A double coat is two coats doing two jobs: a coarse outer layer that sheds water and a dense undercoat that traps air. Only the undercoat blows out seasonally, and the volume of it surprises everybody the first time. What the job is, what it needs, and why shaving the outer coat makes the problem worse rather than better.
Photo: Goochie Poochie Grooming / Pexels
Three to start with
The Bowl
Weighing food instead of scooping it
A scoop measures volume and food varies in density, so the same scoop delivers different amounts of different foods. A cheap kitchen scale removes the whole problem.
Enclosures
A hutch that survives February
Wind, damp and standing water are what actually kill an outdoor enclosure. Roof overhang, raised legs, a solid back to the weather and a sheltered sleeping end.
Occupation
Cardboard is a material, not a joke
Free, replaceable, chewable and destructible on purpose — which is exactly what makes it better enrichment than most things sold as enrichment.
Six sections
Browse all 24 →Coat & Claw
Coats, claws, beaks and the tools that maintain them.
5 entriesThe Bowl
What goes in it, how much, and how it is measured.
4 entriesEnclosures
Hutches, tanks, cages and runs.
4 entriesBedding & Ground
Substrate, litter and the cleaning schedule.
4 entriesOccupation
The boredom problem and what solves it.
4 entriesCarrier & Away
Handling, travel and being left with somebody else.
3 entriesSupported by
Readers and businesses who keep this publication running.
Every entry is a job: what it is, what it needs, how often, and how you know it worked. Routine husbandry only — where a topic turns medical, the entry stops.
In support
Planting an aquarium so the maintenance drops
Plants compete with algae for the same nutrients. A well planted tank is less work than a bare one, not more.
Photo: Shamsuri Azmi / Pexels
Trusted care brands
When it comes round
The full register →And from
