Problem: Article: If you start feeling skin irritation while running, stop and check your shoes for debris right away. Even the tiniest pebble can rub against your skin, causing a painful blister. It's always a good idea to check your shoes for debris before you go running. You will typically experience hot spots, which are characterized by pain and redness, before a blister forms. If you can, it's best to take action to prevent further skin irritation at this point. If you need to continue running, you can apply a protective covering to the affected area, such as moleskin, a water-based gel-pad dressing, a liquid bandage, or even duct tape. These will all help prevent further friction from damaging your skin and creating a blister. You can also try applying petroleum jelly, but this will only provide temporary relief, as the heat and moisture in your shoe will eventually cause it to dissolve. Moist feet are susceptible to blisters, so if you're starting to feel some friction and your feet are wet, do whatever you can to dry them out before you continue running. Carrying an extra pair of socks with you while you run is a great idea, as you can quickly slip off the damp socks, put on the dry ones, and keep running. You can also try applying a foot powder that is designed to keep your feet dry.
Summary: Remove foreign objects from your shoes. Treat hot spots right away. Get your feet dry fast.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: The average gestation period for a dog is between 58 and 68 days. Try to pinpoint when conception occurred so you can anticipate your dog's labor accordingly. Chihuahuas tend to deliver at 8 weeks gestation. If you are deliberately trying to breed your dog, take her to the veterinarian for a check-up beforehand. Re-visit the vet again about 30 days into the pregnancy. If the pregnancy wasn't planned, however, take her to the vet as soon as you discover she's pregnant. The vet can give you critical information that will help you ensure your dog has a healthy pregnancy. One important thing to discuss is proper nutrition. Pregnant dogs that are overweight are more likely to have difficulties giving birth. However, pregnancy is not an ideal time to put chihuahuas on a diet, since the mother actually needs more calories in order to pass nutrients onto her litter. One recommendation is to delay putting your dog onto energy-dense, high-caloric foods (such as puppy food) until the final 2-3 weeks of pregnancy. At this point your dog will have a large womb and only want to snack anyway. Your vet can also count the number of puppies in the litter using x-rays. This happens at 45 days of pregnancy. Three to four puppies is normal for a typical chihuahua litter. Knowing how many puppies your dog is expecting can help you better prepare for the birth. If a very large or small number of puppies is expected, your dog may experience complications during labor. Your vet can recommend whether to pursue natural labor or a planned C-section. Further, knowing the number of puppies will also help you be certain when she is finished whelping (or giving birth). For example, if your dog is carrying four puppies, gives birth to three puppies, and then stops laboring, you will be able to identify that something is wrong and contact your vet. If a puppy has trouble nursing, you'll want to have formula on hand since newborn puppies need to be fed every 2-4 hours. You can buy puppy formula and bottles at most pet supply stores. If you cannot find puppy formula, you can also use goat's milk, although this is not ideal for long-term use. Goat's milk should only be used in emergencies until you can buy some formula.

SUMMARY: Understand the normal progression of pregnancy in chihuahuas. Take your dog to the veterinarian. Buy puppy formula ahead of time.

In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: It's always best to begin an assignment as soon as you get it. Your teacher has given you a long time to do it for reason; it's going to take that much time to do it. Begin by making a plan early, so you have time to complete everything you need to do. That way, you won't be working the night before to finish the project The assignment will give you detailed instructions about what you need to do. Block out distractions and really read what you are required to do. If the teacher hasn't already done it, break the project down into components so you understand exactly what you're teacher is asking you to do. For instance, maybe your assignment is "Create a visual representation of the Civil War. You can pick one battle, one idea, one speech, a defining moment, or focus on the war as a whole. Make sure to include relevant dates and people in your representation." You can break this down into parts: 1) Make something visual about the Civil War. 2) Choose a focus. 3) Include relevant dates. 4) Include relevant people. Brainstorming is a way to get your ideas on paper. Basically, you spend time writing out what you want to do and connecting ideas to help get your creative juices flowing. It can help you focus on what you want to do, as well as come up with things you hadn't thought of. You can use one of several techniques to brainstorm. Try freewriting. Take out a sheet of paper. On the top, write down something such as "Civil War Project." Start writing about the project. Don't stop yourself or censor ideas. Just let them come as they will. For instance, maybe you could start out by writing "For me, one of the defining points of the Civil War was the Gettysburg Address. It really made clear that the fight was about human equality. But now I must make that visual. Four-score and seven years ago... I could take individual lines, maybe? Connect ideas to defining parts of the war..." Try a map. Start with a circle in the middle of the paper with "Civil War Project" written in the middle of it. Draw a line from the center circle to another circle, and add a fact or idea. Just keep associating ideas together, not really thinking too deeply about it. As you go, group like ideas near each other. When you're done, look at where the largest groupings are, and let that guide your focus. While it may be tempting to pick a broad topic, such as the whole Civil War, it will actually be easier if you narrow that down. That way, you won't get bogged down in as many details. The best way to pick a topic is to choose what you focused on in your brainstorming. For instance, maybe you think the Gettysburg Address is a good focal point. However, if your topic is still too broad, such as "battles in the Civil War," try picking one aspect within that topic. You could choose one battle you think is defining, or a particular aspect of the battles, such as battle fatigue in soldiers. If it's a visual project, as the example has been throughout this article, think about the best way to represent your ideas. If you are doing several important events, maybe a visual timeline would work best. If you are working on something that is geographically based, such as battles, maybe a map with added details would be better. Play to what your project needs. You can even think about doing something 3-dimensional instead of 2-dimensional. Maybe you could make a 3-D map of the battles, depicting the movement of troops. Alternatively, you could try sculpting out of papier-mache. Maybe you could sculpt Abraham Lincoln and use scripts coming off his body to tell your story.
Summary:
Begin early. Read the assignment. Brainstorm ideas. Pick a focus. Decide how you want to represent your project.