32. @WhatAboutBunny the Talking Dog and Holistic Dog Training

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00:00:00:02 - 00:00:14:17
Voice Over
Pets add life. Your guide to the latest in pet trends, products and the joy of the human animal. Bond, with Kristin Levine and Chris Bonifati powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog TV.

00:00:14:19 - 00:00:21:03
Kristen
Welcome to another edition of the Pets Add Life podcast. It's October, Chris, can you believe that?

00:00:21:09 - 00:00:36:09
Chris
I know it's it's October 1st. Spooky season is officially here. I'm taking the skeletons out of the closet. I'm taking. I'm take putting the cobwebs back up and buying candy in bulk. I'm eating apple cider every.

00:00:36:09 - 00:00:37:10
Kristen
Time of year.

00:00:37:12 - 00:00:38:16
Chris
Yeah. Me too.

00:00:38:17 - 00:00:46:10
Kristen
I've already been. But I've gotta admit, I've been drinking pumpkin spice lattes since the middle of September, so I couldn't hold out for October.

00:00:46:10 - 00:00:54:21
Chris
Middle of September is fine. I thought you were going to say like July. I was gonna I was gonna throttle you through the computer.

00:00:54:23 - 00:01:02:02
Kristen
Hey, and you know what? I keep meaning? To remind our viewers to check out our new website, pets at Lwf.org.

00:01:02:08 - 00:01:02:18
Chris
Yes.

00:01:02:22 - 00:01:10:04
Kristen
They launch this, kind of secretly. Like, I just found out about it last week, and, it's it looks great.

00:01:10:06 - 00:01:33:01
Chris
It's beautiful. It's beautiful. There's all sorts of resources on there as a reminder. I mean, I know we have a lot of fun on this show with our two guests, our two stories, our two products and our two questions. But Pets Add Life as an organization is dedicated to making pet ownership more accessible to everybody. There's a lot of really great resources on that website.

00:01:33:01 - 00:01:49:17
Chris
If you are a pet owner, if you're considering to be a pet owner, there's a lot of great stuff on there to help you find the right animal for you. And, learn a little bit on how to take proper care of it. So, check out the new the new digs. And while you're there, go to the podcast page and see our beautiful faces.

00:01:49:17 - 00:01:55:15
Chris
You can see some of the video content and, find episodes of your favorite podcast right then and there.

00:01:55:17 - 00:02:08:23
Kristen
That's right. I was thinking, too, it's a it might be a good way to, if you're if you're already starting to think about your holiday gift list, you can scroll back through old shows and check out our products of the week, because we got some good. We share some really good stuff on the show.

00:02:08:23 - 00:02:36:00
Chris
So that said, if it's October 1st and you are already thinking about your holiday gift list, congratulations. You're you're Kristin, not a Chris. You're well prepared. You probably do your taxes like in January. You've never been late to anything. You had perfect attendance in school. So congrats. I will be thinking about Christmas shopping December 18th.

00:02:36:02 - 00:02:40:11
Kristen
Oh my gosh. And then you'll have your. Your selection will be limited.

00:02:40:13 - 00:03:02:13
Chris
No no no, my my thing. Usually I'm, what I end up doing is just hand making stuff because I don't have time for making stuff. Yeah, yeah, I make I make pickles for people. People really enjoy the, the the pickles that I make. So out of stuff like that, you know, that our producer's laughing at me right now, and he's in India, so he's not supposed to be laughing at me.

00:03:02:19 - 00:03:04:23
Chris
He is supposed to be. He's supposed to be.

00:03:05:01 - 00:03:05:03
Kristen
In.

00:03:05:03 - 00:03:11:16
Chris
India, not laughing at my idea of what a proper gift is. So anyway, we're we're we're way off topic. We're going to go.

00:03:11:16 - 00:03:13:09
Speaker 3
Okay, we're here where we got.

00:03:13:10 - 00:03:22:18
Chris
We've got an awesome show lined up for you all. But first we're going to do some stories. So let's, head right on over to the story corner.

00:03:22:20 - 00:03:26:22
Voice Over
Kristen and Chris present story time.

00:03:27:00 - 00:03:28:01
Kristen
Now we have a story corner.

00:03:28:01 - 00:03:29:13
Chris
I like that it's a story corner.

00:03:29:13 - 00:03:31:20
Kristen
It's story like I'm in a library.

00:03:31:22 - 00:03:38:19
Chris
Yeah, it's a lie. It's a corner where you wear one of those big cone hats.

00:03:38:21 - 00:03:40:05
Chris
Dunce.

00:03:40:07 - 00:03:40:22
Speaker 3
Why don't you?

00:03:40:23 - 00:03:43:21
Chris
I spent a lot of time in the story corner as a kid growing up.

00:03:43:21 - 00:03:45:06
Speaker 3
Yeah, that's like, tell you that.

00:03:45:08 - 00:04:00:09
Kristen
Story in quotations. I might have mentioned this a few shows back, but I was honored to attend the human animal resource Human Animal Bond Habria Awards, which stands for help Me Out here, Chris. Human animal Bond Research institute.

00:04:00:11 - 00:04:02:20
Chris
You got it right. You got that? Okay. Try first.

00:04:02:20 - 00:04:04:15
Speaker 3
Try. Okay.

00:04:04:16 - 00:04:28:10
Kristen
Anyway, they had an innovation awards, and, one of the groups that won an award is called Cancer Care. Now, this is a group that that is a nonprofit organization that helps people who are, dealing with, cancer treatment. But they actually have a sub program within that group called the Poor Program. So it stands for, poor assistance and wellness.

00:04:28:10 - 00:04:59:07
Kristen
And what they do is they help people all over the country who are struggling with a cancer diagnosis, treatment, what have you, they help them stay with their pets to be able to keep their pets throughout their treatment. And just some of the, the features of the Pal program include education that's focused on, you know, how to care for your pets throughout your cancer journey, including, they've got videos, guides, fact sheets because, you know, when you're hyperfocus on your own health, it becomes more challenging to care for others, right?

00:04:59:07 - 00:05:22:20
Kristen
So, they have a whole searchable online database of low cost and free pet care services. They also offer financial assistance to some of those who may have trouble affording, you know, their pets basic needs when they're struggling with this, with this, you know, diagnosis. So they won an award and, and, I just, I, I can't think of a better recipient.

00:05:22:20 - 00:05:41:05
Kristen
They're doing some incredible work, and, and studies show that, you know, pets are part of, of our healing process. And I can't imagine going through a difficult time in any, any type of challenge in life without having pets in my life. So they're helping us keep our pets with us if we're dealing with a cancer diagnosis.

00:05:41:05 - 00:05:46:14
Kristen
So kudos to the poor program at Cancer Care.

00:05:46:16 - 00:05:58:12
Chris
Yeah, that's that's great stuff. I can't imagine having to deal with that kind of diagnosis. And being separated from my pet. So that's really great stuff.

00:05:58:14 - 00:06:03:02
Kristen
By the way. You can donate to them. I'm sorry. Oh, no. Go ahead. Most important, most important.

00:06:03:02 - 00:06:05:14
Speaker 3
Important. Learn more and more information.

00:06:05:14 - 00:06:13:06
Kristen
Or to donate, just go to Cancer Care. Org and you can find the PA program pretty easily on the homepage.

00:06:13:08 - 00:06:15:05
Chris
Great. Well, I'm I'm.

00:06:15:07 - 00:06:15:14
Speaker 3
Just.

00:06:15:14 - 00:06:17:13
Kristen
With us with with the happy story now.

00:06:17:14 - 00:06:29:04
Chris
No, I'm going to keep it going. We want to talk about bad stuff. I'm going to talk about what happens when you die. And what happens when you die is, everybody wants some of your stuff.

00:06:29:06 - 00:06:31:01
Speaker 3
And that's.

00:06:31:02 - 00:06:53:09
Chris
It's it's true. And, more and more people, more and more people are putting their pets in their wills. And I want to talk about a bit. There's this Wall Street Journal article, about putting pets in your will is no longer just for eccentric billionaires. And I want to talk about the story that sort of frame this, because I just found it so fat, so fascinating.

00:06:53:13 - 00:07:12:19
Chris
And then I want to talk about what you guys should be doing at home. So there's this, billionaire here and a Wall Street Journal. This was not behind a paywall when I first clicked on it, but now it is. So I'm not going to be able to get into the details, but there is a, billionaire, named Leona Helmsley who set a sauna.

00:07:12:20 - 00:07:35:12
Chris
Well, for her Maltese. So that's in the well. Now, remember, you can put anything in a legal document that doesn't mean it's going to uphold in court. So her heirs took this whole thing to court and fought the dogs. 12 million. And eventually it was, like, knocked out 12 million to. What's a dog going to do with $12 million?

00:07:35:12 - 00:07:47:07
Chris
Okay. Dogs don't understand money. I do understand being like I want this dog to be taken care of. So here's some money set. I just muted myself because I'm getting so into this. This is why am I.

00:07:47:09 - 00:07:48:00
Kristen
Really fired.

00:07:48:00 - 00:08:07:23
Chris
Up? Show. Yeah, I'm I'm fired up over over talking about death and wills. But anyway, they, You want to leave some. This person want to leave some money aside knowing that wherever the dog goes, whoever is taking care of them is going to have access to funds to make sure they get all the stuff, luxurious stuff that they're used to.

00:08:08:00 - 00:08:34:05
Chris
Now, this ended up getting knocked down to about $2 million at the end of the day, with the other ten being dispersed among the heirs. But there's some important lessons to be learned here on what you as an average person can be doing right now. To protect your pet from an uncertain future. Stuff that does upholding court really well is saying who you want to take care of the pet.

00:08:34:07 - 00:08:54:12
Chris
Pets legally count as personal property. Therefore, if they're not, if it's not stated specifically in the will, it will go to whoever inherits the estate. So if there's somebody in mind that you want taking care of your pet and you have a well, or if you haven't had a well, go do it. It's fun. It's a fun time.

00:08:54:15 - 00:09:07:18
Chris
You get to talk about like it's like, wow, look at all this stuff we have. Who's going to get it? Who do we like? Who do we actually like and want to have our stuff? It's kind of it's kind of goofy. Take a lighthearted. But everybody should really be thinking about that kind of stuff, especially if you have a pet.

00:09:07:20 - 00:09:28:18
Chris
Because you can state who you want to take care of. And that will be that will be legally binding. They will be allowed to take the animal without any hustle and fuss. So if you've got a fun uncle or, prefer one sibling over when maybe one sibling has a big backyard and you want to make sure the dog goes there, that's something that you could go do right now and take care of.

00:09:28:18 - 00:09:45:18
Chris
So a little bit of learning from from that article. But, I'm not even going to post this in the show notes because Wall Street Journal put up a paywall behind it. So I'm a little salty about it. But look up that that story on, Leona Helmsley, because that that got passed around quite a bit, because people.

00:09:45:20 - 00:09:46:12
Kristen
I remember that.

00:09:46:12 - 00:09:47:09
Chris
12 million. Yeah.

00:09:47:13 - 00:09:48:22
Speaker 3
12 million, I bet.

00:09:49:00 - 00:09:56:00
Kristen
I bet Leona is rolling over in her grave, though, finding out that her heirs got ten of the 12 million or billion.

00:09:56:01 - 00:10:00:00
Chris
I'm just going to say that that's how you get haunted. That's how you get home.

00:10:00:00 - 00:10:01:13
Kristen
That's a good point. That's a good.

00:10:01:13 - 00:10:07:09
Chris
Point. You know, I don't believe in ghosts, but ghosts believe in me. And that's how you get haunted.

00:10:07:11 - 00:10:22:07
Kristen
So how do you avoid your wishes being squashed by the legal system like I. If I were Leona, I would have left maybe a million to the dog for the best care possible. And then the other 11 million to, you know, a nonprofit pet organization.

00:10:22:09 - 00:10:29:02
Chris
Yeah. The issue was that she literally named the dog as the recipient. And again, that's.

00:10:29:02 - 00:10:30:12
Kristen
Not really owner.

00:10:30:14 - 00:11:01:16
Chris
Yeah, they can't like a dog. As much as we think that they're people, they're not. They don't count as people in the law. They're not capable of advocating for themselves. They don't have the right to an attorney. They you know, they don't have the right to remain silent. So, yeah, I would what I would do is, if you want to leave money for an animal, leave it to a specific person as a trust with the contingency that this trust fund is to be used for the care of this animal.

00:11:01:18 - 00:11:02:11
Kristen
You know, I'm not.

00:11:02:11 - 00:11:05:06
Chris
A lawyer, so don't ask me. No, I'm. I'm not a vet. I'm not a.

00:11:05:06 - 00:11:06:18
Speaker 3
Lawyer.

00:11:06:20 - 00:11:28:06
Kristen
I have a story that's right on point with this. I have a friend who was, the the designated caretaker for a for her friend's pets in her will, in her estate plan. The friend passed away a year ago, and she had agreed to moving into the woman's house and caring for her three pets until those pets passed away.

00:11:28:07 - 00:11:45:11
Kristen
Now the pets are younger, like two and three years old. So my friend, literally upon the death of her friend, had to sell her condo, move into her friend's home with her two dogs, and is now living. I mean, it's funny because we all asked her. We're like, why did you agree to doing that? To doing that?

00:11:45:11 - 00:11:47:11
Kristen
She said, well, I didn't think she was going to die, but.

00:11:47:15 - 00:11:49:11
Speaker 3
But yeah, I mean, I'm.

00:11:49:12 - 00:12:02:03
Kristen
Not making light of death here, but it's really important that you have these conversations with the friends or family members that you want to, you know, leave your pet to for the best care and, and make sure everybody knows what they're getting into.

00:12:02:03 - 00:12:06:06
Chris
Because that sounds like the great start to like a Blake Lively movie.

00:12:06:08 - 00:12:07:09
Speaker 3
Yeah.

00:12:07:11 - 00:12:24:17
Chris
Right. Like she's going to move. She's going to be like a single, like a single woman living in this condo. And her friend is going to pass. She's going to move into this house with all these animals. There's going to be some goofy character who lives next door. They're going to fall in love. Maybe they'll. Maybe they'll start a zoo.

00:12:24:18 - 00:12:29:12
Chris
I don't know, let's just write that down in the list of things that'll make me really want.

00:12:29:12 - 00:12:33:05
Kristen
Is is texting us from India, telling us to move on?

00:12:33:07 - 00:12:44:00
Chris
He's actually no, he's actually texting Bollywood right now because we're going to get this one made. Hollywood won't have it, but Bollywood. Bollywood is going to gobble this one up.

00:12:44:02 - 00:12:45:13
Speaker 3
We can move. We're moving on.

00:12:45:18 - 00:12:46:21
Chris
We're moving

00:12:46:23 - 00:12:51:08
Voice Over
beyond the leash, exploring the untold stories of pet passion and professionalism.

00:12:51:08 - 00:13:22:18
Kristen
All right. Joining us now is Alexis Devine, the creative mind and loving guardian behind the internet sensation Bunny. The bunny, by the way. It's the talking sheep a doodle. Now together they've captivated millions with their unique journey into interspecies communication, where Bunny uses a set of over 100 buttons to express her thoughts and emotions. Now, Alexis is a passionate advocate for human animal connections and has not only trained Bunny to communicate, but has also embarked on a journey of self-discovery and healing through this profound bond.

00:13:22:20 - 00:13:43:10
Kristen
Her memoir, I Am Bunny How a Talking Dog Taught Me Everything I Need to Know About Being Human, explores the emotional and philosophical depths of her relationship with Bunny, offering readers a heartfelt and humorous look into ancient and evolving bonds between humans and their canine companions. Welcome, Alexis.

00:13:43:12 - 00:13:46:16
Alexis
Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be here.

00:13:46:18 - 00:13:47:13
Speaker 3


00:13:47:15 - 00:13:49:03
Chris
It really is an honor.

00:13:49:05 - 00:13:51:07
Speaker 3
Yeah, I've been a fan for a very.

00:13:51:07 - 00:13:52:05
Chris
Long time, to be.

00:13:52:05 - 00:13:54:11
Speaker 3
Honest. And, you know.

00:13:54:13 - 00:13:57:22
Kristen
Why don't we start out by just. Oh, sorry. Chris.

00:13:58:00 - 00:13:58:14
Speaker 3
I'm so.

00:13:58:16 - 00:14:00:08
Chris
Glad you're getting right to what I.

00:14:00:08 - 00:14:02:00
Speaker 3
I don't get it. I know, I know, I know.

00:14:02:02 - 00:14:12:03
Kristen
So tell us what inspired you to start using the buttons with Bunny? And did you have any idea it would lead to such a profound connection?

00:14:12:05 - 00:14:29:09
Alexis
No, I had no idea. It has completely changed the trajectory of my life. I had wanted a dog for a really long time, and, the timing just hadn't been right. Like I was moving a lot or I didn't have, you know, a stable job. And finally, I was in a place where it was beginning to make sense.

00:14:29:09 - 00:14:58:22
Alexis
And my partner, Johnny, for years and years when I'd ask, hey, maybe we should get a dog. He had been saying, no, just flat out no. And finally, one year I asked. He didn't say yes, but he also didn't say no. He's like, okay, well, maybe a small dog. So I brought home a 60 pound dog. And before bringing her home, I was very dedicated to the idea that I wanted to have this sort of Lassie ask relationship, this incredibly close bond and develop the best communication I possibly could.

00:14:58:22 - 00:15:18:18
Alexis
So I began reading books, and I stumbled across Christina Hunger, who's a speech language pathologist. She was using these buttons with her dog to express sort of simple requests, and I was like, oh, I can definitely do that. No business teaching my dog how to talk. But I am, frustratingly tenacious is what a lot of people say.

00:15:18:18 - 00:15:36:07
Alexis
And so I figured I'd give it a shot. And I had an outside button waiting by the door for Bunny when I brought her home, and with sort of no idea how to proceed, I recorded the word outside on it, and I would press it every time we would be going outside. So she would hear the word, I would say the word, we would go outside.

00:15:36:07 - 00:15:55:16
Alexis
And then within a couple of weeks, my partner and I were watching Netflix, sitting on the couch or something, and Bonnie was over by her button, and she was sort of looking down at it and looking back up at us. And then all of a sudden she lifted her pie and she smashed the button herself, and her ears flew up, and she looked so proud of herself.

00:15:55:16 - 00:16:20:18
Alexis
And I screamed, and it was sort of game on. After that, I figured if she could learn one button, then she could learn to. If she could learn to, she could learn a hundred. So here we are now at 100 buttons. And it's been, an incredibly rewarding journey in terms of the benefits I've seen to our relationship, in terms of how I have been able to come to know what's going on in her mind that I otherwise wouldn't have known.

00:16:20:22 - 00:16:35:19
Alexis
And also in terms of what's going on in my mind that I hadn't even considered before bringing Bunny home. So it's been truly transformational. And I am now a certified professional dog trainer, a family dog mediator. My life is dogs.

00:16:35:20 - 00:16:37:11
Speaker 3
I actually just.

00:16:37:13 - 00:17:00:16
Alexis
Moved to an off grid property, out in Washington. It's about 55 acres, and, I really just wanted a space to be able to give my dogs the agency that they can't really experience in an environment where they always have to be on leash or don't have the ability to sort of run free. And it's been also transformational for for all three of my dogs and myself.

00:17:00:17 - 00:17:24:05
Chris
Yeah, that's absolutely phenomenal. It's really cool to hear, sort of that first moment that Bunny had when, they realized, oh, like, I could, I could use this to communicate. And I've seen a few videos of other animals utilizing the buttons they usually stick to, you know, maybe five at most. Was there a particular moment that sticks out to you where Bunny communicated something with her buttons?

00:17:24:05 - 00:17:29:01
Chris
Where you went? Oh my goodness, this dog is different. This dog's, like, truly special.

00:17:29:03 - 00:17:30:04
Speaker 3
Well.

00:17:30:06 - 00:17:55:12
Alexis
Two things. I, I think Bunny's brilliant. I love her to pieces. She's a very unique girl to me. But there are now hundreds of dogs that are communicating impossibly cool things. There are so many dogs now, and cats that have been able to communicate when and where they're in pain. It just blows my mind. And that was actually the first moment where I was like, oh, this, this is important.

00:17:55:12 - 00:18:12:14
Alexis
This isn't just my dog wants to go outside and I can let them outside because there are a million ways she could tell me that, right? Dogs are communicating all the time, and usually it's just that we're not listening. But she went over to her board and she pressed, mad. Ouch. And I was like, well, what does that mean?

00:18:12:17 - 00:18:35:02
Alexis
And I asked for a little bit more information, and she pressed stranger paw, and then she walked over to me and she placed her paw in my hand, and there was a fox tail that was embedded in the webbing between her toes. And I was like, now this, now this is something different. This is incredible. I recently heard a story of a dog who was consistently pressing bone ouch, bone ouch.

00:18:35:06 - 00:18:59:00
Alexis
And they couldn't figure out what that meant. And then they realized after, several instances of their dog pressing this combination, that they hadn't been chewing their bones, they hadn't been eating their bones, which they normally loved. So they took the dog to the vet, and it turns out it had bone cancer in its jaw. And they caught it before it was an emergency, which is is rare.

00:18:59:00 - 00:19:16:23
Alexis
So this dog was able to communicate about a pain it had that was, you know, something that needed immediate, attending to and then, was able to recover from that and those sorts of moments are the moments that truly blow my mind. We can already tell when our dogs want to play with us, when they want a treat, when they want to go outside.

00:19:16:23 - 00:19:33:22
Alexis
You know, these things are are things that are very easy for our dogs to communicate. But there are these other concepts, that learners all over the world are communicating now that are just completely transforming the relationships that these guardians are able to have with their companion animals.

00:19:34:00 - 00:19:59:01
Kristen
That is. That's just mind blowing. You know, I was just thinking about how, you know, how your relationship is different with Bunny and all the people that are using the buttons to communicate with their dogs. How how would you articulate the difference in your relationship with your dog to someone who's not using this? The system. What are we what are we missing out on if if by not implementing this type of communication.

00:19:59:03 - 00:20:18:05
Alexis
Yeah. Well, I mean, obviously I think there's a lot of information you can get with words that would be harder to get without them, such as when and where our learners are in pain. But I also think that one of the benefits of buttons is that it immediately sort of creates a necessity for us to be active listeners.

00:20:18:07 - 00:20:43:12
Alexis
Right? Because if we are going to add words to the board that are salient to our learners, we have to be very carefully observing what they're looking at, what they're smelling, what they're interested in, what what they react to when their arousal goes up and goes down. So you can't I don't think you can create a board of meaningful words for another being, unless you are really taking the time to get to know them.

00:20:43:18 - 00:20:52:04
Alexis
For example, if someone were creating a button board for me and they put the word moist on it, I would never use that button, you know?

00:20:52:06 - 00:20:53:03
Speaker 3
So you really.

00:20:53:03 - 00:21:10:15
Alexis
Have to be intentional and make sure that these words are salient to your learners. You know, not all learners are going to love water or bath or hose. Not all of them are going to love, well, I was going to say pizza, but that's weird. All dogs love pizza, right? And all humans. Who doesn't love pizza? Right.

00:21:10:17 - 00:21:24:18
Alexis
But I think you understand what I mean. So it is really, this really deep back and forth because by necessity, in order for you to be adding words that they're going to be using, you have to be really listening and really observing and getting to know them.

00:21:24:20 - 00:21:26:00
Kristen
Yeah.

00:21:26:02 - 00:21:30:13
Chris
That's great. Alexis, you have a book coming out or is it out already?

00:21:30:15 - 00:21:31:11
Alexis
It's out.

00:21:31:13 - 00:21:54:03
Chris
All right. It's out now. I'm bunny, how a talking dog taught me everything I need to know about being human. I love that title. And without giving too much away, I leave something to the imagination. Can you just give us maybe your top line lesson, that that bunny taught you, through this process and and how, they helped you along with your personal growth?

00:21:54:05 - 00:22:27:01
Alexis
Yeah. I would say agency, empathy, advocacy. Agency. There are mountains of research in humans. That agency increases distress tolerance. And agency is something that, unfortunately, it can be challenging to allow our dogs to have. Right. They are captive animals. The first thing we do when we go outside is putting put them on a leash on a, long line or, you know, collar and exploring the power that agency.

00:22:27:01 - 00:22:29:08
Speaker 3
Had to.

00:22:29:10 - 00:22:58:12
Alexis
Increase Bunny's distress tolerance to allow her to observe her triggers, to decide when to move forward, when to move back, to take some of the, control out of my hands and really let her manufacture her day, was so, so powerful. And I realized that so much of the trauma that I had experienced in my past was due to a lack of, of control or lack of feeling like I had the power to control my own outcomes.

00:22:58:14 - 00:23:24:23
Alexis
So that allowed me to really reflect on some of my past and, review, revisit things through a new lens. And that was incredibly powerful to me personally. Empathy for, observing our dog's behavior through a more empathic lens allows us to not pass those sort of value judgments on behavior. My dog is barking and looks like a crazy maniac when she sees this other dog.

00:23:25:02 - 00:23:42:19
Alexis
She's not being a bad dog. She's not aggressive. She's afraid. She doesn't know how to handle this situation. Viewing that interaction with an empathic lens, I was able to say, okay, maybe you want to get a little bit more space, or maybe I won't take you to the dog park anymore, which is something I did at first because I didn't know better.

00:23:42:23 - 00:24:01:14
Alexis
That's not the right place for her, you know. And it's not all dogs love going to that environment. Some dogs, like some people, are a bit more introverted. So trying to really understand what was going on beneath the behaviors, helped me help her and it helped me help myself and advocacy, really knowing.

00:24:01:14 - 00:24:03:00
Speaker 3
How.

00:24:03:02 - 00:24:14:07
Alexis
To advocate for Bunny in situations. She's very cute. People really want to touch her. And, you know, I think it's a very common instinct when people see a cute dog to be like.

00:24:14:07 - 00:24:15:18
Speaker 3
Oh my God.

00:24:15:20 - 00:24:39:10
Alexis
But you know, that is not necessarily how a dog wants to be approached. It's certainly not how Bunny wants to be approached. It's certainly not not how I would want to be approached. So learning how to advocate for her in terms of being like, oh, she she doesn't want to be touched or oh, she's not friendly or whatever, whatever it is I say in that context and making sure that she doesn't have to feel like she's going to be put in those situations.

00:24:39:12 - 00:24:51:01
Alexis
And that in turn, of course, helped me to advocate for myself. So it's been a really robust circle. Everything. Every time I learned something profound about Bunny, I'm also learning it about myself.

00:24:51:03 - 00:25:06:10
Kristen
That's amazing. And this sounds like a must read for any dog, parent or anyone who's thinking about getting a dog. Alexis, tell us what kind of advice would you give to a pet owner who's considering, trying the communication buttons with their pets?

00:25:06:12 - 00:25:34:11
Alexis
Yeah, so we actually have just been busy developing a very simple protocol that gets most learners pressing a button within a week or two. We recommend starting with 2 to 3 buttons, and we recommend concepts that are highly motivating to your learner. I started with an outside button. I don't necessarily recommend that anymore, unless you've got a dog that's potty training, because it can be really hard to, model that button enough times in the day to build that connection.

00:25:34:13 - 00:25:53:21
Alexis
But if you start with a food related button like snack or kibble or scratches or a play related button, those are things that are really easy, easy to model multiple times in a day, right at the board, you can just grab a handful of kibble, press the kibble button, toss a piece of kibble, press the kibble so it builds those connections a lot more quickly.

00:25:53:21 - 00:25:57:18
Alexis
And then it's really easy to expand. The. The toughest hurdle.

00:25:58:00 - 00:25:58:17
Speaker 3
Is.

00:25:58:17 - 00:26:21:22
Alexis
Helping your learners understand that they can use these buttons to control their outcomes. Right. As soon as they've got that, they're like, oh, I can make the monkey do things, let's do this some more, you know? So, yeah, we've got tons of free information about that in the community too. There are lots of troubleshooting tips. We've got a whole academy that teaches courses as well, and there are tons of free resources.

00:26:21:22 - 00:26:23:15
Alexis
If people want to learn more.

00:26:23:16 - 00:26:28:03
Kristen
That's fantastic. Where can they find it? Where? Yeah, where can we find these resources?

00:26:28:05 - 00:26:49:15
Alexis
Community dots went dot pet okay. Yeah. And you'll find all the courses there. You'll find all the forums there. And I have, the first three out of four, videos of this little, protocol that we've developed pinned to my Instagram page. I can only pin three. That's why there's only three out of the four. But if you scroll down, you can find the fourth.

00:26:49:17 - 00:26:55:09
Alexis
But those will be available on YouTube and, within the community forum, within a couple of days as well.

00:26:55:11 - 00:27:10:17
Chris
Great. I'm, I'm afraid to know what my cat Tiger might say about me. I think. I think I'm good. I think I'm. I think I'm okay. Well, she's 21. I don't think she's going to be picking up any any tricks, in this chapter of her life.

00:27:10:17 - 00:27:12:17
Alexis
But you never know.

00:27:12:19 - 00:27:29:18
Chris
She already does communicate because she will stand at certain places in the home, and she's deaf, so she doesn't know, like, where we are. And she'll stand in a certain place in the home and. Yes, meow as loud as she can. And that's how we know what she wants. So maybe, maybe if she didn't already have a system set up.

00:27:29:18 - 00:27:33:13
Chris
But I'd afraid she'd just be like, monkey dance. Monkey dance.

00:27:33:13 - 00:27:40:14
Alexis
And I mean, I personally would love to see that. So if somebody for you. Yeah, give her a monkey and a dance button.

00:27:40:16 - 00:27:44:14
Chris
As a gift for coming on the show, I provide that for you.

00:27:44:16 - 00:27:46:16
Alexis
Thank you.

00:27:46:18 - 00:28:08:07
Alexis
Of note, Billy the Cat, who has, recently passed. Unfortunately, was a prolific button user, and she started when she was, I think, 14, and she got up to almost 100 buttons as well. So we found that age doesn't really factor into the learning process here like we thought it might. You know, babies and human children have this sort of critical language learning, period.

00:28:08:07 - 00:28:32:08
Alexis
We're not finding that in, our animal companions. Also, we have, Morgan, who hosts our bootcamp. So anyone who purchases gets automatically a free button boot camp that they get to attend. And then they have three months of live mentorship as well to aid in getting them started. And she has had multiple blind and deaf cat learners who have been successful by users.

00:28:32:10 - 00:28:40:03
Alexis
So yeah, we really are taking it as far as we can, and we're seeing huge successes all across the board.

00:28:40:05 - 00:28:42:12
Chris
That's absolutely amazing. Maybe I'll give it a whirl.

00:28:42:14 - 00:28:47:12
Alexis
Yes. Do it. Well, you know, he's promised you promised him a year from now.

00:28:47:14 - 00:29:01:15
Chris
So it looks like I'll be heading over to fluent Dot pet and checking out all the resources there and the buttons and and, getting that process going so that I can provide a funny little monkey dance video for our new pal Alexis.

00:29:01:19 - 00:29:04:19
Alexis
I cannot wait.

00:29:04:21 - 00:29:12:17
Kristen
Alexis, thank you so much for joining us today. And give our love to Bunny. And, we we we can't wait to see what you all do next.

00:29:12:19 - 00:29:17:15
Alexis
Absolutely. Thanks so much for having me. This has been a total blast.

00:29:17:17 - 00:29:44:20
Chris
I feel blessed, I feel seen by celebrity. I feel, true. I truly feel accomplished in this moment. Alexis is amazing. Yeah, I mean, I it's just so cool. And what a talented dog trainer. Somebody who really understands that mutual bond between herself and her dog. I'll be picking up a copy of that book, that's for sure.

00:29:44:22 - 00:29:51:19
Kristen
Absolutely. And we have another brilliant dog trainer coming up next to.

00:29:51:21 - 00:30:19:04
Chris
All right. Joining us now is Anika McDade, the founder of Canine Connection Training, bringing over 15 years of experience in the field of dog training and behavior consultation. She is a triple certified professional behavior consultant and coach with a unique blend of science based knowledge and spiritual curiosity, and his expertise lies in interpreting a dog's needs and behaviors, enabling owners to strengthen their bond and achieve training and relationship goals.

00:30:19:06 - 00:30:42:15
Chris
Her diverse background includes training wolves in Inner Mongolia, home crap, working with Great Pyrenees and dogs in France, and collaborating with rescues, sled dogs and family pets in Canada. Anika is compelling journey as a radio personnel world traveler, energy worker and adventure seeker enriches her approach to training, making her a natural at connecting with both dogs and their people.

00:30:42:15 - 00:30:52:07
Chris
And if you don't think that's enough, Anika is going to have a new show, The Holistic Way debuting on dog TV. So we're going to go ahead and take a sneak peek of that right now.

00:30:52:12 - 00:31:14:00
Annika
Hello, my name is Anika and today we're going to be discussing with you three myths that I am very passionate about busting because they can be damaging for your relationship with your dog. Times are changing, folks. What we once thought was true has been debunked. Let's dig in. This usually gets a little juicy. Letting your dog on the furniture is bad myth.

00:31:14:02 - 00:31:34:17
Annika
Who doesn't love a good old couch? Cuddle? Let's get one thing very, very straight. A great way to bond with your dog is to allow them to be at your level, if you don't mind, and your dog is into it, let that furry friend onto the couch and enjoy every last moment of cozy connection. Some breeds are un trainable myth.

00:31:34:22 - 00:32:01:17
Annika
Every dog with a functioning brain, regardless of their breed or their age, can be trained. While different breeds may have unique traits or more ingrained patterns of behavior, positive reinforcement training methods work with all breeds of dogs, even huskies. A tired dog is always a happy dog. Myth. Physical exercise is crucial, but mental stimulation is equally, if not more important.

00:32:01:19 - 00:32:10:14
Annika
If you overly focus on physically tiring them out, they might become overtired. And that's where a lot of not so fun behaviors develop.

00:32:10:16 - 00:32:18:12
Chris
That show looks awesome. I'm all right, guys. And now we could formally welcome Anika to the podcast. Welcome, Anika.

00:32:18:13 - 00:32:23:08
Annika
Hello. Thank you so much for having me. I'm super happy to be here today.

00:32:23:10 - 00:32:39:11
Chris
And I'm excited. And I have to start right away because I guess cold. Read your introduction. And wolves in Inner Mongolia. We start there. Can we start with the wolves and their Inner Mongolia? And yes, talk about how you found yourself there and maybe what you learned from them.

00:32:39:13 - 00:33:13:21
Annika
Yeah. For sure. I mean, that was, a two year period over the course of my 15 year career working with animals so far. And it was sort of at the beginning of my journey. I met a very wonderful human that was extremely talented and works with animals for film, and I sent him an email saying I would be really happy to clean up wolf poop if it meant hanging out with wolves and pestered a few times and ended up having an incredible, humbling opportunity to go live overseas for two years, on and off, working with him and learning from his team.

00:33:13:21 - 00:33:36:07
Annika
And mainly I was a care provider for the Wolves with the opportunity to train here there. And man, they're pretty intense animals to be around. They will a bit like horses. The energy that they hold is very commanding. And I, I learned very quickly that anything that I was feeling that was around self-doubt, they were mirroring at me.

00:33:36:07 - 00:33:49:13
Annika
So if I was worried about something happening, that would happen. Which is sort of an incredible life lesson to learn at 25 years old in Inner Mongolia, hanging out with 20 wolves. So I'm forever grateful for that opportunity for sure.

00:33:49:15 - 00:33:59:17
Kristen
That is incredible. And so and again, how did that experience, how did that inform, your dog training today?

00:33:59:19 - 00:34:29:13
Annika
What a beautiful question. Thank you. I think, it made me realize that there's so much more involved in connecting with our dogs or our animals around us than having control over and having them be obedient or have manners. I think, you know, a lot can be achieved simply through prioritizing connection and relationship, and that the best way to do that is often in silence with great intention.

00:34:29:15 - 00:34:55:20
Annika
And fairness and kindness. And it's not a lot about technique and tactics as much as it's about time and and really honoring the relationship that you have, we had out of almost 30 wolves, we could only touch probably ten of them during that time. And so we learned how to get them to do really difficult things like come back to us, when they had freedom, by just relationship alone.

00:34:55:20 - 00:35:11:13
Annika
And obviously they worked for food, just like I would encourage most of us to train with, so there was a food element. But yeah, I just learned the power of relationship overall was, something that's available to us with dogs, cats, you know, horses and wolves.

00:35:11:15 - 00:35:36:09
Chris
Yeah, absolutely. It seems like you have a very, spiritual forward take on the relationship with, with dogs and with animals, and you sort of meld that with some science based knowledge. So it's very obvious that the animals benefit from that type of thinking. But how can we as animal, either animal husbandry or animal owners benefit from that kind of thinking as well?

00:35:36:11 - 00:35:58:04
Annika
Yeah, I think that there's an invitation when we're hanging out with animals to become really present, to acknowledge how you entering a room impacts those around you. The lessons that we can learn from our dogs translate to how we relate to all the people in our lives, and so I look at our dogs as like these little beings that are on a social contract with us.

00:35:58:04 - 00:36:29:09
Annika
And what am I here to learn from you, and what am I here to teach you? And how can we find harmony in this crazy thing that we call life together? And it can be really hard when you have a dog that's got behavioral challenges or is evoking a lot of emotion in you, and what feels like wreaking havoc in your life, making peace with your pet, and really finding, some groundedness in the journey, especially when it gets hard, can can really shape your life individually and your life with your pet.

00:36:29:11 - 00:36:52:03
Kristen
You know what I love about your approach, Annika, is I think as dog parents, we often get really stressed out about, you know, the, the training, the techniques. And are we going to screw it up for our dogs? And but hearing you talk about the spirituality and the the bonding and the relationship you build with your dog, that's something that feels easy.

00:36:52:03 - 00:37:03:16
Kristen
And I'm excited to do with my dog. So it also sounds like you're prioritizing that over the techniques and the training, right? That comes first, does it?

00:37:03:18 - 00:37:28:08
Annika
Yeah. Thank you for clarifying, Kristin. I think a lot of people, when they don't feel like their dog is behaving in a way that they love or they're struggling to connect with their dog, we hunkered down on control and traditional training. But sometimes that can take us further from the connection that is required of us to kind of source that peace and connection, if that makes sense.

00:37:28:08 - 00:37:50:09
Annika
So, yeah, I think you nailed it on the head. There's another way of achieving the goals and having the relationship and the behavior that you're after with your pet that doesn't involve technique and training or even doubling down on, you know, especially using more, aversive methods, like there's actually a totally different way of doing it.

00:37:50:11 - 00:38:17:00
Chris
So, Annika, you've gone from wolves and now help, rescue dogs, largely, rehabilitate them and get them more training oriented. What? I imagine that it's two completely different things. Wolves and rescue dogs. So what are they? Some of the unique challenges that exist with these, rescue dogs? And some of the challenge you have to overcome to get them home ready, and comfortable.

00:38:17:01 - 00:38:53:15
Annika
I just want to clarify. I'm mainly coaching the people how to connect with dogs, so I don't train people's dogs at all. I'm more of a human coach than anything else. And to answer your question really directly, the hardest part about getting any dog, whether a rescue or a purebred, is that our expectations of them in 2024 is a growing expectation list with so many boxes that they have to fit into that the pressure on these animals, whether they have known trauma or not, it's unrealistic and really hard for them.

00:38:53:15 - 00:39:18:12
Annika
So the hardest part is helping people understand where their dog is coming from and creating space and acceptance with where they're at, and navigating what happens if it ends up looking a little different than we thought it would. So it's more about consoling the people on. I know you want it to go down the left path, but the dog you got might be taking you down the right path, and the right path is just as beautiful.

00:39:18:12 - 00:39:29:08
Annika
It just looks a little different. Helping them understand that we want their dog to be comfortable versus fit perfectly into the life that they imagine them fitting into.

00:39:29:10 - 00:39:40:05
Kristen
Wow, that's that's really interesting. My dog definitely wants to hire you to train me.

00:39:40:07 - 00:39:42:18
Chris
So it's working up the contract right now.

00:39:42:20 - 00:39:45:22
Speaker 3
Right? She is. She is.

00:39:46:00 - 00:40:00:22
Kristen
So you help people train people in a lot of different ways online, in person. What are what are some of the ways that people can work with you to become, better caretakers of their dog and better, partners with their dog?

00:40:01:00 - 00:40:26:16
Annika
Great question too. I do a lot of online coaching, and most of what I do is emotional coaching for people that are feeling overwhelmed and anxious and might not have a community of friends and family that understand that a dog could make you feel so many things that are difficult to navigate. So really working on the human under the leash before we look at the dog's behavior.

00:40:26:16 - 00:40:45:21
Annika
Because so much of a dog's behavior is a reflection of their human and we don't want to punish a person for that, but we might be able to actually change behavior or achieve a lot of training goals if we first address like how are you feeling? And are you actually okay? And it's okay if you're not okay. Let's move you through some of those big emotions.

00:40:45:21 - 00:41:05:16
Annika
So I do online coaching for people with big feelings, with dogs that have big feelings. And we also have a group community call once a month where people can join at a lower cost so that they can participate and feel supported and truly just know that they're not alone. Because navigating a dog with behavioral challenges can be very isolating for people.

00:41:05:18 - 00:41:14:04
Chris
That's true, I love that. I love, people with big feelings and dogs with big feelings. I think you get you just applied words to so many.

00:41:14:04 - 00:41:15:00
Speaker 3
Situations.

00:41:15:00 - 00:41:33:18
Chris
That I've seen in my day. And it's like light bulbs are are, turning on up here. But we previewed it at the beginning of the interview. You've got a wonderful show coming up called The Holistic Way that's going to be airing on dog TV. We heard, do you bust, three common myths, about our dog.

00:41:33:18 - 00:41:37:03
Chris
So what else can we expect from your new show?

00:41:37:05 - 00:42:10:12
Annika
Yeah, this season is very much about little integrative training games or thoughtful things that we can do to allow our dogs more comfort, to allow our dogs more joy, to allow us to connect and come together, versus rushing around and maybe not feeling super connected. Some solutions for distracted dogs and interactive games you can play that are super simple on walks to allow your dog to just kind of think that you're a bit more fun than you are boring.

00:42:10:14 - 00:42:30:18
Annika
And yeah, I think my, my mission and my goal is to help people feel understood and to help dogs feel heard, and that it doesn't have to be serious and hard, and it can be playful and fun and actually quite enjoyable to enter great our well-being with their well-being.

00:42:30:20 - 00:42:32:22
Kristen
Wow, I just can't wait. I love this.

00:42:33:02 - 00:42:34:11
Chris
To be tuning in.

00:42:34:13 - 00:42:51:18
Kristen
Yeah, and I love your philosophy. Annika. It's it's it's it's comforting. It's comforting. As a dog owner who's had dogs that have had behavior problems, that kind of look at it in a different in a different light. So thank you for that. And I'm sure a lot of our listeners are going to want to learn more from you.

00:42:51:18 - 00:43:04:18
Kristen
Watch the holistic way, check you out online. And just thank you so much for for joining us today. And best of luck with, whatever you're going to do next that's going to benefit people and their dogs.

00:43:04:20 - 00:43:12:18
Chris
Next time she comes on the show, she's going to be like, yes, I was, training dragons and it's time.

00:43:12:20 - 00:43:16:05
Speaker 3
You never know. You never know. You really don't know what you.

00:43:16:08 - 00:43:19:15
Annika
My life is full of surprises. I wouldn't be surprised.

00:43:19:17 - 00:43:23:16
Speaker 3
That's season two. So much for having on the podcast today. Yeah.

00:43:23:18 - 00:43:25:18
Annika
Thank you guys for having me. Thanks so much.

00:43:25:20 - 00:43:26:03
Speaker 3
All right.

00:43:26:03 - 00:43:31:10
Chris
Take care. Pets add life. Have we ever had a cooler person on this show?

00:43:31:11 - 00:43:34:02
Kristen
I do not think so. She was awesome.

00:43:34:02 - 00:43:50:17
Chris
Yeah, I mean absolutely. Wolves in Mongolia. Next thing you know it's going to be it's going to be like Komodo dragons in Indonesia. She's going to do the penguins on the Galapagos Island. And then she's going to come back and do another show on dog TV. How wonderful is that?

00:43:50:19 - 00:44:06:17
Kristen
I know. Well, it's just it's cool how we talked to a lot of dog dog trainers on this show, and they all have different personalities and energy and approaches. And I think that's really great because when you are looking for a dog trainer, you have to find somebody that you can relate to or that you feel good working with.

00:44:06:17 - 00:44:10:21
Kristen
And, you know, and there's somebody for everybody. And she's for me.

00:44:10:23 - 00:44:30:23
Chris
Yeah. And it was a people trainer. She said it herself. You correct me. I don't train dogs. I train people. And I think that's awesome because, you know, the onus of becoming a good, dog owner is on us, because the dogs really don't know better. So I kind of that was that was super cool. Be sure to check out that show the holistic way airing on dog TV.

00:44:30:23 - 00:44:38:18
Chris
So go ahead and check that out. And until then, I can't wait to see what Annika does next.

00:44:38:20 - 00:44:43:16
Voice Over
The product of the week of the week.

00:44:43:18 - 00:45:00:07
Chris
All right, folks, you heard the new jingle. It's time for the Paw Paw Paw product of the week. Oh man, so cool. I love having a catchphrase. Really makes me feel solidified. And, I'll go first. Kristen, how about that? I've got I've got a simple one.

00:45:00:07 - 00:45:19:10
Chris
I want to I want to kind of tandem on. I was talking a lot about dog walking with my stuff yesterday and celebrating, the world's longest pet walk. That just happened this past Saturday. So I want to talk about something that is so simple. I just think every dog owner should have. And we're all pretty familiar with the Earth rated poop bags because they're biodegradable.

00:45:19:10 - 00:45:46:02
Chris
It's better for the environment, yada yada yada yada. There. This spent new dispenser is, I think it retails at $6. It is a marvel of minimalistic engineering. I mean, it's so it's so easy to load up. It basically like screws out and you load the bags, come with a little cardboard slit so that you can easily get the bag through the slit.

00:45:46:02 - 00:46:13:09
Chris
Peel off the cardboard. It's got a rubber silicone hook to latch on to, any belt or any leash you guess. Loop it through and latch it on, and then it has another hook that has like this little button on it for you to tie off your used poop bags so you don't have to be carrying around bags of poop like some type of evil Santa Claus like it is.

00:46:13:15 - 00:46:33:01
Chris
I mean, for $6. And I know a lot of times we do product of the week, and we're talking about things that are high quality and a little more price. You know, price forward. This is a very simple product. It's got elegant engineering. It's from a great company. You're probably already buying their bags all the time. Highly recommend it.

00:46:33:01 - 00:46:53:11
Chris
Especially if you're using that belt type, leash that I was talking about last year. You could strap this right on. Keep all of your hands free. For all the other wonderful activities you're going to be doing on that one. So check it out. Earth rated.com again, retails for $6. I'm going to throw the link in the show notes as Kristin talks about her product.

00:46:53:13 - 00:47:20:21
Kristen
Yes, that's a good one, Chris. Earth Rated is a really great, innovative brand. They've also got some cool toys too. So when you go check out the poop bags, check out their toys too. Okay, so my product of the week is called the Snuggle Puppy. And the reason I was looking at this product is because my husband and I are actually considering adopting a dog, and if we if we do adopt, it will be probably a puppy.

00:47:20:23 - 00:47:44:10
Kristen
So I started to think about all the things I would need to purchase to be ready for a puppy because you know, you never know when you're going to find the puppy, so you kind of want to be prepared. So what the snuggle puppy is, is it's this little stuffed dog that you can insert this little device that mimics the heartbeat of the mother dog, and you just kind of stuff it inside the snuggle puppy.

00:47:44:12 - 00:48:05:03
Kristen
And it's, it's, intended to kind of help the puppy transition from leaving their mom, to going to their new home. So theoretically, you put this in the bed with them or in their crate, and it's got just a soft little pulsing heartbeat that would, you know, be somewhat similar in, cadence to the mother dog.

00:48:05:05 - 00:48:26:06
Kristen
And they also even have these little heat packs that you can stuffed into the, into the stuffed dog to make it warm. So it's more like a, more like a real, real dog. And, let's see, it also helps dogs with anxiety too. So it's not just for puppies, but if you have a dog who's stressed or has anxiety, this has been shown to calm them as well.

00:48:26:08 - 00:48:46:03
Kristen
And I know dog TV, you did a big promotion with them at some point. But they're pretty popular. And in case you've never heard of it, I wanted to make sure you know about it because again, if you are planning on adopting a puppy or you know somebody has a puppy, you're looking for a perfect puppy gift, or, you have a dog that's anxious, this just might be the thing to calm them down.

00:48:46:05 - 00:48:50:13
Kristen
And you can find them at Snuggle puppy.com.

00:48:50:15 - 00:48:54:18
Chris
I had never heard of it. Sounds wonderful. Maybe. Yeah, maybe I just need one for me.

00:48:54:20 - 00:48:56:02
Kristen
I think you need one.

00:48:56:04 - 00:48:58:18
Chris
Yeah, just for me.

00:48:58:20 - 00:49:00:15
Kristen
When you do get anxious from time to time.

00:49:00:15 - 00:49:06:08
Chris
So. Yeah. And a snuggle puppy. I mean, count me in the name. Perfect.

00:49:06:09 - 00:49:09:15
Voice Over
Q&A’s

00:49:09:17 - 00:49:32:04
Chris
All right, everyone, it's time for our favorite segment of the show. That's right. We're going to answer two questions that you folks sent in from home. And if you want your question answered on the show, you can head on over to that brand spanking new website, Petsaddlife.org/podcast. Scroll on down to the bottom of the page. You could submit your question right there.

00:49:32:04 - 00:49:51:20
Chris
Or if you're feeling as brave as a snuggle puppy sort of voice memo and you will hear your question played live on this show. With that squared away, all of our housekeeping in order. Let's see, do you want to do you want to go first? You want me to ask you a question first?

00:49:51:22 - 00:49:55:08
Kristen
You know, I went, I feel like I always go first. I'm going to let you go first.

00:49:55:14 - 00:49:56:12
Chris
All right.

00:49:56:14 - 00:50:05:15
Kristen
All right, all right. So this question is from James in Austin, Texas. He says, oh, wait, no, that's it. That's not it. Never mind.

00:50:05:17 - 00:50:07:18
Speaker 3
Sorry. It's from James.

00:50:07:20 - 00:50:09:17
Kristen
So, we'll be back to you in a minute. Jane.

00:50:09:17 - 00:50:11:13
Speaker 3
Back to begin. We'll go back to mama.

00:50:11:17 - 00:50:20:11
Kristen
It's from Samantha in Chicago. She's wondering, how often should I give my dog a bath? I want to make sure I'm keeping him clean without drying out his skin. That's a really good question.

00:50:20:16 - 00:50:43:14
Chris
Yeah, it's a it's a great question. I think a lot of people, have a similar question. And what I will say is, first off, how bad does that dog stink? Right. Like that's number one, because, when you think about it, dogs don't regularly bathe if they were left to their own devices. So, obviously, like if you take them out in the rain and they get all muddy, you're going to want to give them a bath.

00:50:43:14 - 00:50:59:10
Chris
If they smell bad, you're going to want to give them a bath. But if you feel like the dog just in general, maybe they like it. I don't know, I'd say like once a month is a good rule of thumb. Now, there's a lot of caveats with that. If the dog smells bad, just give them a bath.

00:50:59:12 - 00:51:22:10
Chris
If the dog has, like, a more, oily coat, he might need to be bathed more often. If they're more active, they need to be bathe more often. And then on the skin side, because you mentioned that if they have skin sensitivity, they need to be bathe less often. And there's a lot of great products out there that are keen of mind, aware of sensitive skin in dogs.

00:51:22:10 - 00:51:38:02
Chris
So if you start off with a shampoo and the dog kind of gets irritated, is itching a lot afterwards, keep shopping around. Try and find one that's good for a dog with sensitive skin, especially if you have a short haired dog. And that shampoo is really going to be hitting. Yeah, I don't think you call it a scalp.

00:51:38:07 - 00:51:40:11
Chris
It's a dog. All scalp.

00:51:40:13 - 00:51:41:02
Kristen
I guess.

00:51:41:02 - 00:51:50:03
Chris
Technically, yeah. Is that somebody? Know what? I'm asking you all a question. I don't think time is a dog all scalp.

00:51:50:05 - 00:51:56:09
Kristen
No, because that would be like saying our whole head is scalp under our hair and what I. But but that is true.

00:51:56:10 - 00:51:57:03
Speaker 3
So it's true.

00:51:57:06 - 00:51:59:10
Kristen
No, I think that's on your head. Only right is.

00:51:59:10 - 00:52:04:02
Chris
Under my mustache. Scalp. These are the important.

00:52:04:02 - 00:52:05:00
Speaker 3
Tools and.

00:52:05:02 - 00:52:05:11
Kristen
Rate your.

00:52:05:11 - 00:52:07:00
Speaker 3
Mustache.

00:52:07:02 - 00:52:13:08
Chris
I mean, every single time I shampoo my hair, I shampoo that mustache. I mean, I'm not a I'm not. I'm not a filthy boy.

00:52:13:09 - 00:52:14:03
Speaker 3
You know?

00:52:14:04 - 00:52:16:04
Chris
Anyway, let's get back to this dog.

00:52:16:06 - 00:52:17:23
Speaker 3
Let's get back to the dog.

00:52:18:01 - 00:52:46:15
Chris
Short haired dog where you're going to be. That shampoo is definitely going to be hitting their skin. Let's just say skin. You know, they might have more of a sensitivity than a long haired breed where it may be difficult to penetrate the over and undercoat and actually get to their skin. So all of this is to say there are a lot of different variables, but there's no reason that experimentation cannot be, enforced here.

00:52:46:15 - 00:53:01:10
Chris
You just give it a whirl, see what works, see what gives you a good mix of the dog being happy, the dog smelling nice, and the dog's skin being healthy. And whenever you arrive at, that's how often you have to be.

00:53:01:12 - 00:53:13:19
Chris
Oh great question. Thank you. Samantha. I've got one for you, Kristen. Let's move on. Let's move on from that question into one that I'm sure is going to spark, even more surface dedicated conversation.

00:53:13:21 - 00:53:14:17
Speaker 3
Oh, boy.

00:53:14:17 - 00:53:41:01
Chris
James here in Austin, Texas. Thank you for your question, James. I'm going to just read it as is. And we're going to take it from there. Why does my dog sometimes eat his own feces? It's really gross. And concerning. What can I do to stop this behavior? Thank you for clarifying, James, that it's gross and concerning. Without that detail, we would have been lost.

00:53:41:03 - 00:53:56:16
Kristen
You know, I, I wanted to take this question because, I've been asked about it a lot. And when I worked at the animal shelter, I would come across dogs that did this. And I was very curious as to why they would do this, you know, gross behavior. And it's actually there's a actually a scientific term for it.

00:53:56:16 - 00:54:19:22
Kristen
It's called coprophilia. And it's, obviously it's a distressing behavior for pet owners. And there are several reasons, why your dog may be eating his own poop. Or other dog's poop, which might even be gross or I don't know. So it's either a nutritional deficiency. If if your dog is lacking certain nutrients, they might be eating it to compensate.

00:54:20:00 - 00:54:40:09
Kristen
It could be for a behavioral reason. They could be doing it out of boredom, anxiety, or as a way to get attention. It could be an instinctual behavior in the wild. Dogs would sometimes eat feces to keep the environment clean or to prevent predators from detecting their scent. Or it could be a medical condition.

00:54:40:09 - 00:54:59:09
Kristen
So there are some malabsorption disorders, parasites, or other medical conditions that you would should talk to your vet about that could increase their appetite. That could lead to copper fascia. So I would say the first thing I would do is call the vet immediately and get your dog in there and make sure there's not a medical reason for this behavior.

00:54:59:11 - 00:55:20:20
Kristen
If if the if it is, then there's probably something that can be done about it. Medication or, you know, some type of behavior modification training. And if it's, if medical is ruled out and it is a behavior, then there are some other things you can do. Obviously you can clean it up immediately. If you pick up the poop immediately, your dog won't have a chance to eat it.

00:55:20:20 - 00:55:38:01
Kristen
So, and then of course, you can supervise them a little bit better. And there are some deterrents you could use. This is the funny one, because there are actually deterrents that you can spray on dog poop to make it so that your dog won't like the taste of it.

00:55:38:03 - 00:55:42:15
Speaker 3
Which is so strange.

00:55:42:16 - 00:55:44:10
Speaker 3
But,

00:55:44:12 - 00:56:05:01
Kristen
Yeah, that's a tough one. And it's like I said, if it is a medical reason or a nutritional reason and you can rectify the situation, that's hopefully that's the situation because that's probably the easiest way to solve the problem. Otherwise it's a behavior issue. You're going to have to keep a closer eye, pick up that poop and you know, do your best to manage the problem.

00:56:05:03 - 00:56:30:00
Chris
What Kristen's trying to say, James. Maybe your dog's just a freak. Maybe he's just a bit freaky. I've got I've got no advice. I've got no advice. I this horrifies me. It is disgusting. And I can't believe that there's somebody out there who is, like, sitting there. Hey, the lab in a lab coat in an engineering room going, I know how we fix this.

00:56:30:02 - 00:56:37:17
Chris
Maybe the poop taste worse. And they developed these product to make the poop taste worse.

00:56:37:19 - 00:56:39:00
Speaker 3
Craig.

00:56:39:01 - 00:56:42:10
Chris
And this guy's probably rolling in cash, too, because for.

00:56:42:10 - 00:56:42:17
Kristen
Sure.

00:56:42:17 - 00:56:45:14
Chris
Dogs are with these issues.

00:56:45:16 - 00:56:47:03
Speaker 3
But that's a that's a.

00:56:47:08 - 00:56:55:08
Kristen
That's a yes note to end on. But, you know, hey, props to James for stepping up and asking the question. I know that, yes, it's an embarrassing thing for you to be dealing with.

00:56:55:10 - 00:57:03:05
Chris
It could be it could be embarrassing to ask. So, I'm sorry I'm giggling a little bit, but it's just it's nasty, man.

00:57:03:07 - 00:57:08:07
Speaker 3
It's, That. All right, well, let's clean it up. Sign it up. Wonderful.

00:57:08:07 - 00:57:22:20
Chris
Now we are ending on a high note. This has been truly a posh, poised and professional episode. We covered all sorts of topics, from, dying to eating your own food. I mean, that is, that's a pet I.

00:57:22:21 - 00:57:24:19
Speaker 3
Know messed up show. Yeah.

00:57:24:19 - 00:57:32:05
Chris
Pets add life. More like pets. Add deterrents to the poop so the dogs don't eat it.

00:57:32:07 - 00:57:32:17
Speaker 3
I.

00:57:32:19 - 00:57:34:00
Chris
Can't get over it, man.

00:57:34:03 - 00:57:37:08
Speaker 3
He's going to be stuck. But thank God for. I know I'm for our.

00:57:37:10 - 00:57:39:16
Kristen
Guests today, because otherwise, this show would have been.

00:57:39:19 - 00:57:56:12
Chris
Other. Yeah, guys completely canceled. No. No substance. Thank you, everybody, for joining us. If you like what we're doing, if you think our potty humor is funny, go ahead and give us a five star review. And if you don't think it's funny, you give us a five star review and write in the comments. Why? Like, you know, give me some notes.

00:57:56:12 - 00:58:13:02
Chris
Give me some notes on, you know, whether I should go bigger or smaller, less poop jokes, more poop jokes, whatever, whatever you think. But still leave those five stars, share the show with a friend, and be sure to check us out every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts. Kristin, anything else to add before we send them on their way?

00:58:13:04 - 00:58:16:07
Kristen
Nope. Just watch where you step.

00:58:16:09 - 00:58:17:07
Speaker 3
Kids.

00:58:17:09 - 00:58:29:14
Chris
Just watch where you step. You never know when you'll step in a fresh episode of the Pal podcast. Let's see you all next Tuesday. Till then, be kind to yourself. Be kind to your pets, and we'll see you then.

00:58:29:16 - 00:58:30:04
Speaker 3
Bye bye.