107. Golden Retriever Festivals, Cat Behavior Secrets & The Truth About Canine Fitness

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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 (00:14):
Hello and welcome to another episode of Pets Ad Life. I am one of your hosts, Chris Bonti. In joining me as always is the 2017 Appalachia Valley Roller Derby champion, Kristen Levine. Everybody give it up for Kristen.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
That's good, that's good. I actually do have roller skates and knee pads and elbow pads and a helmet.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
I feel like you would be vicious in a roller duty. I feel like you're normally so kind and soft and welcoming, but the second those skates go on, those elbows become razor sharp.

Speaker 3 (00:50):
You'd see a side of me that you don't want to see.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
We need that on the podcast. We need to somehow tap into Kristen's Roller Derby Queen Energy. I don't know how we'll get there. It's been what now? 107 episodes and we haven't found it yet, but if we keep,

Speaker 3 (01:07):
Well, you haven't asked for it yet, so be

Speaker 2 (01:09):
Careful what you wish for. Keep bringing two different people onto the show eventually, just law of numbers. There's going to be somebody who comes along and knocks you into roller derby. Stay tuned. I don't think that this is going to be that episode, but you've got those two excellent guests all queued up for you guys. Stick around for those and as always, what two stories, two products, and we're going to answer two of your questions. So without further ado, let's hop into today's story time.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
Kristen and Chris, present story time.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
Alright, Kristen, story time. It's Tuesday. Everybody's been waiting. They waited all of their Monday asking themselves, why doesn't pal come out on Monday? Mondays are terrible. This show would, right?

Speaker 3 (02:01):
We're cranky on Monday, but

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Guess what? We're also cranky on Mondays and that's why the episodes come out on Tuesdays. So these people there, exactly, they, they're cruising along on their Tuesday and they want to know what story will Kristen share to warm their hearts?

Speaker 3 (02:14):
Oh, I've got the perfect story to warm your heart and you might appreciate this. Chris, you're in major event mode right now and this is about an event that happened a few weeks ago and my nephew went to it, so that's why I wanted to share it with you guys. It's called Golden's in Golden. Now, this is an event that has turned Golden Colorado, which is a pretty small town, about 20,000 population. It's turned golden Colorado into a pet tourism destination. So what happens is every year in February, this little town hosts a massive group for just golden retrievers and their people. So it started out in 2019 just kind of as a fun quirky gathering, but it has literally exploded into one of the biggest dog meetups in the world. So last month the event drew about 16,000 people and 5,500 dogs, most of which were golden retrievers.

(03:09):
And they even say, I guess they kept track of, I guess you had to register because it says people traveled from 44 different US states and even other countries like Australia, Japan, and Argentina. So there's this really cool, if you go to the website, Golden's in Golden, there's this great photo. They have a huge arch on Main Street in Golden Colorado. It says Golden Colorado, and there's just a sea of people with their golden retrievers under this arch. It's really cool. So it's on my calendar for next year. I don't want to miss this. And yeah,

Speaker 2 (03:47):
That sounds a lot more fun than Global Pet Expo.

Speaker 3 (03:50):
And it only

Speaker 2 (03:50):
Last

Speaker 3 (03:51):
And it only lasts four hours. So a lot more fun for you.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
My knees hurt just thinking about global.

Speaker 3 (03:58):
Ooh,

Speaker 2 (03:59):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (03:59):
Wait. Oh, because of all the running around,

Speaker 2 (04:02):
Although yeah, yeah, I'm clocking like almost 30,000 steps a day.

Speaker 3 (04:06):
Ooh, I hope you had the

Speaker 2 (04:08):
Race footwear and it would be much better if there were a bunch of Golden Labs. Follow me around.

Speaker 3 (04:17):
That would help.

Speaker 2 (04:18):
That would definitely help your

Speaker 3 (04:19):
Attitude. So what kind of story do you have for us this week?

Speaker 2 (04:24):
Well, I don't have the heartwarming kind. I have the PSA brand of stories that I would like to share. As I was perusing, I thought this seems like a news story that would sort of not hit anything major and you might miss it and it could impact you or really your dog. So the FDA has put out a warning on a common arthritis drugs called, I'm going to say li. Yeah. So they put out a warning that it's not necessarily the best stuff. They said there's some serious adverse side effects including seizure incontinence, and there have been some reported cases of death. So I am not a veterinarian, but I play one on your tv. The issue with this kind of stuff is most people just do annual vet visits. So I'm going to wombo that PSA with another PSA. If you have an older dog that suffers from some type of chronic condition, you should be going to the veterinarian at least every six months, at least the research on these drugs and the clinical side effects sometimes are not shown immediately.

(05:46):
And sometimes this kind of thing happens where a drug passes through clinical trials gets FDA approval gets released to the general market where it's used much more often than it ever was in trials. And some of these things become discovered. And you folks out there, you depend on Kristen and I for these kinds of stories. This was like a tiny little byline on a little pet specific website and you could have missed it. And if your next vet appointment wasn't for another eight months, who knows what could happen. So be sure to be going to the vet every six months if your dog is on any type of medication, ask about it to your veterinarian, what the side effects are, if the drug is still being studied, how long the drug's been in market. These are all appropriate questions to ask before putting your animal on any type of prescription. So just thought I would get that out into the ether so that everybody was aware and remind you that your veterinarian is your dog's best friend.

Speaker 3 (06:48):
Yeah, thanks for bringing that to our attention. I miss that one. Good to know.

Speaker 2 (06:52):
Good to know.

Speaker 1 (06:53):
Beyond the leash, exploring the untold stories of pet passion and professionalism. Alright

Speaker 2 (06:58):
Folks, it's my honor to welcome Laura Cassidy, a certified cat behavior consultant through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and a fear-free certified animal trainer. After earning a master's degree in professional writing from Towson University and working as a copywriter and editor, Laura shifted careers in 2017 to pursue her lifelong passion for animal behavior. She's volunteered and fostered extensively before joining the Maryland SPCA where she became the CAT behavior coordinator, developing enriching programs and protocols to better support shelter cats, especially the Shine fearful ones. In 2021, she founded positive cat vibes, cat behavior and training, working with cat caregivers worldwide through virtual consultations and locally in Baltimore, Laura is the author of the Complete Guide to Adopting a Cat, has provided expert testimony supporting Marilyn's anti Declaw bill, which became law in 2022, which is great and is currently pursuing a second master's degree in applied animal behavior at Virginia Tech. What an amazing resume you have there, Laura. I'm busy.

Speaker 4 (08:05):
You're

Speaker 2 (08:05):
Busy, you're busy. I got tired just reading that. So thank you for taking some time out of that busy schedule to join us today.

Speaker 4 (08:13):
Yeah, of course.

Speaker 2 (08:15):
So to start off, you've worked in both shelters and private homes. So what are some of the big behavioral differences you see between shelter cats and cats living in a family environment?

Speaker 4 (08:29):
I think the biggest difference is the shelter cats are going to have generally a lot more stress, a lot more fear and anxiety. They're in an unnatural environment. They have been taken away from everything that's familiar and just living in a shelter in a cage with limited interaction, limited enrichment, limited all of the above is really hard on them. And often you see a personality at the shelter that is not quite the personality that you would see at home. So I also think one of the key differences, and it's maybe not the key difference in the animal, it's minimums themselves, but shelter cats have a lot fewer options when they have behavior issues. They're kind of one of many instead of someone's one and only is how I would put it. And cats who are fearful and stressed tend to respond by making themselves appear invisible. So that was a big issue that I saw there is so many cats are crying out for help in the best way that they can, but they're actively making themselves small and hiding in the back of the cage and people just walk past them.

Speaker 3 (10:04):
And along those lines, Laura, you obviously spent a lot of years improving life for shelter cats. What are some of the enrichment practices that made the biggest difference in reducing the fear and the stress in the shelter and for those adopting a cat and bringing them home, what practices might help that new cat adjust to a home

Speaker 4 (10:25):
Transition? Yeah, so

(10:29):
I think one of the best things for a shelter cat is human interaction. That is definitely the most limited resource at the shelter because people donate toys and treats and all of that stuff, but that's fleeting. A lot of cats, they don't see play with toys in their cages very frequently. They are in a small space, even like the dogs get to go out for walks most in most shelters, most cats don't get to leave their is in shelters at least not every day. So for them, I think the most needed thing of someone out there is like, what can I do to help shelter cats is go in there and volunteer and get them out of their cage and spend time with everything else is pretty easy. But that's definitely where all shelters are lacking is the ability to give these cats one-on-one attention, especially the shy ones that people tend to walk past and

Speaker 2 (11:35):
Ignore. Yeah, and I think a big misconception is that we label cats as being independent and low maintenance, and that's not necessarily true. So from a behavior science perspective, what do cats need from a person to feel safe and fulfilled?

Speaker 4 (11:54):
So I usually will refer to the feline environmental needs guidelines that were put out. I don't know, 10, 15 years ago they created a welfare model for cats that is still really widely used today. It's pretty simple of the five pillars of a healthy feline environment and the five pillars that they say to if the cat's needs are being met, you've done all of these five things, they should be happy and healthy are multiple separate resources. And this is more so for homes, but one of the top behavior issues that I see is cats not getting along with each other. So it's just saying, don't put the food bowl next to the litter box. Don't put all your litter boxes in the same corner in the basement because cats need things to be spread out and have ownership of their whole territory play and enrichment opportunities, which even in homes I think cats are lacking a lot because nobody wants to sit there and play with their cat, especially if they have multiple cats safe spaces in every room.

(13:07):
So making sure that if you have a house that looks like a cat lives there, you have hiding spaces, you have vertical space, all of those things that cats need, you're respecting their sense of smell. So just noticing and knowing that they rely a lot more on scent than people. They have a much stronger sense of smell. You're not washing all their beds on the same day to clear their scent. You're not using strong scented litter or putting air fresheners near their litter box, that sort of thing. And then that was for the last one is positive, consistent human interaction. So every time that they're around people, they know what to predict. Nothing weird's going to happen. They have their boundaries respected and that sort of thing. So I think if we have those five things in mind, you're doing the best you can there for cats.

Speaker 2 (14:12):
Yeah, you're at least set up for success

Speaker 3 (14:14):
For sure. And Lauren, you founded, Chris mentioned in the intro Positive vibes to help prevent cats from entering shelters in the first place. I actually started my career working in an animal shelter, and I remember the cats that were surrendered were surrendered largely due to behavior problems. So what are the top behavior issues that if we're addressing them early, could keep cats in their homes?

Speaker 4 (14:41):
I think the easiest problem to fix is usually litter box issues, cats who aren't using their litter box appropriately, not all cases. And of course the first thing you should do is see a vet, blah, blah, blah. But so many are human error that if we just kind of gave the cat what they wanted and listened to them and not try to make them use all of the fancy contraptions we want them to use, it would go away. I have, I would say it's about 50 50 for my clients. I either have clients that I say do one small thing and everything is fixed instantly, or it's more complicated than that. But I think it's one of the things that people are able to tolerate the least, but also, and especially if you really want to keep your cat and you're willing to work with a behaviorist or behavior consultant, the chances of you being able to fix it are so high.

Speaker 2 (15:57):
And I think too, when people go into it and they decide I want a pet, and they go to the shelter and generally decision is, am I getting a dog? Am I getting a cat? When people decide they're going to get a dog, they know that this is going to come with a lot of learning. They're going to have to learn

Speaker 5 (16:12):
How to

Speaker 2 (16:12):
Train and housebreak and how to take care of the dog. And a lot of people turn to cats because they think, oh, I won't need that step. I don't need to prepare my home for a cat. I could just kind of bring 'em into this environment. Then they're going to be my little buddy. So how can I set up my home to make sure that when I make this decision to adopt a shelter cat in my home, that it's ready for this new member of my family.

Speaker 4 (16:40):
So if you already have pets or kids or anything else living in your house, I think the best thing is to, even before you decide that you're going to get a cat or before you go to the shelter or wherever to pick your cat out, that you kind have what you ripley's going to join us Ripley,

Speaker 5 (17:04):
Hi Ripley.

Speaker 4 (17:06):
So you have in mind what you want, and I don't mean you want an orange kitten, you want a cat who is good with kids who has a history of living with another cat or is confident enough that they could navigate a household with a busy dog. Or if you have a 15-year-old cat at home, you're thinking, oh, I might want to pick a cat that is a similar age and energy level to that cat and just kind of preparing yourself that way. I think you're asking for behavior issues by picking a cat that is not a good match for your lifestyle in your home once you've picked an appropriate cat. Then I think making sure that, I think my best advice is just making sure that when you do intros to other pets and kids and all of those other creatures, that you take it very slowly, maybe 75% if not higher, of my clients are having issues with cats, getting along with either other cats or dogs or other pets. It is definitely the most common and the most complex issue to resolve. So trying to start that off on the right foot by not throwing them together, doing short positive interactions with them.

(18:43):
I think people have unrealistic expectations that it's only going to take a couple days or a couple weeks, and often they need much longer than that to get along and integrate.

Speaker 3 (18:54):
Yeah. Well Laura, we're coming up on time, but before we let you go, I wanted to just ask you about the work that you were very involved in supporting anti-D Claw bill, and I think it's important for our listeners to understand from a behavior standpoint, why is Declawing so harmful to cats?

Speaker 4 (19:13):
Yeah, so it is the amputation of the first knuckle. So it is not just taking off their little fingernail. It is the equivalent of taking off the first part of your finger and then imagining that you now have to walk on that hand for the rest of your life. So I do see many dCloud cats stop using the litter box because it becomes painful for them to step on the litter and dig in the litter the way that they're supposed to. I see many declawed cats that have increased aggression because they're painful and they're grouchy all the time because they hurt or they, you've taken away one of their biggest means of defense. So they turn to biting. And if you've ever mitten by a cat is not a lot of fun. I would much rather be scratched up than fight. It's also, it's just so easy to get your cat to scratch appropriate things. It's not something that's difficult if you, you're willing to set up your environment the right way. I think the biggest piece of it is your cat is going to be in some degree of pain for the rest of their life and there's not too much you can do about it once it's done. So I'm glad that Maryland has taken the step. A lot of other states have made it illegal since then. Hopefully we're on the way to making it illegal across the whole nation.

Speaker 3 (20:57):
Yeah, here, we're here. Alright, well we are just about out of time, Laura, but thank you so much for your insights and for the great work that you do for cats. And where can we follow your work or learn some more?

Speaker 4 (21:12):
You can find me, I have a Facebook page. I'm not that active on social media, but it's at Positive Vibes Katz. My website is positive vibes katz.com as well.

Speaker 3 (21:25):
And then we've got your book up here on the screen too, the Complete Guide to Adopting a Cat. I assume that's available wherever books are sold.

Speaker 4 (21:34):
Yep, definitely on Amazon bookstores, physical bookstores are hit or miss these days, but Amazon is a great place to look for it.

Speaker 2 (21:43):
There we go. Well, thank you for taking some time today to join us. It was an absolute pleasure, learned a lot, and I'm sure everybody at home enjoyed it as well.

Speaker 4 (21:53):
Yeah, thanks for having me.

Speaker 2 (21:57):
Well, I learned a lot in that interview, but one thing I learned is that our viewers should be watching us on video because Laura's cat, Ripley made an appearance and if you're not watching on video, you didn't get to see the cat.

Speaker 3 (22:07):
See, you're missing out. You're missing if you're not watching us on YouTube. Every single dog benefits from being fit, not just athletic dogs. And our guest, Dr. Carey Britt, is going to explain what that means. Dr. Britt is a veterinarian whose work focuses on canine conditioning, fitness, and mobility with an emphasis on using these tools not just for canine athletes, but for everyday and aging dogs. She advocates for a shift in how pet parents think about movement from something reactive after an injury to a preventative strategy that supports joint health, balance, strength, and longevity through her clinical work and education. Dr. Britt can teach us how thoughtful conditioning can reduce injury risk, slow age-related decline, and help dogs stay comfortable and confident as they grow older. Her approach reframes fitness as a form of care, one that improves quality of life at every stage from puppies to seniors. Welcome Dr. Britt. Thank you. I'm happy to be here. It's great to have you. I like this topic a lot. Yes. Conditioning and fitness used to always be associated with agility dogs or sport dogs, but why do you believe these tools are just as important for our family pets?

Speaker 6 (23:14):
Well, I think we get in the habit of especially, and I'm guilty of this too, having a fenced in backyard and just letting the dogs go out and do whatever they want to do. And I like to use the analogy of for anybody who follows sports, if a quarterback only through the ball over and over and over again, he would not be good at what he does. So he obviously cross trains. He works on a variety of things to improve his fitness so that he can be the best he can. And the same is true of our canine patients.

Speaker 3 (23:40):
And that makes a lot of sense also, when we think about seniors, a lot of pet parents think that they're senior dogs, it's good for them to slow down, don't take as many walks or shorter walks. How do you help owners understand the difference between healthy, rest and harmful in?

Speaker 6 (23:56):
Yeah, that's a great question. So there's a lot to unpack in that. There's a lot that you can be said. One is that we do actually know that dogs with any sort of arthritis do better with 60 minutes of low impact exercise a day than those who have less than 20 minutes or less than 40 minutes. So that doesn't mean all at once, but that means over the course of the day, maybe you take your dog on four 15 minute walks or two to three 20 minute walks. So that's part of it. The other part of it is that mobility is life. So when we stop moving, we're not going to move anymore. And then the big overarching kind of campaign and take home message that I want and I think is coming out of veterinary medicine right now, is that we have to de-normalized, oh, that's just an old dog because that's age is not a disease and there are predictable things that happen in older patients, but we can't just say, oh, my dog lays around all day because he's an old dog.

Speaker 3 (24:46):
It's the same thing for humans.

Speaker 6 (24:48):
A hundred percent. A hundred percent,

Speaker 3 (24:50):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (24:50):
That's what, there's so much work in frailty and in geriatric pets or geriatric pets right now because of the work that's been done in people, we certainly glean a lot of information from them. When you go to the doctor after a certain age, they ask you, have you had a fall recently? They're looking for, that's a marker that they're looking for. That indicates there are certain changes in how that person is moving. We're now getting to the point where we're starting to have those kinds of markers for our veterinary patients, which is going to really help us because the earlier you can identify it, the sooner you can intervene.

Speaker 3 (25:22):
Okay. So what are the most common mobility or conditioning issues that you're seeing in senior dogs that could have been prevented if they were more thoughtfully

Speaker 6 (25:32):
Active? Yeah, the two biggest things I see actually are obesity and muscle loss. And those are really tricky because they can often look similar. So you can have an overweight dog who has no muscle, and you think that they look okay from a muscle standpoint because they're overweight. So those are the things I see most commonly in my clinical practice and that I am working really hard. The tricky thing is I'm not the first line. So my amazing GP colleagues are the first line, and that's where part of what I do here is giving them the tools in their clinic to be able to assess that ahead of time because the earlier we identify those things, the better we will be at caring for them.

Speaker 3 (26:09):
And what should we be doing for our younger dogs as their puppies to adolescents, to aging? What should we be implementing into their lifestyle to keep them as healthy and fed as possible?

Speaker 6 (26:22):
That is such a great question, and I think some of what we're going to be learning from the, especially of sports medicine, we'll know, we'll have better answers for that over the next few years. One of the key components, honestly, is making sure that they are staying slim. So we have a lot of data in veterinary medicine that shows lifespan and health span are decreased when you have obesity. So keeping them lean early on is one of the most important things they can do. And then, yes, making sure they have a variety of low impact exercise walks, play tug. We do a lot of doggy daycare and a lot of dog parks in this country, and I don't know that that's always the best way

Speaker 3 (26:59):
To

Speaker 6 (26:59):
Get our dogs, the socialization and the play that they need, but it's good that people are looking at that, but that's usually the dog is self-limiting or going too far too much in that time period. And that's when they get injured.

Speaker 3 (27:12):
Right? Yeah. I have this conversation with my husband a lot because we have a 6-year-old little men pen chihuahua mix, and there's a part of our yard that she loves so much and she'll just take her off the leash and she'll just tear into a full sprint. And I've been warning him to walk her first and help her

Speaker 6 (27:34):
Warm up. Is that good advice

Speaker 3 (27:35):
That I'm giving?

Speaker 6 (27:36):
Yes, a hundred percent yes. Every that's the story I tell people, I say the doorbell is the biggest cause of injury because your pet is lying on the bed sleeping and then the doorbell rings and boom, they're up and going. Never thought about that. It's the same concept as if you were going to train for a half marathon, you don't lie on the couch, get up and go run 26 miles. You work towards that and you do a warmup and a cool down. So those principles of exercise physiology are the same, even though our canine athletes are superior to all other athletes, they still need those adaptations that we do for us.

Speaker 3 (28:11):
What do you think about, there's a lot of products on the market now that can help pets be more fit. I've seen the balance balls and the, it's almost like a amateur agility type of tools. Are those things that you would recommend that pet parents?

Speaker 6 (28:28):
I think with caution. So I think if you have a good understanding that this field is very up and coming, there's a lot of folks that are taking conditioning courses and fitness courses, and I think we just have to be cautious about it. I think that that's one of the things that will happen over the next decade is that we'll have a better understanding of what that means and what that training means. Because I think without veterinary

(28:51):
Oversight, you might end up hurting your pet. One of the things I have to say that's really going to I think help this is that there's a book coming out in March called Therapeutic Exercises, Canon Therapeutic Exercises. It's for veterinarians, but that is a way that these pet parents can say, Hey, I really want to start doing some fitness with my, I want to buy this fit bone on Amazon and start doing things. That's a resource for my general practitioner colleagues and for my other rehab colleagues to kind of guide people in that. So I think it's wonderful and I think they're doing it, but I would talk to your vet, I would have a conversation, make sure you're not doing anything that might harm

Speaker 3 (29:29):
Your

Speaker 6 (29:29):
Pet while you're doing them.

Speaker 3 (29:30):
Sure. No, that makes great sense. What are some of the early signs that a dog is losing strength or mobility that maybe we pet parents just think, oh, it's normal aging, but maybe it's something we could do something about?

Speaker 6 (29:44):
So one of the most common things is actually just willingness or interest in playing with toys, but not doing it for as long or not wanting to do it. That can be an early sign. Slowing down on walks is a big one. Not getting up as quick when you're coming in the door is a big one. These are kind of early signs that we need to pay attention to. With that being said, at that point, they're probably already having some arthritis pain. So I think it is tricky for a pet owner to identify those things, and that's where I encourage that relationship with your veterinarian and having them take a look and asking those questions at your appointment. My dog is seven, so that's kind of when we think dogs are aging, my dog is seven, what should I be looking for? Can you take a look and see?

Speaker 5 (30:29):
So

Speaker 6 (30:29):
I think it's that partnership between their veterinarian that's going to help them identify the early things.

Speaker 3 (30:34):
And then we're running out of time here, but what's your best advice for, and we're talking about cats too, I assume.

Speaker 6 (30:43):
Absolutely. I apologize. Tend to focus on dogs, but yes, cats too. Cats applies to both are actually really easy to assess because there are a lot of functional assessments online that you can say like jumps easily, doesn't jump easily. Still getting on the counter, not getting on the counter. So there's things that cats do. We don't do these as much as we should, but there are ways to identify that in cats too.

Speaker 3 (31:00):
Okay. Yeah. Oh, any questions that we should be asking our veterinarian when we go for our wellness visits?

Speaker 6 (31:06):
Yeah, yeah. Always ask, is my dog at a good weight? Is my dog, does my dog have good muscle mass? How often should I be doing blood work? Because systemic health certainly affects mobility. How often should I be walking my dog? Those are really great questions. And hopefully as there's more of specialists in sports medicine, that will trickle down to my GP colleagues too. They'll feel more confident answering those questions. Fantastic.

Speaker 3 (31:30):
Well, this has been really helpful and informative. Thank you so much, Dr. You're

Speaker 6 (31:33):
Welcome.

Speaker 3 (31:33):
Welcome. We appreciate you joining us.

Speaker 6 (31:35):
Welcome. Yeah, it was my pleasure. Thank you for having me. Sure.

Speaker 3 (31:41):
So when I got back from VMX, after talking to Dr. Britt, I told Tulip that we were starting her on a canine conditioning program.

Speaker 2 (31:49):
Is that just a fancy word for a diet?

Speaker 3 (31:53):
Yes. But as we discussed, it's more than that. It's about exercise, smart exercise tulip's six now. So she can't just do all the things she used to do. We've got to be a little bit more careful to protect her joints. And anyway, I thought that was a really informative interview because fitness is not just for athletic dogs,

Speaker 2 (32:16):
It's not a phase, it's a lifestyle. That's

Speaker 3 (32:19):
Right.

Speaker 1 (32:19):
The product of the week,

Speaker 2 (32:22):
And now it is time for our product of the week. And I've got a product this week, Kristen, because

Speaker 3 (32:35):
What you got,

Speaker 2 (32:36):
We got a few questions that come in about switching cat food and a lot about how to switch to cat foods and not a lot about what kind of foods I should be looking for. And I wanted to sort of talk about a brand that I really connect with when it comes to cat food. It is applause, and I dunno if you've heard of applause, Kristen, but this is their wet food is borderline human food for real. It is one of the highest scoring pet sustainability coalition. I forget what they name their major award, but they do like a ranking score and they're always one of the highest rankers. And a lot of people always assume that that's for packaging. And this packaging is very normal. If you're getting the dry food, it's in the bag. If you're getting the wet food, it's in the can.

(33:36):
Their pet sustainability coalition award is for sustainability in ingredients. So the way they source their ingredients is not just sustainable, but it's organic. It's very heady in the way they make these decisions and choices. And their formula is kind of always adapting and improving based on who they're sourcing the ingredients from. It's a very honest approach to what goes in your cat's food. They even have a little guide on their site on how to transition your cat to their food from other brands. They've got dry, they've got wet, they've got treats, they've got it all the catches. It's probably double what you pay for grocery store brand cat food, but

Speaker 3 (34:25):
Wow. But you're paying for the quality.

Speaker 2 (34:27):
You are paying for the quality. And I like knowing these natural ingredients for cats. Diet's very different from dogs. Cats are just carnivores. They need good sources of lean protein. That's what you're getting in this food. So check it out, ask your vet, look at the price, see if it's right for you. Cats are typically a little less expensive than dogs, so I found that cat owners are more willing to splurge on the choice of choice of food. So if you're in that kind of seat, check it out.

Speaker 3 (35:00):
Well, and here's the question I have for you about that. Are you willing to eat applause on the air right here on the podcast? If I order it, send it to you. It's human grade.

Speaker 2 (35:12):
We'll see. Probably. Okay. I've been eating a lot of Grayson's baby food because I'm like, I'm not going to feed him anything. Some of this stuff looks horrible. I can't feed a human being. I can't feed my son this thing. So I've tasted some of his food, so I'm feeling pretty brave.

Speaker 3 (35:29):
Okay. All right. Don't be surprised when you get a packet on the doorstep. Okay, so my product of the week, it's similar but different. I came across this product from Icelandic. It's called Viking Boost. And what it is is wild caught cod skin, sprinkles, sprinkles for your pet food. And now this could be for your dogs or for your cats. It comes in a four ounce bag. It's basically a food topper and it has a single ingredient, and that is fish skin from cod fish. It's air dried. It is, like I said, single ingredient. It's a great source of protein. And it's, as I said earlier, is wild caught. So very healthy, pristine. And this would be a really great way if you are transitioning your pet to a new food to maybe put a little topper on top that is irresistible. And I don't know, I think cod skin sprinkles sounds pretty irresistible for most dogs and cats.

Speaker 2 (36:37):
Honestly, if I'm eating the cat food, might as well top it off with some cotton skin sprinkles.

Speaker 3 (36:41):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Exactly. But you only need just a very tiny bit. It says for a dog about a teaspoon per half cup of food. And for a cat about a half teaspoon for a

Speaker 2 (36:54):
Quarter cup of food. Oh, that is not a lot. Yeah,

Speaker 3 (36:55):
No. So this bag is going to last you for a little while, but yeah, I've never seen cod skin sprinkles before, so check that out. They're on Amazon. It's only like 1499 a bag worth, worth a try.

Speaker 2 (37:09):
This episode's making me hungry. I took some salmon out of the freezer for dinner, so maybe I'm going to make some salmon skin sprinkles. Sprinkles honestly. Sounds good though. I think this whole segment for products of the week really shows how the blend between human and pet is becoming more apparent, especially in food. So check out those products of the week in your show notes. And we're going to kick it on over to questions. We do questions next? Yeah,

Speaker 3 (37:44):
We're going to do questions q

Speaker 2 (37:47):
And a.

(37:50):
All right. Kristen, you know what time it is, listeners, you know what time it is, Ron, behind the ones and twos, he knows what time it is. That's right. We're going to answer two questions from our lovely audience, and I know what you're thinking. How do I get my question answered by Chris and Kristen? Well, it couldn't be easier. Head on over to pets at life.org/podcast. Scroll on down to the bottom of that page. Or if you're feeling as brave eating cat food, you can go ahead and record a voice memo and your question may be played live on our show. So we've got some good ones this time. Kristen, I may be feeling out of my depth a little bit. So we're going to start with you and hopefully by the time you are done, everybody tunes out for my answer. So I've got a question here from, oh, right around your neck of the woods. This is Amanda from Raleigh, North Carolina.

Speaker 3 (38:51):
Oh, hey Amanda. We're neighbors

Speaker 2 (38:53):
Practically. And Amanda asks, yep, could be your neighbor. She could be outside your house right now. Hey

Speaker 5 (39:00):
Girl,

Speaker 2 (39:01):
Amanda asks, my dog seems healthy overall, but he's constantly itchy and has recurring ear infections. Our vet keeps prescribing the same medications and the problem always comes back. Could this be diet related and what should we be looking at instead of just treating the symptoms?

Speaker 3 (39:20):
Good question, Amanda. And this is kind of a common problem for dog parents. I know we experienced this with chili many years ago. He had chronic skin issues and it took a while to figure out what the actual cause was. So whenever we're talking about chronic itching, you're basically going to have to work with your veterinarian to do some detective work. There are a lot of things that could be causing that could be the underlying cause, like food allergies or sensitivities. It could be environmental allergies, it could be yeast or bacterial overgrowth on the skin. And sometimes what happens is you get a secondary bacterial infection due to the fact that your dog is constantly itching the same place and maybe the skin breaks and bacteria gets in there. So now you actually have two problems. That was what Chili's problem was. He had atopic dermatitis and he regularly got secondary bacterial infections.

(40:19):
We eventually got it under control, and I'll tell you how we did that. Our veterinarian actually recommended that we go see a veterinary dermatologist. Now, this isn't always necessary, so I would say that you need to go back to your vet and explain that the medication's not working or it's not working, and that you really want to dive deeper into what the underlying cause is. And she or he may recommend that you see a veterinary dermatologist or, or she can certainly do some allergy testing as a general vet too. So allergy testing can be food testing where you start to eliminate different proteins from your dog's diet. You're going to to probably need to keep a symptom diary so that you can keep track of when the itching starts and stops when it's the worst. And you might even want to discuss some supplements like omega threes.

(41:15):
I know that I think it was Dr. Doty that we talked to a couple weeks ago, maybe it was last week, she was highly recommending omega threes for our pet's diet. But the downside is sometimes it takes a little while to figure it out. And not only that, but changing your pet's diet, it can take several weeks, even a couple of months before you start seeing changes. So hopefully you can be patient, it will pay off in the end when you get to the bottom of the cause of your pups itching. But just be patient, talk to your vet and you, if your vet doesn't recommend a dermatologist so you're not getting answers that you need, then go see a veterinary dermatologist.

Speaker 2 (41:57):
Yeah, this actually happened to my parents' dog Stella, and she, I don't think they ever got to what the bottom of it was, but she needs a topical ointment on where she gets patchy and itchy and she's a longhaired dog. So you could imagine how difficult that is. And it's very rare for longhaired dogs to get skin conditions because their skin's typically very well protected. So the running theory was allergies or something to do with the food, or she was getting outside and eating grass she shouldn't be eating. Who knows, sometimes dog stuff is just a mystery and you can treat the symptoms.

Speaker 3 (42:33):
And I'll add one other quick thing because what it turned out with chili was that he was allergic to ragweed and a few other environmental allergens that were literally in our yard. So you couldn't eliminate it. So one simple thing we did every day is when he would come in, we would wipe him down head to toe to get all those allergens that had attached to his fur. And that helps too. So you can get there, you can get to the bottom of it, and there are certainly a lot of different supplements and medications that can help too. Alright, for our second question listeners, you are lucky because we were able to have Lauren pop back in to answer this question, a true expert on cat behavior. Laura, thanks so much for coming back. This question is from Lena in Portland, Oregon, and Lena says, my cat hides whatever guests come over and sometimes won't come out for hours. Is this anxiety and how can I help her feel safer?

Speaker 4 (43:29):
Yeah, good question. And I think that's a question of having realistic expectations. A lot of that you can't, I don't want to say you can't change it. You can improve it, but it's not going to ever be that she's comfortable coming out and meeting everyone most likely. I think it has to do a lot with early socialization and especially like now, even as we go further and further away from COVID, we're still seeing cats who missed out on a lot of key socialization in their early age, and I don't know how old this cat is, but even if they were born in someone's shed and didn't get into a house until they were 10 weeks old, you'd never know. With cats, it's really rare that you come across a cat that's had really, really good early socialization. So if the cat wasn't exposed to a lot of strangers when they were young, that's that critical socialization period where they're going to learn that strangers are safe, then they may just have that belief for the rest of their life and it's really hard to undo.

(44:46):
So I think to make your cat feel safer, really, if she's going and she's hiding and you've kind of coached people that she is not to be bothered under there, you don't have any kids sticking their fingers under the bed trying to get to her, I think the best thing that you can do is let her go to a safe place, let her know that it's okay to be there and she won't be bothered there. If you did want to start working on exposing her to new people and getting her more comfortable with a new person, I would say just start with one person and have them just come and sit maybe across the room from her and just read a book or play on their phone for 10, 15 minutes. Do that as frequently as you can and work up to more and more interaction. But these cats are sometimes very difficult to convince when there's extreme fear involved, unfortunately.

Speaker 2 (45:49):
Yeah, I think that's some great advice though. Sometimes it is just a matter of time and comfort.

Speaker 3 (45:55):
Well, thank you so much for coming back to answer that question, Lena. I hope that helps. And yeah, that's it for our questions today.

Speaker 2 (46:02):
And that's it. That's our show for this week. Guess what, we'll be back next Tuesday. As always, no matter what happens in our lives, a meteor can fall out of the sky. Land in my driveway, little gray aliens can come out, abduct me. And guess what? There'd still be an episode on Tuesday. That's just the way it works here at Powell. That's just the way it works here at Powell.

Speaker 3 (46:26):
Hey Chris, I got a riddle for you for my tail end tidbit.

Speaker 2 (46:29):
Okay.

Speaker 3 (46:30):
What dog sheds enough to build a second dog? Loves everyone equally and thinks every day is the best day ever.

Speaker 2 (46:39):
A good boy.

Speaker 3 (46:41):
Yeah, I was thinking golden retriever.

Speaker 2 (46:43):
Okay,

Speaker 3 (46:49):
We'll see you next week.

Speaker 1 (46:52):
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 Bonafont. Powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog TV

Speaker 3 (47:06):
God questions, the experts have answers.

Speaker 1 (47:09):
Every Friday,

Speaker 2 (47:10):
A brand episode of the Experts Drops, featuring the biggest names in pet care,

Speaker 3 (47:15):
From behavior to health training to nutrition. Our panel of top veterinarians, trainers, and technicians tackles it all.

Speaker 2 (47:23):
Real questions from real pet parents and Real Answers. From the best in the business,

Speaker 3 (47:28):
The experts. Every Friday only on Unleashed by Dog tv.

Speaker 2 (47:32):
Watch and learn. Your pet will think

Speaker 5 (47:36):
So. What exactly is Pet's ad Life? You're asking? It's a weekly podcast with two hosts sharing two pet stories, interviewing two amazing guests, recommending two awesome products and answering two questions from the audience. And all this is produced by two major pet brands, I guess you can say is too good to be true. You're right. Check out pets. Add Life with new episodes every Tuesday. If

Speaker 2 (48:00):
You encounter a snake, don't be a crisp, just walk the other way.