HELPFUL HINTS

DEAR READERS: Your dog probably loves to go in the car with you. Dogs like the companionship.

They like to look around, also — some researchers think that’s why the dog wants to stick its head out the car window while the vehicle is in motion.

This is a terrible idea, though. Flying insects and litter can hit the dog, potentially damaging eyes and ears, and the dog could be struck by a sign or other protrusion in the road.

Plus, an unrestrained dog can be injured in a sharp turn or sudden stop. By the way, this goes for dogs in the beds of pickup trucks, also.

Restrain your dog in an approved harness or crate. You wouldn’t allow your kids or grandkids to stick their heads out of a moving car — this goes for dogs, too.

DEAR HELOISE: With school in full swing and the weekend here, the dirty, stained laundry is piling up. Help!

— Gina R. in Pennsylvania DEAR READER: Don’t panic. While your kids are learning their ABCs, I’ve got three S’s for you: soon, slow and several.

Get to a stain as soon as possible. Have kiddos point out any spills or splatters right off the school bus.

Work the stain slowly. Give cleaning agents time to do the work.

Tough stains may need several attempts to remove them.

DEAR HELOISE: I was watching my friend teach her cat to use the litter box. She put the cat in and used the cat’s paw to scratch at the litter — wrong!

Cats will gravitate to the litter naturally. Just point them in the general direction. They are clean by instinct, so using the litter box will come easily. If you force cats in there, they might become afraid of the litter box.

— Shelley W. in Indiana

DEAR HELOISE: My family and I are on the go all the time. When I have a spare 10 minutes, I sit and plan.

For a camping trip, for example, we’ll need cooking tools, foods that will hold up in the elements, clothes for my husband, me and the kids, toiletries, flashlights, rain gear, a radio, batteries — the list goes on and on.

If I sit and think about things and write them down, it makes planning easier and less stressful.

— Colby G. in Georgia