137. AI in Veterinary Medicine, Upcycled Dog Food & Fear-Free Vet Visits

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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 Teeth. Hello and welcome to another episode of Pets Ad Life. I am one of your co-hosts Chris Bonafotti, and joining me as always, she's a lumberjack and that's okay. Kristen Levine.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Lumberjack. Lumberjackie.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
Lumberjackie. That was a Monty Python reference for those of you. I was from their original sketch show, Monty Python and the Flying Circus. And that's showing my age, I suppose, or what my parents were into more than likely since we had those on VHS tape. If you don't know what a VHS tape is, then you shouldn't be able to vote. I don't know. Honestly, if you don't know what a VHS tape is, you probably are too young to vote, so

Speaker 2 (01:02):
It's okay. Sure.That's a good point.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
That's a good point.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah. So it's officially fall. It's October, my favorite month. We've got a great show ahead today. Yes.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
We have purchased our first Halloween decoration of the season.

Speaker 2 (01:18):
Ooh. Oh, what is it?

Speaker 1 (01:20):
It is a three foot tall stuffed duck in a cat costume because we were in Walmart and Grayson saw it and he didn't throw a tantrum, but he refused to let it go in the cutest way. He's learning a sign language, so he was asking for more duck. Can I have more duck? And we were like, okay, yeah, I know it's $30, but it'll count as a Halloween decoration.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
There you go. There you

Speaker 1 (01:51):
Go. So we have a giant stuffed duck in our living room and that's the extent of the Halloween decor so far.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Well, it's more than we have, so you're winning that race.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
Still plenty of time. The leaves are just starting to turn. When do your leaves turn down there in North Carolina?

Speaker 2 (02:12):
They've actually already started. Believe it or not, they started changing toward the end of August, just subtly. But now that we're in October, they are full on mid-change.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
It must be that mountaineer.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
Oh yeah.

Speaker 1 (02:27):
Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Well, I hope everyone is staying nice and cozy. Speaking of cozy, we've got a cozy and familiar show format for you. All two guests, two stories, two products. And at the end, we're going to answer two of your questions. So without further ado, let's go ahead and jump into storytelling.

Speaker 3 (02:49):
Kristen and Chris present Story Time.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
All right, Kristen, it is story time.

Speaker 2 (02:59):
It is.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
Should we flip a coin?

Speaker 2 (03:01):
Sure. Heads or tails.

Speaker 1 (03:04):
I don't have a coin.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
I don't either. All right.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
I'll go first. Okay,

Speaker 2 (03:08):
You can go first.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
That's the coin flip. I'll go first. If you know me, Kristen, you know I love fried chicken. And I love chicken fingers. Yeah, come on. I mean, who doesn't? It's fried chicken. And one of my favorite chicken shops is Raising Cane's. And this is just another little feel good story. Very recently, Raising Cane's, they're going to be celebrating, how many years is it? 30th, their 30th birthday. And they decided to commit $30 million to animal welfare to celebrate their 30th birthday. So this is actually a pretty cool story. Their first location is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and that place, they call it the mothership. So it's like more than just a Raising Cane's, but they're doing a pop-up museum, a free admission, behind the scenes views of the brand and everything. But they've also committed $30 million over the next 10 years to pet welfare organizations supporting pets and the communities that love them.

(04:18):
Raising Cane's founder, what's his name? Todd Graves has also personally, so this is just his money, his pocket change, made a $20 million pledge to Rewild, which is Leo DiCaprio's Wildlife Conservation. So if you managed to check this thing out while it was open, I think by the time this airs, it was a pop-up, so it was open for a week, not even. So you've probably missed the pop-up, but maybe those out there in Baton Rouge checked it out. But I really just wanted to highlight how awesome it is when people use their platforms and big events to highlight the needs in their communities and the work that they went through to find certain organizations and spread the love instead of that 30 million is not going to one organization, it's going to a whole bunch of in need organizations. I don't have the exact list in front of me, but it says 10 plus animal welfare organizations.

(05:16):
So they're spreading the love, making sure everybody's getting some attention and doing some really good work. So if you are a Raising Cane's fan like myself, you could eat your next Tendee meal guilt-free knowing that your purchase is helping to support some of these initiatives. Wow.

Speaker 2 (05:35):
I wish we had one of those near me because I'm a van

Speaker 1 (05:38):
Now. I know. It's really good too. I'm probably going to get flack for this because there's always haters out there, but I really like Raising Cane's chicken fingers. And people are always like, "It's not as good as Chick-fil-A, it's not as good as..." Let me have some joy, okay?

Speaker 2 (05:52):
Th's right. Let

Speaker 1 (05:52):
Me look at the chicken fingers. It doesn't hurt anybody. Not hurting anybody by liking the chicken fingers. Geez.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
Oh my goodness. Well, that is an awesome story. I love to hear that.

Speaker 1 (06:02):
Yes, it's good stuff.

Speaker 2 (06:03):
So my story this week is kind of on the AI side. I pulled this from the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. This is a study just published by the North Carolina State University. So what they did was they put an AI enabled digital stethoscope up against two different groups of people. One group was fourth year veterinary students and then another group of experienced veterinary cardiologists. So big difference in level of education in cardiology. So what they did is they evaluated 105 animals, 54 dogs, 51 cats for heart murmurs and arrhythmias. And this AI device caught the heart murmurs pretty well in dogs, but in cats it did not do so well. Of the 22 cats that a cardiologist confirmed had a murmur, the AI device only flagged two of those. It really struggled with arrhythmias in both species and this part kind of surprised me.

(07:11):
The fourth year vet students didn't do much better than the AI stethoscope. So the point here is that obviously experienced clinicians, they've had tremendous amount of additional experience, not only schooling, but also in practice. So they beat both groups obviously. But the takeaway here isn't that AI devices don't have a place in the exam room. It's just a great highlight that these devices need to be validated not just in human physiology, but they need time to be validated in veterinary specific situations and species specific situations. So even though it pretty much bombed the test, not to fear, it just means we need to spend a lot more time training these devices on the actual species that they're going to be used on. And no disrespect to the fourth year vet students, they have not got specialized training in cardiology, but I just though it was really interesting that they're starting to implement and train these devices for the exam room.

Speaker 1 (08:27):
Still can't beat mankind though. That's right. Still can. Stupid machines.

Speaker 2 (08:34):
Veterinary cardiologists, your jobs are safe.

Speaker 1 (08:37):
Yeah. They're like practically they're the John Henrys. Wasn't it John Henry who beat the mining machine in the myth? Yes. Yes, yes. John Henry's there in the vet world. So try again machines. We'll be here waiting.

Speaker 3 (08:54):
Beyond the leash, exploring the untold stories of pet passion and professionalism.

Speaker 2 (08:59):
All right. I am delighted to introduce our guest today. She's spent more than two decades helping shape not only how we care for our pets, but where veterinary medicine is headed next. Dr. Natalie Marks is a nationally recognized veterinarian, educator, media expert and entrepreneur. She's a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Vet Medicine, and she spent nearly 20 years at Chicago's Bloom, I believe it's pronounced Bloom Animal Hospital, where she was a co-owner and she helped lead the practice to become the first fear-free certified vet hospital in the state of Illinois. That's really cool. She's also the CEO of VANE, which stands for the Veterinary Angel Network for Entrepreneurs, where she helps support and advance innovation in animal health. And she wears a lot of hats. She's also the chief veterinary officer of OpenVet and a certified veterinary journalist. She's been seen on shows like The Today Show at CBS Evening News.

(09:56):
So with all of that, we would love to welcome Dr. Natalie Marks. Thanks for joining us.

Speaker 4 (10:02):
Thank you so much. Such a kind welcome. Glad to be here.

Speaker 2 (10:05):
Oh, well, we're delighted to have you. We know you're busy and there's so many different things we could talk about, but let's just kick it off with the fact that you've been in veterinary medicine for more than 20 years. If you compare the way that we cared for pets when you started to the way we care for them today, what are some of the biggest changes that you've witnessed?

Speaker 4 (10:27):
Well, thank goodness. We're seeing a lot of progression because how I practiced over 20 years ago today, there's been a lot of needed advancements. So a few things I think that stand out to me. One is the advent and recognition of pain in dogs and cats. And I practice companion, so I'll stick to that, but certainly it's been in livestock and equine and poultry and lots of other species as well. But the recognition of pain, how these dogs and cats show us pain, as well as early intervention of pain therapy. We many, many decades ago would say, no, we don't give pain meds after surgery because we want our animals still. Thank goodness. Again, that myth has been busted and we are very, very proactive with pain control, not just for acute pain, but also chronic pain. The second thing I would say is the recognition of emotional health of pets.

(11:25):
So when we treat pets now, we don't just treat their physical health, but we also have concerns around fear, anxiety, and stress and how that affects their behavior and their physical health. As we know what stress does to humans and inflammation does to humans, the same thing translates to our pets. So how do we recognize that and how do we try to either treat and/or prevent that both at the veterinary hospital, but certainly for home as well? And I would say the third thing, which is still kind of gaining steam, but certainly starting to be much more prevalent is screening. So we know veterinary medicine was built on preventive care, vaccinations, parasite prevention, so on and so forth, but also being much more personalized in screening, not just you have a dog, but you have a hunting dog who lives in this region of the country and is this age and this breed.

(12:22):
So we should be looking for these diseases earlier than before. So that's not just blood work and urine, but that's also genetic testing that's coming as well as some of the new diagnostics that are out there to help identify disease earlier so that we can have a better chance of treating it, not just more successfully, but also more economically. So I think those are probably the big three things that I've seen change and again, a very welcome improvement.

Speaker 1 (12:48):
Yeah, that's all really great stuff. And I want to hone in on that second thing you mentioned, that sort of emotional care and talking about fear-free. And I think all our pet parent listeners at home in their perfect world, their animal would be fear-free, but that's not always the reality, especially when going to the vet. I recently had to take my brother's cat to the vet and just getting the cat into the carrier required all my strength and willpower. So for pet parents who may be struggling with an animal who's terrified of going to the vet, what can they do to make it a, maybe let's just call it a less stressful experience?

Speaker 4 (13:31):
Sure. And you mentioned one of the biggest reasons that we don't see as many cats is the stress of getting them in a carrier. So let me start there because it's probably the easiest place for pet parents and cat caregivers to make some immediate changes. One is we have to train cats that the cat carrier is not what gets pulled out 10 minutes before from a cold garage full of leaves and pee from the last terrified visit, and that the cat is now being shoved into a carrier and transported in a loud car to a place that they're not familiar with. I mean, that thought alone, I think for most people is probably not welcome, and most cat parents don't have a great experience if that's how it starts. So we want to make sure that the cat carrier is part of the furniture, that it's out in a space that humans in the house tend to congregate.

(14:21):
So a living room, family room, kitchen, that it's always the door is open, that we have a preferred texture in the bottom. Cats love fleece, so having a fleece blanket in the bottom, pheromones, which are synthetic compounds that cats secrete cat to cat and humans give to other humans, which are calming signals. We now have those that can be in sprays or plugins that you can use around that carrier so that they feel a sense of safety and security, feeding treats and even their dinner or breakfast in there and allowing that cat to choose that space as this place of safety and security versus stress and fear. So those are all things that can be done at home today. Even if you're listening, get that cat carrier out. Even if you don't have a visit scheduled for six months, this is the time to work on it.

(15:07):
For some cats where they already have imprinted fear, talk to your veterinarian about some of the therapies that we can prescribe to help reduce that anxiety. A lot of people do this before flights or afraid of heights or even going to the dentist. We do the same for our cats and dogs.

Speaker 2 (15:25):
Yeah, that's great advice. I want to shift gears a little bit because of your work in veterinary innovation. Let's talk a little bit about AI. Artificial intelligence is entering veterinary medicine just as quickly as it's entering human medicine. Where do you think AI can genuinely make veterinary care better and where do you think we need to be cautious about it?

Speaker 4 (15:49):
Well, I think with everything in AI, no matter what industry you are in and human health, the FDA has put out quite a bit of guideline around AI use. There's a few things that have to happen before we even start to engage with an AI platform or device or diagnostic app, whatever you want to call it. The first thing is the validation. So anything that's trained on an AI algorithm, you want to investigate and be very curious about how was this created? What is the database used? What's the sources that are used? How many samples were trained on this model and were those samples appropriate for the training? There's quite a few of those kind of bulleted checklist items to investigate before validation. And so for veterinarians that are using AI, we do something like that. For a pet parent who's thinking about, I want to use an app that involves AI screening of poop through a camera, let's just say, again, you should be able to contact that group and ask about how was this trained?

(16:52):
Was this trained on three samples of the same one animal's poop or was this trained on 500 different animals in different regions of the country and different breeds and ages so that it's a more robust model? The second thing is that with any source of AI, again, I mentioned how important the database is. So if you're going to an AI source that's generating hallucinations, so as an example, there was a large study that came out on ChatGPT for people asking veterinary advice and it hallucinated over 57% of the time. So for pet parents, you need to be cognizant of the source that I'm going to, how accurate is it, and what are they using to cite as resources for this information? Now, ChatGPT is very aware of this and they're working hard to create a much more robust sense of knowledge. But until that happens, just like with human medicine, and it's not just that model, there's lots of large learning models that are not trained specifically on healthcare information, you have to take it with a grain of salt and really be curious about the accuracy of it.

(18:05):
Whereas if you're going to a university vet school site or you're going to PetMD or some of the other more established sites for information, Fearfree Happy Homes is a pet-facing one for Fear Free, that information has already been vetted, no pun intended, to be accurate resources for you. And so what we're trying to do as veterinarians and what our thought leadership is doing within some of the groups I'm in is responsible use of AI. What are those guardrails? There's always a human in the loop. The human needs to be there. And how can we start using AI again to automate some of the manual tasks that don't require full human oversight, just needs a human checkoff and doing our diligence on these new applications to make sure that we have large sample sizes and the model is trained so that the validation is real and the sources are real.

(19:03):
So I'm learning alongside everyone, certainly preaching for responsible use of AI in all industries really.

Speaker 1 (19:13):
It sounds a lot like when you're using an AI assistant or LLM for advice, any medical advice or any advice at all, it's the same thing as if you're getting your advice from TikTok or Instagram, know the source. Where is this person or AI getting the information from and follow it, follow it and follow it. But of course, if it's coming from Pet's ad life, you know it's reliable. Dr. Marks, we are coming up on time. This has been eye-opening and enlightening, but I want to give you a chance to let our listeners know where they could find you if they're interested in learning more.

Speaker 4 (19:51):
Sure. Probably the easiest place is LinkedIn. I do a lot of posting and information there. If you're interested in what's new up and coming with innovation and technology, you can visit vane.vet, V-A-N-E.vet, as in veterinarian. We have a website full of all the portfolio companies that we support that are early on in creating new technology and innovation for pets all around the world. And certainly if you're interested in what's happening with AI, the company I'm involved in, OpenVet, has created a clinical intelligence platform to talk about that. So you can go to openvet.ai, responsible use of AI. So would love to connect and certainly don't forget, again, physical and emotional health of pets. There's an awesome website, Fear Free Happy Homes, which has all of the things I talked about today, many more of how to keep your pets fear free as much as possible at home.

Speaker 2 (20:44):
Fantastic. Thank you so much, Dr. Marks.

Speaker 4 (20:47):
Thank you for having me.

Speaker 2 (20:52):
Wow. Do you realize we only got through three questions with Dr. Marks?

Speaker 1 (20:58):
Well, it's because every single time I wanted to ask a question, she answered it. Exactly. I think there was some telepathy going on. She was reading my mind.

Speaker 2 (21:07):
She did such a great job of comprehensively answering each and every question. And

Speaker 1 (21:12):
Then some. I love the take on AI. And like everybody out there, hey, Dr. Marks says, stay curious, stay questioning, go down to the source. Anything that I say on this show, who knows where it came from, okay? You got to drill down until somebody with a real degree is telling you the same information. Take it all at face value. I'm an entertainer before an educator. And same with 90% of those influencers you see on TikTok and Instagram. And think about it this way, these LLMs, your ChatGPTs, your clauds, they're trained on the internet and the internet is often wrong. Yes, that's true. So be sure to make sure -

Speaker 2 (21:56):
Comforting to know that she is a part of one of the people that is kind of spearheading the innovation of these platforms for use in the veterinary field.

Speaker 1 (22:07):
Only you can prevent Skynet. All right, folks, our next guest is here to talk about a fascinating idea. What if we could make better use of our food supply, reduce waste, and create new opportunities for the pet industry at the same time? Well, Eric Adams has the answer. It's the founder and CEO of Dog and Whistle Pet Wellness Company. After a career in culinary arts and restaurant management, Eric saw firsthand how much perfectly good food was being discarded and began exploring how nutritious ingredients that might otherwise go unused could be given a second life. Today, Dog and Whistle creates chef-inspired dog meals and treats with upcycled ingredients, combining Eric's passion for dogs, food, and sustainability. Eric has a long history with the organization known as the Upcycled Food Association, a non-for-profit organization working to reduce food waste by growing the upcycled food economy. So he's on both sides of this whole thing.

(23:10):
He's even served on the Upcycled Food Association's board of directors. So Eric, thank you so much for joining us, keeping our plates clean and our animals healthy. Thank you. It is a pleasure to have you on the show.

Speaker 5 (23:24):
Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure to be here.

Speaker 1 (23:26):
Absolutely. So I worked in restaurants myself before starting this career, and I saw it too. A lot of food goes to waste and you ask if you could just eat it and then they tell you that it's got to be your shift meal and you got to pay half price and that's all the BS. But hey, we won't get into that. What I want to talk about is the opportunity that exists with this waste. And so when did you first realize that this restaurant food waste is a great way to feed our pets?

Speaker 5 (24:01):
Oh, for sure. Thank you so much for that great question. So the idea of dog and whistle in terms of what you see of the company right now actually started, this was about, I want to say about six years ago, about six, seven years ago. So I was working for a corporation who had a sustainability program in place where they would take non-consumable foods and put it in different colored bins and then send it out to the pig farm. So this is a really big corporation, casino corporation, and the initiative was there because there was a sustainability program that incorporated oyster shells. There was a sustainability program that incorporated non-consumable food waste. But then when we had the October 1st shooting that happened here in Las Vegas, there were a lot of restaurants within that casino that had to close down because there just wasn't any space.

(24:58):
There was no conventions that was going on. So as those freezer spaces just kind of went dormant and full, we were forced to really throw a lot of food away. So as that happened, that's kind of where the aha moment started. It's like, wait a minute, what if we can take perfectly good food that's been thrown away, that hasn't been consumed, that is consumable, but kind of utilize that towards the pet industry or how can we involve Dog and Whistle to what you see as it is today? Hence is how Dog and Whistle from the upcycled world was born. And I thought that it was a very genius idea like, oh my God, we're rescuing foods from distributors and restaurant partners and offsetting food waste. And I remember putting it on LinkedIn and one of my good friends from a prior casino was like, oh, let me introduce you to this person.

(25:55):
And then this person introduced me to the Upcycled Food Association. So when I tell you mind blown saying, oh my God, wait, there's an association or there's another world of people that actually are trying to do what we're doing, it was just a huge opportunity in terms of being around like-minded people, but also learning too.

Speaker 2 (26:16):
Okay. Well, let's talk some about dog and whistle. So you approach pet food as a chef as well as an entrepreneur. How does somebody that's trained to think about flavor, ingredients and sourcing for human food, how do you translate that knowledge and that experience into creating pet food?

Speaker 5 (26:36):
Yeah, so it's actually all in the same, I feel like. A lot of people look at me crazy when I say it at first, but when we have a plate in front of us, I think the first thing that we do is we look at it from a visual standpoint. We're like, oh man, this steak looks amazing and steak and different accompliments that's right next to it, and then you just smell it. You can smell the aroma. But with our pets, the first thing they're going to do is they're going to smell it. And you as a pet parent, you're probably going to smell it too, just like, let me see what this smells like. And once you captivate their smell, then you have them hooked because then they're more inclined to actually try that treat or try that meal. So that's kind of where we wanted to create that experience for your pet to where they can actually smell it.

(27:31):
And then you as a pet parent, you can actually see those ingredients because I know a lot of things in the pet world now, there's a lot of mixtures, it's a lot of mix here and there, so you really can't identify those ingredients. We wanted to just evolve that experience for you as a pet parent where if it says broccoli, you're going to see pieces of broccoli in it, you're going to see chicken breasts, you're going to see things of that nature. So it's easier for us to process because in the world of pet food, sometimes it could be the wild, wild west, you don't know what you're going to get in certain meals and things of that nature. So we wanted to just do our part to just bring transparency, full identification of our ingredients.

Speaker 1 (28:17):
That's really interesting and it completely proves one of my domestic disputes at home with my wife where I need bright lights on when I eat. I can't eat in the dark because I got to see my food. So now I seem a lot less crazy and hope if you're listening to this, I'm right and you're wrong. That's right. Before I end up murdered back in my home -

Speaker 5 (28:41):
Don't do it. Please don't do it. Why if you don't do it?

Speaker 1 (28:46):
We got you on a show coming out soon called, I believe it's called Can My Dog Eat This? It's going to be coming out in dog TV. Do you want to give us a little rundown of what we could expect from this awesome program?

Speaker 5 (28:59):
Oh my God. When I tell you I'm super excited. So yes, Can My Dog Eat This? It is a 24 episode short form video series that we are literally just answering those questions for you. Can my dog eat this? So instead of you having to go on your search bar on the Google or the different AI platforms and saying, "Can my dog eat such and such?" This is our way of actually just having that personable, real experience in terms of, "Can my dog eat this?" And it's super fun and super educational in a quick period of time because myself and Dr. Aza, I remember when we were kind of bouncing this idea like, "Okay, what can we do? How can we present the idea?" Because originally I wanted to do a cooking show. I'll be honest with you, I though it would've been super, like a chop style show.

(29:53):
But we said, "You know what? What is one of the things that a lot of pet parents kind of ask those questions? Dogs eat this. So as the pet parent is, as more Gen Zers, millennials are becoming more pet parents, we want to provide them with the tools that way they feel comfortable knowing, okay, my dog could have a piece of melon or my dog could have brown rice. But we also want to note that build your relationship with your veterinarian. We are only providing the top line tools and saying that, yes, your dog could have a piece of melon, but you may want to look at it in moderation. But also just ensure that it fits within their diet because diets could be very tricky. But just one more thing just to add about the show. I am a huge hip hop head and there's a fun Easter egg in the show.

(30:45):
So if there's a point in time where we have our title screen and the music that's playing, but that point where myself and Dr. Aza were actually speaking and they show different visuals, there's a beat that's playing. And for all the hip hop heads out there, that beat was actually created by Grammy Award winning producer Hitboy. He's based out of California. He's worked with Beyonce, Jay-Z, and I literally begged him for that beat. I literally begged him and his manager for that beat because we met at a convention here in Las Vegas tonight and he made it on stage and I was like, "Can I have that beat please?" And I just kept bugging him and kept bugging him. Please. Please. I love it. I can say I could have a beat by Hit Boy. So me and Jay-Z and Beyonce have something in common.

Speaker 2 (31:43):
Awesome. Awesome. That's

Speaker 1 (31:44):
Amazing. There's the beat. Well, Eric, we're coming up at the end of time. Why don't you let all of our pet parents at home know where they can learn more about your programs, follow you on social media, learn more about your story.

Speaker 5 (31:59):
Yeah, absolutely. So our social media is at Dog and WhistleCo on all social media channels. Our website's www.dogandwhistle.com. And then you can watch Can My Dog Eat This on Dog TV, which is super fun. I also, just before we end out, I just want to say thank you to everybody at the team at DogTV for giving me this opportunity as not only a Black founder, but as a male in the pet space to bring awareness in terms of upcycling because that is something that is really important to not only my culture, but then also to our movement within the pet world.

Speaker 2 (32:44):
Fantastic. Awesome.

Speaker 1 (32:45):
Well thanks so much

Speaker 2 (32:46):
For joining us today.

Speaker 1 (32:46):
Thanks for coming on the show.

Speaker 5 (32:48):
Thank you so much for having me. Have a great day.

Speaker 1 (32:52):
Eric was an absolute gem and I love that the name of the show is just Can My Dog Eat This because that is the ultimate question, right? That is the ultimate question.

Speaker 2 (33:03):
How many times a day do you think that or do you ask that? Can my dog eat this? I love it. I love it. And great guy, great entrepreneur. And I learned a lot about upcycle food too.

Speaker 1 (33:14):
Yeah. And the pet industry has a steeped history in upcycling. I mean, the pet industry is considered a sustainable industry because our pets consume a lot of the parts of the animals that we find unsavory. Things like chicken hearts and beef liver and things like that that we don't normally eat, but when an animal is butchered, all of its parts are available. So I love the fact that Eric is taking this to a whole nother level and rescuing produce from restaurants and trying to incorporate that into treats and taking care of your animal's health. It is the way the world should be.

Speaker 3 (33:55):
The product of the week.

Speaker 1 (33:57):
All right, Kristen, it's time for our products of the week and I'll be a kind and chivalrous man and allow you to kick things off.

Speaker 2 (34:08):
Well, thank you. You're such a gentleman. Okay. So the reason I chose this product of the week, actually there's two reasons because one of the trends in the pet industry with products is we know how important probiotics are, but prebiotics are also becoming very important and we're learning more about them.

Speaker 1 (34:29):
I don't know the difference between the two. I straight up do not know the difference between the two.

Speaker 2 (34:34):
But the real reason I chose this product is because I read one of the very first five stars reviews and it said magical poop. And I was like, okay, well who doesn't want magical poop for their dog? So this week's product of the week is from Animal Biome and it's got a long name. I'll explain what it means. It's called S. Boulardi and FOS powder supplement for dogs and cats. So the S. Bulardi is a probiotic yeast. It's not a bacteria. And the great thing about it is it survives stomach acid and antibiotic use. So even if your pet is on an antibiotic, it's not going to kill off those probiotic yeast.This is to maintain a healthy gut biome, particularly if your pet has had some stomach issues or pancreatitis or something that's caused a lot of vomiting and diarrhea where you're trying to reestablish a healthy gut biome.

(35:29):
But it is also combined with FOS, which is a prebiotic fiber that feeds beneficial gut bacteria. So as I said, it helps to regulate stool frequency and firmness. All the important stuff. It also supports skin health and it combats yeast overgrowth, which can be a thing in pets. And all you have to do is mix it into their food at mealtime. You do want to refrigerate it after you open it for the first time. And of course, as with any supplement, you really should check with your vet first to make sure that that supplement is the right one for your pet. But I noticed that when we travel, we're traveling right now with tulip, her stool tends to be different when we travel. And I think it's because of a little bit of travel anxiety, maybe a little bit of different diet and that sort of thing.

(36:24):
So this is one of those products that can help you establish and maintain a healthy gut biome. There we go. So you can find that on Chewy, Amazon or the Animal Biome website. So I hope you have a less poopy product of the week.

Speaker 1 (36:39):
I do. As a matter of fact, I'm on a bit of a sustainability kick from some of our recent conversations and we don't talk a lot about bird products. So I wanted to highlight a bird product here from Beaktivity and I love Beativity. Beaktivity, they've been around for a while. They win all sorts of stuff at new product showcase and best in show for Global Pet Expo. But the reason I love their products is they don't use plastic at all. No plastic. So these are bird toys. You hang them in the cage and essentially their system is a metal clasp and then a bearing and a metal cross and a bunch of things you hook into the cross. There's a bunch of holes in it. Think like those Lego connects pieces that you use to make hexels and stuff. And everything on these strands that you sort of hook into it is made out of soft wood or wicker or recycled cardboard.

(37:37):
And they're meant to sort of be destroyed. Birds like to peck and chew and crunch just like any other animal. In fact, it's necessary to maintain beak health and claw talon. I don't know. They're technically talons, right? Isn't that what you would call? Isn't that like the scientific term? I don't know. They're little fetzies. I think so. They're little need little scratches, just like cats, just like dogs. It's the same exact thing. But instead of getting them plastic that they're going to tear up and then you're going to throw away, this is all 100% organic and recycled materials. So the wood is nice and soft. It's the exact sort of thing these birds will be seeking out in nature. And then on top of it, the toy itself, the metal part, you keep and you could buy refill packages that just sell the wooden parts that you use to refill the strands.

(38:26):
As things get destroyed, you could get a small little refill package, you could get a big one, whatever you need. I just think it's a great little system. It comes in all sorts of sizes and they've got all sorts of stuff. The prices range for a starter set to get everything all in one. Looks like from $80 up to 130, but you could also go a la carte. There's all sorts of stuff on here, but I just think it's a great marriage. That sounds

Speaker 2 (38:52):
Really smart.

Speaker 1 (38:53):
Yeah. It's good enrichment. You should be giving your birds toys. It's good instinct sort of mollification. We talk about the scratching board for cats, how that's an important part of their health. This is the same thing for birds and it's a nice sustainable product so you feel good spending your dollars there. Beativity has been around for a while, so it's good stuff that you could rely on. So check it out. You could buy straight from their website. So I've gone ahead and linked some examples in your show notes.

Speaker 3 (39:24):
Q&As.

Speaker 1 (39:26):
All right, Kristen, it's time for our favorite part of the show. That's right. We're going to answer two questions from our lovely, lovely, lovely audience. And if you're wondering, lovely audience, how do I have my question answered by Chris and Kristen? Well, it could not be more simple. Head on over to petsadlife.org/podcast. Scroll on down to the bottom of that page and you will see a form to submit your question. Or if you are feeling as brave as somebody eating upcycled mystery meat, you can record a voice memo and you may hear your question played live on this show. Woo-hoo. All right, Kristen. Yeah. I mean, it would be pretty cool if you recorded a voice memo people. Just saying. All right. I've got somebody who did not record a voice memo, but did submit a question from Minneapolis and her name is Megan. Megan asks, "My dog is wonderful at home, but the second someone rings the doorbell, he completely loses it.

(40:25):
Barking, jumping, running to the door. Is this excitement, fear or protective behavior? And how could I teach him to react more calmly when people come over?"

Speaker 2 (40:34):
Oh my goodness, Megan. I feel your pain because I have the same kind of dog. Ms. Tulip, she's so protective and if somebody comes to the door, if UPS pulls up, she just goes crazy. But we have been working on something, so I'm going to tell you what we've been doing that's been helping out a little bit. But first of all, just to kind of explain this behavior, when the doorbell rings, it's usually for the dog. It's a blend between excitement and also a little bit of alarm. And if you think about it, the doorbell predicts something that's kind of unpredictable for the dog because at our house, when the doorbell rings, it could mean the UPS guy just dropped a box off and then he leaves, which I wish he wouldn't do that. It could mean that a neighbor's coming over and you don't know who's going to be at the door.

(41:25):
So the dog's whole body kind of revs up before they even know what's on the other side. So you don't want to punish that barking. Rather, you want to give your dog a different job to do when that happens. So what we've started to do, and this was based upon talking to Tulip's dog trainer, is when she starts to bark after the doorbell rings, I acknowledge that she has alerted me to the fact that somebody's at the door. I thank her and then I tell her to go to her bed. And what we did is we put a bed in the foyer. It's not right by the front door, it's a little bit further away. And when she goes to her bed, she gets a special treat. And I have to walk around the house with treats in my pocket because this happens quite frequently, but she's getting the hang of it.

(42:10):
We've been doing it for about three or four weeks. We're traveling now, so I'll probably have to kind of redrain her to do this when we get home. But it's almost like she feels like she did her job because she let me know somebody was at the door and now she's being rewarded by going to her bed and getting a treat. So as I said, you don't want to punish them, rather try to redirect that behavior. And rather than waiting for this event to happen, it's a good idea if you can have a friend or your spouse or your partner, whoever help you train the dog to do this by intentionally going out, ringing the doorbell and practicing it in a more controlled environment to get your dog to do that.

Speaker 1 (42:50):
Practice makes

Speaker 2 (42:51):
Perfect. Absolutely. You stole my line there. I was just going to say consistency is going to be the key there. And if you don't have any luck with that, then I suggest that you talk to your veterinarian or even reach out to a behaviorist that can maybe help you understand if there's a real significant fear issue going on due to that barking. So good luck, Megan.

Speaker 1 (43:15):
Good luck.

Speaker 2 (43:16):
Now, Chris, I have a question for you from Brian in beautiful San Diego.

Speaker 1 (43:23):
All right.

Speaker 2 (43:23):
Brian says, "We have a small freshwater aquarium and I've always wondered how you could actually tell if a fish is happy and healthy. Since they can't show discomfort in the way a dog or cat might do, what changes in swimming, eating appearance or behavior should fish owners be watching for?" I don't think we've ever had that question

Speaker 1 (43:44):
Before. Yeah, it's a great question. And I actually think there's a flaw in your premise in saying that fish can't show discomfort the way cats and dogs can. In fact, I would say noticing a signs in your fish is very similar to your cat because cats hide their symptoms all the time. So we're looking for the same stuff. So I feel very comfortable answering this question because it's just like a cat. The healthy signs for a fish, are they actively swimming around just like the cat? Are they getting their zoomies in? Are they getting their exercise in? Are they using all of their fins? Are they eating? When you give them the food, do they eat it on up? They should be eating relatively quickly during feeding time. Do they look healthy to your eyes? Are their colors bright? Are their eyes clear? Are their scales nice and smooth?

(44:36):
Are they nice and clean? They should look beautiful. They're nice, beautiful fish. And you could actually observe their gills, maybe not if they're tiny little guppy fish or betas, but on some larger fish. I know you said small aquarium, so you probably don't have this, but maybe, maybe, maybe if you have good eyesight, you could see their gills calmly moving in and out as they breathe. And it's just like your cat or your dog or us people, they should be breathing at a nice steady rate and nice and steady, nice and steady. So now let's look at the opposite. The opposite is if they're swimming real weird. Are they going sideways? Literally sideways. Are they simply sinking themselves to the bottom? Are they constantly rubbing up against things? Are they not eating? Do they look different? Are there torn fins? Are there these little white spots or fuzz?

(45:28):
That could be the ick. Or are they hiding all the time or gasping for air? It's the same thing. Know your fish, know what they should look like, observe your fish every day as you should. They're your pet. Take them in, observe their behavior and the way they look. And when things change, you know something's wrong. And then at that point, I would probably... The veterinarian, it's always so weird because it's like you can't really take a fish to the vet. But if you are purchasing your products from a hobby store, an aquarium specialty store, and I would say take some pictures of your fish if you think they look a little weird and bring it into the hobby store and say, "This is what's happening." They probably have the product for you, whether it's you have to clean the tank more often or some type of supplement or additive to the water that you may need to be taking into consideration.

(46:21):
I would say that's a good place to start receiving some specific guidance.

Speaker 2 (46:27):
Boy, you've got great fish sense.

Speaker 1 (46:29):
They call me Aquaman. That's what they do. They call me Christopher Aquaman Bonafati. And with that, we'll close our show because yeah, once I start going aquaman mode, we know we have to wrap things up.

Speaker 2 (46:42):
That's right.

Speaker 1 (46:43):
I hope everybody -

Speaker 2 (46:45):
I was going to say, speaking of Aquaman, you have about three weeks left to find your pet's Halloween costume.

Speaker 1 (46:51):
Oh yeah. Dress your fish up as Aquaman. If anybody manages to do that, I want to see a picture, and I'm going to run that through the AI detector every single time. But let's start a little October challenge. Send in your pet's Halloween costumes as they're trying them on and such. We want to see it. DM us, throw it in the comments, do whatever it takes to get your friendly fuzzies and their excellent Halloween costumes in front of our eye holes. And maybe we'll do something special with that down the line. Ron decided to abandon us, so I can't

Speaker 2 (47:23):
Write that down. I was not here so we can decide to

Speaker 1 (47:25):
Get with prices. We make a promise that for a Halloween special, if we get some submissions, maybe we'll show your pet on camera. So send those in. Take care of yourself. Happy, happy, happy October. Enjoy the fall weather and we'll see you back here next week.

Speaker 4 (47:41):
Bye-bye.

Speaker 1 (47:43):
Pets Ad Life, your guide to the latest in pet trends, products, and the joy of the human animal bomb with Kristen Levine and me, Chris Bonafati, powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog TV.