Take a walk down any pet food aisle, and it's easy to get overwhelmed. But once you pick a brand, figuring out...
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Are You Feeding Your Dog the Correct Amount of Food?
Howliday Dog Gift Ideas
Ready to give the fur-babies in your life a winter holiday season they will never fur-get? Whether your family celebrates Christmas, Hanukkah,...
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7 Ways to Keep Your Dog Calm and Happy Through the Stress of the Holidays
7 Ways to Keep Your Dog Calm and Happy Through the Stress of the Holidays The holiday season is just around the...
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Best Local Holiday Gifts For Your Dog
Best Local Holiday Gifts For Your Dog In the last couple of years, there has been a huge push to shop local...
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Best Gifts for Your Cat This Holiday Season
We know that cats are family, and around this time of year, it is customary for many people to get gifts for...
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How to Approach a Service Dog Safely
How to Approach a Service Dog Safely Here at Sparky Steps, we provide all kinds of caring pet services – and dog...
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Is Your Dog a Candidate for Chiropractic Care?
Is Your Dog a Candidate for Chiropractic Care? Lower back tightness? Neck stiffness? Back pain? You might seek the attention of a...
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What You Should Know About Pet Insurance for Dogs
What You Should Know About Pet Insurance for Dogs Pets are an important part of our lives. We plan our days around...
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10 Dog Instagrams To Help You Get You Through Your Day
Nothing can brighten up a busy workday like seeing a video or photo of an adorable puppy. This is even more possible...
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How to Be Pet Prepared for a Natural Disaster
How to Be Pet Prepared for a Natural Disaster When a natural disaster strikes, the first priority is always the safety and...
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Happy Howloween
Frightfully Festive Pups Happy Howl’oween! Time is ticking to lock in your pet's spooky attire. Get inspired by some...
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5 Fun Activities for your Dog in the Fall
5 Fun Activities for your Dog in the Fall Who doesn’t love fall? The leaves are changing colors, spooky programs are coming...
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Approaching Dogs Properly: Insights to Help Keep You Safe
Approaching Dogs Properly: Insights to Help Keep You Safe It’s a statistic that really makes you stop and think about what's safe...
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Is it Safe for my Dog to Be Off-Leash in my Yard without a fence?
We often think our dogs "know their boundaries," but instinct can override training in a heartbeat. From the heartbreak of wandering senior...
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Ten Pup-Friendly Places Worth Visiting
Ten Pup-Friendly Places Worth Visiting Dogs are more than pets, they’re family. Oftentimes, though, unless you’re going to the park or for...
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Why You Must Microchip Your Pet
Why You Must Microchip Your Pet We love our pets. In fact, most of us consider them family members. They provide companionship,...
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Trimming Nails and Handling Cracked Pads: Taking Care of Your Dogs Paws
Trimming Nails and Handling Cracked Pads: Taking Care of Your Dogs Paws Chicago weather can be rough on your dog’s feet. During...
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The Science Behind Why Our Dogs Love Us So Darn Much
Looking down into those warm, expressive eyes and wondering how they could love you so unconditionally? It turns out your intuition is...
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Do's and Don'ts of Hiking the Trails with Your Dog
Do's and Don'ts of Hiking the Trails with Your Dog When someone tells you to take a hike...do you jump at the...
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Bark To School
As kids head back to the classroom, it begs the question: should you "homeschool" your dog or enroll them in professional puppy...
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The Value of Vaccinations
The Value of Vaccinations We love our pets for so many reasons. They provide unconditional love, companionship, and stress release. They entertain...
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Storm Stress? Five Hints to Soothe an Anxious Hound
Storm Stress? Five Hints to Soothe an Anxious Hound The Midwest can truly be a mixed bag of weather-related spectacles. Here at...
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Safe Fresh Fruit and Veggie Treats
Safe Fresh Fruit and Veggie Treats August means fresh fruit and veggies abound in gardens and local farmer’s markets. While we may...
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How to Introduce a Second Dog into Your Home
How to Introduce a Second Dog into Your Home Sometimes it is just impossible to say no to a second pair of...
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How to Keep Your Dog Active on Blazing Hot Summer Days
Too Hot For a Walk? How to Keep Your Dog Active on Blazing Hot Summer Days There's a reason we refer to...
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Chicago Loves Mutts: The City’s Top Dog Breeds
Chicago Loves Mutts: The City’s Top Dog Breeds Chicago is a city of dog lovers. Dog owners crowd Montrose Dog Beach to...
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Help Your Dog Avoid These Outdoor Garden Dangers
Help Your Dog Avoid These Outdoor Garden Dangers Our experienced Sparky Steps team is committed to helping your dog enjoy the great...
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Pupparazzi: Five Tips for Perfect Pet Photos
Pupparazzi: Five Tips for Perfect Pet Photos These days, everybody wants to snap a perfect pet photo to upload to Facebook or...
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5 Tips for Juggling Work and Your Dog
5 Tips for Juggling Work and Your Dog More than half of households own pets in the United States, and dogs are...
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Is That Normal? 10 Common Cat Behaviors You Should Know About
Is That Normal? 10 Common Cat Behaviors You Should Know About Here at Sparky Steps, we know that all cats have their...
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The 3 Best Ways to Help Your Dog Lose Weight
Many pet parents start out with a strict “no dogs on the bed” rule, only to find themselves sleeping on a tiny...
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Road Tripping With Your Dog
How To Take A Road Trip With Your Dog It’s finally summertime and that means that for some of you, a road...
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Caring for Canine Teeth at Home
Caring for Canine Teeth at Home Here at Sparky Steps, our dedicated dog walkers keep your canine companion safe and secure outdoors....
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Harness the Power to Take Your Dogs on a Group Walk
Harness the Power to Take Your Dogs on a Group Walk Sometimes walking Chester isn't an easy task: he's sniffing at every...
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Seven Ways to Keep Your Dog Cool this Summer
Seven Ways to Keep Your Dog Cool this Summer Summer is finally here Chicago! Bring on the pool days, cold treats, and...
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7 Significant Reasons to Hire a Professional Cat Sitter
7 Significant Reasons to Hire a Professional Cat Sitter If you are one of the 57.81 million people who have a cat...
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What Summer Treats Can You Share with Your Dog?
What Summer Treats Can You Share with Your Dog? Summer is a delicious time of year full of seasonal treats. While we...
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Five Rainy Day Activities For You and Your Dog
Five Rainy Day Activities For You and Your Dog Along with warmer weather comes summer rain and storms. Sometimes these storms can...
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Six Reasons to Re-Think Retractable Leashes
Six Reasons to Re-Think Retractable Leashes Here at Sparky Steps, pet safety is always our primary concern. When we walk dogs, we...
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Indestructible Dog Toys
Indestructible Dog Toys When it comes to chew toys, is your dog a demolition expert? At Sparky Steps, we know that no...
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4 Tips on How to Introduce a New Pet to Kids
Your kids have been pleading and making that adorable sad face every time you turn around. So, you've finally given in and...
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Spring and Fleas and Ticks, Oh My!
Spring, Fleas and Ticks, Oh My! Ahhhh… When the snow and ice melt and spring arrives, everyone at Sparky Steps looks forward...
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Top Five Tips to Help Maximize Dog Park Safety
If you’re a canine lover from Chicagoland, you’ve probably got a favorite local dog park. These open-air, off-leash havens are popular places...
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Keeping Your Life Healthy With Dogs
Keeping Your Life Healthy With Dogs Whatever stage of life you are in, is the perfect time for a four-legged companion. Pet...
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How to Introduce a Cat to a New Home
How to Introduce a Cat to a New Home We here at Sparky Steps understand that bringing home a new cat is...
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Bike Riding With Your Four-Legged Buddy
Bike Riding With Your Four-Legged Buddy Not everyone is built for all types of exercise. Have you ever asked yourself, "is it...
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Allergy Season vs Food Allergies
Allergy Season vs Food Allergies Allergy season is in full force with the nice weather approaching. While it is easy for us...
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5 Ways to Help Your Dog With Separation Anxiety
5 Ways to Help Your Dog With Separation Anxiety If you’re anything like us at Sparky Steps, nothing breaks your heart more...
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5 Things to Know About Rescue Dogs
With millions of dogs waiting in shelters across the country, skipping the breeder and adopting a rescue is one of the most...
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14 Rules for Dog Park "Petiquette"
We have all heard the terrifying stories of dogs getting into fights at the local dog park while their owners are distracted...
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