40. Giving Thanks: Stories, Tips & Gratitude

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00:00:00:04 - 00:00:14:14
Voice Over
Pets Add Life. Your guide to the latest in pet trends, products and the joy of the human animal bond with Kristen Levine and Chris Bonifati powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog TV.

00:00:14:16 - 00:00:26:13
Chris
All right, welcome to another very special episode of Pets Add Life. This is going to be our Thanksgiving special, and I am one of your hosts Chris Bonifati.

00:00:26:13 - 00:00:33:14
Chris
And joining me, as always, is the fantastic and fabulous Kristen Levine. Kristen, it's Thanksgiving week. How are you doing?

00:00:33:18 - 00:00:45:01
Kristen
I'm doing great. I love this week because it's a short workweek and, you know, get to spend time with family and stuff our faces and watch football.

00:00:45:03 - 00:00:48:18
Chris
God bless America. Are you doing any traveling or are you staying at home?

00:00:48:21 - 00:01:01:00
Kristen
Yeah, actually, we are just taking a quick trip, down to Atlanta to spend Thanksgiving with my husband's sister and her family. My mom is going to join us, and all the dogs and cats will be there, so it'll be a lot of fun.

00:01:01:00 - 00:01:03:19
Chris
That's a that sounds like a full house to me.

00:01:03:21 - 00:01:05:00
Kristen
How about you? What are you doing?

00:01:05:06 - 00:01:22:15
Chris
Yeah, we're going upstate to see, to spend it with my parents and, a few of my my cousins. But it's the same. The same thing. Full house. Lots of dogs, lots of cats. Tiger has to stay home because we're afraid of bringing her to a new location, we think. Sure, she'll. She'd rather just die.

00:01:22:15 - 00:01:24:19
Kristen
She'd prefer to stay home.

00:01:24:21 - 00:01:49:09
Chris
But, I'm going to have a product recommendation. Something that I bought, later on in the show. That will make me feel a lot more comfortable about leaving her home for a few days. So we'll get to that. This is a special episode. We're kind of breaking the format wide open. We're going to have, some incredibly unique guests that you've never heard from for, that's that's a guarantee we're going to share some, special stories.

00:01:49:09 - 00:02:03:23
Chris
We've got some product, ideas kind of based around this wonderful holiday. And we'll still answer two of your questions at the end of the show. So don't fret. But in the meantime, let's go ahead and get into story time.

00:02:04:01 - 00:02:07:20
Voice Over
Kristen and Chris present story time.

00:02:07:22 - 00:02:31:18
Kristen
All right. Chris. So my story this week is one about a new trend. And it's people taking bucket list trips with their senior dogs. Now I know bucket lists for for dogs and for pets in general is not necessarily a new thing, but apparently the travel part of it is. So maybe you can work for your Thanksgiving holiday trip.

00:02:31:19 - 00:02:51:06
Kristen
Maybe you can kind of make it into a bucket list trip for your dog by doing something they would really love to do while you're there. But I read about this in, it was called Artful Living. And this this writer, she discovered this trend when she was hiking in Red Rock Canyon, and she stopped to pet.

00:02:51:06 - 00:03:10:09
Kristen
This guy's a golden retriever. And, he said, oh, you know, we're on a bucket list trip. He's, has a terminal illness, and he loves this hike. So we are on this hike for him. And so that kind of gave her the idea to take her senior dog on a bucket list trip, and I got.

00:03:10:11 - 00:03:36:05
Kristen
I got to kind of question this bucket list trip because her bucket list, her dog bucket list trip was to the Plaza Hotel in New York City. That sounds like her bucket list to me, but yeah, but she did say they have incredible canine amenities there. And, so I guess, you know, he really enjoyed, sleeping on 1000 count Egyptian cotton sheets and enjoying the canine menu.

00:03:36:07 - 00:03:54:06
Kristen
And and she even talks about, a couple in North Carolina who lives on the beach, who who said, you know, we don't necessarily have to go far for our dogs bucket list trip because our dog just loves the beach. So they take several beach trips, a month for their dog. So I thought that was kind of cool.

00:03:54:07 - 00:04:01:11
Kristen
And, I just was wondering if, if Tiger had a bucket list trip, would it be to the kitchen?

00:04:01:13 - 00:04:02:16
Ron
Oh, it would be.

00:04:02:16 - 00:04:13:20
Chris
It would be to wherever the closest slice of American cheese is. So she gets to do her bucket list trip every day at about 2:30 a.m.. She had.

00:04:14:01 - 00:04:14:21
Kristen
230 a.

00:04:14:21 - 00:04:37:07
Chris
M. Yeah, well, she wakes me up because she's a cat, and that's what cats do. And she wants a little slice of cheese and cheese. So she gets one, and that's my good. And then I get a slice of cheese, too, so it's not that bad. It's really not that bad. Now she's got God bless her. She's got, not a single adventurous bone left in her body.

00:04:37:09 - 00:05:00:23
Chris
We can leave the sliding door open. She won't even go investigate it. So, yeah, her bucket list trip would be to the kitchen, to eat. I mean, it's gotten to the point where she'll smell just the coils of our stove heating up, and it doesn't matter what we're making. She comes down and she's trying to climb up my leg because she just wants the people food.

00:05:01:00 - 00:05:09:03
Chris
Sure. But, this Thanksgiving, I'm sure she'll get some. She'll get some stuff. And that. That's a great segue in my story. Okay.

00:05:09:03 - 00:05:09:10
Kristen
What's your.

00:05:09:10 - 00:05:32:05
Chris
Story? Because with Thanksgiving coming up, there's a lot of questions of, oh, can my cat or my dog eat blank? And I want to preface this whole entire thing by saying that the, the, the funniest time, I've ever seen an animal partake in Thanksgiving was, growing up with our Maine Coon gizmo, your regal gray and white Maine Coon.

00:05:32:06 - 00:05:57:02
Chris
You know, lion's mane, fur and everything. And, we really didn't let him eat people food because he was. He was truly mischievous and capable of opening cabinets and getting into the refrigerator, so we didn't like to tempt him. But one time for Thanksgiving, my mom let him lick the, the mixer wand, from the whipped cream.

00:05:57:04 - 00:05:58:02
Ron
Right.

00:05:58:04 - 00:06:11:12
Chris
And he went nuts, and it was all up in his beard, like that. And he needed a bath. And he hasn't. He never had whipped cream after that. The bath was not. He didn't. He was not a water cat. He didn't like that.

00:06:11:12 - 00:06:13:13
Kristen
But you don't happen to have a photo of that of the.

00:06:13:13 - 00:06:16:01
Chris
I actually, I actually think I do.

00:06:16:03 - 00:06:16:08
Kristen
Oh.

00:06:16:12 - 00:06:17:07
Chris
And,

00:06:17:09 - 00:06:18:06
Kristen
Cool to see.

00:06:18:07 - 00:06:33:08
Chris
Remind me to send it over because my mom, it came up on my mom's photo memories and she sent it over. So I think I actually do have the picture of him licking a wand. But it brings me to the the meat and potatoes.

00:06:33:10 - 00:06:35:04
Ron
I like that.

00:06:35:06 - 00:06:56:15
Chris
Of what? What can you give your dog? And general rule of thumb, if it has sugar, if it has spice, and if it has a lot of salt, don't do it. They they they are not built for that. But stuff that's really actually super healthy for your dog. And you could actually incorporate this into their everyday diet.

00:06:56:17 - 00:07:19:11
Chris
Sweet potatoes and pumpkin. Incredible. For your dogs, your dog's health. So just make sure that if you're using like canned pumpkin puree, it's not like the canned pumpkin pie. Pumpkin spice. It's got to be the raw pumpkin. Yeah. Those spices. Give your dog cinnamon and see what kind of blow out they have in the backyard. You know you're not going to have a good time.

00:07:19:13 - 00:07:43:11
Chris
Yeah. Chris. Same with sweet potatoes. There's actually a lot of, dog treats, dog food, that sweet potato based, very healthy for them has all the good stuff that they need. You know, dogs are, not carnivorous. They are omnivores. They are opportunistic omnivores, so they can get their nutrition from things like potatoes and pumpkins and then a big no, no, turkey bone.

00:07:43:11 - 00:07:59:15
Chris
The dog cannot chew on the turkey bone. It's not tough enough. Very similar to chicken bones. They will splinter. They become a choking hazard and can really mess stuff up. So avoid letting your dog chew on the turkey bone. But that's. That's my advice.

00:07:59:17 - 00:08:02:09
Kristen
Great advice. I can I add two things to that?

00:08:02:09 - 00:08:04:11
Chris
Yeah, yeah. Go ahead.

00:08:04:13 - 00:08:26:04
Kristen
Make sure you keep an eye on the garbage can. Because when you're throwing those turkey carcasses and things in there, your dog might try to get into the trash can. And also, if you have guests, which you whether you are a guest or your hosting guests, make sure to tell everyone to please not feed the dog.

00:08:26:06 - 00:08:28:11
Chris
That's because very fair point.

00:08:28:12 - 00:08:29:07
Kristen
People are well mean.

00:08:29:07 - 00:08:41:18
Chris
In the photograph. Okay, I'm the photograph. I'm using Microsoft Outlook to send it over to, all the good stuff and I'm sharing post.

00:08:41:20 - 00:08:42:00
Ron
You.

00:08:42:00 - 00:08:43:19
Kristen
Sharon, it will magically appear.

00:08:43:21 - 00:08:48:08
Chris
It will magically appear. We can't see it right now, but it'll it'll magically appear at some point.

00:08:48:10 - 00:08:52:02
Kristen
I'm going to pretend I'm seeing it right now. Oh, my gosh, that's so cute.

00:08:52:04 - 00:08:54:06
Ron
Oh my goodness.

00:08:54:08 - 00:09:03:16
Chris
Okay. And I believe that story time. So we're going to move on to a very special guest segment,

00:09:03:18 - 00:09:09:09
Voice Over
Beyond the Leash exploring the untold stories of pet passion and professionalism.

00:09:09:11 - 00:09:27:06
Kristen
All right. So normally we have two guests on the show. And for this Thanksgiving special, we've decided that Chris and I will actually be the guests so that maybe you can learn a little bit more about us if you care to know more. So how's this going to work? Yeah.

00:09:27:08 - 00:09:47:06
Chris
So we're we're going to have producer Ron on the show to ask us some of these questions. Hey, Ron. Hey. How's it going? And I believe we've got ten questions. The questions are going to pop up on the screen. Christine and I will each have one minute to give our answers, and then we'll move on to the next question.

00:09:47:08 - 00:10:08:22
Chris
We have full disclosure. We did get to take a quick peek at the questions, but that was like a few weeks ago, so I forgot them. So I'm going to consider we're going to go ahead and say that we don't know what these questions are. So we're going to be thinking on our feet a bit. So so excuse our, and ums as we try our best to retain our professional acumen.

00:10:09:00 - 00:10:27:12
Ron
That sounds like a plan. I really don't belong here. But I will say you do. If somebody exceeds the minute, I'll take that person out of the show. All right? I have that freedom here to control what's going on. We have a minute for each answer. All right, so don't you know the fact that you've been doing this show or, like, for two years?

00:10:27:14 - 00:10:43:20
Ron
It means nothing to me. I really want to make sure that our rules here are being being met and nobody's doing whatever. And especially Chris, because Chris is a good girl I know all about, the Chris I have, I'm fearful, to be honest. I don't know how it's going to go. I don't know.

00:10:43:22 - 00:10:46:20
Kristen
I feel like this is a sort of like an audition.

00:10:46:22 - 00:10:51:00
Ron
It is an audition. And you, you're going to fail, all right? I'm just saying you're going to fail.

00:10:51:00 - 00:10:52:23
Kristen
This is set up to fail.

00:10:53:00 - 00:10:57:14
Ron
So please behave. It's Thanksgiving, all right? Just be good, okay? Don't be a Chris.

00:10:57:18 - 00:11:04:18
Chris
Yeah. Don't be a Chris. Santa Claus is watching at this point, right? He's he's really looking at that list right now, so be good.

00:11:04:20 - 00:11:22:02
Ron
All right. Are you ready? Here's question number one. Are you sure? You ready? Yeah. Betty, you got to got a timer straight after this question. Let's do it. Tell me about your first pets. What do you remember most about them and what impact did they have on your life? Chris, you start.

00:11:22:04 - 00:11:40:11
Chris
Okay. My first pet. I was not old enough to really remember. I was a husky named pokey, and my parents had them while I was one and two, so I don't remember it at all. So we're going to fast forward to the pets. I do remember critter and coaching my first two.

00:11:40:13 - 00:11:41:14
Ron
Cats.

00:11:41:16 - 00:12:15:09
Chris
That were my parents cats, and I remember they were direct opposites of each other. Critter was incredibly personable. Greet everybody who came into the house. Would always be, loving up on everybody and climbing all the furniture. And coach lived in my parents closet like, completely scared of everything. Any loud noise? But, the days that I stayed home from school sick, both cats would come and comfort me and keep me company.

00:12:15:11 - 00:12:23:22
Chris
They were absolutely incredible. I think we had them until I was about 9 or 10, before they passed. And they. That's my minute.

00:12:24:00 - 00:12:28:04
Kristen
Your time is up, critter and coach. The the great thing.

00:12:28:07 - 00:12:30:18
Ron
That's good. All right, Chris, are you ready?

00:12:30:20 - 00:12:31:20
Kristen
I'm ready, I'm ready.

00:12:32:00 - 00:12:35:06
Ron
All right, let's do it. Okay, here's your time.

00:12:35:08 - 00:12:59:12
Kristen
So my first apparently my first pet was a dog named Susie, but I don't remember her because I was, like, two years old. And then we had a dog named Noel who apparently didn't like kids. And so we had to find a new home for her. But the the dog that I remember, the most as a child was Ginger, and Ginger was a blond cocker spaniel, and she was my best buddy.

00:12:59:14 - 00:13:15:04
Kristen
You know, when we when I was a kid, we moved around a lot with my dad. Would get transferred every couple of years. So I was it was kind of hard to make friends because you were always the new kid. So what I remember most about Ginger was I really, truly felt that she was my absolute best friend.

00:13:15:06 - 00:13:35:19
Kristen
And I think I credit Ginger a little bit for me going into the pet industry as a career because, this is a little sad, but bring it down here real quick. But when my parents divorced, my mom gave Ginger to a friend, and that devastated me. And so there.

00:13:35:21 - 00:13:38:11
Chris
Ending on a high note and not a high note.

00:13:38:11 - 00:13:46:22
Ron
You know, I mean, I know, so it's all right. That was beautiful, everybody. That was question number one. Are you ready for question number two?

00:13:47:00 - 00:13:48:02
Chris
I'm always prepared.

00:13:48:05 - 00:14:04:09
Ron
Woo hoo! All right. Let's do it. How did you first get into the headspace? Was there a particular moment or experience that sparked your journey? This question is for you, Kristen.

00:14:04:11 - 00:14:37:22
Kristen
Okay. Yes. I first got into the pet industry when I got a job, actually started out as a volunteer for the SPCA of Tampa Bay. I was new to Florida and my husband knew the executive director there. So he introduced us and I started volunteering there. And a few few short months later, they had a PR position open up, which I applied for and got the job and ended up working there for 15 years doing PR for, the SPCA, which, you know, ultimately it was like the greatest job ever.

00:14:37:22 - 00:14:51:02
Kristen
You know, my job was to promote pet adoption, responsible pet care. And that really led to this whole fabulous career working with pets and people who love them. Do I have to take the full minute?

00:14:51:02 - 00:14:52:06
Chris
You got to take the full minute.

00:14:52:11 - 00:14:58:05
Kristen
Oh, okay. So what was the question?

00:14:58:07 - 00:15:02:21
Chris
Now you're just stalling. No, no, no, you're you're stalling.

00:15:02:23 - 00:15:04:22
Kristen
Well oh never mind.

00:15:05:00 - 00:15:05:23
Ron
You're out of time.

00:15:06:01 - 00:15:07:12
Kristen
Okay. Wow.

00:15:07:14 - 00:15:08:09
Ron
Like a.

00:15:08:11 - 00:15:10:23
Chris
Cheater.

00:15:11:01 - 00:15:12:18
Kristen
Do we really have to take the whole minute?

00:15:12:20 - 00:15:20:03
Ron
I think so, okay. All right. Yeah. Because otherwise somebody is going to say something for, like, a yes or no answer at 10s, and it's not fun. We need to.

00:15:20:04 - 00:15:22:07
Chris
Get into the pet space. Yes.

00:15:22:12 - 00:15:28:22
Ron
Next question. All right. This one's for you, Chris.

00:15:29:00 - 00:15:52:18
Chris
Okay. Well, when I graduated college, way back in the year of our Lord 2014, I was supposed to get a software job, but, the, venture capitalist who funded that firm, was, like, either arrested or slapped with some fines. And so they stopped. They they they withdrew all the hiring. So I moved back home. And that's important for two reasons.

00:15:52:18 - 00:16:13:11
Chris
A, it changed the path of my career. And B introduced me to my wife. But we're talking about the career, so I was pretty depressed. You know, all my friends from college were up in Boston, and I was back at home, so I was doing a lot of ridiculous jobs. I was, a camp counselor. I was bartending, I built haunted houses.

00:16:13:13 - 00:16:30:21
Chris
I worked for a cosmetics company. I worked for shipping company, and eventually, my next temp job landed me at APA for a temp position. I did amazing because I'm an amazing person, and they decided to hire me on full time. And that's how you use a minute, Chris, you.

00:16:30:21 - 00:16:32:06
Kristen
Just nailed it, right?

00:16:32:06 - 00:16:33:12
Chris
That's how you use a minute.

00:16:33:12 - 00:16:34:16
Kristen
Okay, okay.

00:16:34:18 - 00:16:41:10
Ron
I'll give you another 10s to talk about that gig at the cosmetic company, because, I feel that there was that there. There's a story there.

00:16:41:10 - 00:17:03:10
Chris
Oh, it was miserable, man. It it was like the writing was on the wall that this company was about to fold, and everybody knew it, and everybody hated me because they they they I guess, represented like the temp who took somebody's job. And yeah, it was it was awful. My job entailed fixing all of their spreadsheets.

00:17:03:10 - 00:17:05:12
Chris
There is this,

00:17:05:13 - 00:17:06:18
Ron
And we're.

00:17:06:20 - 00:17:08:01
Kristen
Out of time.

00:17:08:03 - 00:17:11:00
Ron
Out there. That the second you say spreadsheets.

00:17:11:01 - 00:17:16:00
Chris
I was spreadsheets. It was miserable. And. All right.

00:17:16:01 - 00:17:18:18
Ron
Question number three. Who's first now as a Chris.

00:17:18:18 - 00:17:20:08
Chris
Yes, I believe I am.

00:17:20:10 - 00:17:30:06
Ron
All right, Chris, if you could choose any animal to add to your family, no restrictions, what would it be and why?

00:17:30:07 - 00:17:53:00
Chris
That this is actually a great question. I think we're going to just take, we're going to take morality and practicality out of the equation entirely. I think part of me wants to say raccoon because they're guys. So that, oh, they are adorable. They're just little guys. Yeah. Little thumbs. And they could do stuff. And I'm sure, like, if you could domesticate a raccoon, like in this hypothetical, you could train it.

00:17:53:00 - 00:18:17:14
Chris
And they have done so. You could probably like train it to like change the TV channel for you. But I'm going to go completely off the rails here and say that having a giraffe would be amazing. Like a giraffe is just get like, imagine a giraffe in your backyard and you wake up and you're sitting there enjoying your morning coffee, looking out the window, and this giraffe just sticks its head in and you give them, like, some leaves and a banana.

00:18:17:18 - 00:18:34:07
Chris
And maybe you guys have, like, an unspoken bond. Maybe you could communicate telepathically. Maybe it lets you ride on its back sometimes. Maybe it wears a little bow tie like all the way down here. Maybe all the way up here. Who knows? Such possibilities are endless.

00:18:34:09 - 00:18:37:17
Kristen
Oh my gosh, a giraffe.

00:18:37:17 - 00:18:39:02
Ron
Kristen. Who knew?

00:18:39:02 - 00:18:43:13
Kristen
Giraffe? I would not have guessed that. Nor the raccoon.

00:18:43:15 - 00:18:44:22
Ron
I asked.

00:18:45:00 - 00:19:12:16
Kristen
Are you ready? I'm just. Well, I'm kind of ready. I'm torn though, because I'm torn between a miniature donkey. Because when we lived in Florida, we had two mini donkeys, and, they were the best pets we had Izzy and Willow and, they were so sweet. They're super curious. Our dog used to chase them up and down the fence line, and they would, you know, do their hedgehog, which sounds hilarious.

00:19:12:16 - 00:19:37:04
Kristen
And don't ask me to do that because I can't do. Come on. No. Well, No. Okay. Oh, oh, oh, she. Anyway. But these donkeys were so great because they brought the whole neighborhood together. People would stop by and, you know, they would have bring carrots or apples or they would just come by to ask what their names were.

00:19:37:04 - 00:19:48:12
Kristen
And, on occasion, when they were feeling a little frisky, people would come watch that part. But, but we were just known as the House with the donkeys.

00:19:48:14 - 00:20:04:09
Chris
That's hilarious. I couldn't do it, donkey, because my first ever horror movie I ever watched as a kid was Pinocchio, right? Which, when you're a small child, is absolutely a horror film.

00:20:04:11 - 00:20:17:19
Ron
Guys, we're off to question number four. All right, Chris, and this is for you. What's the funniest or quickest thing your pet does that always makes you laugh.

00:20:17:21 - 00:20:42:19
Kristen
Okay. This one's pretty easy. So our dog tulip is a miniature pinscher Chihuahua, Jack Russell mix. And she's about 16 pounds, and she's got these long, skinny legs. And when she when she walks, or we call it, we call it her. Prance her something. Something's wrong with her shoulder sockets because she walks. Yeah. I don't know if you're, if you're watching, you can see what I'm doing.

00:20:42:23 - 00:21:01:06
Kristen
Like her legs kick out. Like they don't just go forward. They go out and around out and around. And if you're if you're watching her, if she's coming at you, it is the cutest thing ever. And people always comment when we take her. We take her places and people are coming towards us. They always say, your dog is prancing.

00:21:01:06 - 00:21:01:16
Kristen
Did you know.

00:21:01:16 - 00:21:03:00
Ron
That?

00:21:03:02 - 00:21:18:01
Kristen
Yes. I guess we should remember Prancer, but I don't know why that is. I'm not familiar enough with any of those three breeds to know if any of them do that. Or maybe it's just a genetic deformity that causes it, but it is really super cute.

00:21:18:03 - 00:21:19:20
Chris
She's just fancy.

00:21:19:22 - 00:21:21:04
Kristen
She has fancy.

00:21:21:06 - 00:21:24:04
Chris
Just fancy.

00:21:24:06 - 00:21:27:04
Ron
All right, Chris, are you ready for this?

00:21:27:04 - 00:21:28:11
Chris
Yeah. Give it to me.

00:21:28:13 - 00:21:30:05
Ron
There you go.

00:21:30:07 - 00:21:56:15
Chris
All right, so Tiger's got a lot of quirks. He's a weird old lady, but I think my favorite is she still sees hope, and I as like her kittens. And so if you if you after, like, a long day or a long walk or workout, lay down on the floor, she will stand on your chest and lick your entire face like she was giving you a bath, like you were a kitten.

00:21:56:17 - 00:22:22:22
Chris
And it's disgusting. Her breath smells like cat food, but it's so adorable because you could tell she's not being dainty about it. She's getting in there full tongue. Huge laughs. Really. And you're just looking at her like, what are you doing? And then she'll get up to your hairline and start pulling at the roots of your hair, which is just a ridiculous thing.

00:22:22:22 - 00:22:27:04
Chris
And now she's learned that that's the best way to wake us up to when she's hungry in the middle of the night.

00:22:27:07 - 00:22:33:16
Ron
So here you go.

00:22:33:18 - 00:22:50:04
Ron
All right. That was amazing. That's four questions in, and we're off to question number five. Chris. This one is for you. If you could invent a pet product to make your life easier, what would it be? Chris?

00:22:50:06 - 00:23:11:08
Chris
Okay, yeah, that's a great question. I'm going to assume again that this hypothetical throws away all, morality or science. And I think what I would want is a similar acronym of me if or when I go away, that could just take care of my pet like just a robot. Chris, that acts like me and knows how to take care of my pet.

00:23:11:13 - 00:23:36:00
Chris
And the pet will look at it and be like, yes, my owner is still home. I haven't been abandoned because there's nothing more heartbreaking than when I check the cameras in the morning and I hear Tiger desperately meowing because she's deaf, so she doesn't know if we're home. So she's like kind of echo locating in a way, but she knows if she yells long enough, somebody's going to come find her and see what she needs.

00:23:36:02 - 00:23:54:06
Chris
So it would have to be either a clone or a robot. Chris. That could take care of the pet when I'm away so that I don't cry on Thanksgiving and Christmas. That that's exactly what it would have to me.

00:23:54:07 - 00:23:57:01
Chris
Somebody get on that. Elon Musk.

00:23:57:03 - 00:23:58:02
Kristen
Yeah, yeah.

00:23:58:04 - 00:24:10:20
Ron
I think we're almost there Chris I'm ready. Thank you. Like in a year you're going to have that eye Chris taking care of either Tiger or an I tiger. And then it's just going to be robots taking care of each.

00:24:10:20 - 00:24:17:04
Chris
Other and robots taking care of each other. You know, sometimes I feel like we're already there. Aren't we all just robots taking care of each other?

00:24:17:06 - 00:24:23:20
Ron
Robots add like our next show coming up, next year. But off to you, Krista levine.

00:24:23:22 - 00:24:49:17
Kristen
Okay, well, I bet you guys don't know this, but I already created a pet product. And let me tell you a little backstory on it. I've been blogging about pet care for a little over a decade now, and I used to get really great, traffic, like a lot of use to any of the articles I wrote about how to clean up dog pee or poop or cat peer poop.

00:24:49:18 - 00:25:09:13
Kristen
You know, like cat peeing on the bed or, you know, the dog barking in the house. And so I used to recommend the products I used, and, I, I decided, you know what? I'm just going to create my own because there were certain things I didn't like about some of those products. So I have my very own line of pet staining odor remover called Kinder Bean.

00:25:09:15 - 00:25:27:20
Kristen
And it's, available on Amazon and kinder being pet.com. And I also launched a laundry formula last year. And they're all, by the way, enzyme based, sort of all natural, USA made women owned company Kinder Bean, Petco. How's that?

00:25:27:22 - 00:25:40:06
Ron
How's that? I would say that if there was a there's this was a contest, I would definitely give Chris this, this one boy for Chris. That wasn't the question. If you could invent don't plug somebody already.

00:25:40:06 - 00:25:42:07
Chris
Already. But she did invented it.

00:25:42:07 - 00:25:48:15
Ron
She invented it. Now think of something like an I. Chris robot or something that wasn't invented.

00:25:48:15 - 00:25:52:15
Chris
I don't think I Chris robot deserves a win. It seems lazy.

00:25:52:16 - 00:25:54:07
Ron
You're too kind. It's Thanksgiving.

00:25:54:07 - 00:25:55:21
Chris
Yeah, I am kind.

00:25:56:03 - 00:26:02:02
Ron
Like God. All right. Anyway, just, if I question, just look at the question for us, okay?

00:26:02:04 - 00:26:03:17
Chris
It's dream big.

00:26:03:17 - 00:26:09:12
Kristen
I said create. Okay. If you could invent, invent, create. Really? Is that that different?

00:26:09:13 - 00:26:16:22
Ron
No. The could that the thing is, is there something that doesn't exist right now? Anything that you could go out and invent now?

00:26:17:01 - 00:26:27:02
Kristen
Okay, well, as a matter of fact, I invented and have a patent on a product I created when we had a horse. Would you like to hear more about that?

00:26:27:04 - 00:26:30:13
Ron
Not really. Question number six.

00:26:30:15 - 00:26:40:17
Ron
Now here's Chris. Now question your first question number six. Oh, top three foods you'd actually share with your pet. No.

00:26:40:17 - 00:26:48:12
Kristen
Joe's top three foods. And I could answer this in three seconds, let alone 60. But next I add is a timer going.

00:26:48:15 - 00:26:49:07
Ron
And.

00:26:49:09 - 00:27:18:14
Kristen
Okay, so the first food I share with tulip is little pieces of cheese, but more specifically Boar's Head, smoked Gouda. Or she also likes Vermont's Sharp Cheddar. So those are her favorites and my favorites as well. Let's see. The second thing I share with her is peanut butter. And we like Teddy's peanut butter. I think it's the smooth.

00:27:18:16 - 00:27:41:01
Kristen
Yeah, I don't like the crunchy peanut butter. So she likes that. What else do I share with her? Oh. So sometimes we'll share, you know, after dinner, I'll let her lick the plate a little bit. If there is some neat little bit of lean meat left on it. Usually it's turkey or chicken or sometimes fish.

00:27:41:03 - 00:27:48:13
Kristen
So. Yeah. That's it. Cheese, peanut butter and lean meats. Nothing greasy.

00:27:48:15 - 00:27:50:14
Ron
Is a good answers. Good stuff.

00:27:50:16 - 00:28:18:19
Chris
I'm going to sound like a sound. Like a like a redneck. Compared to you. My like your fancy cheeses. Because here's go here's tiger number. I'm going to go. I'm going to work my way up. Okay. Number three most often shared, when I make chicken, I always take about 4 or 5oz of the chicken and pan roast it without any seasoning or oil for tiger to enjoy.

00:28:18:21 - 00:28:40:03
Chris
Because it's really good. Really good for the cat. Number two, unsalted butter. I'll put some unsalted butter just, like, a little bit and in a little bowl and let her like that because she gets she loves dairy. She like the second. If I'm cooking the second butter hits the pan nuts. She's going insane. She gets a little bit of butter.

00:28:40:03 - 00:28:59:14
Chris
I know it's not the best thing for me. Just a little bit as a cream. And then finally, the famous American slices of American cheese. The cheapest you could find, but not quite the Kraft Singles, because I hate all the extra wrapper. But like the store brand, hyper processed American cheese. Chris, get some tiger, get some. And everybody's happy.

00:28:59:16 - 00:29:16:02
Ron
That that was good. Guys. That was amazing. Very cool. All right Chris, question number seven. What's the best TV show or movie to watch with your pet snuggled up beside?

00:29:16:04 - 00:29:37:18
Chris
This is a this is a great question because Tiger does not. She's not one of those animals who understands the television. You know how some animals go like watch and I'm no. I know Ron knows this. Because of dog TV. Some animals truly do watch Tiger pays no mind, but she does hear the television. Or at least she used to before she went deaf.

00:29:37:19 - 00:30:10:15
Chris
I would say that the the times she actually comes down is when it's like something light and animated or like a musical. She doesn't like the way the surround sound shakes the house in, like, action movies. So if there's, like, explosions and stuff like that, she's going to go upstairs. So if I were to pick one, movie that would, like, guarantee Tiger's participation, I'm going to go ahead and go with the original Lion King.

00:30:10:17 - 00:30:21:02
Chris
The original animated Lion King. I feel like it's right up or alley where, like the animated Hercules. Like those those like my generation's Disney animated films. Oh.

00:30:21:02 - 00:30:21:22
Kristen
Very good.

00:30:22:01 - 00:30:23:15
Ron
And it's.

00:30:23:17 - 00:30:25:07
Kristen
Very good.

00:30:25:09 - 00:30:27:19
Chris
Those horns on the music. I really.

00:30:27:21 - 00:30:39:14
Ron
Don't. I see you talking and you're like, I don't. It's not. I could have a tattoo, but we're getting there. But we're getting here. Yeah. All right. Chris, Olivia. Enough to you.

00:30:39:16 - 00:30:59:19
Kristen
Okay. Well, so tulip and I do watch TV together from time to time. Usually it's either on Friday night and we'd like to watch true crime stories. So, I like to snuggle up with her then, because, you know, it's kind of scary stuff. And and then on the weekends, I watch TV sometimes in the morning while I'm having my coffee.

00:30:59:21 - 00:31:25:19
Kristen
And I don't know if she enjoys it, but I enjoy watching the, Food Network, so, you know, like Pioneer Woman and Girl Meets farm, and I'm in a garden, and I just, I just watch these shows thinking, wow, I should make that. And then I never do. So, but she just loves to be snuggled up with me, and, we do from time to time, watch dog TV together as well.

00:31:25:19 - 00:31:38:04
Kristen
Usually I'm on my laptop while she's watching, and she is one of those dogs that will watch every movement on the screen, which is really fun to watch, to watch her watching other dogs, being active. And then. And then, of course, she takes a nap.

00:31:38:08 - 00:31:46:00
Chris
So it's nice nature intended.

00:31:46:01 - 00:31:59:22
Ron
All right. Good. We're doing great. You're doing great, guys. This is great. Let's just do this for, like, hours. Question number 125. All right. Question number eight. Who's starting now?

00:32:00:00 - 00:32:01:18
Kristen
Krista, rest. Oh, me. Okay.

00:32:02:00 - 00:32:14:22
Ron
Here you go. What's the most heart warming excuse you had with a pet that you'll always remember?

00:32:15:00 - 00:32:47:02
Kristen
I guess that would have to be taking chili to the beach. Chili was our lab mix that we had for 11 years, and he absolutely loved the beach. We would take him to Honeymoon Island, which is in Clearwater, Florida, and they have a great dog beach there. And, The reason it's heart, it's a heartwarming memory for me is because he was diagnosed with with cancer and, probably from the time he was diagnosed to the time we lost him was about four months.

00:32:47:04 - 00:33:19:02
Kristen
And so during that time, we would take him to the beach almost every weekend. And it just made him so happy. And I still I still will watch the videos of of those days because he, you know, he's running in the service and he's rolling on his back, you know, scratching his back in the sand and, you know, I will always remember those moments with chili because we were able to kind of give him, some really great, meaningful moments at the end.

00:33:19:04 - 00:33:22:15
Ron
That was nice. Crisp on a fatty.

00:33:22:17 - 00:33:46:23
Chris
That's going to be tough to top. That that Maine Coon cat gizmo. Some quick background. The way we acquired gizmo is my mother and I went to the store to get craft paper before school started, and we came back with a cat. So, when when we brought the cat back, for anybody who hasn't brought a new cat into their home, there was a huge adjustment process.

00:33:46:23 - 00:34:06:14
Chris
The cat is usually very skittish, especially, gizmo was kept in this cage. That was way, way, way too small. So he was he was already fully grown. So the heartwarming experience was my parents telling me, listen, it might take a few weeks, but that night, when we brought him home, I'd fallen asleep. He was under the sofa, and I'd fallen asleep on the rug.

00:34:06:16 - 00:34:23:19
Chris
And that night, the first night that he was home, he comes out from under the sofa. And he gets up on my chest and lays down. And I remember waking up to him being there and just being so happy, so genuinely happy to have this cat and had a low esteem.

00:34:23:21 - 00:34:25:19
Kristen
Oh that's sweet.

00:34:25:21 - 00:34:31:22
Chris
That was tough to fit into a minute. I had to truncate. I was a lot longer in my head.

00:34:32:00 - 00:34:48:02
Ron
That was good question number nine. Chris. Buddy, buddy, this is for you. Okay. Do you have a dream pet moments you always wanted to experience? For example, taking your dog to the beach, visiting a cat cafe, Japan or a road trip with your pet or something like that?

00:34:48:04 - 00:35:10:02
Chris
We had a guest on the show a few episodes ago, and unfortunately, I don't have my documents in front of me, so I forget his name. But he had done that really long around the world hiking trip with his dog, and while I do not wish to hike for that long, I think it would be cool to do like a backpack.

00:35:10:02 - 00:35:35:19
Chris
Like a proper backpacking trip somewhere outside of my usual stomping grounds, maybe somewhere in like, Chile, or Mexico, or even like the Rocky Mountains. Just like a long, multiple day hike, with guests. Me and, and, you know, I don't know if we'll ever have a dog, but a dog. And maybe my wife will be invited.

00:35:35:21 - 00:35:48:12
Chris
I'm not sure. Sorry. Hope. Yes. Not sure if you're if you're making the cut, but I think something like that would be absolutely right up my alley. Chance to unplug and and witness some awesome nature.

00:35:48:14 - 00:35:55:09
Ron
That was great. And the guest was, Tom tours and his book, The World Walk is out now.

00:35:55:10 - 00:35:58:03
Chris
That's why we have Ron. He remembers stuff, right?

00:35:58:08 - 00:36:04:21
Ron
I don't remember anything. It's written. And that's what I talked about earlier. All right. And this is yours.

00:36:04:22 - 00:36:30:16
Kristen
Okay. My dream pet moment. All right, I got to do this, for a very short period of time a couple years ago, and I would love to do it again. And that is go, snowshoeing in the snow with my dogs. Now, I say dogs because we're going to adopt another dog soon. But I got to do this a few years ago when we were visiting, my sister in Colorado, and it was just this gorgeous, sunny, beautiful day.

00:36:30:18 - 00:36:54:04
Kristen
There was fresh fallen snow on the ground, and we were out there in our snow shoes, and the dogs were just, you know, having a great time, you know, following behind us and, and we had to we had to wrap it up because we had to go somewhere. So I think we were only out there for about an hour, but I think, I would just love to go back and spend, you know, maybe an entire weekend, just, you know, tromping through the beautiful snow.

00:36:54:09 - 00:37:05:00
Kristen
It has to be warm enough so that it's not really cold. And to have our new adopted dog with us, along with tulip, just enjoying a beautiful day.

00:37:05:02 - 00:37:15:22
Ron
Very cool. Like this music. All right, we made it. Question number ten. This is a big one.

00:37:16:00 - 00:37:17:10
Chris
This is going to be the hard one, isn't it?

00:37:17:13 - 00:37:19:20
Ron
Who is the hardest one?

00:37:19:22 - 00:37:24:16
Chris
It's a train leaving Chicago at 603km.

00:37:24:18 - 00:37:31:04
Ron
The question is, Chris, when you worked at the cosmetics company or your, know.

00:37:31:04 - 00:37:35:02
Chris
How much makeup did they did they test on.

00:37:35:04 - 00:37:45:05
Ron
Question number ten, Kristen Levine, it's Thanksgiving. Tell me, what are the what are you most grateful for about your pet and the work you do with animals?

00:37:45:07 - 00:38:05:09
Kristen
Okay, so what I'm the first part of that was, what am I most grateful for about my pet tulip, little Miss Tulip, and sleeping behind me? I'm grateful that she reminds me to just slow down and enjoy life. You know, nothing makes her happier than just going for a walk. Or, you know, sometimes I hide treats in boxes for her, and she just.

00:38:05:10 - 00:38:14:04
Kristen
It's like. It's like Christmas morning. So that's what I'm thankful for about her. As far as what was the second part, what am I thinking?

00:38:14:06 - 00:38:15:04
Ron
And the work.

00:38:15:05 - 00:38:43:21
Kristen
And the work I do. Oh, my gosh, I am so thankful and grateful that I get to work in the pet industry with so many amazing people that are in this business because they truly love animals and they want what's best for them. And, they want to enrich people's lives through pets. And it's funny, when I think back about my first job in In Pet, which was at the SPCA for 15 years, I worked there and I didn't know.

00:38:43:21 - 00:38:52:06
Kristen
I kept thinking, I wonder what I'm going to be when I grow up. And I didn't realize it, but I was there, a pet person.

00:38:52:07 - 00:39:01:08
Ron
That was beautiful. Chris. Thanksgiving. What are you most grateful for about your cats, I guess. And the work you do with animals?

00:39:01:10 - 00:39:23:13
Chris
Yeah, absolutely. I think with the cat, I'm very thankful for the structure that she brings into my life. You know, when you're having your down days and all you want to do is sort of stay in bed and the a piece of crap, a couch potato. It's great to have a pet that needs you. Like I have to.

00:39:23:13 - 00:39:39:16
Chris
I have to clean the litter box. I have to feed the cat. And Tiger needs to be picked up and put on the sink for water. So she. She keeps me active even when I don't want to be, even though she's just a cat. And for the work I do, I mean, and we talked about how I got this job.

00:39:39:16 - 00:40:02:16
Chris
It was by chance and not by choice, but, it was like hitting the lottery. In hindsight, there was a lot of miserable jobs I could have taken with an operations management and economics degree. But I get to leverage those skills for an incredible industry with incredible people, and I wouldn't have it any other way. It's that simple.

00:40:02:16 - 00:40:08:18
Chris
It's. It's a great place to be.

00:40:08:20 - 00:40:12:04
Ron
It's like we rehearsed this almost.

00:40:12:06 - 00:40:18:02
Chris
We didn't. But maybe next time we should.

00:40:18:04 - 00:40:45:18
Chris
Well, listen, thank you, Ron, for hopping on camera and microphone. And thank you, Kristen and myself for these wonderful, wonderful answers. And, that's been our guest segment, folks. That's it. We're now going to move on to your regularly scheduled programing. Thanks so much for sticking with us. And I believe next we have our proc pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop.

00:40:45:18 - 00:40:50:10
Ron
I always wanted to do it, do it, do it. Oh, for product giveaway.

00:40:50:12 - 00:40:53:04
Voice Over
The product of the week.

00:40:53:06 - 00:41:17:01
Chris
Okay, it's time for our product of the week. And it feels good to say that recovering from, having no voice and really struggling to speak, feels good to belt a product of the week. And as I teased at the top of the show, my product is here, for us traveling, cat moms and dads who may not be comfortable traveling with their cat.

00:41:17:01 - 00:41:43:15
Chris
Well, one of our biggest, Fears with leaving Tiger alone is that she only eats her dry food when she's desperate for food. And she really enjoys and likes the wet food. And a lot of the automatic feeders out there. Dry food feeders. That doesn't really help us, because I could put right a big old bowl of the dry food and she'll pick at it, so there's no need for me to do that kind of thing.

00:41:43:17 - 00:42:06:11
Chris
Well, it's tough for us to find somebody to watch the cat for Thanksgiving because everybody goes away. Nobody's around. So, you know, everybody's traveling to to different parts of the world. So we were really looking for something, that would help us here. And I found this product from a company called Pet Libra, and it's an automatic wet food feeder.

00:42:06:12 - 00:42:33:09
Chris
So in it, is three compartments, and it's, obviously connects to your phone and you fill the feeder with up to three cans of wet food. So for Tiger, that's three days. Wow. Worth of wet food. And, the ones that are inside are refrigerated and kept cool and fresh. And from your phone, you could rotate it, make the fresh one come in.

00:42:33:11 - 00:42:56:13
Chris
And it's such a simple concept. I don't know why it was so hard to find something like this, because there's so many cats and wet food diets nowadays. It comes in a chic black and a modern white. It runs at $130, but they are running a, a sale right now, I think all in with shipping.

00:42:56:13 - 00:43:23:16
Chris
I got it for like $110. I still haven't gotten it yet. So I'm waiting for another another product that Chris bought and hasn't, hasn't actually used yet. But this will be this will be a lifesaver. So between this, doubling up the cat litter box and bringing out the spare litter box, the automatic drinking fountain where we're prepared to leave Tiger home, for three days, which breaks my heart.

00:43:23:18 - 00:43:32:06
Chris
Don't get at me in the comments and say I'm a bad cat, dad, because I'm going to be miserable and talking to the cat through my camera.

00:43:32:08 - 00:43:37:01
Kristen
But does she know? Does she know when you get out the spare litter box? Does she know that means you're going away for a couple days?

00:43:37:01 - 00:43:40:00
Chris
She knows as soon as the bags come out.

00:43:40:02 - 00:43:40:12
Kristen
Yeah.

00:43:40:17 - 00:43:53:07
Chris
And she gets very, she'll start sleeping in the bed with us and stuff like that, which she really doesn't ordinarily do. So as soon as we start packing, she'll know she. She's a smart cookie. She's still with it.

00:43:53:09 - 00:43:59:01
Kristen
Well, I love that. I love that product idea. And I assume you could use it for a small dog, too, or it's.

00:43:59:01 - 00:43:59:19
Chris
Yeah. Yeah.

00:43:59:19 - 00:44:00:23
Kristen
Specifically for cats.

00:44:01:00 - 00:44:25:08
Chris
No, I don't think so. I mean, this this company is, you know, like a cat product company. Everything is kind of marketed towards cat owners. But it's it, it says cat centric design. It's just low. So, like, if it was a small dog, I'm sure it would be fine, too. There's nothing in here that, really, I would say makes it definitively for cats.

00:44:25:10 - 00:44:38:05
Chris
But they also, if you have multiple cats, they have one that has the RFID collar thing where the cat who's bullet is when they get close, it kind of opens the.

00:44:38:05 - 00:44:39:13
Ron
Top, right?

00:44:39:15 - 00:44:55:02
Chris
In case you have one greedy cat and one, one less quick, less aggressive cat. Right. So really, really creative. And, I'll do I'll do a follow up. In a couple of weeks and let, let everybody know how it went.

00:44:55:04 - 00:45:18:21
Kristen
Sounds good, I love it. Great technology. So my product of the week is also has a food theme. And it is this licky bowl I call the licky bowl. But it's actually, it's made by the company Licky mat. And they call it the licky mat wobble. So what they basically done is taken the licky mat and turned it into a bowl shape.

00:45:18:23 - 00:45:40:02
Kristen
And the reason I got this one is because we are trying we are training tulip to stop begging when we're eating dinner. And this is the kind of treat I can give her. It's got little it's textured on the inside, it's got little lumps and you can smear some raw pumpkin like you were just talking about Chris.

00:45:40:04 - 00:46:07:06
Kristen
Peanut butter or if your dog eats wet food, you could smear the wet food in here. And this will keep them busier for longer than the flat licky mat. And that's obviously because it wobbles. And the other, the other benefits of either feeding your dog with one of these or giving them a treat treat with this type of, this, this type of dish is that it also reduces anxiety and boredom, too.

00:46:07:06 - 00:46:22:06
Kristen
So I was thinking this could be a great thing for Thanksgiving when, you know, you want to treat the dog. You kind of want to get them out of your hair. This is something that they can go enjoy, and they'll probably kind of get pooped out after after a while, after they get it all cleaned out.

00:46:22:06 - 00:46:32:08
Kristen
So I think it's really smart and I have not tried it yet either. So this is untested by tulip, but I have a pretty good feeling she's going to love it. Yeah.

00:46:32:10 - 00:46:52:08
Chris
Yeah. Very clever. The distract technique is sometimes necessary. We had grilled cheese for dinner last night because, you know, it's winter, and sometimes you just need grilled cheese and, of course, grilled cheese made with American cheese. Tiger's favorite. She's up on the table. She's going nuts. So just get a handful of cat treats and put them in the other room.

00:46:52:08 - 00:47:01:08
Chris
And that buys us enough time. So, you know, sometimes you can't really properly train them. You just have to give them an outlet.

00:47:01:10 - 00:47:14:21
Kristen
You could try this licky bowl for her too. Yes. No reason. It's I guess, it's definitely for cats too. They. Even though they've got a dog on the label. But yeah, I don't see why you're. Why. Tiger wouldn't enjoy that too, with her wet food smeared in there.

00:47:15:00 - 00:47:17:16
Chris
Yeah, yeah, I maybe I will give it a whirl.

00:47:17:18 - 00:47:19:07
Kristen
Might make her mad too, though, so I.

00:47:19:10 - 00:47:26:21
Chris
Know she's kind of always angry at me in for one reason or another. She's always got something to complain about too.

00:47:26:21 - 00:47:28:11
Voice Over
Q&A’s

00:47:28:13 - 00:47:55:16
Chris
All right, Kristen, it's time for my favorite part of the show, where we answer questions from our lovely audience. And I know what you're thinking, dear listener. How do I get my question? My burning pet related question answered by Chris and Kristen. Well, I've got great news for you. Could head on over to petsaddlife.org/podcast. Scroll on down to the bottom of that page and you will find a form to submit your question.

00:47:55:18 - 00:48:13:05
Chris
Or if you're feeling as brave as a father cooking for a family of 12 on Thanksgiving, you could leave us a voice memo. You may hear your question played live on our show. But without further ado, Kristen, I got a question for for you.

00:48:13:07 - 00:48:14:23
Ron
All right.

00:48:15:01 - 00:48:38:10
Chris
Hit me with a question for you from, Michael, from Lexington, Kentucky. Thank you, Michael, for your question. Michael asks. I recently adopted a horse and want to make sure I'm providing the best care. What are the most important things to consider for keeping a horse healthy and happy? Sorry for this beginner question, but I am a beginner and need some help.

00:48:38:10 - 00:48:42:16
Chris
Exclamation point with the exclamation point. Kristen.

00:48:42:18 - 00:49:07:10
Kristen
I'm sure there's probably a couple exclamation points there. Well, you know, Lexington, Lexington, Kentucky's beautiful horse country. So yes, I would imagine, Michael, that you probably know a lot of horse people. And I now hope you do, because if you're a beginner, there's a lot to learn about taking care of a horse. I actually had the opportunity to have a horse for a couple of years.

00:49:07:12 - 00:49:31:12
Kristen
Maybe. I guess this is going back about a decade or so, and it was such an incredible experience. But I had, a next door neighbor who was a riding instructor. And so she taught me everything that, you know, that I needed to know as a new horse parent. So I would say, first of all, Michael, I would say you're going to need about three different key people in your life to help you take great care of this horse.

00:49:31:17 - 00:50:00:11
Kristen
Number one is your I'll call it your horse mentor, whether that's just somebody that you can ask questions of or a riding instructor if you plan on riding the horse. Secondly, you want to have a great equine vet. And thirdly, you'll want to find a great farrier. A farrier is the the person that comes out and trims your horse's herbs or shoes, your horses hooves, you know, like every 8 to 12 weeks, depending on how what how you're using the horse.

00:50:00:12 - 00:50:26:22
Kristen
But, horses, they need a lot of space, as you probably know. You probably know a lot of this if you've already adopted the horse, but, just to give you an idea, clean water is really important for horses. Drink anywhere from 5 to 10 gallons every single day. Plenty of hay or pasture grass. I read that horses can eat 15 to 20 pounds of, of grass or hay a day.

00:50:27:00 - 00:50:49:13
Kristen
And then, of course, you might consider grain. But like a grain feed, depending again on how you're going to use the horses. Is it strictly for, you know, riding pleasure or to a pasture horse? Those things were all, affect, you know, what kind of feeding plan you should have. And as far as health maintenance, your horse will need, regular checkups annually.

00:50:49:13 - 00:51:08:18
Kristen
Dental care, vaccinations, deworming. And then I mentioned the hoof care as well. So, there's a lot there's a lot to learn, but, you know, like I said, if you have a good horse friend or horse mentor, somebody to lean on and ask questions of, I think you'll you'll be in good shape. But but best of luck.

00:51:08:18 - 00:51:14:22
Kristen
Having a horse was was one of my the favorite times of my life. It was just really rewarding.

00:51:15:00 - 00:51:17:16
Chris
We could all use a good horse. Friend.

00:51:17:18 - 00:51:19:14
Kristen
Yes.

00:51:19:16 - 00:51:40:00
Chris
But, I have nothing to add. I don't know anything about horses. I I've ridden a horse twice in my life, and both times I was incredibly uncomfortable. Their large and intimidating animals. It is not like being near a dog or a cat. But congratulations, I'm sure. Yes. Experience.

00:51:40:02 - 00:52:01:09
Kristen
Yes. Thanks, Michael. Okay, Chris, I have a question for you. And this one comes from Amanda in Seattle. And Amanda says, I've heard a lot about positive reinforcement versus correction in pet training. Can you explain the difference and which one is more effective for long term behavior improvement?

00:52:01:11 - 00:52:35:19
Chris
That's a great question. So to explain the difference, positive reinforcement is, get a treat when the behavior is what you want it to do when correction is, a bit more. I don't want to use the word forceful, but it is it's a bit more of, you know, using tools or or, a carrot versus stick is what we'll call it, you know, and correction is more, more of the stick using things like, choke collars or an electric fence, to try and curb, certain types of behavior.

00:52:35:21 - 00:52:56:03
Chris
And I am firmly in the camp of positive reinforcement. I've been around a lot of dogs a lot since I was a little kid, all the way to being a big kid. Now, I've seen a lot of different dogs, have been in a lot of houses with different, dogs have, I seen a lot of dogs at, at different trade shows.

00:52:56:03 - 00:53:21:11
Chris
And I will tell you something definitive that I have seen the dogs that were trained with positive reinforcement are much more adaptable to their surroundings and the dogs that were trained with corrective behavior training, once they get outside of their element, are buckwild. Absolutely buckwild. In fact, I have a few friends who may even be listening to the show, if you are.

00:53:21:17 - 00:53:50:08
Chris
Who, who came into a relationship with with their partners and their partner had dogs who, had been trained with corrective training and they introduced positive reinforcement. And within months, maybe 3 or 4 months. Dogs act completely differently. Yes. It's almost like their personality shifted. More friendly, less barking. No, not jumping up on everything and everybody.

00:53:50:10 - 00:54:26:17
Chris
Because it's it's just it's just a better way to do it. And here's the thing. And it's harder. It's much more difficult and takes a lot more diligence and patience on the handler side to properly do positive reinforcement training. And I think that's why a lot of people don't do it, because it's easier. Instead of teaching your your dog to stay, you know, you want to let them out into your unfenced backyard instead of training them over the course of 3 or 4 months to stay in the in the yard, it's easier to get by an electric fence.

00:54:26:18 - 00:54:48:18
Chris
You know, instead of training your dog to not jump up on people or on other dogs when you're taking them for a walk, it's easier just to get a a choke collar or a pinch collar. So I would say don't take the easy way, take the hard way. Take it seriously. Look up some videos. There's 1 trillion in resources out there.

00:54:48:20 - 00:55:06:03
Chris
Pets Add Life. The the this wonderful podcast. I don't know if you've heard of it called Pets Add Life has had a lot of really talented dog trainers on their show, giving advice. So look back on some of those episodes, for some techniques, and just be prepared for a challenging but rewarding road.

00:55:06:05 - 00:55:18:05
Kristen
That's a great answer. I agree 100%. You get out of your dog when it comes to training, exactly what you put into it and the effort and the the love that you put into it. Yeah.

00:55:18:05 - 00:55:21:03
Chris
So yep.

00:55:21:05 - 00:55:26:09
Kristen
All right. So thank you, Amanda, for your question. And, where are we going next?

00:55:26:11 - 00:55:27:08
Chris
The end of the show.

00:55:27:10 - 00:55:29:11
Kristen
Oh, it's the end of the show. It's the end of the show.

00:55:29:13 - 00:55:32:03
Chris
Where are we going? We're going to Thanksgiving. It's turkey time.

00:55:32:05 - 00:55:32:14
Kristen
Right?

00:55:32:14 - 00:55:45:09
Chris
It's turkey time. We got a beautiful NFL slate we've got or or deserves. I don't know, how about this? Before we go, what's what's one thing your family does for Thanksgiving that you don't think other families do?

00:55:45:11 - 00:56:15:09
Kristen
Oh, Well, one thing we do, and I don't. I've never really asked if other families do this, but we we maintain some of the recipes of our family members who have passed so chance. Yeah. So I always make my my Grandma Daviss sweet potato casserole. My sister in law, she always makes her mom's mashed potatoes. And that's a tradition that we kind of started maybe, you know, a few years ago.

00:56:15:09 - 00:56:21:22
Kristen
So I really love that tradition. And it gives us a reason to talk about our loved ones when we when we're making it.

00:56:22:00 - 00:56:50:07
Chris
That's great. Yeah. Our luck is I'm stuck between day before Thanksgiving lasagna because it's just an easy dish to make to feed a lot of people through. And tomorrow is about to be, you know, hefty or the incredible antipasto platter that my father puts together. That is breakfast and lunch. It's it's it's the food you're allowed to eat before Thanksgiving dinner, because we're all kind of trying to save room for the next event.

00:56:50:09 - 00:56:57:21
Chris
But very, very Italian of us. Who would have thunk a guy named Chris on a fatty and antipasto platter on.

00:56:57:23 - 00:57:00:02
Ron
On Thanksgiving?

00:57:00:04 - 00:57:23:18
Chris
Whatever your traditions or quirks for Thanksgiving are, dear listeners and viewers, thank you for making Pets Add Life part of it for this very, special Thanksgiving episode. I am incredibly thankful for all of you. Without you, we wouldn't do this. It would just be Chris and Kristen shouting into the void. Because of you, you give us purpose.

00:57:23:20 - 00:57:26:14
Chris
So thank you, thank you, thank you very much.

00:57:26:16 - 00:57:27:09
Kristen
And Chris, I'm.

00:57:27:10 - 00:57:31:09
Ron
You, Chris and Kristen because, I think guest. How sever.

00:57:31:09 - 00:57:33:05
Chris
I think we're we're gonna check this.

00:57:33:05 - 00:57:34:14
Ron
I'm not sure I'm correct about.

00:57:34:14 - 00:57:36:15
Chris
Where who was available. Let's be honest.

00:57:36:15 - 00:57:46:05
Ron
We're different hosts out there. People like different hosts. But you're you're one of the best. You're good hosts. Very good hosts.

00:57:46:07 - 00:57:48:15
Chris
Yeah, right. Yeah. The whole thankful.

00:57:48:15 - 00:57:48:20
Kristen
For.

00:57:48:20 - 00:57:55:19
Chris
You. The whole the whole dog TV crew. I mean, Kristen and I just show up this last. If we just show.

00:57:55:19 - 00:57:58:01
Ron
Up, you don't. Sometimes you show up sometimes.

00:57:58:01 - 00:57:58:05
Chris
Yeah.

00:57:58:05 - 00:58:00:19
Ron
And sometimes not everybody know what's really going on here.

00:58:00:19 - 00:58:22:02
Chris
Yes. Right. So for the whole crew out there, including producer Ron, who edits and puts the show together, makes it available on all the platforms, a heartfelt thank you. We're very grateful. So, we'll be back next Tuesday. And until then, be kind to yourself. Be kind to your animals, and we'll see you then.

00:58:22:04 - 00:58:26:17
Ron
Bye now.