compress the nail as they clip - fine for a thin, flat nail like our human ones, not so fine for a round nail. Dogs nails clipped with human clippers (or blunt clippers) tend to feather and little bits shear off. Very uncomfortable. A set of small nail shears, with a blade that you can sharpen, is a much better bet.
With one exception - if you have access to human nail industry nail clippers, and keep them VERY sharp, you're probably fine. That silver thing you buy over the counter at Boots not so much.

Please do thank Maggie, the author, for her efforts in writing so many of these articles, but in this case, especially about the booster seat and the nail clippers ... not good advice in general, not if safety is your aim.

Thank you for your comments, Nina! We will definitely review your points with the author and appreciate the feedback!

[Annabellam]

How about a stroller. Sometimes i use on when i need to take Sammy with me out in public. He's still a shy dog unless he is in the mood to run around.