Dog Days – November 2025

Summary

Dog Days November 2025 — A Guide to Understanding Man's Best Friend — leads with You can speak dog: decode barks, growls, tail wags and more. The cover also carries TOP 10 BREEDS, POOCH PARADE, TIME TO SAY GOODBYE, CHEW ON THIS with five recipes, CANINE CREW & CANCER at p118, and CHOOSING A DOG FOR YOUR FAMILY.

Editor Herman Lensing's letter is the issue's best writing. He recalls a homeless man on a Paris street whose dog slept on its back, legs in the air — the pose of an animal that feels loved, safe and happy — and quotes Marley & Me: give a dog your heart and it gives you everything.

The contents run from the evolution of dogs at p20 and the top 10 breeds at p28, through apartment living at p86, learn to speak dog at p88, discipline at p96, cancer at p118, food at p128, five recipes at p136 and saying goodbye at p146.

—————

Content Guide

▸ Editor's Letter

HERMAN SAYS — Herman Lensing
Editor Herman Lensing writes on the bond between people and animals that cannot fully be put into words. He quotes Marley & Me — a dog does not care if you are rich or poor, clever or dull; give it your heart and it gives you everything — and describes a homeless man on a Paris street whose dog slept on its back with its legs in the air, the posture of an animal that feels loved, safe and happy. A dog sleeping belly-up is the truest measure of an owner any magazine has printed. Watch your own dog sleep tonight and read what it says.

▸ News and Experts

p.8 · For the love of dog — Herman Lensing, Suzanne Venter and Lydia van der Merwe
News, shopping and interesting things open the issue. News pages are where a magazine shows its range. Read one item before the features.

p.18 · Meet the experts
A wealth of knowledge and trusted sources is introduced. Expert panels are how a guide issue earns trust. Check one expert's qualification before you take advice.

p.20 · The evolution of man's best friend — From wolf to cuddle buddy
The evolution of dogs from wolves is explained. Evolution is the chapter that explains every behaviour after it. Read it before the training pages.

▸ Breeds and Choosing

p.28 · The canine hit parade — 10 popular (and interesting) dog breeds
The cover's top 10 breeds. Breed lists are the pages read before choosing a dog. Read the health notes before the photographs.

p.48 · Did you know? — Fur-ever homes for rescue dogs
Rescue homes get a fact page. Rescue is the option most buyers never consider. Visit one shelter before you contact a breeder.

p.50 · Picking a dog — Making the right choice for your needs
The cover's choosing-a-dog feature, with do's and don'ts. Choice is the decision that shapes ten years. Write your own needs list before you read it.

▸ Living with Dogs

p.62 · Did you know? — A guide to dog grooming
Grooming gets the fact page. Grooming is the chore owners postpone longest. Brush your dog properly tonight.

p.64 · Every dog has its day — Fashion with guide dogs
Guide dogs and fashion share a page. Working dogs in fashion is the unexpected pairing readers remember. Look up one guide dog charity's work.

p.74 · Did you know? — Celeb dogs through the ages
Celebrity dogs through history. Celebrity pages are the lightest thing in any magazine. Name one historic dog before you read.

p.76 · Surviving the adjustment phase
New home, new space, time to adapt. Adjustment is the stage most rehomings fail in. Give one new dog a quiet corner this week.

p.86 · Apartment living with dogs — Making life easy in a small space
Small-space living with dogs. Apartments are the reality most dog owners now face. Measure one space before you buy a bed.

▸ Behaviour and Communication

p.88 · Learn to speak dog — Decode the mystery of the eyes, wags and barks
The cover's speak-dog feature, decoding eyes, tail wags and barks. Calm signals are the language owners miss most. Watch one of your dog's signals today and name it.

p.96 · Naughty boy! — Best behaviour and discipline
Discipline and good behaviour. Discipline is the training subject owners argue about most. Set one household rule this week.

p.108 · There is wisdom in the woof — Dog communicators
Dog communicators are examined. Communicators are the service owners believe in without evidence. Ask for one reference before you pay anyone.

p.116 · Did you know? — Toys to put a wag in their tail
Toys get the fact page. Toys are the purchase owners guess at. Buy one toy and watch how long it lasts.

Calm dogs on loud nights
The advice on fireworks fear: desensitise weeks to months ahead, stay calm, do not scold a frightened pet, and use white noise, a fan or soft music. Firework fear is the welfare issue owners under-manage. Start one desensitisation plan before November ends.

▸ Health and Food

p.118 · Lumps, bumps and the big C — Cancer and my canine
The cover's cancer feature, on diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Cancer is the diagnosis owners fear most. Check one lump on your dog this week.

p.126 · Did you know? — Hit the road with Rover
Travel facts. Travel is the summer and holiday risk owners plan least. Check one car restraint before your next trip.

p.128 · What is in Bruno's bowl? — Dog food: a guide
Dog food is explained. Food labels are the purchase owners trust most and read least. Check one ingredient you cannot pronounce.

p.136 · Canine cuisine — 5 recipes to spoil your dog
The cover's five recipes. Homemade food is the trend with the least guidance. Cook one recipe this weekend.

p.144 · Did you know? — First aid for your fur bud
First aid facts. First aid is the skill owners learn too late. Learn one emergency procedure this month.

p.146 · Time to say goodbye — The tough decision of letting go
Expert advice on the hardest call. The goodbye decision is the one every owner will face. Read it before you need it, not after.

▸ Reading and Back Page

Markus Zusak
Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief, has a new book, Three Wild Dogs (and the Truth), from panmacmillan.co.za. Author pages are the unlikely reason a magazine is kept. Read one chapter before you buy.

p.154 · Back page — The last bark from Magda and Frans
Editor Herman Lensing's own dogs, Frans and Magda, take the back page. An editor's own dogs are the most honest pages in any issue. Write down one thing your own dog taught you.

▸ Advertising and Team

Hill's
Hill's advertises with "Science Does More — Give more love than humanly possible," its Science Plan range including Puppy and Adult 1-5, Prescription Diet Gastrointestinal Biome, and a Pet Matchmaker app helping shelter pets find homes, noting it has donated millions of meals over the last five years. Five years of meals is the number worth checking. Ask your vet before you change any prescription diet.

Houndstooth Apparel
Houndstooth Apparel sells leather leads and collars from R540 at houndstooth.co.za. Gear pricing tells you who the magazine is sold to. Compare one collar's price with your own.

Team and publishing
Dog Days is published by Media24 (Pty) Ltd, Reg. no 1950/038385/07, at Media24 Centre, 40 Heerengracht, Cape Town 8001, PO Box 1802, Cape Town 8000, tel. 021 406 2121 and 021 406 2205, printed by Novus Print, Cape Town, distributed by On the Dot. Editor Herman Lensing at herman.lensing@media24.com, design director Hanri Gerischer, copy editors Aniel Botha and Christine de Villiers, reproduction Dewald Spies, sales director Bea van der Vyver on 011 877 6047, sales manager Lani Rheeder, key account managers Charlene Meyer, Daniela di Giovanni, Leone Jacobs, Nicolette Kannenberg, Riette Peens and Debbie van der Merwe, office manager ann.du Bois on 011 713 9529, head of business development and strategy support Lise van Breda, events director Francois Malan, studio head Laila Majiet, creative head Sandlasethu-Siphe Yilani, special projects editor Gerda Engelbrecht, production manager Christine Smith. Media24's team is led by CEO Minette Ferreira, chief revenue officer Nerisa Coetzee, chief financial officer Lana Goliath, operations director Edwina Lyners, circulation category manager Tommy Chapman, Media24 CEO Raj Lalbahadur and acting CFO Nelmari Beyers. A fully named team shows who is accountable. Email one of them with a letter.

—————

Editor's Take

Herman Lensing's letter is the reason Dog Days November 2025 is worth opening: the homeless man on a Paris street, his dog asleep on its back with legs in the air, and the Marley & Me line about giving a dog your heart is the best observation in any dog magazine this year, because it judges an owner by what the animal does when it sleeps. Learn to Speak Dog at p88 and Time to Say Goodbye at p146 are the two pages that justify the guide format, and the firework advice — desensitise weeks to months ahead, do not scold, use white noise — is the practical twin. Weakest is the source: every one of the twenty contents entries survives as a title and page number only, so the top 10 breeds, the cancer feature, the five recipes and the evolution chapter cannot be quoted, and no breed name, statistic or recipe detail survives. The Hill's five-year meal donation and Houndstooth's R540 collar give more concrete figures than the features. Buy this for the editor's letter and the goodbye page; the rest is a contents page.

Strengths
• Paris street dog sleeping belly-up is the best image
• Marley & Me quotation is used well
• Speak Dog and Goodbye justify the guide format
• Firework advice is practical and specific

Weaknesses
• No feature body text available at all
• No breed names, statistics or recipes quoted
• Much of the issue is advertising

Verdict: Selective read — the editor's letter and the goodbye page.