Q: You can find adjustable dog jumps used in agility courses online or at your local pet store. When you’re just starting out, set the bar at ground level or at the lowest available setting. You’ll start training by just having your dog walk over the jump bar. If you don’t want to purchase an adjustable jump, you can easily make your own. Place a plywood board over two cinder blocks, or other sturdy, flat objects. Add more blocks to increase the jump’s height when you’re ready to increase difficulty. Look for fallen logs, low walls, or even small creeks nearby that you can use as free obstacles. Make sure the area is safe and stable before bringing your dog there so that they don’t get hurt. Have your dog sit on one side of the jump bar, and place a treat on the floor on the opposite side. Tell your dog “Go get it!” or any other command (like “Okay!” or “Go!”) you’ve taught it that lets it know it should get the treat. If necessary, guide your dog over the bar to get the treat.  The treat should be on the floor instead of held high in the air so your dog will get used to looking down and forward as it goes over the bar. This will help it learn to round its back when it actually jumps over the bar, which is better for its spine. If your dog walks around the jump instead of over it to get the treat, set it up with one side against a wall. Place an obstacle, such as furniture, on the other side. Keep having your dog step over the jump bar so it gets comfortable with the object. If you start by having it jump right away, it might accidentally knock over the bar. If that happens and it gets hurt or startled, you’ll have a hard time getting your dog to go near the obstacle.  Keep practicing for about 20 minutes at least once a day. Remember to give your dog lots of verbal praise to show it how proud it’s made you. Once your dog is comfortable stepping over the bar, raise it to the next setting or add another set of cinder blocks. Ideally, at this next phase, your dog should just have to put a little more spring into its step to get over the bar and get the treat. When it’s mastered this stage, increase the height so it has to complete a full jump to get the treat. Like bar jumping, the key to teaching your dog to jump through a hoop is to raise the obstacle gradually. Start by having your dog walk through the hoop to get a treat so it gets comfortable with the object. Raise the hoop so it has to step a little more energetically, then gradually work your way up to a full jump.
A: Use an adjustable jump. Create your jump with cinder blocks and plywood. Use natural outdoor obstacles as jumps. Set down a treat on the far side of the jump. Practice at the lowest level until your dog is comfortable. Raise the bar gradually. Use the same method to teach your dog to jump through hoops.

Q: Avoid horizontal stripes and excessive patterns. These will draw unwanted attention to your body that you may be trying to avoid. Solid colors are a safer choice if you want to appear slimmer.  The tried and true rule is that black is generally very slimming and flattering. Sticking with darker colors are a safe bet because brighter/lighter colors draw attention to your body and are less effective at camouflaging certain trouble areas. If you do choose a pattern, think vertical. Any vertical stripes or patterns that flow vertically will follow the length of your body and elongate it rather than cutting it off like horizontal patterns would. Statistics show that many women wear the incorrect bra size on a daily basis. Go to a store and get professionally fitted for a bra. The store clerk will make sure you figure out the exact right size for you. If your bra is too small, it can make you look top-heavy; if your bra is too big, it will make you look frumpy.  A well-fitting bra can also have a minimizing effect for women who feel they are too top-heavy. Wearing shapewear garments under your clothing will help slim your figure, smooth out lines, and give you better posture. All of these are good things that will help your clothes look more flattering. A wide belt (not a skinny belt) will help hide your tummy if that is a problem area for you. Sparkly earrings or exciting headbands can draw attention away from your body and direct people to look elsewhere. In general, shoes that stop at your ankle or have ankle straps will make your legs look shorter and cut off the smooth lines of your body. Instead, go with some tall boots or ballet flats. And of course, heels make everyone’s legs look great.
A: Know what designs work best. Wear a bra that is the right size. Invest in some shapewear. Choose the right accessories. Pick flattering shoes.

Q: For this method, we'll start with a fully-assembled tank, minus the fish, just like in the method above. However, this time, we won't add the fish until the entire cycle is completed. Instead, we'll add biological waste manually as we monitor the water level and wait for the cycle to complete. This method requires a lot of patience, as it requires you to wait for the organic material you add to your tank to decay and start producing toxic waste products. However, it's often considered a more "humane" option as it doesn't expose fish to ammonia and nitrites like the method above does. To begin, drop just a few flakes of fish food into your tank — about as much as you'd use to feed your fish will do. Now, simply wait. Over the next few days, the flakes will begin to decay and release waste products (including ammonia) into the water. Use a test kit (or bring a water sample to your local pet store) to test your water for ammonia levels. You want to have a level of at least three parts per million (ppm). If you don't have enough ammonia in your water, add more flakes and wait for them to decay before testing again. Continue to test your water every other day for ammonia levels. As beneficial bacteria begins to grow in your aquarium, it will start to consume the ammonia, reducing the ammonia levels. Replenish them by adding fish flakes whenever the ammonia level falls below three ppm. As the bacteria start consuming ammonia, they'll begin to produce nitrites, the intermediate type of chemical in the nitrate cycle (which is less toxic than ammonia but still harmful to fish). Start testing for nitrites after a week or so — again, you can use a commercial test kit or take water samples to a pet shop to do this. Once you detect nitrites, you'll know the cycle has started. At this point, you'll continue adding ammonia as you have before. As you feed the bacteria in the tank ammonia, the nitrite levels will continue to rise. Eventually, however, enough beneficial bacteria will grow to convert the nitrites into nitrates, the final type of chemical in the nitrate cycle (and one that isn't harmful to fish.) When this happens, you'll know the cycle is nearing completion. You can detect this final phase of the cycle by either testing for nitrites (in which case you're looking for a sudden drop), nitrates (in which case you're looking for a sudden spike from a base level of zero), or both. After about six to eight weeks, the ammonia and nitrite levels should decrease to a level that's so low you can no longer detect them, while nitrate levels should plateau. At this point, it's safe to add your fish.  However, as in the method above, you'll want to add your fish gradually. Don't add more than a few small fish at a time and wait at least a week or two before introducing your next batch of fish. Consider cleaning the substrate with a siphon hose before adding fish, particularly if you had to add a lot of food. Decaying food or plant matter can become a ticking time bomb. If it gets trapped in the gravel, the ammonia won't enter the water, but if something upsets it, it could release a fair amount of ammonia rather quickly.
A:
Assemble and prepare your tank. Add a sprinkling of fish flakes. Test your water for ammonia in a few days. Try to keep the ammonia level at about three ppm. Start testing for nitrites, after a week. Wait for a sudden drop in nitrites and a rise in nitrates. Add fish gradually when ammonia and nitrite levels are near zero.