Diabetic Pet Care

How do you travel or even have evenings out if your pet is diagnosed with diabetes? 

We hear this concern from our new clients all the time. They feel tied to an insulin schedule and it makes it challenging to spend a day or evening out, go to Tucson, visit with friends, go camping or even take a vacation. It's a life changing diagnosis, that's for sure!

We're here to help! We have diabetes certified pet sitters on our team who are experienced taking care of diabetic cats and dogs. Whether you need care for a vacation or an evening out, we are just a click away!

Our requirements (we're sorry to single out cats but they've given us the most stories!): 

1. Your pet must be friendly. We've had some pretty scary encounters, mostly with cats as they are the most common diabetic pets, but also with a few dogs. Cat bites are a serious issue and can lead to infections. Your dog or cat must be well-socialized and must not have any issues with injections.
2. Your cat cannot hide. If you have a diabetic cat who is friendly but is known to sleep soundly in odd locations, like in the box springs or under the sofa, we'll ask that you keep all bedroom doors closed and block other napping places that may require moving furniture or the use of ladders. 
3. Identical pets must be distinguished. This is most easily done with collars of opposite color. You might be able to tell two nearly identical littermate cats apart at a glance but we can't accept the risk that the cat with the slightly more pronounced stripes on the tail might not be the one who gets the insulin. 

Most of the time diabetic pets are pretty easy and their owners can travel with peace of mind while the pets are in our care. The above criteria is from our 12 years experience in all sorts of situations! We've had cats hiss, growl, bite and chase our pet sitters. We've had them hide inside box springs, which required disassembling the bed. We've had to use a restraint bag (specifically designed for testing the blood glucose of cats who are less than impressed by this event) to give insulin injections (this usually only works once and then they are on to us). 

How can you tell if your dog or cat has diabetes? Here are 7 common symptoms to watch for.

Because insulin is not optional we will take extra steps prescreening your diabetic pet. New clients should expect to schedule 2 to 3 practice visits for us to come by at the evening feeding/insulin time while you are out. These visits will let us know whether your pet will cooperate with our pet sitters before your actual trip leaves them in our care for several days.

Let's talk about your diabetic pet and how we can help! Call or text 520-333-7387 and tell us about your pet!

Home Safe

As I make travel arrangements and get ready to go on vacation I am also preparing for my own pet care; making sure there is enough dog food, cat food, cat litter and tortoise food. Taking a vacation can be a lot of work!

My biggest concern, as a pet parent, is - what if something happens to us while we are on vacation? You know, the kind of things that are not likely but can still cause worry when you have pets alone at home who are dependent on your return for their survival.

At Creature Comforts, we are all pet parents and we understand that worry. We have a Home Safe policy to make sure we keep all pets in our care until our clients return home safely. On the last day of each service schedule a notification appears on our admin console and a Home Safe email is sent to the client. That email has a link that the client clicks to close the service ticket, which notifies us that they have returned home. We noticed that not all clients were checking their email when they got home (we know that's a busy time with overjoyed pets welcoming you) so we made these cute little Thank You cards to leave on the counter with a reminder to click the link in the Home Safe email.

Our clients have had a lot of unexpected delays during our decade of service and we are always prepared to continue care. Some delays have been weeks-long, like the wife who was deployed to Afghanistan while the husband, stationed in Antarctica, had to wait for transportation home. A mechanical failure in the cargo plane caused it to be grounded in New Zealand and it was 2 weeks before a replacement plane "landed on the ice" to pick him up. We continued our three-times daily visits to the dogs whose parents were 7000 miles apart. We even kept their beautiful lawn alive!

As a business owner, our Home Safe process gives me peace of mind at the end of each day, knowing that our traveling clients are home and the pets are safely back in their care. I hope that it gives you comfort when you choose us to take care of your beloved pets knowing that you will come home to a card on your counter reminding you to let us know you are Home Safe.

  

Potty Training 101

Potty Training 101

Jameson loves play time

There is a secret to Potty Training and I'm going to share it with you. Set your puppy up for success. The better you are at this, the faster your puppy will learn how to please you - no matter what you are trying to train her to do.

How do you do this when it comes to potty training? Understand and outsmart your puppy's biology. Your puppy will need to go potty:

• Upon waking up. Take her out on a leash to your designated potty place and use a command like "Go Potty!". 
• Shortly after eating. Typically this is about 10 minutes. Watch her carefully for signs and take her out on a leash after about 5 minutes. 
• Every 20-30 minutes during play time. This is the danger zone as it is the most unpredictable. Let her play for 20 minutes then take her outside on a leash to her potty place. She may be more interested in grasshoppers or leaves but don't go away from the potty place until she does her business.

Keep the play sessions short, not more than an hour until she is 12 weeks old. During this time you should take her outside twice. Keeping a leash on her during play time for the first week can be a handy trick! Always give lavish praise when she goes potty outside. When play time is done take her outside then put her in her crate for a nap.

Marvel has a cozy den

Crate training is the single most effective way to be successful. Some people resist this training because they feel that it is caging the puppy. Your puppy has a den instinct built in and the crate satisfies this need for a quiet and safe place to sleep. Your puppy is going to spend 20 hours a day sleeping. 

Here are the guidelines for potty breaks from nap time:

• 8-12 weeks every 3 hours
• 12-16 weeks every 4 hours
• 16-20 weeks every 5 hours
• 20 + weeks every 6 hours

This may sound like a daunting schedule, especially if you work outside the home or will otherwise be away longer than the above time periods. Don't worry! We're here to help. Just schedule potty breaks as needed and we'll come by to let her out, feed her a scheduled meal, play with her and let her outside again before putting her back in the crate for her next nap (oh to be a puppy!)

Accidents happen! You may spend 15 minutes outside with her before thinking she doesn't really need to go potty only to have her go as soon as she is back inside the house. Adjust your timing and learn her signals, her success is your job! In the meantime, have paper towels and cleaning supplies handy and remain calm. Never physically punish her for having an accident.

Within 10 days to 2 weeks you should have mostly mastered Potty Training 101. Send pictures of your new puppy, we'd love to see them! 

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