Dogs

Chocolate bunnies are an Easter basket staple for us humans, but they’re off-limits for our pups. (Chocolate is toxic to dogs.) Not to worry, these bunnies are pup-approved. These latex squeaker toys, shaped like classic chocolate bunnies, are best suited for small breed dogs and come in a 2-pack for double the fun.,Picture this: It’s Easter morning. Your dog follows you into the kitchen like it’s any other ordinary day when—what’s that?—there’s a dog Easter basket full of goodies just for them. Imagine the joy on their little face when you let them tear into a new toy or treat. (And imagine the photo opp!) That’s eggs-actly how we plan to spend our Easter—by playing Easter bunny for our fur babies. But what to put in your dog’s Easter basket? We shopped Chewy for festive and fun gifts sure to get tails wagging. From bunny-shaped toys to drool-worthy dog treats, here’s what we’re putting in our dog’s Easter basket this year.

Pets bring joy to people’s lives and positively impact your health and well-being. But they can also unintentionally cause trip-and-fall injuries, even resulting in visits to the emergency room.  Pet-related fall injuries occur more often than you might think, so being aware of the hazards and taking steps to prevent trips and falls can help you avoid emergency situations. How Common Are Fall Injuries Caused by Pets? A 2010 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control revealed that pet-related fall injuries happen with relative frequency. An estimated 86,629 fall injuries associated with cats and dogs occurred in the United States each year from 2001 to 2006. Of these, seven and a half times as many injuries were caused by dogs in comparison to cats. The most common injuries reported were fractures, bruises and abrasions, most of these occurring in the extremities. According to the 2010 CDC study, while injury rates were the highest for people over 75 years old, pets were fall hazards for people of all ages. Jenn Fiendish, a veterinary behavior technician who runs Happy Power Behavior and Training in Portland, Oregon, says it’s not uncommon for pet parents to sustain an injury from falling or tripping over a dog. “This is often due to behaviors such as lunging at other animals, jumping onto or trying to get past an owner, and forceful pulling on the leash,” she says. Fall Injuries Within Your Home Fall injuries can happen anywhere, even at home. You might be at the stove cooking, for example, and your pup may be right behind you, waiting for food to drop, says Melissa Winkle, an occupational therapist and president or Dogwood Therapy Services in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who works with people with disabilities. “And [they] stay so close that when you turn around, you trip.” Or you might come home to an excited dog who has been left alone all day, arms full of groceries, and if your dog jumps up excitedly and runs around your legs, you can easily trip. Winkle further cautions pet parents about the hazards of a jumping dog. “Typically we see people get new pups or smaller adult dogs, and families allow the puppy to jump … Then the pup grows up knowing that this behavior will be rewarded,” says Winkle. In this case, the bigger issue is a lack of proper training that can cause a fall injury. How Fall Injuries Can Happen Outdoors Retractable leashes are another common cause for fall injuries, according to Winkle. “People give their dogs 8 feet of leash, and the dog sees something or hears something and gets a running start, giving them mechanical advantage, and pulls the person over,” says Winkle. Dogs can also change directions abruptly or get caught up in their leash while using a retractable dog leash. “I have seen both dogs and people get serious injuries from these kinds of leashes,” says Winkle. Winkle suggests using a fixed-length 4-6 foot dog leash and being aware of your environment so you can predict if your dog will take off. Dog parks are prime spots for both dog and human fall injuries, says Winkle. “People get to talking on the phone or to other pet parents and forget to watch their dogs,” says Winkle. Dogs tend to pay more attention to each other while playing, so it’s not unusual for them to run full-tilt into an unsuspecting bystander. “Supervision is the key,” she adds. Obedience Training to Prevent Fall Injuries The CDC report says that obedience training is an important factor in reducing falls. Walking your dog on a loose leash and teaching her to stay to one side of you (aka heeling) are two training skills that can reduce the risk of tripping over a dog, explains Fiendish. “For animals with more severe behavioral issues like leash reactivity or fear aggression, one must work with a qualified behaviorist or trainer so that the root problem is addressed along with behavior modification and training,” she adds. The same training can also apply to cats and smaller dogs, she says. (Although most injuries are caused by dogs, tripping over a cat is also a real risk.) “In addition to training, the use of a collar bell is also helpful, as it gives an owner the ability to hear the pet and thus alerts them to their presence.” Winkle says that providing environmental controls, such as the Carlson Pet Products extra wide walk-thru dog gate, can be a convenient way to keep both human and pup safe. “This particular product allows people to get through easily with a very shallow step-over, and it is tall enough to keep even larger breeds out of high-traffic and low-attention areas.” Many of these trip-and-fall injuries can be prevented if both human and dog have an understanding of the rules, says Winkle. “It really boils down to training together, having a relationship, watching the dog and managing the environment all the time,” she says. Assessing your lifestyle and physical status is also essential, says Fiendish. “Big, exuberant dogs as well as small, ‘hard-to-keep-track-of’ animals are often not a great choice for those with mobility issues.” Fall injuries caused by tripping over a cat or dog happen more often than people may think—and it impacts people of all ages. Being aware, reducing risk factors and investing in obedience training can go a long way towards preventing accidents. By: Paula Fitzsimmons Featured Image: iStock.com/Yurikr

By Hanie Elfenbein, DVM In the past few years, doctors and researchers have recognized the important role of gut bacteria in digestion. These bacteria inhabit the digestive system of all animals and are necessary for proper digestion of food and absorption of nutrients. Gut “microbiota” refers to the community of these bacteria, as well as other microscopic organisms that work together to keep your digestion healthy. The composition of the microbiota depends on many factors, including genetics, environment, and diet. Intestinal infections, such as those that cause diarrhea, and subsequent antibiotic medications alter the gut microbiota. Sometimes this leads to long-term dysbiosis, or an imbalance in the composition of the microbiota, leading to digestive difficulty and chronic diarrhea. What Is a Fecal Transplant? Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), among other terms used, is a procedure where fecal material from a healthy individual is given to an individual with intestinal illness in order to restore a healthy balance to the gut microbiota and resolve the illness. In humans, FMT is most frequently used to resolve gastrointestinal infections with C. dificle, a harmful bacterium that flourishes in immunocompromised, hospitalized, and other very ill individuals. The healthy bacteria found in the fecal transplant material replaces the harmful bacteria inside of the recipient’s intestines and helps restore a beneficial community. Researchers are studying whether FMT can also help people with chronic intestinal disease such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. So far, the therapy seems promising. Given the success of FMT in humans, veterinarians and veterinary researchers wondered whether the procedure could also help dogs and cats with chronic intestinal disease and diarrhea. An occasional bout of diarrhea is likely nothing to worry about and can be easily treated. But some pets rarely have normal stool or have diarrhea for weeks at a time. These dogs may need daily therapy or major changes in their diet before they can have normal feces. Veterinarians classify diarrhea by what type of therapy resolves it: antibiotic-responsive, fiber-responsive, diet-responsive, and non-responsive. It is thought that dogs with diarrhea that is refractory to treatment have an imbalance of their gut microbiota, or a dysbiosis. FMT is aimed at treating that dysbiosis by replenishing beneficial types of bacteria. This is why selection and screening of the donor animal is so important—their microbiota needs to be healthy and well-balanced.

Even if you never end up in the show ring, there are so many advantages to dog agility training. Strengthens your bond. Agility is all about working together as a team. It’ll also teach you how to read your dog and communicate effectively. Can boost your dog’s confidence. If your dog’s nervous, agility can gradually help them feel more confident around objects and even other people and dogs. Combines physical and mental stimulation.Agility is “awesome exercise for cardio, balance and paw-eye coordination,” says Dr. Wooten. It also mimics natural prey-chasing behavior and requires thinking skills, making it ideal for high-energy dogs. Can improve your dog’s focus. Teaching your dog to pay attention to you around distractions can motivate them to stick around you in everyday life.,Jump to section What Are the Benefits of Dog Agility Training? Is Your Dog Right for the Sport of Agility? So, When Can You Start Dog Agility Training? How to Teach Your Dog Agility: Beginner’s Tips The Lowdown

In 2025, you gave your pets more love than ever—through treats, toys, cuddles, and care. Together, the Chewy community turned those moments into something extraordinary for pets everywhere. Here’s a look back at all the joy we shared this year.

Around here, we believe Halloween is one of the best times of the year—because of all the adorable dogs dressed in costumes, of course!   We dug through Chewy’s Halloween collection to scare up the best dog Halloween costumes this spooky season. From tried-and-true customer favorites to new finds that are seriously spooktacular, there’s a dog costume idea for every ghoulishly good boy and girl.   

If you’ve ever taken a walk with your dog in the woods or through a field, only to have your best friend scratching up a storm for the next several days, you might have experienced a chigger attack. These tiny, red pests are so small that you might not even notice them on your dog but, once they become a source of itchy discomfort, they’re difficult to ignore. Find out what chiggers are, and how to treat them, below. What Are Chiggers? The scientific name for chiggers is Trombiculamites, but they’re also known as red bugs, harvest mites, itch mites and scrub mites. The tiny pests are commonly found in the woods and areas with tall grasses, particularly in the southeastern part of the United States. Chiggers in their larval stage feed on a variety of animals, birds and reptiles. Their bites cause intense itching, which can be miserable for dogs that venture into a chigger’s natural habitat. To make matters worse, the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists (AAVP) notes that emerging chigger larvae tend to congregate in one area, which means an unsuspecting host is likely to be exposed to a whole swarm of chiggers at one time. “They’re so tiny you can just barely see them,” said Dr. Susan E. Little, chair of Veterinary Pathobiology at Oklahoma State University’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences. And for pet parents that lead an active lifestyle with their pets, a single infestation of chiggers can be enough to keep you indoors, Little said. Probably the biggest misconception about chiggers is that they burrow into the skin and feed on blood. However, chiggers actually feed on skin cells and don’t penetrate the skin, Little said. When the larval chigger attaches to its host, its salivary secretions harden to form a tube, known as a stylostome, which the chigger uses to suck up liquefied skin tissue from the host, according to the AAVP. Feeding can last several days. When the chigger finishes, it detaches and proceeds to the next stage of its lifecycle, the prenymphal stage. Meanwhile, the feeding tube stays attached to the host and is what causes the lingering itchiness. Chigger bites are most common during the summer and fall months and the main symptoms are severe itching. Scratching the bites can lead to a secondary infection, but chiggers do not carry disease, according to the AAVP. Treating Chigger Bites A dog’s body is fairly well protected from chigger bites because of its fur, Little said, but chiggers can attach to a dog’s head, particularly the skin in and around a dog’s ears and eyes. “The sooner you get them off the better,” Little said. To remove chiggers from these sensitive areas, Little recommends wiping the area with a soft cloth or vet-recommended skin wipe. A warm bath can also help. In cases of severe infestation, a vet may prescribe prednisone to ease skin inflammation from scratching, Little said. Additionally, systemic pet treatments containing acaricides (any medication used for killing ticks and mites, like Frontline, Revolution and Seresto) kill chiggers as well as ticks and can help repel the pests.

Contributed by Jenna Donleavy, traveler and pet parent of three rescue dogs: Knox, Bear & Harper

To the untrained eye, the Alaskan Malamute and Siberian Husky might seem to be one and the same, with dogs of both breeds touting fluffy coats and appearing best suited for freezing temperatures. But while the breeds share some attributes, there are several differences new dog parents might want to know when deciding to get an Alaskan Malamute versus a Siberian Husky. Here’s what to know about the two breeds.

Bringing home a new puppy is exciting—but it can feel a bit daunting, especially if you’ve never had a dog before. A little advance preparation to ensure all the essentials are in place, however, can make for a smooth and enjoyable homecoming. Below you’ll find our New Puppy Checklist to help you welcome your new puppy into your home and family.