104. Small Rescues, Veterinary Behavior & Why Prevention Matters

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Pets, add Life, your guide to the latest in Pet Trends products and the joy of the human animal Bond with Kristen Levine and Chris Bonafide, powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog tv.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hello and welcome to another episode of Pets Add Life. I am Chris Bonti joining me, a stone cold ice queen Kristen Levine, ice Queen Kristen Stone. What my husband calls me stone cold. Okay. What Mr. Valentine's Day?

Speaker 3 (00:34):
Sometimes

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Get him in the dog house. It

Speaker 3 (00:37):
Was a good Valentine's Day. No, no, no. It was a good Valentine's Day.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
I hope everybody chocolate.

Speaker 3 (00:43):
It's easy to please. And the best part that he likes milk chocolate. I like dark chocolate, so we don't even have to share.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
There's no see, hope doesn't eat chocolate at all. And so any chocolate that, yeah, it's incredible. Honestly, it's the reason I married her. Any chocolate that is gifted into our household is Chris's chocolate. So, hey, I love it. The perfect woman does exist. People

Speaker 3 (01:10):
Can't beat that. Hey, I'm excited about today's show. We're talking to a fellow podcaster today.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Uhoh isn't coming from my job

Speaker 3 (01:18):
Is a

Speaker 2 (01:20):
Coming

Speaker 3 (01:20):
From my

Speaker 2 (01:21):
Job. That'd be worse. She's got

Speaker 3 (01:22):
Her own podcast. I don't know. I hope she's not coming for our jobs.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
Well, I think yours is much safer than mine. So we've got a podcasting guest, another mystery guest that you'll have to stay tuned to see who that is. Two products, two stories. We're going to answer two of your questions. We keep it consistent here on the PAL Pod always for your listening and viewing pleasure. And speaking of viewing pleasure, Kristen, where can folks see our faces as we speak these words?

Speaker 3 (01:54):
Well, they can see our faces on any of the pets, ad life, social channels, pets, ad life, the podcast of, no, they can't see our faces on the podcast, but they can see our faces on YouTube. This show is on YouTube, so be sure to check it out.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
And dog tv

Speaker 3 (02:10):
And dog tv,

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Your dog TV subscriber or dog TV unleashed, all these incredible platforms. All

Speaker 3 (02:15):
Their platforms

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Everywhere. There's so many different ways to suck down a fat vat of pal. Probably should have put that in a more pleasant way, but hey, maybe that's how people feel. So before I further embarrass myself, let's get into today's story film Kristen and Chris, present story

Speaker 4 (02:38):
Time.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
Alright, Kristen, why don't you go ahead and kick off our story corner today.

Speaker 3 (02:51):
I'd be happy to. We've talked a lot about the gut microbiome here on the Pet's Ed Life podcast, and there's some new cool information. This is, researchers have built the largest, most detailed catalog of the healthy dog gut microbiome to date. And they used stool samples from 107 healthy dogs across the US and Europe. And what they found is they were able to reconstruct. Is that right? Yeah, reconstruct. That's what it says. 1031 distinct microbial. I'm having trouble today. Microbial strains. It's okay.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
It's hard for everybody.

Speaker 3 (03:34):
Yeah, I stumbled on the science, you should have read this one anyway, including 982 dog specific strains plus 89, brand new strains and 10 new, help me with this word. Gene Genera believed to be unique to dogs. I'm not sure we need a scientist on this show. Alright, so why this matters is because a lot of the dog microbiome testing has essentially been a little bit of guessing using human databases, but now we're going to have a lot more accuracy. They say the accuracy should jump to 95% accuracy. So what does it mean for our dogs? Yeah, it basically means we can expect better nutrition guidance in the future. This study shows that dog gut microbes have major roles in breaking down carbohydrates and fibers and producing helpful compounds like short chain fatty acids, which support the idea that diet can meaningfully shape gut health. Duh. But what it doesn't mean is that you don't need to go get rid of your existing gut supplements for your dog. It just means that science behind future gut health supplements and foods and testing is going to get way more accurate.

Speaker 2 (04:55):
I love accurate science.

Speaker 3 (04:57):
I do too. I should probably let you do the science stories in the future. I kind of stumbled on that one.

Speaker 2 (05:01):
Well, don't worry people, because I've got a science story too, and I've been on a conservation kick at last week. I talked about pandas all the way over in China. Well, I've got one that is much more local. So here in Connecticut we have the lovely Mystic Aquarium mystic, the town made famous for the movie Mystic Pizza, which is

Speaker 4 (05:25):
Oh, that's right.

Speaker 2 (05:26):
Overrated Pizza Place. Not worth it. But hey, we're not here to talk about pizza in Connecticut, although we probably could have an entire show about pizza in Connecticut. But a last, I'm talking about the aquarium, and I've harped on it a lot. In the past few episodes, we've had a lot of snow. So it would be difficult for this to have happened outside of a snowstorm, but I think it is wildly appropriate because the Mystic Aquarium welcomed two new African penguin chicks that were birthed during our latest snowstorm, which A probably so stressful for the zoologists and veterinarians who had to get their butts over to the aquarium in apocalyptic level snow. But B, this is huge because the African penguin is a critically endangered animal, which is basically as close as you can get to being considered extinct in the wild without that being the case.

(06:27):
So scientists predict that the species has seen a 97% decline, which is ridiculous, and that's mostly attributed to global climate change. This animal's losing their habitat. And Mystic Aquarium is a participant in the Association of Zoos and Aquarium Survival Species Plan. So penguins is really their focus for their program. And penguins are difficult to keep in captivity because they are a nomadic type of animal. They like to move around. You see all the documentaries, March of the Penguins and things like that. So being contained is a challenge for them. They typically don't thrive in captivity, and I don't really like that word for this instance because the only African penguins that the Mystic Aquarium do have are those that wouldn't have made it otherwise, or were either abandoned as chicks or were sick or were injured and needed human intervention. But the fact that they managed to birth to new chicks in captivity is huge progress.

(07:43):
We love to see it. The chicks are so cute. You could see a little picture. The link will being your show notes. There are these little fuzz balls, exactly what you'd think they'd be. And if you want to see the baby penguins, unfortunately they will not be available for viewing. The Mystic Aquarium does not pimp out their baby penguins, so you'll have to wait for them to at least reach adolescents. And I had the pleasure of visiting the Mystic Aquarium late last year. We went for a little visit because it is pretty close nearby. And at the time, they were renovating the penguins habitat, so they had all the penguins. What they did is they took their little science room and made it forward facing so that people could still see the penguins and learn a little bit about what they're doing. And we got to see how the penguins are cataloged and identified.

(08:31):
We got to see how their food intake is logged as they're being fed and they're being carefully monitored to make sure they're getting enough nutrition and eating health. It was really fascinating. So we were disappointed that the habitat wasn't open, but we got kind of a cool peek behind the scenes. So again, I am encouraging everybody to visit their local zoo or aquarium if they're part of these types of plans and associations that help promote these types of efforts. Your money will go to help fund their efforts, and you really never know what you're going to see. The zoo and aquariums, they're constantly renovating and changing things. Animals come in, animals are released back to the wild. So it's worth a couple of visits every year. So be sure to check them out.

Speaker 3 (09:20):
I love that. Maybe we can book one of the marine biologists on the show one day.

Speaker 2 (09:25):
That'd be cool. I'm sure they'd love that. I will deliver the invitation in person next time I see the pitch beyond the leash, exploring the untold stories of pet passion and professionalism. It is my absolute pleasure to welcome Sam Spotto, the founder and executive director of Tell Me About Your Dog, a 5 0 1 C3 nonprofit dedicated to celebrating dogs, empowering small rescues and educating communities through storytelling. At the heart of her work is a simple, powerful belief. When people truly hear a dog's story, they're more likely to help adopt and advocate. Sam's also the host of the Tell me about your dog podcast fellow podcaster where she spotlights rescue organizations, shelter professionals, veterinarians and advocates working on the front lines of animal welfare. Through these conversations, she amplifies voices that often go unheard and helps listeners better understand the realities and the hope within rescue work. Professionally, Sam's a licensed veterinary nurse with over a decade of experience in clinical care, including laboratory management, surgical support, and multi-hospital collaboration. She's also a licensed all lines claims adjuster in multiple states, bringing a unique cross-disciplinary perspective to conversations around pet health injury and recovery. Together, her clinical expertise and storytelling approach make her a trusted advocate for dogs and people who care for them. Welcome Sam to the podcast.

Speaker 5 (10:50):
Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.

Speaker 2 (10:53):
Of course, we call these away games because you're off your home turf. You're in the pal zone now you're in the hot seat. This isn't telling me about your dog. This is pal where the questions are hard hitting. So let me start with my first hard hitting no mercy question. Tell us a little bit about your nonprofit. Tell me about your dog, which is a question we all love asking, and why do these stories matter so much when it comes to rescue and advocacy?

Speaker 5 (11:20):
Yeah, absolutely. So tell me about your dog did start just as a podcast. I didn't have the intention of making it a nonprofit until recently. So I started about six or eight months ago and launched it just as an idea. I was having lunch with one of my veterinarians I've worked with for a long time. We were talking about her dog actually, and how great she was. And I just kind of made the statement, why isn't there a platform that does this where we tell amazing dog stories, we tribute the dogs, we don't have anymore, but made such an impact on our lives. There's so many people that she impacted while she was here, and I don't want those stories to ever go untold or be forgotten. So that's where the idea of tell me about your dog came from. And over the time I started making connections with amazing people around the world, and the common theme kept being, Hey, there's a lot of attention towards small rescues that we need to make a little more aware.

(12:13):
These fall rescues are doing God's work out there. They are underfunded, understaffed, they are struggling sometimes to just keep up with their day-to-day life, and they don't have the time or the resources to advocate for themselves. So I started to think, well, down the road, I did want to do a nonprofit. I wanted to do a senior dog rescue, which has always been my passion, but down the road started to become, well, why not now? Why don't I merge these passions I have, which is telling dog stories and also advocating for these smaller rescues. And they also went hand in hand because when you tell stories that are raw, emotional, real, you really bring out such a beautiful tribute to dogs and awareness to the rescues that they came from or the rescues that work so hard to make dogs accessible and bring them into our lives. So that's where the origin of the nonprofit and the podcast came from and merged together at.

Speaker 3 (13:06):
Yeah, and Sam, I think that's why you and I hit it off when we met at VMXA couple of weeks ago. I love what you're doing, and as it turns out, ironically, I'm from the same area where you are and you've actually been working with some of the small shelters and rescues that I'm familiar with, like Pet Pal, where I adopted my dog Tulip. So kind of cool small world, right? Absolutely. So you already alluded to a little bit about the challenges that these small rescues face, but can you talk a little bit more specifically about what those challenges look like and how, tell me about your dog is helping them.

Speaker 5 (13:44):
Definitely. So the biggest one is they are underfunded. A lot of the bigger organizations which do amazing work do get some government funding, government assistance. They get large donations from big sponsors and big donors. The problem is the smaller rescues they take on the more challenging cases they take on dogs that have more medical issues, some behavior issues, they need a little more specialized attention. And that's where a lot of them do focus rescue work on one specific kind of dog or one type of animal in particular. So they can focus on the challenges that those animals face. And that's not something that every shelter wants to take on. And with that comes a lot of additional costs. There's surgery costs, there's behavior costs, there's husbandry and equipment, grooming costs, even just to spay neuter dog now is very expensive. So that's the biggest challenge that they're facing is they don't have a lot of donations.

(14:32):
They're pulling money out of their own pockets in addition to the time they're putting into run the good gosh, in addition to the time they're putting in to run the rescue and do all the labor that goes with it. So with the nonprofit, like you said, pet Pal is a great example. I love Pet Pal. They're a wonderful organization. I've been working with them for a long time just on a personal level, but with the donations I was able to collect at VMX just by talking about things that we're doing, I was able to reach out to PayPal and say, Hey, what do you guys need this week? What are you really short on? And the director got back to me and said, we need laundry detergent, we need bleach, we need cat litter, and we need laundry detergent. We had a big parvo outbreak, we've had a lot of sick animals and we had to use up a lot of our supplies and that's it.

(15:19):
That's all he said. And with BMX donations, I was able to fill up two carts full of supplies and bring them right down to PAL and said, this is from the donations to contributions of VMX and tell me about your dog and whatever we can do to help in the future we want to stay in touch with. So fantastic. Yeah, those are examples of the kinds of give backs that tell me about your dog is going to do because we have the platform to talk about it. We also have the channel to distribute funds. I work with a lot of the smaller rescues here in the area in Florida, also in New York and New Jersey. So I have the connection and I can find where the immediate need is. That's where I want the funds to go is whatever the immediate urgent need is of these rescues.

Speaker 2 (16:00):
That's some really inspiring stuff. I'm so inspired that I'm wondering how myself and all our lovely listeners can get involved. So for those who may be out there thinking I want to be part of a solution, how can regular old folks sitting at home or commuting to work this morning, how could they get involved in and help your cause or help their local shelters?

Speaker 5 (16:24):
Absolutely. So I have a website for Tell me about your dog. I also have social media platforms. Right now we're on Instagram, YouTube, and Spotify. There's also a link on my website to Zelle, which is the way that they can give donations. Once those donations go to me, they go to a specific account that can channel to multiple rescues. They can also donate directly to a rescue in their area. And it's a great time to reach out to smaller rescues, especially with the colder temperatures. A lot of them are losing supplies quicker than they would in the warmer months, so it's a great time to reach out to local shelters. But yes, I have a direct link on my website that people can give back to, and every dollar goes into the hands of the rescues that need it.

Speaker 2 (17:03):
Yeah. Talking about some of those emotional stories, you've probably heard quite a few on your podcast. Is there any particular story or a type of story that has really stuck with you and sort of been that bit of extra motivation you need to keep going because it's a tough life, it's not easy doing this kind of work. So do you have anything that you could share, maybe a little preview of stuff we'd hear about on your show that's really touched you and stuck with you?

Speaker 5 (17:33):
Yeah, of course. I have heard stories from people who adopted a dog during a really hard time of their life and their dog has just been there for them. One of the things that I constantly hear is I don't know how I would've gotten through X, Y, Z events that have happened without my dog around me, me. And what's amazing and beautiful about that is humans can't always detect each other's emotions. They don't always put things into words about how they're feeling. Yet a dog who doesn't speak our language is a comfort no matter what. They can read us better. We can read ourselves half the time. So I think that's been the most consistent story. I've had stories of people who have gone through really bad life, tragedies, lost loved ones, and their dog has just been there and they've been a support and a little piece of their dog reminds them of the person they loved, person they lost.

(18:20):
So it's such a beautiful tribute not only to their dog, but to the people they've lost in the past or the things that they've gone through and gotten through with their dog by their side. So I think there's just something so beautiful about getting through hard events, also celebrating life's wonders with your dog, with you, and that's the bond that brings people together with their dogs is going through life with them. Specifically, there's a story I have about a good friend of mine who worked with me in the hospital for a long time. The dog came in as a straight or hospital. She instantly formed a bond with her. She was a little older, but wanted to give her a good life. She had a lot of medical issues that we took care of, and they did a cross country move quite a few years ago after she went through some life changes and they started to do this multi-state road trip to get them to their new destination, they moved to a new city that they had both never been to before. And they were each other's roommates and best friends the entire time because they were side by side. And she gave a dog who was older, she gave her nine more years of amazing life. Yeah,

Speaker 3 (19:29):
That's incredible.

Speaker 5 (19:30):
And through all the hardships she just said, consistently my dog was there for me.

Speaker 3 (19:37):
I would imagine all your listeners can, when you hear somebody telling you about their dog, you can relate to it personally as a dog parent, or you can be certainly inspired by it. Sam, we're coming up on time, but remind us where we can find the podcast and how we can follow your work that you're doing and to support you.

Speaker 5 (19:56):
Absolutely. So on Instagram, on Spotify and on YouTube, I am at, tell me about your dog podcast. There's also a website that has the Zelle link directly to it. And then, crap, what's the other one? I'm blanking. I'm blanking.

Speaker 3 (20:11):
It's okay.

Speaker 5 (20:12):
Okay. Instagram. I think that's it. Search. Yeah. Searching. Tell me. Okay, so yeah, just searching. Tell me about your dog podcast. We'll bring up my socials. There's direct links to my website and my email address. Tell me about your dog. podcast@gmail.com is a great way for people to get in touch if they want to come on the show, if they want to be a part of it, or if they want to reach out and talk more about how they can help.

Speaker 3 (20:33):
Awesome. Awesome. Well, I want to be on the show. I want to talk about my dog. Please. Come on. Tell me about your dog. Awesome. Thank you so much for sharing your time with us and your story today. You're doing some incredible work. Thank you.

Speaker 5 (20:46):
Thank you for having me. I really appreciate your time,

Speaker 2 (20:51):
Chris and Evan, I've been thinking about this phrase because I'm writing my own philosophical book of phrases that Chris says, but this one really inspired me thinking. They say tough times create tough people, but I think tough times create really loving dogs and pets. And I think a lot about what Sam said about the stories she hears with the pets, really being responsible for the owner's wellbeing during those hard times shows the ities that the reciprocity, I'm not going to try to pronounce, you know what word I'm trying to say?

Speaker 3 (21:31):
I know the word. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (21:32):
Spell it in the human animal bond. And I just think that's amazing that there's so many people with similar stories.

Speaker 3 (21:38):
Yeah, a hundred percent. Definitely. Check out her show, listen to these stories. They're very inspiring and what a great job she takes her experience and her passion, and she pulls it into a great movement.

Speaker 2 (21:50):
I'll be waiting for the Kristen Levine guest spot, Kristen Levine and Tulip on telling me about your dog.

Speaker 3 (21:55):
Okay. It is such an honor to welcome this guest to the Pets A Life podcast, Dr. Chris Paal. He's a board certified veterinary behaviorist and the founder of the Animal Behavior Clinic in Portland, Oregon. With a background in general practice with advanced training and a lot of advanced training in veterinary behavior medicine, Dr. Paal specializes in helping pets and families navigate anxiety, fear, aggression, and other stress related behavioral challenges. Now a major focus of his work is supporting our family of veterinarians providing practical, accessible behavior strategies that they can use at everyday practice to help us with our pets. And Dr. Pao emphasizes realistic care plans that combine behavior modification, environmental management, and when appropriate medication with the goal of improving quality of life for both pets and their people. How'd I do?

Speaker 6 (22:50):
You did a perfect job. I could not have said it better myself. Awesome,

Speaker 3 (22:53):
Awesome. Well, I so appreciate you being here, and you've been a big supporter of our pet Anxiety Awareness month, so you're a great educator for the pet parents at home.

Speaker 6 (23:02):
Thank you.

Speaker 3 (23:03):
Yeah. And I've got a few questions for you. So behavior concerns are still among the top reasons that pets get surrendered to shelters or re-homed. Why do you think that is?

Speaker 6 (23:17):
Why is that? Well, I shared a stat actually in one of my sessions here the other day. When we look at the surrender data, approximately 50% of the animals who are surrendered are teenagers, which is an interesting little data point when we're looking at some of the patterns and the problems that go along with adolescence, some of the impulsivity, some of the, and honestly, the piece that really brings to mind for me is that I think so many pet parents are simply just not aware because they've not needed to be aware in the past of some of the ways that some of these problems could show up and perhaps even more importantly, what to do about it. And so in moments of frustration, in moments of desperation, they're reaching out for help in all sorts of different places than some cases get overwhelmed and need an exit strategy. And so anything we can do to support those caregivers, those animals, keep them in the homes and improve their quality of life I'm here for.

Speaker 3 (24:13):
Right. Can you define what those teenage years are for Cat 10 dogs?

Speaker 6 (24:18):
For both cats and dogs, we're usually looking somewhere in on the early side, six to nine months of age, just like humans. It can range a little bit from individual to individual, but six to nine months on the younger side and up to about two and a half to three years of age on the older side of things before we hit maturity. Okay.

Speaker 3 (24:37):
Alright. And that explains why a lot of the animals you do see at shelters are in that age range

Speaker 6 (24:41):
One, one and a half, two years old. It's a tough age to navigate, especially if you just don't have the toolbox. Is

Speaker 3 (24:48):
It because the signs weren't that there were distressed signs that weren't recognized early on? Or is it because that's when the distress signals start to happen?

Speaker 6 (24:58):
Both.

Speaker 3 (24:58):
Okay.

Speaker 6 (24:59):
It's often both in some cases. And then as the brain is changing through adolescence, we see some of those problems exacerbated. And in other cases, there's actually a period of vulnerability through adolescence where we may see new problems and new patterns emerging.

Speaker 3 (25:15):
Sure. And why is it so important when we do start to see those patterns and those signs? Why is it so important that we talk to our veterinarians?

Speaker 6 (25:23):
So the number one reason is to make sure that there's not an underlying medical issue. So whether it's pain, itchiness, other sources of discomfort that are disrupting sleep patterns, gastrointestinal issues, really checking in with a veterinarian who can help you to understand whether or not those are actual factors. And then help you to understand, is this a medical issue, is this a training issue, is this a household management issue? And ideally being able to direct to the appropriate resources. Gotcha.

Speaker 3 (25:52):
Okay. Now, as I mentioned in the intro, you work closely with the family veterinarian, the general practice veterinarian. What are the behavior issues that they are encountering the most often and you, I guess would be the same? And where do they need the most support from veterinary behaviors like you?

Speaker 6 (26:09):
So I think the things that we see most often are things associated with fear, anxiety, stress, which may be manifesting as aggression. It may be manifesting as compulsive disorder or ritualized patterns. It may be showing up as house soiling issues or toileting problems. So we can see a lot of different problems. And I think when I talk with veterinarians across the country and around the world, they often have some of the framework they need, but behavioral education is still not as pervasive in our veterinary schools as I would like it to be. And so they're often needing a bit of a guide to be able to say, okay, take this piece of information, put it with this one, here's our picture, and now here's how we move forward. So that's part of my job is as a tour guide to connect them to that information.

Speaker 3 (26:59):
Would you call, being a veterinary behaviorist is somewhat like a psychiatrist in some forms? It is. I always try to set up an analogy in our human lives. If we were having stress or fear about something, we might talk to a professional in that area of specialty.

Speaker 6 (27:18):
Exactly. So there's elements of psychiatry, especially when we're talking about prescribing psychotropic or behavioral medications. There's psychology and understanding the way an animals learn, there's general practice medicine and understanding the way in which the animal's physiology shows up in different ways. You could probably argue there's a bit of social work and understanding family systems. All of it gets rolled into that comprehensive package as a behaviorist.

Speaker 3 (27:46):
Now, speaking of medications, there's still a little bit of a stigma around behavior, medications. How do you help families understand when medication is appropriate and how it fits into a broader plan?

Speaker 6 (27:57):
Absolutely. So oftentimes, I'll describe it to pet parents as a scaffolding.

Speaker 3 (28:01):
Number

Speaker 6 (28:02):
One, medication doesn't teach. It's not automatically going to fix the majority of the problems that we may be reaching for that medication support for, but especially for those patients who are struggling with fear, anxiety, arousal or emotional dysregulation medication provides a bit of a scaffolding

Speaker 4 (28:19):
That

Speaker 6 (28:19):
We can kind of glom onto with our training, with our management to help create those learning pathways, to create those new behavior patterns or emotional responses

Speaker 5 (28:31):
That

Speaker 6 (28:31):
Allow us to then move beyond those issues that we're navigating. And the reason I like that scaffolding analogy is that the scaffolding is built to be able to create the infrastructure. Once the infrastructure is strong enough, we can often remove the scaffolding.

Speaker 4 (28:51):
Sometimes

Speaker 6 (28:51):
We can't,

Speaker 4 (28:52):
And

Speaker 6 (28:52):
The animal still needs that ongoing support in order to maintain their progress. But we're trying to say, this isn't the fix. And especially when it comes to the caregiver, we're not using it because you've failed. We are doing this because your animal has a unique need

Speaker 3 (29:09):
That

Speaker 6 (29:09):
We can help to meet with this particular tool.

Speaker 3 (29:13):
And it's interesting that you brought up the pet parent feeling like they failed. I remember when I became so interested in behavioral medicine, it was because my dog had extreme separation, anxiety, noise, phobia, and I tried everything. And until I was introduced to behavior medicine, he was prescribed medication, which was a great scaffold. The rest of his life was so much more enjoyable. I mean, it's quality of life, and I do remember we were able to titrate or take his medication down, but it's really about quality of life too.

Speaker 6 (29:49):
Yes, it is. For

Speaker 3 (29:50):
The pet and the parent,

Speaker 6 (29:52):
For everyone involved. Everyone involved. It helps us to actually connect with those animals in a way that's not so overshadowed by panic, by anxiety, by the stress of destructive behavior, by the stress of, oh my gosh, I can't leave my dog home alone. Or they're going to be in panic. It absolutely improves everybody's quality of life.

Speaker 3 (30:15):
So stress and pets can mirror stress in households. How do changes in the family routine or environment or human emotions, do they impact pet behavior?

Speaker 6 (30:25):
They certainly can. And that's one of the things that we try to tease out as we're doing an intake and getting to know a family for the first time without judgment. Just tell me what's going on course, of

Speaker 4 (30:34):
Course,

Speaker 6 (30:35):
What's going on? And the interesting thing is that sometimes we see those patterns absolutely mirrored. In other cases, the pets are a source of support for the stress. And in other cases, it's the opposite. The family's actually pretty stable, and what the animal themselves is experiencing is the source of stress for everyone.

Speaker 5 (30:54):
So

Speaker 6 (30:54):
Part of my job is to figure out where are we along that continuum and what are our points of intervention?

Speaker 3 (31:00):
Okay. Now, from what I understand, there are only about a hundred board certified veterinary behaviorists. Is that in the world or is that That's

Speaker 6 (31:09):
Through the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. And many of our team members are actually practicing at other parts of the world. So that number is actually even smaller within the continental us.

Speaker 3 (31:19):
Gotcha. Okay. So if I'm a pet parent watching, and I would like to work with a behaviorist such as yourself, how do I go about binding one?

Speaker 6 (31:27):
Yes. The easiest place to start is the website for our college. So it's DA cvb.org. We'll

Speaker 3 (31:36):
Put that in the show notes so you don't have to remember.

Speaker 6 (31:38):
Thank you. And there's a find to behaviorist link there. You can also talk to your veterinarian and say, listen, I need specialized help.

Speaker 4 (31:46):
Do

Speaker 6 (31:46):
You have a veterinary behaviorist that you work with already? If they don't, they can actually reach out to anybody in the college, including myself and my team, and we can work either directly with the pet parent, wherever they happen to be through the veterinarian as a conduit, or we can do a call with the veterinarian to better support them in their care of that pet.

Speaker 3 (32:08):
Okay. So there's a lot of different ways that you are supporting the pet parents.

Speaker 6 (32:12):
Yes, absolutely. Everybody's journey is different. The support's got to look different too.

Speaker 3 (32:16):
Absolutely. Absolutely. Just a couple more questions. I know we're coming up on time. When we think about multi pet households, behavior issues can escalate, and sometimes from what I understand, one fearful pet can almost teach another pet to become fearful. So what foundational steps can help prevent those things from happening?

Speaker 6 (32:38):
Number one, it's recognition and it is something that is different from household to household. I do find that in some cases, if we have any member of the household who's expressing significant fear, anxiety, or stress, that absolutely can send some of those unintentional messages that this is an environment that we need to be worried about, and we can get some of that sort of social contagion, if you will. So recognition number one, reaching out for help and support to say, Hey, this is what we're navigating. What do we do?

Speaker 3 (33:10):
And even talking to your vet if you don't see signs that your pet is having any issues, maybe talking to your vet about what you should be looking for during your annual wellness visit or summer.

Speaker 6 (33:18):
Absolutely. What do signs of stress look like in this animal, in this species? Because it's different for dogs and cats and individual breeds may manifest that differently as well. So getting a little bit of a playbook, if you will, ahead of time is great.

Speaker 3 (33:31):
Okay. Fantastic. Well, we could talk for hours, but we're only allowed to talk for about 12 minutes. So what we're going to leave with is tell us where we can reach you, where we can learn more about your work or for any resources that would be helpful for pet parents.

Speaker 6 (33:44):
Excellent. So on the professional side, if you're looking out for me as a veterinary behaviorist and clinician animal behavior clinic.net is the place to go for that. And all of our services are listed there. Great. If you're looking for more resources, interviews, podcasts, handouts, all of those sorts of things, all of that has been curated@drpaal.com,

Speaker 3 (34:04):
Dr paal.com, and both of those will be the show notes too, so you don't have to remember those. Thank you so much. Dr. Paal is always a pleasure to sit down and chat with you.

Speaker 6 (34:12):
Thank you for having me.

Speaker 3 (34:13):
Of course. Always so fun to sit down with Dr. Paco. He's so generous with this time. He even stuck around after the interview to go to the puppy playground, which was next to us, to shoot some puppy tips for the dog TV audience. And he's also going to be on the Expert Show coming up soon. So

Speaker 2 (34:35):
Now I'm really sad. Not only did I miss a trip to Florida, I missed meeting this incredible celebrity, and I missed a puppy playground. I'm devastated. You're missing out. I'm absolutely devastated. The product of the week, it's time for our wait for it product of the week, dental Health edition, and I'm keeping a cruising here with dental health because I have a good friend who listens to the show and they had reached out to me saying, what the heck is a dental wipe? And I was like, that's a great question because that is when you think, we've been talking a lot about a lot as a good substitute for brushing for stubborn animals. And I think it's a product we take for granted when we're in the industry because they're readily available, acemic global all the time. Lots of different companies make 'em. And a lot of people are, what do I even get into?

(35:32):
So I found a great example from Hi pet, HICC. And you think wiping, you think a sheet of paper. Well, this one, it's a finger wipe. So you put it over your finger and you just reach on in there and you wipe away. This one comes with 50, it's going to cost you 10 bucks. So when we're talking about dental maintenance, it's a lot less expensive than dental care. So maintenance is what we're doing at home to make sure that the care becomes as inexpensive as possible. So consider these dental wipes an investment in both your animal's health and your personal funds.

Speaker 3 (36:20):
Way to sell it, Chris,

Speaker 2 (36:21):
That's what I'm here for. Hey, if you're out there and you want me to sell something, my rates, they've never been cheaper.

Speaker 3 (36:26):
Well, and that putting it on your finger, it makes it so much easier to use. So

Speaker 2 (36:29):
Much easier

Speaker 3 (36:30):
If you have a square wipe, it's a little more difficult.

Speaker 2 (36:32):
Need to make that for baby butts.

Speaker 3 (36:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (36:36):
Oh God, they do. I'm telling you

Speaker 3 (36:38):
The finger wipe,

Speaker 2 (36:39):
The wars I fought with the regular wipe and it be in there and then you losing control and you drop it. We have a nice carpet in the nursery. It's not so nice around the changing table anymore. I'll tell you that.

Speaker 3 (36:51):
Oh my gosh. That's hilarious. Alright, so my product of the week, this is for cats, and I was thinking it's cold for cats. Indoor cats especially winter, can be really boring. There's no wildlife to watch out the window. And if you do let your cat go outside, even to an enclosed space, it's probably too cold to go outside. So I came up with something cool that I found on Amazon that gives them a way to challenge their brain and body. It's an interactive cat puzzle feeder by cat stages. And it was actually designed by Nina OTs Sison, and it's called the bugging Out puzzle and play cat puzzle feeder for indoor cats. So what's cool about it is it's going to spark their natural hunting and foraging instincts. It keeps them busy, reduces boredom and gives them something, rewards them. Once they work, the little treats out of the little hidden spaces, it holds up to a quarter cup of cat food or small treats, and it has 16 compartments.

(37:58):
So you can hide these little treats in all the different little compartments. And they have little windows that spin around that open up and yeah, it's also made from with no B-P-A-P-V-C lead or phalates wipes clean easily. You can even put it in the dishwasher and it does double duty. You can, not only is it good for engaging their hunting instinct and working the brain and body, but it's also a feeder. So get your kitty one of those if you don't already have one. Or maybe add it to your collection of puzzle feeders, because cats get bored of the same puzzle feeder too. So you want to kind of rotate those things periodically.

Speaker 2 (38:36):
I see dishwasher safe. My mind instantly goes, heck yes, heck yes.

Speaker 4 (38:41):
Right.

Speaker 2 (38:42):
I spent a lot of time cleaning tiger's fountain by hand. It was hand wash only. Not fun. Any type of feeder or anything like that, you know, got to clean because you got to keep that stuff clean. Super important. You don't want your cat to get sick. Dishwasher. Heck yes. Count me in.

Speaker 3 (38:58):
Yeah. Otherwise you'd have to be cleaning those 16 little compartments with

Speaker 2 (39:02):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 (39:03):
With your finger wipe from the D

Speaker 2 (39:06):
With your finger. Your finger. Baby butt wipe that I'm inventing as we speak. Patent pending.

Speaker 3 (39:12):
He almost made me spew my drink.

Speaker 2 (39:15):
Close. We haven't had a spit take hundred four episodes. We haven't had a spit take yet. I'm getting there.

Speaker 3 (39:20):
Getting

Speaker 4 (39:21):
There. It's

Speaker 3 (39:21):
Going to happen this year.

Speaker 2 (39:22):
Soon.

(39:43):
Q and a. Alright, Kristen. It's time for our favorite part of the show. That's right. We're going to answer two questions from our lovely audience, and I know what you're thinking. What am I thinking? How do I have my question answered by Chris and Kristen? There's people shouting on the rooftops, gets into the heavens, asking, I need my question answered by Chris and Kristen. Well, your prayers may go unanswered, but your question won't head on over to pets Add life.org/podcast and submit the form you can find at the bottom of the page. Or if you're feeling as brave as a veterinarian braving, I think we got 14 inches of snow here to go deliver some penguin chicks. Then you could actually record a voice memo and your question may be played live on the air. Without further ado, we got a couple of questions here, Kristen and I got a good one for you. This one comes from Mark in Scottsdale, Arizona. Lovely little place Scottsdale and Mark's asking my dog's teeth look fine to me, but my vet keeps recommending dental care. How do I know when dental health is really a problem?

Speaker 3 (40:53):
Okay, well Mark, have you been listening to the podcast for the past couple of weeks? If you have, you've probably heard Dr. Jan Bellows and Dr. Naomi Hoyer. So this is really, and if you haven't, excuse me, if you haven't, it's okay. Because what we've learned from those two veterinarians who specialize in dental care is that your dog's mouth can look perfectly fine, but what happens is bacteria get under the gum line and can cause periodontal disease. Now, the ideal thing to do is to take your dog to get a veterinary exam, or I'm sorry, a dental exam because only your vet can truly tell if there's beginnings of periodontal disease. Now obviously if their teeth look clean, they're probably in pretty decent shape, but just to be safe, you want to make sure that there's nothing going on below that gum line because as both of those vets that we talked to explain to us, it's not just about tooth health or gum health, but when bacteria is under the gum line, it can actually get into the rest of your dog's system, cardiovascular, the kidneys, liver.

(42:03):
So best practice is not to miss that annual checkup where your vet will take a look at your dog's teeth and let you know if it's time for a dental cleaning. And then of course, in the meantime, even though your dogs pearly whites look good, use some of those maintenance tips that we've been sharing on the pod used in the dental wipes or some of the powders that dissolve in your dog's water, some of the chew toys and check out, what is it, VOHC, I think it is VO hc.org for dozens and dozens of veterinary approved dental products.

Speaker 2 (42:38):
Awesome. And here I am learning in this awareness month that periodontal is in fact not a dinosaur.

Speaker 3 (42:45):
That's right. That's right. We confirmed that last week. I think

Speaker 2 (42:48):
Confirmed that last week. It is not a dinosaur. It is a medical phrase. And maybe that could be a segment on the show medical phrase or dinosaur and We'll,

Speaker 3 (42:57):
I like that. That'd be great.

Speaker 2 (42:58):
Yeah, that'd be Ron, get on it. What do you got from me?

Speaker 3 (43:03):
I do. I have one from Olivia in Brooklyn. She says, I keep hearing different advice about wet food versus dry food for cats. What should I actually be feeding my cat on a daily basis to keep her healthy?

Speaker 2 (43:17):
That's a great question. And the reason why you're getting conflicting advice is it's largely case by case. And now I think a general rule of thumb, just in general is the wet food is going to be better. Cats have a very low thirst drive and dry food can dehydrate them. And if they're not readily drinking water, you could see some of that affect their kidneys in the long run. That said, a not all food is created equal. There's going to be dry food that's more expensive, more premium that's going to be better for your cat than a cheap wet food. So first you need to get a food that your cat is willing to eat. Cats have opinions and are not afraid to express them. Second, consider your cat's lifestyle and needs. So when I had Tiger, I was lucky enough that Tiger was naturally a grazer.

(44:12):
So we would leave about half a can of wet food out in the morning and she would eat the wet food and then we'd have dry food just sort of in a big bowl in one of those auto feeders that she would graze on throughout the day. And we were lucky that she didn't have that instinct to overeat because of food scarcity. Not all cats are going to be like that, and that's not always going to be an option. Dry food is great for on the go. So if you need to travel with your cat, it's way easier to bring a Ziploc bag of dry food than it is to bring half a dozen heavy cans of wet food if your cat doesn't eat all their food at once. This is an issue with a lot of cats, and I know the people with gluttonous cats are like, what are you talking about?

(44:56):
That can't be real. But the wet food can only stay out for about 40 minutes before it starts to spoil and gain bacteria. So in that case, dry food may be a better option and in most cases, a veterinarian is going to recommend a mix of both, whether it's physically mixing it in a bowl together, so you get the best of both worlds or alternating between the two. And I really do like that advice. I think when it comes to feeding with cats, the flexibility is good. The ability to sort of food train, try and get that food scarcity drive out of them. And the wet food is always great for hydration and general nutrition and things like that, but it can get costly to fill the entire calorie budget up with wet food. So there are a lot of special cases and if you need food recommendations, ask your vet because certain cat breeds are going to be more at risk for kidney disease. If you have a bigger cat like a Maine coon, they're going to have a higher calorie intake, in which case some types of mixes to reach those goals for a healthy weight, maybe more prudent. So that's why you're getting conflicting advice because it's a lot more complicated than just picking one thing and sticking with it.

(46:11):
Well she, Kristen, I'm gassed. That was a heck of an episode.

Speaker 3 (46:15):
Yeah, it was.

Speaker 2 (46:17):
It really was. We had a lot of fun. We had a lot of

Speaker 3 (46:20):
Take twos too.

Speaker 2 (46:21):
Yeah, which is weird. They're calling me one take Chris, which I don't appreciate. There's better nicknames out there for me. Chris B, the science G, that guy with the mustache, get off the camera. I hear that one a lot. Get off the camera, will you please shut up. That's a common nickname. It's like the dog who's convinced his name is Bad Dog. I'm approaching that

Speaker 3 (46:45):
Since

Speaker 2 (46:45):
I'm

Speaker 3 (46:46):
No, stop it.

Speaker 2 (46:46):
Yeah, that's you. I'm approaching that level of shame and blame on the internet. And speaking of shame and blame on the internet, I mispronounced a bunch of words in this episode. If you could identify all of them in the comments on Instagram, I will send you a little prize, which will probably just be a snarky comment into your dms. So hop into those comments on the pets ad life, Instagram, TikTok threads, wherever. I don't know where we are, I don't spend a lot of time on social media. Lie or come view us on dog TV or YouTube where you could see the dark circles around my eyes. I batter back the new parent exhaustion

Speaker 3 (47:24):
And I'm going to leave you with a tail end tidbit today, Dr. Marty Becker, America's veterinarian once told me the secret to helping your pet live longer is three things. I'm going to give you one of them today and you're going to have to listen to our next two episodes to get the other two. Tease it

Speaker 1 (47:38):
Out professional Kristen.

Speaker 3 (47:40):
But the first one is to help your pet maintain a healthy weight pets

Speaker 1 (47:46):
Add life, your guide to the latest in pet trends products, and the joy of the human animal bond with Kristen Levine and Chris Bon, powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog tv.