Review: Cardinal Auto-Lock Pet Gate (Model MG-15)

Right off the bat, I'm gonna say it - I love this gate!  

We've had this gate since we bought our house in November of 2013.  One of the things I liked most about our house was that there was a perfect doorway to put a gate up to keep the dogs out of the kitchen when I was cooking.  When we were first married, we were renting a huge house that had an awful kitchen floor plan and there was no way to gate the dogs out without blocking off half of the main floor.  We had our friend's mastiff living with us for over a year and he liked to lay in the middle of the floor of the kitchen, and I was always having to step over him when I cooked.  So I was thrilled when our new home had a good layout for easily blocking the dogs out of the kitchen.  I started shopping for semi-permanent gates that wouldn't be an eyesore but also wouldn't kill my wallet.  I originally found the Cardinal gate on Groupon - a site where I like to go look for some good deals.  The problem with Groupon is you often don't know the quality of the item and you don't know exactly when it'll be shipped to you.  I decided to take a chance on this gate.  At the very worst I knew I could return it.

I was so pleased when we got the gate set up!  It does require wall anchors to keep it securely in place but other than those, it came with everyone needed.  The width is adjustable and the vertical slats keep seasoned gate climbers on their side of the gate. (Yes, Zoey was once a gate climber!)  The auto-lock means that you can swing the gate behind you and it will lock into place - you don't need to stand there to lock it.  

When we received the gate, the instructions stated to install it 6" above the floor.  It didn't say why, so we left the 6" gap on the bottom which you don't want to do if you have little dogs.  They can sneak underneath if they're small enough.

We've now had this gate installed for 2.5 years and it is still working beautifully and looks just as good as day 1! 

It is available on Amazon and extensions are also available if you need a little more width.

Review: Ceramic Water Fountain

Hammacher Schlemmer makes ceramic water fountains for pets that make your nicest casserole dish look outdated.  These water bowls come at a price tag in the range of $80-90 and though I could never afford such a water bowl, I was given two of these by some of my pet parents whose cats wanted nothing to do with them.  I was curious how well they would work, since most pet fountains are made of plastic and even some of the nicer plastic ones can come with hefty price tags.

When we adopted Nova & Naveen I did purchase a generic plastic fountain off of Groupon for a mere $22 or so.  It was my first fountain, though I've seen plenty in action, and I've had it for over a year now. Typically lower priced fountains mean their motors are louder, though I was very surprised how quiet my little generic fountain ran.

Back to the ceramic fountain, I kept one in the house for the dogs and one in the garage for the cats.  The thing I noticed right away, is that this isn't a fountain for dogs.. at least not large dogs.  I have a combined weight of about 90 lbs between our 3 dogs and this fountain needed refilling pretty much every day.  It has no reservoir and only holds approx 72 ounces.  When the water level dips too low, the motor is unable to pump the water, so even if there is still water in the bowl, it needs to be topped off, or the motor can stress and shorten it's life (that's just a fact of water pumps, not solely an issue with this fountain).

I also realized I made the mistake of placing these fountains under nightlights.  Because they have such a wide basin, there's a higher chance of catching more ick like bugs, hair, dirt, etc.  Because they were under nightlights, they would accumulate night time bugs, but the real surprise wasn't until I went to clean the fountain the first time.  Those bugs had all gotten sucked into the motor housing, so I never saw all those dead yuckers until cleaning!

Cleaning the unit doesn't seem any easier or harder than cleaning a plastic fountain.  Because our water comes from our private well from deep in the ground, we have an issue with minerals.  So the best way to clean it, is to soak it with vinegar and then use a scouring brush to wipe away the mineralization. 

Overall, the fountains are very aesthetically pleasing, if kept in pristine condition.  I would only recommend this one to smaller dogs and cats though, otherwise you'll be filling it on a daily basis.

So What Does a Petsitter Do?

Recently someone in the community was raving about the place they take their dog to board and saying that using a petsitter just isn't for them because.. "..he needs more attention then someone just to come in let him out for potty, feed and water him maybe play for a few minutes then leave."  The person later stated this is just what they perceive petsitters to do, when it doesn't appear they have ever used a petsitter before.  Though this comment wasn't directed at me, when I read it I certainly took offense.  What do people perceive petsitters to do then??

Not all petsitters create themselves equal.  There are those who do it on the side for extra income and there are those like me who do this full-time.  There are those like me who invest in their business and invest in the pets they take care of and purchase insurance, and those who do not. There are those who either have background knowledge (like I am a former vet tech) or further themselves by getting pet CPR trained etc, and those who do not. Et cetera, et cetera...

So here's an idea of what I do during the busy season (Thanksgiving-New Years).  I'm currently working 6 weeks straight with out of town families and my normal dog walks/runs/visits.  During this current 6 week stretch, there were many many days where I was leaving the house for the day while it was still dark out.  I'd go to 2-4 homes back to back to do the first visit of the day, letting dogs out for potty, feeding breakfast to everyone, giving medications, rolling garbage cans out to the curb, cleaning litter boxes etc.  Then I might do some of my own errands while I was in town (we live 20 minutes out of town so grocery trips are at the tail-end of my morning visits). I come home for 2 hours then I go back out if someone is needing a lunch visit, or a lunch dog-walk.  The come back home for 2 hours, make my husband's lunch because he works a swing-shift and leaves for work around 3pm. Then I go back out again for some dinner visits, bring in garbage cans, collect mail.. and the sun has already set behind the mountains by the time I get home.  I'll get a few more hours at home in the evening and then go back out around 8pm-9pm to do some end-of-the-night potty/bedtime visits.  Often times when I am home, I'm following up on emails with pet parents or researching different ideas to help a leash-puller, or maybe on the phone with a pet parent who needs some advice.

I don't believe in bare-minimum... if a client wants me to visit their cats 3x a day, I do it! Some dogs get visits 4x a day, some dogs get walks tacked onto their petsitting visits to help work out the wiggles while their families are away.  There's usually a fair amount of cleaning up I do too, if a dog tears apart a toy, or spills a water dish, or cleaning up used potty pads, scooping up poops in the yard... there's always something to clean.  Lights are rotated to give the lived-in appearance, packages are brought inside, newspapers are collected.  Belly rubs are handed out one by one, I go out into the yard with dogs to play with them during the day and at night in case there are owls hoping for a small canine meal.  Sometimes I bring over my own homegrown catnip to the cats that like it and sometimes (pretty often) I'm laying on the floor next to a cat or dog giving them some lovies.

During these busy times, petsitters sacrifice a lot.  We work over holidays, unable to see friends and family.  One of our own dogs started acting out because he wasn't getting the attention he normally gets.  My poor husband doesn't get a decent home cooked meal while I'm this busy, but he understands.  The farm chores all get postponed for a few weeks until I have the time and energy to start prepping garden beds for the next year.  I also get a lot of joy from giving away at least half of our garden produce every year, some of my pet parents that I see on a consistent basis get to enjoy our organic locally grown produce.

I do consider petsitting a labor of love.  I really do love helping people out and being someone they can rely on to take care of their pets and homes.  A very large amount of money I earn goes straight back into my car for gas, extra oil changes, and needing tires replaced sooner than the average person.  It also goes towards my insurance that I purchase every year, which protects the pets and homes I watch (most boarding places refuse insurance and instead make you sign a liability form).

So yeah, I take offense when someone says petsitters only take care of pets for a few minutes.

Review: Kyjen Slo-bowl

I purchased the Kyjen Slo Bowl 2 months ago after our American Staffordshire, Sarge, had gotten to the point of eating his food too fast.  He was finishing 1.5 cups of food within 45 seconds and that was just too quickly for my peace of mind.  Having been a vet tech for a number of years and seeing my share of emergency visits of dog's who were bloating (gastric dialation and vovulus syndrome),  I will prevent bloat in any way I can.

Slow-feeding bowls have been around for years and the designs keep getting better and better.  I have heard of people using tennis balls or a large rock in their dog's food bowl, but in our case Sarge is tennis-ball OBSESSED and I think putting any non-edible object in a dog's food bowl is irresponsible.  Why not invest $10 in a bowl specifically designed to slow them down and possibly save their life?

We've had the Kyjen Slo-bowl for 8 weeks now and Sarge's 45 second meal has now turned into 4 minutes!  Success!  When we first started using the bowl, meal time was closer to 5 minutes but I expected the time would speed up a little after Sarge got used to eating around the obstacle course.   What I like most about this specific design is that you can contain all the food right in the middle of the bowl, or really spread it out allowing for a much longer meal.  During meal time, the bowl does get pushed around a few inches, but surprisingly moves much less than his previous bowl which had a rubber ring on the bottom to help prevent wayward bowls.  These bowls are also top-rack dishwasher safe and BPA-free!  This particular one is said to hold up to 5 cups of kibble, but these bowls do come in smaller sizes as well, so I would check all shapes and sizes out to pick one that would suit your pet's needs best.  One of my pet parent's has the Flower bowl and even has hers elevated on top of a milk crate.  These bowls are larger, but can still be placed on top of a bin or stool if you are wanting to elevate it.

I ordered mine through Amazon for only $10, and you can choose from the different bowl shapes and sizes.  Overall, I would definitely recommend the Kyjen Slo-bowls and would certainly get one again if needed.  If your dog is a hungry hippo, check these out!

Desert Dangers: Sonoran Desert Toad

The Sonoran Desert Toad is also known as the Colorado River Toad. Because we're located in the Sonoran Desert, I will refer to it as such :)  This toxic toad doesn't get the same amount of attention as the rattlesnakes we have.  They can both easily kill an animal, but snakes always instill much more fear into us humans :)  For starters, the Sonoran Desert Toad lives primarily in central and southern Arizona and extend south into Mexico. They creep into parts of southern California and New Mexico, but the areas are very limited.  The toads are active May-September but primarily during monsoon season, and are mostly nocturnal

Now if you see a toad during monsoon, don't automatically assume it's a toxic Sonoran Desert Toad.  We have a handful of toads in southern Arizona and it's important to learn the distinguishing characteristics of toxic toads.  Just because they are toxic doesn't mean you should go running in the opposite direction, you can safely get close enough to decide if it is a toxic toad.  Sonoran Desert toads are NOT slimy - their toxins are merely secreted through glands on their body when they are threatened.  The distinguishing characteristics of Sonoran Desert Toads are: 1) Large prominent parotoid glands behind each eye and 2) a white wart at the corner of the mouth.  Often, you can even see more parotoid glands on their back legs.  The parotoid glands are what secrete the toxins.  If you do a google search for Sonoran Desert Toads, you can become familiar with what the parotoid glands and white warts look like.  The actual colors of the toad's skin can vary greatly, so color and skin smoothness are not a great determining factor.

Because our dogs and cats are curious creatures, they often bat at or mouth a toad trying to play with it.  The toxins are strong enough to kill a dog but if you act quickly you can save your dog's life!  (I'm focusing this on dog's since they are usually more mouthy than cats).  If your dog encounters a toad and licks it or picks it up in their mouth, the best thing you can do is get your dog to the hose and gently spray/rinse their mouth out from the SIDE of the mouth - not directly into the mouth.  The hose does not need to be at fire-hose pressure, so there's no need to turn it on all the way.  Make sure their head is tilted down or to the side so water can drain.  They will foam at the mouth and heavily salivate as a reaction to the toxins, so do not panic but continue to rinse their mouth with a steady flow of water, allowing it to drain out of their mouth.  Continually rinse the mouth out for at least 10 minutes.  You also want to rinse away any foam or excess saliva from their gums during the rinsing process.  After this (or during, if someone else is around) call your vet and if they're not available call your local emergency vet.  They will be able to further instruct you if they feel your dog should still come in for monitoring.  Sometimes during these toxicities, your dog's temperature can sky rocket upwards of 105*F so it's always good to call a vet no matter what.

Similar to rattlesnake avoidance training, there is also toad avoidance training for those extra curious pooches.  Call around for trainers or ask your veterinarian who they recommend.  Most important of all, stay calm cool and collected if your dog encounters one :)

For more reading visit these links:

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Southern Arizona Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center

Reptiles and Amphibians of Arizona

Wikipedia