131. Separation Anxiety, Pet Enrichment & Supporting the Vets Who Care for Our Pets

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Pets Ad Life, your guide to the latest in pet trends, products, and the joy of the human animal bond with Kristen Levine and me, Chris Bonafati, powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog TV. Hello and welcome to another episode of Pets Ad Life. I am one of your co-hosts, Chris Bonafati, and joining me as always is the looming spirit of Halloween stores that are starting to pop up all over is Kristen Levine. Kristen, is the Halloween stuff out yet around you?

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yes, it is, unfortunately. It's sickening. It was out before July 4th because I went to the craft store to buy some July 4th stuff and they didn't have any. It was all Halloween. What is

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Going on? What are we doing? What happened to back to school? It used to be you go into these stores and it was all back to school and then you wait till mid-September and the Halloween stuff. I mean, it's August. People are on vacation for crying out loud. And I'm seeing the little banners going up around Norwalk. Spirit of Halloween, it's coming. Prepare folks. Oh my gosh, please. Now Hope and I are in discussion on what Grayson's now second Halloween is going to be since he could sort of walk around and stuff.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
Right.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
You got

Speaker 2 (01:22):
More options now.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
Yes. We have not narrowed it down at all. We have a lot of ideas, but I will be sure to report on the podcast when we have made a decision.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
But this is not a Halloween episode. No,

Speaker 1 (01:34):
It's not. It's

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Not.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
I'm just angry.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
Yes. This is our back to school episode. So some of your kids have gone back to school already, some haven't. It's right around the corner. So we've got a back to school episode for you and I think you're going to like it.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah. Same thing as always. We're going to do two products, two stories, two guests, two questions. All the best things in life come in twos. Some of them come in threes, some of them come in fours, but a lot of them come in twos. So without further ado, let's go ahead and jump into storytime.

Speaker 3 (02:10):
Kristen and Chris present Story Time.

Speaker 1 (02:14):
All right, Kristen, I am going to kick this one off because I've got a PSA that I want towards the top of the show. And this is coming from the Better Business Bureau. And I found a news article that I posted in here because it has a little bit more details. But Better Business Bureau is warning consumers of an ongoing scam involving lost pets where essentially these scammers are pretending to be companies that go and find people's pets when there's a reward. Yeah. I mean, it's terrible. So what they do is they scrape social media and find people who are asking for help finding their dog or cat, which I mean, I still recommend doing. It's a great way to rally some community around it and you need to get people's eyes on it.

(03:08):
But let's see what the Better Business Bureau said, reports of lost pet scams are increasing on the scam tracker. Pet scams are especially cruel. Con artists are coming through social media posts justifying targets who have lost their beloved pet so they can capitalize on that. So A, what they recommend is first off, have your pet microchipped. If your pet is microchipped, the scam does not work because you're just going to be able to go find your pet. B, always be sure to get details out of people if they found your pet. If it seems fishy, it probably is. I imagine that most people who find a pet are very happy to return it home. Of course they are. And aren't in some type of negotiation phase. So if they say that they're with some type of company, research that company before paying any money, limit the physical detail shared publicly about a missing pet.

(04:08):
If your pet has an interesting birthmark or was wearing a specific collar when they were lost, or if you have some people, this is a very clever one, on the collar, you have your name, phone number and address. If you have a little password on the back, like a secret code or a pin number even, these are all ideas that the Better Business Bureau recommends. But first and foremost, microchip, microchip, microchip, microchip. Go to the vet, get it done. Even if you have an indoor animal, you never know when an unfortunate thing could happen and they escape and it wind up lost. So that is my soapbox PSA. Wow. I'm disgusted by

Speaker 2 (04:52):
That scam. It's

Speaker 1 (04:53):
Horrible. I know. And it's popping up. When I was looking through the news, I saw in, it looks like mostly the Midwest right now. I saw Green Bay, Chicago, Indianapolis, all the way down Missouri. So are they trying to get

Speaker 2 (05:05):
The reward money before they return the pet or something? Is that the

Speaker 1 (05:07):
Deal? Basically, yeah. Send me the money and we'll have somebody come bring the pet to you kind of thing. They'll say, oh, we found your animal 25 miles away, yada, yada, yada. If you send us the reward money, we're going to come drop it off. And they do not have the pet. So absolutely horrible. I don't swear on this show, but if I did, I'd be using some words.

Speaker 2 (05:34):
I would too. All right. So what

Speaker 1 (05:37):
Do you got for us Kristen?

Speaker 2 (05:38):
Hopefully something - I'm going to lift us up. Yeah, there

Speaker 1 (05:39):
We go.

Speaker 2 (05:40):
Good. I've got a happy story.

Speaker 1 (05:43):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (05:43):
What do you think is the best way to build confidence and calm nervous systems in school as we go back to school?

Speaker 1 (05:50):
Definitely

Speaker 2 (05:50):
Not math homework.

Speaker 1 (05:52):
Definitely not math homework.

Speaker 2 (05:54):
I've got a story about a therapy dog. This is from Carmel Elementary School in Maine. The fourth graders petitioned to get a therapy dog in their school and now they have one. The fourth graders are

Speaker 1 (06:06):
Organizing.

Speaker 2 (06:08):
They're organizing. They're organizing, they're volting and they were successful. They now have Enzo, a 160 pound mastiff therapy dog. Now this is interesting. Enzo is deaf - He's the size of

Speaker 1 (06:22):
Three fourth graders.

Speaker 2 (06:23):
He's like three dogs, right? He's deaf and blind and he was rescued at age one by his owner. What's his owner's name? Dawn. Dawn. And now Dawn and Enzo visit the school every, I forget what day of the week, but once a week they go for library time. Oh my

Speaker 1 (06:42):
Gosh.

Speaker 2 (06:42):
Yeah. And the fourth graders read to Enzo because. And I watched this news story on video. Maybe I'll send it to Rod so he can put it in the show notes. It was so cute. These kids were talking about how sometimes they're nervous to read in front of people, but they're much more comfortable reading in front of Enzo. And so this amazing dog who was astray and got rescued and now he's serving these kids every week. I just love this story. It's so cool. So yeah, there's a happy story and I don't know how common it is for elementary schools to have therapy dogs, but it's such a great idea.

Speaker 1 (07:18):
That is a great idea because Enzo don't judge.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
No, he

Speaker 1 (07:21):
Doesn't. Enzo don't judge. He can't read either. So it's all good. So it's all good. That is incredible. And I know Pets in the Classroom has some research around literacy rates and animals being in the classroom and have some conclusive studies showing that having an animal in the classroom increases reading engagement, comprehension and literacy. So I think it is a swell idea.

Speaker 3 (07:54):
Beyond the leash, exploring the untold stories of pet passion and professionalism.

Speaker 1 (07:59):
And it is an honor for me to introduce our next guest, Emily Strong, a behavior consultant, educator, author, and co-owner of Pet Harmony. Emily has spent more than three decades working across the animal welfare world from shelters and veterinary hospitals to wildlife rehabilitation and sanctuaries, helping pets and their people better understand one another. She's also the co-author of the highly influential book, Canine Enrichment for the Real World, which helped reshape how many pet professionals think about enrichment behavior and emotional wellbeing for our pets. Emily and the team at Pet Harmony are known for their science-based compassionate approach to behavior built around creating solutions that are effective, ethical, and empowering for both animals and humans who love them. Emily, welcome to Pets Ad Life.

Speaker 4 (08:45):
Thank you. I'm happy to be here.

Speaker 1 (08:46):
Well, we are happy to have you. And to start off for listeners or hosts who may not be familiar with Pet Harmony, what does a science-based and compassionate approach to behavior actually look like in practice?

Speaker 4 (09:01):
Well, I think a lot of people are really focused on the pets and depending on ideology and methodology, they may be focused on making the pets, alleviating whatever annoyances the pets are doing for the people or actually caring about the pet's wellbeing. But we often forget that the humans really matter and the human-animal bond is fundamental to physical, behavioral, and emotional health of everybody in the household. So we're looking at all of the research that's available to us to see how we can most effectively support everybody in the household, human and non-human, and what that behavior journey looks like that makes it sustainable and empowering for everybody, that reduces the risk of adherence fatigue, which is just the fatigue of having to pay attention to something day in and day out and making sure that, like you said in the intro, everybody understands each other.

(10:05):
So they're communicating well and on the same page. It's hard to have compassion when you can't communicate and you don't understand what that other individual is sharing with you. But we also use science just like citizen science. Okay, so we think that this strategy is going to be effective for you, but let's do some really easy sustainable data collection and find out if what we think is working is actually moving us towards our goal so we can get really tangible evidence, which I think a lot of people feel overwhelmed by when they first hear about it. But once they experience it, they're like, "This is so helpful for me to know that what I'm doing is actually effective and it's reinforcing for the human to see tangible evidence that they are making progress and things are getting better." So using science at home actually is affirming and empowering and really helps maintain morale.

Speaker 2 (11:08):
Yeah, that's fantastic. Emily, getting back to communication, one of the things you talk about a lot is moving away from the idea of bad behavior and instead asking what the need is that that animal's trying to meet. So how does that mindset shift, interpretation shift, change the relationship between us and our pets?

Speaker 4 (11:29):
Yeah, I think there's a lot of. We could have a podcast episode just about that question, but I think it kind of hits multiple points. When we're thinking of behavior moralistically, there's a feeling of frustration that our animal is somehow defective. They're morally defective. And then that unpacks a lot of feelings of shame or embarrassment that you are incapable of raising a good pet, that maybe there's some moralistic failings on your part. If your animal is so bad, what's wrong with you? But then also that mindset sort of sets people up to end up in a war of the wills with their pet. When we shift from, is this behavior good or bad to what are the unmet needs that are causing this behavior to happen? We shift into a mindset of caregiving and compassion and figuring out I'm not defective, my pet's not defective.

(12:32):
There's just a missing piece of the puzzle that we have to discover together. And that really cultivates a collaboration, which doesn't have any judgment attached to it, right?

Speaker 1 (12:44):
Yeah. Right. I want to talk a little bit about enrichment. Your book, Canine Enrichment for the Real World helped people realize enrichment goes beyond the interesting puzzle toy and the peanut butter kungs. So I want to hear straight from the horse's mouth, how do you define enrichment?

Speaker 4 (13:04):
Yeah. The short version is that we are trying to reduce harm and improve welfare and wellbeing by empowering animals to be the best version of themselves. We cultivate behavioral, physical, and emotional health so that they can live the way they were designed to live. All of us evolved to exist in a certain way. We all have species typical behaviors and when animals are able to be themselves, they thrive.

Speaker 2 (13:39):
That's true. Emily, you've worked with a really broad range of species throughout your career, parrots, pigs, snakes, and even giraffes. Have you found the fundamentals of learning and behavior are similar across species or very different?

Speaker 4 (13:57):
The fundamentals of behavior are, let's call them the mechanisms of behavior, are identical across species. Every individual operates under the same behavioral laws because behavior evolved to help us adapt to our environment. So it looks the same across species. What's different is the ethological niche that that species employs. So ethology is the study of how a species evolved to behave. Where did they grow up? What does their social structure look like? How do they communicate? How do they eat? So what they're motivated by and the species typical behaviors that they might fall back on when they don't have any other skills differs across species, but the underlying mechanisms of behavior are identical across species.

Speaker 1 (14:54):
That's really, really interesting actually. I think there's a lot of pet owners at home who may not want to seek help for behavioral issues. Maybe it's like what you were referencing before, that shame of like, "Oh, am I incapable?" But while there is a lot of similarities in the species, there is always extreme examples built by either circumstance or personality, but what are some signs pet parents can be looking for that show a pet may be struggling, actually struggling and there needs to be a significant change?

Speaker 4 (15:31):
I think that's a really good question. I tend to tell people that you get to decide whether or not you like a behavior and whether or not it's healthy for the animal to be doing. If you don't like it, we can work on how to do the behavior in a different context that works better for you. So again, the human matters, but when we're seeing that the behavior isn't serving the animal either, what I tell people is look at why does this behavior exist and are they doing it in a way that aligns with that function? So if, for example, barking is a communication tool, if the dog is using barking to communicate, okay, great. That's healthy. We can decide whether or not you like it in this context and we can work around that. But if they're communicating with their voice, they're doing fine.

(16:28):
If they're barking for hours and hours and hours, that's not communication, that's distress. We look at the behavior in the context in which it evolved to serve the animal and we ask ourselves, is the behavior serving the animal the way it evolved to, or is it being misused as a coping mechanism?

Speaker 2 (16:50):
Yeah, interesting. Speaking of that, Emily, I want to ask you a question that's kind of a seasonal issue for a lot of dog parents, and this show is airing during kind of back to school season. Maybe talk to us a little bit about why is it that our pets, and I think particularly dogs, have a difficult time when it's back to school time, when suddenly everybody was spending so much more time at home, now the kids are going to school and it's kind of quiet again. Why did some dogs have a hard time with that?

Speaker 4 (17:28):
Yeah. We think about behavioral health in terms of empowerment. The fancy word for that is agency, but empowerment is the word that most people are familiar with. Empowerment has three components, choice, control, and predictability. One of the things that creates predictability is routine. When we know what to expect from our day, and if this happens, then we know what happens next, that gives us a sense of control over, okay, I can tweak things or I can behave in a certain way to get different outcomes that I want better than the current outcome. When we lose that predictability, we lose that sense of control.

(18:15):
Anytime there's a schedule change, like back to school, summer schedule ends, school schedule starts, that predictability goes away for our pets, and that can be really distressing for them. So it's about making sure that we're preserving enough of a schedule to help them to have some familiarity between summer schedule and school schedule, but also helping them to transition by giving them really familiar safe spaces and safe routines that they know no matter how bonkers the day gets or how quiet and alone the day gets, they have access to certain spaces and activities where they do have control, choice and predictability, and they can fall back on that in moments where things maybe aren't as routine as they typically prefer.

Speaker 1 (19:11):
That's great. Yeah, really good advice. We're coming up at the end of time here, but I want to squeeze one more question in because you're such an expert and it's going to be a challenging one because I'm asking you to distill all that knowledge down into a little droplet. But if every pet owner listening today could make one simple change that would really improve their pet's quality of life and their bond, what would you tell them to go change? What would you have them do?

Speaker 4 (19:39):
Yeah, I would say give your pet the opportunity to do one thing that they evolved to do. So for dogs, their primary sense is scent. So if you give your dog the opportunity to do some scent work every day, you are likely to see a huge increase in quality of life and the ripple effect looks different for every pet, but I have yet to see that there isn't a behavioral ripple effect. Wow.

Speaker 1 (20:21):
That some great

Speaker 2 (20:21):
Advice.That's a mic drop tip. I

Speaker 1 (20:23):
Love that. Yeah. Well, we're not dropping Emily's mic. It's a really nice one, so we're going to keep that one upright. Here is the book there, Canine Enrichment for the Real World. Emily, where can we go find it if we're interested in reading?

Speaker 4 (20:40):
Dog Wise and Amazon are the two easiest spaces. We also now have it on audiobook, so you can get it wherever you can get audiobooks and we are currently working on a second edition. I don't know when that's going to come out because it's dependent on me finishing the copy.

Speaker 1 (20:56):
No, take your time. Take your time. You deserve it. All right. No rush. Thank you so much for having me. It's my pleasure having you. Thanks for having me. Thanks, Emily.

Speaker 2 (21:11):
I'm going to do that for Tulip today. I'm going to take her on a nice long sniff walk.

Speaker 1 (21:15):
Sniff walk?

Speaker 2 (21:16):
Yeah. She loves sniffing. Well, I mean, all dogs do, but

Speaker 1 (21:20):
She

Speaker 2 (21:21):
Really, really loves it. And I usually cut it short because if I let her sniff all day, she would.

Speaker 1 (21:26):
All day. All day. Yeah. Do you have a particular route you take when it's sniff walk time compared to regular walk?

Speaker 2 (21:32):
Not necessarily, but I do try to switch it up. There's two or three different paths we usually take, so I try to alter them, but maybe I should take her on a completely different walk. So it's all new sniffs.

Speaker 1 (21:44):
New scents, new smells. That sounds great. Well, I think Emily was a wealth of knowledge, so that was a great way to continue these conversations about. I really like what she talked about with back to school and

Speaker 4 (21:59):
Sort of

Speaker 1 (21:59):
The house emptying out and getting your pets used to change is. I mean, yeah, it's good for back to school, but in general, I mean, if you're moving houses or you're having a baby or any of these things that are happening in your life, I think that was some really great advice.

Speaker 2 (22:21):
All right. Join me in welcoming Dr. Ashley Hopkins, who's on a mission to make veterinary medicine a little more fun, a little more accessible, and a lot more inspiring. Dr. Hopkins is a veterinarian. She's a career coach, a founder and CEO of Hopper Vets, and one of the familiar faces behind Vet Candy. Vet Kandy is a digital media platform bringing education, entertainment, and fresh conversation to veterinary professionals around the world. Now, through her work, Dr. Hopkins has become a passionate advocate for helping veterinary professionals build sustainable, fulfilling careers while tackling some of the biggest challenges facing that profession today, which includes burnout, staffing shortages, and work-life balance. Dr. Hopkins, welcome to PetSat Life.

Speaker 5 (23:06):
Wow. Well, thank you so much, Kristen. I appreciate you running down all my accolades there.

Speaker 2 (23:13):
Well, you did it all. You did it all. I'm

Speaker 5 (23:17):
Glad to

Speaker 2 (23:17):
Be here

Speaker 5 (23:17):
Today with you guys.

Speaker 2 (23:19):
We are too. And for our listeners who are probably not familiar with Vet Candy, can you tell us a little bit about that platform and why vet medicine needed something like that?

Speaker 5 (23:29):
So Vet Candy is an online ecosystem as well as a magazine, a podcast, articles, and really for the modern vet. They have innovated how to really get people excited about veterinary medicine, informative. They offer free resources, particularly to students. I serve as their career coach. Actually, in the last magazine, I was even editor-in-chief just for that particular article. I mean, they do so much for the community and really help keep that community together, which is what we need in veterinary medicine because we have so much burnout. And so we're just all kind of spread out. We don't have as many veterinarians as even human doctors.

Speaker 1 (24:22):
Right. I want to talk about burnout actually, because we hear about it a lot from the veterinarians who come on our show, and it's a huge conversation in veterinary medicine because you have some of these veteran veterinarians telling people, "Don't go into vet medicine. It's not good for your mental health. It's not good for your physical health." But things are changing. There's things out there like Vet Candy and other career coaches trying to flip the narrative. But from your perspective, what are some of the biggest factors that contribute to it, and how are you seeing the community counteract those factors?

Speaker 5 (25:00):
Well, I mean, burnout is the major thing. I think there was an article stating that about 50% of veterinarians have said, "Hey, I don't actually recommend this." And I love my career. We love our careers. We want to stay in it. Part of it is compassion fatigue. Part of it is, unfortunately, the pay, part of it is the long hours, and really just trying to figure out how to do what we love in the career that most of us dreamt of doing since we were small children and making that work. What I think is changing is that they're really starting to focus, especially a lot of these larger massive networks on, "Hey, the veterinarian is actually a person. When we take care of the person who's taking care of our pets, then everyone benefits." And one of the things that I've done with Hopper Vets is making sure that as a platform, and what we do is we essentially matchmake hospitals with doctors for that alignment of what type of practice and what type of hours that they would like to work to make sure that we don't have the burnout.

(26:16):
If the hospital is short-staffed, we want to make sure that we bring an energized staff that can stay with them. Our model is based on retention as well. So even though you're doing relief, you'll get a relief doctor over and over again that really is in alignment with your clients as well as your staff, and they'll see them again and again.

Speaker 2 (26:40):
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. For our listeners, and maybe for veterinarians who may be listening, one thing you talk about often is that there is not just a single path to being a successful veterinarian. So how has the vet profession evolved and what opportunities exist today that probably didn't exist 10 years ago?

Speaker 5 (27:02):
Well, I mean, there are just so many types of career paths in veterinary medicine, and one of the lectures I just did was on pivoting. As veterinarians, our lives change just like anyone else. As babies are born and people move and things like that, you might want to go into telehealth, you might want to even stop clinical medicine and work on the side of the microscope. I mean, literally there's government jobs, there's academia, there's now telehealth, which is a very big one. I mean, the opportunities for veterinary medicine are really endless. Whereas I think even 10 or 20 years ago, you thought about veterinary medicine and you really just thought in practice, people would say, "Where's your practice?" And now there's many different things. There's mobile veterinarians and really entrepreneurship is a major theme in veterinary medicine that's really also helping with that burnout and compassion fatigue.

Speaker 1 (28:07):
Yeah. As a pet parent myself, I want to be helpful. I'm not a veterinarian. I'm never going to become one. I'm not nearly smart enough, but I want to be helpful. How can I, as a pet owner, do a better job of supporting the veterinary team that cares for my pet?

Speaker 5 (28:28):
I mean, really, just doing what it sounds like you probably already do, really sharing when you appreciate your experience, the support. I mean, whether it's general practice, whether it's emergency medicine, whether it's urgent care, I mean, veterinarians are really working hard to make sure that you get the longest periods in life and quality with your pets. And so to hear when I have clients go online and write positive reviews, when they just send even just a card, you don't have to send cookies, but when they send a card or just tell us, "Hey, I really appreciate what you all have done today, really from the door all the way back to the exam room, I felt like really the care and compassion that you all have, I can see it and I appreciate it."

Speaker 2 (29:26):
Yeah, that's so important that we do share that positive feedback with our vets and their staff. I think it's partly because vets are, especially in a traditional clinical practice, veterinarians are expected to be doctors, counselors, educators, and sometimes even grief support specialists all in the same appointment. So how do veterinarians, how do they manage that load and is that part of what's contributing to compassionate fatigue and burnout?

Speaker 5 (29:59):
Well, managing Th load has been one of the big things for, like you said, the burnout. Really, in my opinion, having that community, having mental health resources, having big, huge conferences like WVC Nashville, where you can really come together with your community, where you can have think tanks and say, "Hey, this is the problem that we're having. How do we solve it?" Or, "How are you all doing on that side of the country?" That's how we get to a place where we have happier veterinarians that aren't so burnt out.

Speaker 1 (30:43):
And looking ahead, there's still a lot of exciting work to be done, and I really consider you to be kind of on the cutting edge of things. Wear so many different hats and you're contributing in so many unique ways, but there's a whole new generation who's going to be joining the veterinarian community. And looking ahead, what excites you about this new generation joining that community and the changes that may be made in medicine and animal care?

Speaker 5 (31:13):
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I am excited. I mean, mentorship is a huge thing for me as well. I'm just excited for this new generation to have those fresh eyes, to really see our career from a different perspective, I think, than we've seen before, because there's so many different career options, because we now know what's contributing to the burnout and to the fatigue. Now, as we have these new veterinarians coming in and their awareness, we really can form an entire generation of a healthier veterinarian. And so I'm just so happy for Vet Candy who really helps support a lot of our early veterinarians and veterinary students and all of the different resources that we have. I think now more than ever, we just have so many different avenues where if you want to get involved, if you want help, if you want to become a veterinarian, well, we can get you there.

Speaker 2 (32:16):
Well, Dr. Hopkins, it sounds like you are in the perfect role supporting our veterinarians and our soon to become veterinarians, and we really appreciate all that you do and for sharing it with us today. Where can we learn more about what you're doing for the veterinary community?

Speaker 5 (32:31):
Well, I have a couple different platforms. My company, I'm CEO and founder of Hopper Vets, so that's hoppervets.com. You can go to Vet Candy as well. I serve as the career coach as well. And we're also on Instagram as the career coach vet. And I also have a new platform that I didn't get a chance to quite tell you guys about. I actually recently founded the National Neurodivergent Veterinary Alliance.

Speaker 1 (32:59):
Well, Dr. Hopkins, it sounds like you have a full plate and you're doing some really amazing work.

Speaker 2 (33:06):
Got it. Fantastic. Well, Dr. Hopkins, thanks so much for your time today. We'll let you get back to work. I feel like this is a great time to be a veterinarian because like we were talking about 10 years ago, they didn't have this kind of support with career coaches and so many different opportunities and an advocate like Dr. Hopkins.

Speaker 1 (33:30):
It's really great that people like Dr. Hopkins exists. I mean, it's so sad to see these passionate and intelligent people burnt out in their mid 30s. That's tough. That's tough to see. So I think things are for the better. I loved what she talked about with the next generation and some of the work she does with neurodivergent people who are in the vet space to really help them become acclimated to the community. I think all that kind of stuff is really important. So let alone actually practicing the medicine, organizing people and making them happy is so important. So thank you, Dr. Hopkins, for everything you do.

Speaker 3 (34:09):
Yeah,

Speaker 2 (34:09):
Thank you.

Speaker 3 (34:10):
The product of the week.

Speaker 1 (34:14):
It is time for our products of the week. And Kristen, you took five to go grab your product. We got props, people.

Speaker 2 (34:23):
I did. Props today. My product of the week is the wobbler. I love

Speaker 1 (34:30):
That. And

Speaker 2 (34:30):
If you're watching us on YouTube, you can see it right here. If you're not, I'll describe it. Everybody knows what a cong looks like, right? It's a little red rubber thing. Well, this is like a giant red cong and it unscrews like this and you put treats in here or kibble. I actually, this is tulips and I don't know if you can see close up. It's all beat up. She's had it for years.

Speaker 1 (34:55):
She enjoys it.

Speaker 2 (34:57):
She loves it. And what we do with this is we put her kibble, her little air dried kibbles there in there in the morning. Every morning, this is how she eats her breakfast. And it takes her about 10 to 15 minutes because she keeps knocking it and one kibble will bounce out at a time. It's very heavy on the bottom, so it just keeps wobbling all over the floor. It does make a lot of noise if it's on tile or wood floor. So you might want to put it on the carpet, but she loves it and it's a great way to treat or feed your pet, give them some enrichment. They have to use their brain. They use their body. She whacks it to get the kibble to fall out. And you know what's so cool? She knows she can hear when there's just one left and sometimes it takes like 10 or 15 whacks before the last one falls out and then she just walks away because she knows it's empty.

(35:46):
So yeah, this is just part of her daily routine and this would be great really for any dog, as I said, for treating or

(35:54):
Feeding.

Speaker 1 (35:55):
Yeah. And those kind products stand the test of time, man. They really do.

Speaker 2 (35:59):
We've had this forever and it's about $25 on Amazon. I'm pretty sure you can find this particular toy just about anywhere. So there you have it.

Speaker 1 (36:10):
That's good stuff.

Speaker 2 (36:11):
What is your product today, Chris?

Speaker 1 (36:14):
Well, we're at the end of summer for the most part here. So I figured, I know we're doing some back to school stuff, but I want one last summer recommendation here. And maybe if you live in a warmer climate, you'll get more use out of this thing. But I found this and thought it was absolutely awesome. It is a splash pad for dogs.

(36:37):
So basically it's this mat that you put down, you connect your hose to it outside and it's like a sprinkler pad that your dog can jump through and enjoy. It's only 30 bucks. It is so cute. I wish I could share the picture a little easier, but it's basically like a mat with a bunch of sprinkler heads around the outside and then a big fountain head in the middle. And as the water pressure builds up, it squirts all the water out of these holes. And I recently attended a barbecue where one of these was set up for the dogs and the toddlers, and it was the most heartwarming scene. I mean, I'm now more optimistic than I've ever been after witnessing that. My faith in the planet has been restored and I want everybody to experience that. I love that. So I found it on, I believe Petco.

(37:34):
Yes, I found it on Petco for 30 bucks. So get it while supplies last while there's still a little bit of summer left. Or if you're a little further south than I and have a few extra weeks of summer, now is your chance to grab something that both the dogs and the babies can enjoy.

Speaker 4 (37:52):
I love that.

Speaker 2 (37:55):
Q&As.

Speaker 1 (37:58):
All right, folks, it is time for our favorite part of the show. That's right. We're going to answer two burning questions from our inquisitive and interesting audience. And I know what you're thinking, inquisitive and interesting audience. How do I have my questions answered by Chris and Kristen? Well, it couldn't be easier. Head on over to pets@life.org/podcast. Scroll on down to the bottom of that page and you'll see a form to submit that question. Or if you're feeling as brave as a day one kindergartner, you can submit a voice memo and you may hear your question play live on the air. Let's work on that public speaking, folks. Come on. Anyways, we got a couple of questions here and I want to start with the question for you, Kristen, because it stays in our back to school theme. And the question comes from Jennifer, your neighbor in Charlotte, North Carolina.

(38:50):
Thank you for the question, Jennifer. Hey Jennifer. Jennifer asks, "My kids are heading back to school soon and I'm worried because our dog got so used to having everyone home all summer. What are some things we could do now to help prevent separation anxiety before the school year starts?"

Speaker 2 (39:04):
Yeah. Great question, Jennifer. Something a lot of families are thinking about right now. Depending on how much time, hopefully you have a little bit of time before school goes back. So I would say start practicing now and not wait for that first day of school. So for example, you want to do short kind of low key departures. So get your keys, step out, take the kids, go outside for a minute, but then come back in. And when you come back in, don't make a big deal about, "Hey, we're back," or anything like that. Just make the exit and the entry very low key in terms of emotion and excitement. And then gradually increase the duration that you're gone. That'll help your dog get used to you leaving with the kids and being alone in the home. And you can also give your dog something to do while you're gone.

(39:58):
So I shared Tulip's favorite Kong wobbler toy. You could do something like that, leave that behind or Kong with peanut butter or something like that. Something to keep them busy, to take their mind off of your departure. And yeah, if your dog is already showing signs of distress though as you're leaving, or if you don't have that time to do the gradual departure practices, then you probably should talk to your veterinarian and get some advice on what to look for, what kind of symptoms or signs to look for that would showcase separation anxiety and what are some other things that you might be able to do to manage it. But dogs, they're just creatures of habit. And so you just have to create some new habits, things that they can get used to, like getting a treat or a toy before you leave and maybe getting an extra long walk in the morning.

(40:54):
So they're a little pooped before you leave. Those are some other good things that you can do. So best of luck.

Speaker 1 (41:01):
Maybe play some dog TV on the TV

Speaker 2 (41:03):
While you're - Absolutely play some dog TV while you're gone. Some headset

Speaker 1 (41:06):
Life for Fido.

Speaker 2 (41:07):
Yeah, because that gives them something to listen to, to watch while you're gone and it's very enriching for them. And I think a lot of people leave the television on for their dog anyway, so you really should consider living dog TV on because it's designed for your dog specifically through the visuals and the audio.

Speaker 1 (41:28):
Yep. Yep.

Speaker 2 (41:31):
All right, Chris, I have a question for you.

Speaker 1 (41:33):
All right. Let it rip. All

Speaker 2 (41:34):
Right. This one comes from. Who's this from? Oh, David in Portland, Oregon. All right. So David says, "We recently adopted a puppy, but our resident cat isn't exactly thrilled with the new edition. What are some of the best ways to help cats and dogs learn to live together peacefully and safely?"

Speaker 1 (41:52):
That is a great question. And I've talked about a lot of different things on previous episodes, but I picked this question to answer because I want to talk about scent swapping. So before I get into that, we've talked about catifying your home, giving them their safe place, making sure they're eating in their own spot, their water's in their own spot, their litter box is in their own spot. Cats love having that sense of independence away from everybody else. Listen to all these other previous episodes we've covered on that, but I haven't really talked about what scent swapping is and how that can help. So basically the idea is these two animals don't like each other, and typically they don't like each other because they don't identify each other as part of the pack or part of the family. They view them as the same as an outsider who's inside of their home.

(42:41):
And the way animals communicate more so than anything else is through scent. I mean, dogs, that's why they're sniffing each other's butts at the park. That's why they're pulling on their leash to go towards something interesting. It's because of a scent. And cats, while they're not as social of an animal, they are functioning in a very similar way. So scent swapping is basically what I would do is I would get a soft towel or blanket and leave it, one in the puppy's room, one in the cat's room, and give them two days apart to sleep and mess with that blanket. And then after those two days, swap the blankets. And now the cat is getting used to the dog's scent and understanding that that scent is part of their home, part of their safe place, and same with the dog. And it might actually, for the dog, dogs tend to get excited obviously when they see their family members or hear them, but mostly when they experience a new scent and they see a new animal and they say, "Oh, that smells different." And they get all up in the cat's business trying to sniff it because they're like, "Oh, that's a new smell.

(43:43):
I need to get that in the smell Rolodex up in my little doggy brain." So it might actually create a calmer reaction from the dog when seeing the cat. Not a guarantee, depends a lot on your dog's personality, but it also make the cat identify the dog as part of the home. So I think that's a hint. If I have shared, it's got to be like a hundred episodes ago because I really don't recall doing it. But I think it's just one of those small little strategies and it makes you feel like you're actively doing something instead of just giving them time. You're like, okay, I'm actually trying something out here. So David, give it a whirl. Report back. Let us know how the scent swapping worked out for your growing furry family.

Speaker 2 (44:24):
Good luck, David.

Speaker 1 (44:26):
And that is it for this episode of Pets Ad Life, AKA Pal, AKA Pal Pod, the Pal Pod with Pals. Do we have other nicknames? I don't think so. The Pod Squad.

Speaker 2 (44:40):
We're the Pod Squad?

Speaker 1 (44:42):
I don't know. Pod Squad. The Pod Squad. That makes it sound like we're doing the dishes or something. I don't know. Doing the laundry. Yeah, the Tide Pods. Okay. Anyway, don't eat Tide Pods. Hug your dogs. Do not. Don't do that. We'll be back next Tuesday as always, which is crazy to think. Will next episode be in September? Is that how the -

Speaker 2 (45:03):
Yeah, it will be. Can you believe that? Yeah. So by then the kids will definitely be back in school, which means your pet will be kind of back to being alone. So make sure you take some of the advice we talked about earlier to prepare your dog for the kids going back to school.

Speaker 1 (45:18):
There we go. And we will see you next week. Bye-bye. TTFN, right? That's it. Tata for now. Pets Ad Life, your guide to the latest in pet trends, products, and the joy of the human animal bond. With Kristen Levine and me, Chris Bonifati, powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog TV.

Speaker 3 (45:40):
Pets Ad Life with Kristen Levine and Chris Bonafonte, powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog TV.

Speaker 1 (45:47):
Guess what suckers? We got a special episode for you. A big round of applause for all the winners.

Speaker 2 (45:54):
Congratulations, God. We are going to show you some of our best, funniest, smartest, greatest guests. Oh, sorry, Chris. Please go

Speaker 1 (46:02):
Ahead. You're getting right to what

Speaker 3 (46:03):
I was -

Speaker 2 (46:04):
I know, I know, I know.

Speaker 3 (46:06):
Beyond the leash, exploring the untold stories of pet passion and professionalism.

Speaker 1 (46:12):
Yeah, go to the vet. Don't ask us.

Speaker 4 (46:18):
Oh, this is our dog-shaped cat, Birdie.

Speaker 1 (46:25):
Wow. Is Chris as handsome as he sounds? Oh my

Speaker 3 (46:33):
Gosh. The product of the week.

Speaker 2 (46:40):
Because we're having so much fun together. Hopefully some bloopers. I don't know. I think bloopers might be

Speaker 1 (46:52):
In there. Bloopers? Yeah. We don't make mistakes. We don't make mistakes. There's going to be no bloopers. If you encounter a snake, don't be a Chris. Just walk the other way. Don't be a Chris. Why risk it? People with big feelings and dogs with big feelings. I think you get applied words to so many situations that I've seen.

Speaker 2 (47:10):
To allow your dog to just kind of think that you're a bit more fun than you are boring. Get it tail end. Yes. He says sometimes he wants to be a puppy again.

Speaker 3 (47:24):
Don't we all?

Speaker 2 (47:25):
He was always.

Speaker 1 (47:30):
Your step count must have been ridiculous. Insane. I'm over here. There's some days where I rack up work from home days and I'm racking up 45 steps. So I don't think I'm any further away. We already have the giggles. I'm sure that the energy's unhinge.

Speaker 2 (47:47):
Yeah, it is. The

Speaker 1 (47:47):
Energy's on hinge. Of the charts. I'm going to be an old man doing pets at life, so prepare yourself, but. Laura, chef's kiss.

Speaker 3 (47:57):
Listen to Pet's Ad Life with Kristen Levine and Chris Bonafati every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts.