63. Celebrating Dog Moms & Pet Care Innovations

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Voice Over
Pets add

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Voice Over
life. Your guide to the latest in pet trends, products and the joy of the human animal bond. With Kristian Levine and Chris Bona, fide powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog TV.

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Chris
Hello everybody. Welcome to another episode of Pets add Life. I am Chris

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Chris
Bonifati joined, as always, by the exciting and extreme Kristin Levine.

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Kristen
Just like how we do through a rhyme in there too. I'm. Do I need this?

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Chris
Oh, it I do know it. And everybody respects me for it.

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Kristen
And we've got matchy matchy today. We both got. We are.

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Chris
Yes, we've got our peach color. And I feel like it's because we're anticipating a holiday coming up here. Folks, we've got Mother's Day coming up. Don't forget, don't be that jerk who forgets to get your mom some flowers or a card or a phone call. Don't. Don't be. Don't be that guy or gal. And we've got we've got some fun, Mother's Day programing lined up for you all.

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Chris
But I think it's going to be a pretty spectacular episode, if I do say so myself, too.

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Kristen
I agree.

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Chris
I agree, it's we're clearly drift compatible with the matching outfits. I feel like we're both in the same state of mind. This is going to be a good one. I don't know if you haven't brought up that reference before the drift compatible thing.

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Kristen
No, and I don't know what that means.

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Chris
It's from, that movie Pacific Rim as circa like. Like maybe like eight years ago. Maybe a little more. Actually, I might be aging myself, but they're like big robots fight Godzilla monsters. And the robots have to be piloted by two people, and they have to be dressed compatible.

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Kristen
I.

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Chris
Guess, like, you know, they got to be friends. It's a it's a it's a it's simultaneously a great and a horrible movie. You know, it's one of those.

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Kristen
Well, I will I know that I will never use that that term because I will never watch the movie. But I'm wondering what it means.

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Chris
So, and, hey, if you're out there, watching this movie, be sure to like and subscribe on YouTube and Instagram and TikTok and all that fun stuff. If you're watching on dog TV, that's awesome. If you're watching on the new dog TV Fest channel, that's even better. So thank you to all of our lovely, lovely viewers out there.

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Chris
And if you're just listening, you're missing out on the matching colors today that it's really that's really what brings this episode together. But without further ado, let's get into today's episode, starting with Story Time.

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Voice Over
Kristen and Chris present story time.

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Kristen
All right. My mind's less of a story, more of a news update. And this is something that I learned from Doctor Jessica Vogelsang. We interviewed her a couple weeks ago for an upcoming show. We'll tell you about that later. But she shared with me that the American Animal Hospital Association has just updated their core vaccine guidelines for dogs.

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Kristen
So typically core vaccines include distemper, rabies, parvovirus, and depending on the area of the country that you live in, you might be, you might your dog might need a Lyme disease vaccine or a canine adenovirus. But the one that has been added to the core vaccines is the leptospirosis vaccine vaccine. And they just officially updated these guidelines last year.

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Kristen
And basically, it's recommended for all dogs that go outdoors, whether they're in an urban or rural. That's a hard word to say. Rural setting. And I guess we always kind of thought that it only affected hunting dogs or dogs that were in wet environments, but they've seen such an increase in cases of lepto leptospirosis. Hopefully I'm saying that right in dogs that now it's considered a core vaccine.

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Kristen
So, it's also important to know that this is a zoonotic, leptospirosis is zoonotic, which means that it can spread from animals to humans. So all the more reason to make sure that your dog is up to date on that vaccine. They say that they typically recommend it, beginning at 12 weeks of age, if you have a puppy and then you continue that vaccine annually.

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Kristen
So I know that, you know, whenever we take to for her annual wellness, visits, there's always a recommendation for a couple of non core vaccines. And I usually go ahead with them. But now now the the services will be included in court. So ensure vaccine update for Puppers.

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Chris
That's great I love.

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Kristen
Vaccine I hope you have a fluffy your story that I did.

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Chris
I do I've got a good one. I've got a little bit of like a reversal here because I feel like I was actually worried that you were going to do this story. And then I was here empty-handed like, my story.

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Kristen
Like last, like last week or. Yeah.

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Chris
And my story is I forgot to do my homework. We're going to talk about the things I was doing instead of my homework. But, the AKC went ahead and released the most popular dog breeds in the United States for the year 2024. And what usually happens is Kristen covers these stories and has me. Yes. And I get them all wrong today.

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Kristen
I missed that.

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Chris
We're going to flip the script. Okay. Any any guess for number one most popular dog breed in the United States, 2024?

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Kristen
Well, I know it was Labradors for many, many years, and I know that they got bumped. And I think I think they got bumped by the Frenchie, the French Bulldog.

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Chris
That is correct. Frenchies are back on top for the third year in a row, with, Labrador Retrievers coming in at number two, and then golden retrievers, which, honestly, like I do this podcast. No idea that there was a difference. It's third, and fourth being German Shepherd. So, the list is compiled by, the AKC.

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Chris
And let's, let's go through some of the, breeds that climbed the rankings. The Carrie Blue Terrier had the highest jump, moving up 25 spots, a beautiful dog. They have a picture of it here. Wow. Moving up 25 spots from 160 to 135. The Bracco Italiana, which is, what all of my friends call me recognized by the AKC in 2022, continues to move up, moving up 20 spots from 152 to 132.

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Chris
Also absolutely beautiful.

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Kristen
Big jump.

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Chris
And then the the losers, the Saluki, the black and tan coon hound and the wire haired. This also saw their breeds moved down the list. So just a little interesting survey piece. The link, as always, will be included in your show notes if you want to take a look. But I thought that that was a fun one with French bulldogs.

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Chris
Really, really are winning. They really are. I see all the time. They're everywhere. Those. And they just remind me of aliens. I love them, don't get me wrong. But they look like creature. Like. They look like they jumped out of a spaceship, like 10,000.

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Kristen
They do. And when I tell you this will be fun, if you're getting a Frenchie or have a Frenchie, I highly recommend you get pet insurance. They have a lot of ailments.

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Chris
Unfortunately, they've got their. It's because they're not supposed to be breathing this atmosphere. You know, the the atmosphere on their home planet was a little different. The gravity was a little different. That's why their noses are so smushed here. Yeah. It's a little alien. So cute, so adorable. But definitely grab that pet insurance. If you're thinking of getting a fraction beyond the leash.

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Chris
Exploring the untold stories of pet passion and professionalism.

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Kristen
All right. Our next guest is an old friend of mine. It's Rachel Shepherd. She's the director of Ventures at Mars Petcare and the co-lead of the Leap Venture Studio and Academy. Excuse me. I'm so excited. The Leap Ventures studio and academy is a pioneering accelerator dedicated to advancing innovation in pet care, and with a rich background in animal science and entrepreneurship, Rachel has been a driving force in supporting startups that aim to improve the lives of pets and their owners.

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Kristen
Welcome, Rachel.

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Rachel
Thank you Kristen. Thank you Chris, thanks so much for having me.

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Kristen
Oh, it's it's absolutely our pleasure. Let me just kick it off by asking you, can you give us a little bit of background on your journey, going from studying animal science to now, this awesome role leading ventures at Mars Petcare?

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Chris
Well, yes. Happy to provide.

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Rachel
Some some context on how I ended up here. You are part of that journey also is, you know, something which is really awesome. And I'm really excited to tell everybody about how much of an impact you've had on my career.

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Kristen
So,

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Rachel
So it's so true. And it's and it's really amazing. And, and, if anything, I hope people walk away with, like, you know, talk to a young person who wants to be in pet care for five minutes, and you can you can really change, change their career trajectory in a very big way. So, as any animal scientist, Davis, as you mentioned, is a wonderful, beautiful introduction to animal science overall.

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Rachel
And, I really loved my time at Davis and was pre veterinary, but I decided not to go to veterinary school and went and got my MBA in entrepreneurship. So before that I worked in clinics as an assistant. So anyone who's applied to veterinary school knows very well you have to have a lot of hands on experience with animals in order to even apply and, you know, get into the programs.

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Rachel
And so I worked at Copan. I had to go for an internship. I had a radiology internship, and I worked a lot in clinic, and sort of just, with, with an assistant who was learning very much on the job and trying to be as helpful as possible as I could to to various clinics, which is still an experience that sticks with me every day.

00:10:04:05 - 00:10:27:09
Rachel
Like these are I still remember very specific cases in patients. And, and it's just it was such an impactful way to start my career. And I'm super grateful for that time in clinic. And then, I started my MBA program at Santa Clara University. And, that was where Kristen and I met. So I took a Women in Leadership class, and Kristen was a guest mentor for that class.

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Rachel
And had she was a pet

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Rachel
lifestyle expert. And I was like, I'm sorry. What I like, I would like to do.

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Chris
Wait, wait, that was an option.

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Kristen
Just like.

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Chris
No one.

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Kristen
Told me this was.

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Rachel
An option yet. After not, you had that Mary. You had teachers, but no one said pet lifestyle expert was an option. And so I, asked my teacher, my professor. I was like, can I can I talk to Kristen? Like, do you think she'd be open to chatting with me? And she was, very kindly gave me like, 30 minutes of her time and, and was like, you should start writing about pet care.

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Rachel
You should start, you know, sort of just like keeping your eyes on what's happening in the industry. And so I did. And then, I was, you know, going around to different science businesses and groups, innovative groups within larger companies, but also mostly startups. And then I worked at an accelerator for six years as the director of global marketing.

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Rachel
And there I co-created the Female Founders Initiative with my friend and colleague, and we wanted to just help more women come through the program and start companies around the world. We were operating in 90 countries, and so it was a we were in a really good position to to make a difference in how we felt about it. And, we doubled the number of women coming through the program.

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Rachel
By the time I left through that experience, I was like, I think I want to work with companies 1 to 1. Like, I think that's really fun, and I want to find ways to be supportive, to founders who take this incredible risk and start a company and grow it from scratch. And it's just an amazing thing. And so, I did I started working with companies 1 to 1, mostly female founders at first, and then I joined the slack group as a person and was like, does anyone want any help?

00:12:03:15 - 00:12:22:19
Rachel
I work in clinic. I'm a marketer. Let me know how I can be helpful. And because I had been paying attention to the pet care industry the whole time, and following Christine's advice of writing and creating content around it, I, you know, found myself to be decently useful. And then, so some of the companies, you know, which is, you know, just really fun.

00:12:22:19 - 00:12:41:05
Rachel
And so, then my, my predecessor was like, right at the moment that he was looking for his replacement, I messaged him and said, hey, is there anything else I can be doing to help these companies? And, that was almost four years ago. And so now I'm the director of ventures at Mars Eye Care and, it's all really thanks to a 30 minute phone call person.

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Rachel
I had like, oh.

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Kristen
Well, that's very sweet of you to say.

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Chris
Yeah, that's a story. And I'll tell you, that's much the name of my autobiography is going to be. And I found myself decently useful. But this is just such a great line. I mean.

00:12:57:00 - 00:13:00:01
Rachel
If I can say that throughout life I've been pretty happy about. Yeah. Right.

00:13:00:05 - 00:13:32:09
Chris
Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, so my entire experience with startup accelerators or sometimes called incubators is from the show. Silicon Valley is a hilarious show. But I could imagine, that in real life it's really, not like that at all. So can you elaborate a bit on Leap Venture Studios and this whole the whole concept of a startup accelerator, what your role is, what your mission is, and the impact you've had on the pet care ecosystem.

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Unknown
Absolutely. So I'll talk about accelerators in general, and then I'll, I'll.

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Rachel
Elaborate a little more on leaps specifically. So accelerators in general, you know, it really started around this idea where, I mean, venture has been around a long time, a lot of the venture capitalists that are on Angel road that have been in Silicon Valley, I mean, it's a very well-established industry. And I think around the time of the recession, you started to see more and more startups growing.

00:13:58:02 - 00:14:19:11
Rachel
I mean, you obviously started, you know, in the early dot coms and so on and so forth, and then you got a ton of acceleration come out of you. Can you see it come out of hard times? So like, a lot of people will go to startups to try to solve problems in like harder economic times. You can kind of see some of the very well-funded companies started around these, these dips in the economy, especially in the US.

00:14:19:11 - 00:14:41:07
Rachel
And so, the accelerator program that I was at previously, they had started back in 2009 and were really supporting startups and sort of helping people figure out how to start a company. If you're starting to think from scratch. What what don't you know about starting a company with it? Most people have an expertise, right? Like there are things when people talk about them.

00:14:41:07 - 00:15:03:15
Rachel
I'm like, I have no idea what you're talking about. You know, like, like in some sort of category that's way outside, like, space, for example, I, I know nothing about you, and I'm so I so like but they're experts in space, and then they want to launch something and create something innovative in their category. And then there are people who have made careers off of being experts in fundraising and operating and scaling.

00:15:03:15 - 00:15:32:06
Rachel
And those are the things that, you know, accelerators can really help people work their way through. And at the pre-seed stage, which is the stage that previously you're really working on validating the idea stage, like, is this really an idea that can make money? Is this is this addressable market even dig it up? And so at Leap Venture Studio, where the seed stage, which means that they're past the idea stage, they validated enough that there's probably some market validation.

00:15:32:06 - 00:15:52:01
Rachel
And that depends on what segment of pet care we're talking about. Like if we invest in consumer focused businesses and we also invest in diagnostics. So in diagnostics the seed stage is a little different than CPG. But on the consumer side, for example, you're probably post product meaning something in the market and people are paying for it.

00:15:52:03 - 00:16:11:06
Rachel
And you probably have a little bit of revenue. The more crowded your space is, the more revenue investors like to see. And so at the seed stage, we're really helping founders in a little bit more of a custom, way less about here are the basics and it's more about tell us what you need. And we're going to go find the experts in our networks.

00:16:11:06 - 00:16:32:11
Rachel
Broadly speaking, that can help you work through these, pain points that you might have or these milestones or challenges. And we, of course, typically on pet care can be our corporate, you know, venture accelerator, which makes things a little more, specific to the segment. And we can go find experts in pet care who can help you have these conversations.

00:16:32:13 - 00:16:45:16
Rachel
And of course, there's also generalists, you know, anyone who, may have some expertise, for example, and, customer retention or in, supply chain management or things like that. So general.

00:16:45:18 - 00:17:03:11
Kristen
Well, I have so many questions. But I'm going to I'm going to go with this one. For our listeners, let's just, let's talk a little bit about trends. You know, with all of the with your experience working with all of these startups, what emerging trends or technologies do you see that are shaping the future of pet care?

00:17:03:13 - 00:17:26:00
Rachel
This is really fun. I love this question because it's just my answer constantly changes and it changes like every like six months to a year, you start to see new things and also new influencers, right, that are that are happening. And from the macro environment all the time. Some of the things that I'm thinking about a lot of were thinking about a lot, at Leap is, senior pet and senior pet care.

00:17:26:01 - 00:17:53:05
Rachel
So that's like a category in and of itself. And then there's a lot of innovative ways to sort of address that. Right. So we've seen, solutions around better detecting pain and measuring pain and determining what it's chronic versus acute, like, that's that this company called pain treats, those types of things are very interesting. And then I also, think about, you know, we have this inflection of senior pets that's coming, right?

00:17:53:05 - 00:18:18:13
Rachel
With all of the pandemic puppies and kittens that were adopted. And so how do we better prepare pet parents for senior pet food? Pet parenthood? Because the beautiful part about the time we live in today is that people just want to do better by their pets, even a little bit every day. Right? And so as long as that is the case, how do we help people feel a little more confident as they start to go into the senior pet years, right.

00:18:18:15 - 00:18:37:06
Rachel
What do they know about holistic care? What can they be doing at home? You know, to sort of help their pet with mobility or, you know, teams, you know, the, the, the bedding or even, you know, like what could be done differently. They can just, you know, make their pets lives just a little bit better every day, which is a really awesome sort of category to think about.

00:18:37:06 - 00:18:57:12
Rachel
And then you get into some really innovative technologies like Pain Trace, which I mentioned. There's another great company we invested in called Moggy, which has a cat activity tracker, but it's more of an activity. It's also nuanced in how they're moving, how they're behaving. And is there anything that they're telling you there that might be very important for you to know?

00:18:57:12 - 00:19:24:07
Rachel
Because people don't always know what the signs of pain are, in their pets or when they're hiding something in cat, as we know, are very, hiding their symptoms. Right. And so how can we how can we help, people know more and listen better to their pets? And then you even see things like, there's a great company called leap not related to leap, but, leap, which is a food to support, pets through cancer treatment.

00:19:24:09 - 00:19:46:20
Rachel
Like, how can we change how we're supporting them, nutritionally speaking, as we think about the challenges that they may face in their in their health journey. And so all of the above are just, you know, examples of ways that I think we're starting to see the industry think more about senior pet care. And then there's, two other sort of segments that I like to, to think about a lot.

00:19:46:20 - 00:20:10:11
Rachel
The other one is diagnostics, and that comes in a variety of different categories too. There's point of care diagnostics and of course, like things that we're seeing come to the clinic. And then, we invested in a company, a really cool company called my RNA diagnostics out of the UK. That is, creating different types of early screening opportunities for, for, for or for, symptoms that are just not typically screened for.

00:20:10:11 - 00:20:31:14
Rachel
So, for example, like cat cardiac disease. And they also have other other products available in the animal health space broadly. And then you have diagnostics at home, which kind of I was listening to your episode, your last episode, with Doctor Marie Decker about Fear Free. And I kept thinking about At home diagnostics and how that really can help a lot.

00:20:31:14 - 00:20:56:09
Rachel
Right. How can we learn more at home? Or our pets are comfortable and relaxed and there's no you know, there's no there's hopefully, hopefully a few stressors in their environment unless you're doing like a renovation or something. But you know, there's hopefully fewer stressors at home. And so how can we, leverage diagnostics like, we invested in animal biome and Innovative Pet Lab, which are looking at gut health and a better understanding that.

00:20:56:09 - 00:21:17:22
Rachel
And also architect, which allows you to screen for cancer, using treated urine, which is expensive. So, you know, how can we leverage these things to continue to just create the best experience for our pets? So those are those are some of the categories I'm thinking about. And accessibility of care is another one, which is kind of I think about that in two segments.

00:21:18:00 - 00:21:42:14
Rachel
One is by affordability. So how can we think about, you know, just making sure that, we're, we're thinking about the different levels of care and making sure that the pet parenthood is as excellent is as accessible as possible for the most amount of people, especially such a joyful thing. You really want people to be able to, if they can provide the basics to feel like they're doing a good job being a pet parent.

00:21:42:16 - 00:21:58:12
Rachel
And then of course, the other segment is accessibility by like actual location. So like, where are there, gaps in veterinary care and how can we fill those gaps? And, we just invested in a company called oDesk, which is, which is working on this through a telemedicine platform.

00:21:58:14 - 00:22:22:10
Chris
Wow. There is a lot going on. I'm I'm connected to the pet industry every day and I'm still like, that is that is a lot of stuff that's that's happening. Rachel, we are coming up on time. So but I want to give you an opportunity for our listeners out there who may be interested in learning more about either your story or the work that you're doing, or some of the companies are investing in, where can they find you?

00:22:22:12 - 00:22:23:15
Chris
You can find me on LinkedIn.

00:22:23:15 - 00:22:46:21
Rachel
That's probably the best place to find me. And, yeah, I'm I'm really excited. We we've invested in 57 companies to date, but we've tracked hundreds a year. There's so many. And this is, you know, we're looking we are investing across 17 markets. There's there's a global pet innovation. You know wave that's happening right now. And I'm so excited to play even a small role with it to be what did I hear earlier.

00:22:46:21 - 00:22:53:23
Rachel
Moderately useful. Decently useful. In this category. It's it's it's a really fun job.

00:22:54:00 - 00:23:17:11
Kristen
I would say you're it's extremely useful, Rachel. And I'm I'm just so proud to see how you've built your career and and and and relatively short time. I mean, I think we met like, 15 years ago, maybe 12, 15 years ago. So, thanks for sharing all this with us. And, and hopefully get to get to see you in person soon at one of the pet or veterinary shows.

00:23:17:13 - 00:23:22:08
Rachel
That sounds great. Thank you both so much for having me.

00:23:22:10 - 00:23:28:11
Chris
So, Kristen, when are you going to launch my career into the stratosphere?

00:23:28:13 - 00:23:47:13
Kristen
That's so cool. I, I remember both that first call I had with her, and I remember meeting her in person at a conference in San Francisco, and she was blogging at the time. She had a really cool pet blog, and it blows my mind to see how far she's come. So it's this is so super cool. I'm really proud of her.

00:23:47:15 - 00:23:51:08
Chris
You should be.

00:23:51:10 - 00:24:17:23
Chris
Well, folks, we've got a special Mother's Day treat for you all. Joining us now are the Dog Moms, Chrissy Joy and Amber car, two of the most renowned dog trainers in the United States. As I said, they host the hit series The Dog Moms, which offers viewers expert advice on canine health, behavior, and nutrition. And I heard a little rumor that the show has been so well received.

00:24:17:23 - 00:24:28:11
Chris
They're prepping for a second season. Which must be must be real nice. Second season implies a break, with kids, which is something that we don't get over here.

00:24:28:12 - 00:24:30:22
Kristen
How is.

00:24:30:24 - 00:24:34:23
Chris
Amber? Chrissy, thank you so much for joining us. Yeah.

00:24:34:23 - 00:24:38:07
Amber
Thank you. You know, thanks for having us. We're stoked to be here.

00:24:38:09 - 00:24:43:09
Chrissy
Yes. Excited for season two. And we're so excited to be here with you guys.

00:24:43:11 - 00:24:51:04
Chris
Yeah. So can you tell us a little bit about the show? Do you do a little commercial bit. What season got in store for us?

00:24:51:06 - 00:24:55:18
Amber
I think it's always surprises for us. And so it surprises for the viewers too.

00:24:55:23 - 00:24:58:02
Chris
There we go. Yeah, yeah that's familiar.

00:24:58:03 - 00:25:07:00
Amber
Yeah. The show is a lot of fun because we get to like answer questions on the spot. And Chrissy and I like, you know, feed off of each other and come up with all these ideas, which is really fun.

00:25:07:04 - 00:25:24:03
Chrissy
And I think it's neat because you don't see many unscripted shows these days. And this is truly something that we have not seen before. Each episode is very organic, and that goes with the topics that we get to talk about. So it's not just about, hey, come and try to learn some. You know, pet care tips and dog training.

00:25:24:03 - 00:25:40:16
Chrissy
But we get to share some of our personal experiences too. And honestly, I think at the end of the day, even if you are a well known dog trainer, you know, at the end of the day, we're all pet parents in some way, shape or form, so we struggle with the same struggles that people do having too much hair in the house.

00:25:40:18 - 00:25:44:10
Chrissy
You know, my buddy Paul's on a rainy day like we get it.

00:25:44:16 - 00:25:45:04
Kristen
Yeah.

00:25:45:04 - 00:25:53:18
Amber
And having to juggle, having multiple pets and kids and having a having a real life and career on top of having pets. And that's what it's all about.

00:25:53:20 - 00:26:12:22
Kristen
Yeah. Awesome. Well, speaking of having pets and kids, you know, Mother's Day is coming up. That's one of the reason, reasons why one of the dog moms on the show today. Can you guys, can you kind of parallel the role of a dog mom to a traditional mom of human children?

00:26:12:24 - 00:26:33:18
Amber
I will say dogs are a lot easier to train. Yeah. Oh, man. Yeah. My son is 18 months old now, and he is just like the love of my life, the joy of my life. But so are my dogs. And my cats. And, you know, I have a love for all of them. But raising a kid is definitely, like, comes with its challenges.

00:26:33:20 - 00:26:54:21
Amber
But I think having a pet kind of prepares you to like, you know, you can't be selfish and you can't be self focused. You have to really put their needs. And, all the things you have to do for your pets, you have to put those things first. Sometimes if you want to go on vacation, you have to like plan that out and you have to organize your day to make sure they have time to go to the bathroom and get exercise and enrichment.

00:26:55:01 - 00:27:10:02
Amber
And then when it comes to a kid, it's like your life doesn't exist anymore. So yeah, it's a good it's a good introduction into the life of like sacrificing a little bit, but also like it being so worth it because of how much love and joy they bring you. Yeah.

00:27:10:02 - 00:27:30:06
Chrissy
And I think to add to that, I think that, you know, Amber, you said it perfectly. But then I think what we love to touch on is just the importance of why you are giving so much to your family that you don't lose yourself in the process. And I think sometimes parents can feel that they almost lived a double life, like the life they were before just feels so foreign to the life they are now.

00:27:30:06 - 00:27:43:24
Chrissy
But there's such great ways to do some simple things to kind of reconnect with, you know, what fuels you so that you can only be better when you have to show up and do what life asks of you as a parent and as a dog mom or a dog dad.

00:27:44:01 - 00:28:06:21
Chris
Yeah, yeah. And, you know, there is certainly a a toll, a price to be paid. But what about the other end? You know, nurturing a dog, training a dog, and having that companion, how does you feel? How do you feel like it's impacted your life, emotionally, socially, metaphorically, metaphysically, biblically. All the above.

00:28:06:23 - 00:28:22:21
Chrissy
All the above? Yeah. I think Amber has got a great, experience. I don't want to speak for her, but just from someone looking on the outside in, you know, I almost laughed when you said socially. So. Like what? Social life. You know what we feel so like. We feel so like, well, this is it. This was our life now.

00:28:22:21 - 00:28:30:19
Chrissy
But, you know, Amber, you've built such an amazing platform that if anything, I think that you have a bigger connection socially than maybe even before.

00:28:30:21 - 00:28:51:22
Amber
Yeah, that's such a good point. Thanks, Chrissy, I it's really cool because, you know, dogs bring so much to our lives. And like you said, even though they're mostly our only friends are dogs. But, like, we wouldn't have met each other if it weren't for our dogs. And, you know, we can bond over our dogs. And it's really cool to, like, see how being a pet parent and being a dog parent really does connect you with other people.

00:28:52:02 - 00:29:03:01
Amber
And so it like creates this like mutual love and this mutual like, you know, way that we can relate to each other and we can just appreciate life with our dogs and my dogs.

00:29:03:03 - 00:29:04:02
Kristen
My dog has something.

00:29:04:02 - 00:29:05:20
Chrissy
To say about that. Two threes.

00:29:05:22 - 00:29:06:14
Kristen
Agrees.

00:29:06:19 - 00:29:28:03
Chrissy
I think that. So, I, I hope not to speak over. You ever know? I think I started in a place of having a lot of anxiety and and not knowing my way, and, and that comes along with depression and, you know, self-worth issues, things like that. And bringing a dog into my life really just helped to, like, ground me and, and kind of change my entire world.

00:29:28:05 - 00:29:53:04
Chrissy
And so now that I feel like I've grown from that experience and that I've found that dogs and animals are kind of my connection to being the best I can be, that now when I when I am able to, meet people. There's so much relation with, not just loving an animal, but how they better our lives and the stories that you can get from people that will tell you, like, you know, no one will tell you like I, you know, I can't really share this with anybody else.

00:29:53:04 - 00:30:18:20
Chrissy
That this dog has literally saved my life. This dog, you know, is there for me every day. I'm out of all the horrible things that I've been through. He's been there, she's been there. And, I think that that's just another deep layer of how animals affect us more than just giving us something. It's that we we create this, you know, this sanctuary between dog and human, and it there's just so many multiple layers there.

00:30:18:20 - 00:30:39:02
Chrissy
And I feel that we've kind of all been through something that, you know, has made our relationship with our pet even stronger. So I just in, just in general, I've learned that a lot of people that I reach out to are like, oh my gosh, I have such a history of anxiety too. And like, you can just reach so much deeper to the people around you, especially when you've learned that animals are just cute and cuddly.

00:30:39:02 - 00:30:43:12
Chrissy
But they provide so much more to the well-being of our world.

00:30:43:14 - 00:30:59:17
Kristen
Oh, that's so that's not well put. I agree 100%. Let me just bring it back to Mother's Day for a second. I would love to hear some of your ideas for how dog moms can celebrate Mother's Day. Or maybe dog dads can help celebrate the dog mom and their family.

00:30:59:19 - 00:31:17:10
Chrissy
So I think for Mother's Day, you know, some of the things that I so let's let's talk about like what is the typical everyone thinks like hallmark, right? So it's like, get the card, get the flowers, don't say no. Get her favorite fast food. Right. But, and it depends on it depends on who you are as a person.

00:31:17:10 - 00:31:40:14
Chrissy
I really love like acts of service. So, that appreciation there. So I think going for a walk as a family and spending that quality time together, you don't have to buy me the fancy ring, the flowers, all of that, but maybe taking the whole family out and just having that quality time together, especially if you guys feel like you're on different planets, like my husband's deployed right now, so it's like, but getting that chance to kind of all be together.

00:31:40:16 - 00:31:46:01
Chrissy
To me that is so special. And it it's something that doesn't cost much or if anything at all.

00:31:46:03 - 00:32:03:01
Amber
Yeah, I think that's really what we all want as moms is we want to have that quality time with the ones that we love. And whether that's a dog and, a husband or, you know, a spouse or a kid, I think being able to share those moments and make memories together is really like what you end up holding on to.

00:32:03:03 - 00:32:23:20
Amber
Obviously, if you like gifts, there's amazing gifts that you could get for the dog moms or moms in your life. But I know, like the things that mean the most to me are having those moments, like Chrissy said, where you're spending time all together and really just celebrating what it's what it means to be the mom of this living being that you're taking care of.

00:32:23:22 - 00:32:43:20
Chrissy
And I and I also think that it doesn't mean that, like on Mother's Day, we sit back and just, you know, in our throwing and we're like, excuse me, feed me the grapes. It's not like that. Sometimes I think that, you know, Mother's Day is just it's a great day for us to reflect and just be so grateful because we can get so busy and the house can be messy and the kids having a temper tantrum as I get busy in the chaos.

00:32:43:20 - 00:33:00:20
Chrissy
But if you could just stand back and be like, I'm so blessed and grateful to have this right now. And that means that maybe you guys can do an activity together. You can make like dog friendly, you know, heart shaped treats, but it's something that you did together. In turn, you do get a nice reward to maybe feed your dog or make some, like, frozen, you know, topples.

00:33:00:20 - 00:33:16:21
Chrissy
These are great puzzle toys for dogs and honestly, like just making some crafts for bringing the family together, I think is something super special. But if you're like, yo, I need to get away from the family for a little bit, I support you as well. And so I say, if you need that day, you want to get some paw prints painted on your nails.

00:33:16:21 - 00:33:35:12
Chrissy
I'm like, girl, go and ask for those things to listen. You can go. You can ask for those things too. So. But, if there's one thing I'll say, this is like, not exposed to relationship advice at all. But if there's something you want, communicate it. Because if there's one thing that doesn't help anyone is just having expectations or assuming someone knows.

00:33:35:14 - 00:33:40:12
Chrissy
So feel free to communicate it. Make a little post-it and put it on the mirror. Just says like, hey.

00:33:40:14 - 00:33:41:23
Chris
Yeah, what? What I can do that.

00:33:41:24 - 00:33:42:12
Chrissy
Really.

00:33:42:12 - 00:34:02:21
Chris
Has as a male, we're so dumb. Okay, you could drop, you could drop so, so many hints that even, Detective Clouseau from the Pink Panther. Yeah. Able to figure it out. And I will still be like, you just never told me, right? So communication.

00:34:02:21 - 00:34:23:12
Chrissy
Is key. And guess what? Communication is also key for dog training. And with your dog. You know, a lot of times dogs do things and we think they're being wrong or they're doing something incorrectly. But honestly, maybe we're not being clear enough with our cues. So, you know, just communication is such an important factor across the board so that everyone's happy and everyone understands what's happening in a room.

00:34:23:14 - 00:34:28:21
Chris
As as the only male here, I'm furiously taking notes and I'm writing husband, if.

00:34:28:21 - 00:34:30:23
Chrissy
You work for treats, even better, even.

00:34:30:23 - 00:34:58:17
Chris
Better. Yes, it's it's it's eerily the same thing. Anyway, yeah. So we're running up on time here, but I want to give you guys one final question before we let you go. And that is, what advice would you give to new dog moms out there who are maybe just starting their journey or, just got a little puppy or rescuing a new dog and are really looking to build that strong bond with their pet.

00:34:58:19 - 00:35:17:08
Chrissy
Sure. So, new dog moms, I'll start off, new dog moms that just became a dog mom. They're just bringing that puppy home. You know, I watched this hilarious reel yesterday of this woman who girl like, my age, like, adopted two large breed dogs together. Just adopted him, and she's in her apartment. Like, this is going to be so fun.

00:35:17:08 - 00:35:36:24
Chrissy
Welcome home, welcome home. And she's running as she turns around and the puppy goes to squat. And then it was just like reality set in. And she was like, oh, wait a minute, I've got two big dogs now in my apartment and it's peeing on my floor now. Like reality set in. So, you know, something that I say is that first of all, breeds, you know, this is a process.

00:35:37:03 - 00:35:54:03
Chrissy
It's a learning curve for everyone. Get a hold of some local positive reinforcement professionals that can help you along the way for potty training. All of that. Follow some great people on social media that can maybe help you. But it is something that you have to give yourself grace that you are going to have to sacrifice. Some things are used to doing.

00:35:54:09 - 00:36:19:03
Chrissy
Your life is about to get rocked, and changed, and new schedule, new routines. But if you can just give yourself grace through the moments when it feels like it's a lot, you will. It is temporary. You will get through it. But I just always suggest to, you know, our stack your deck, get that army of professionals who are going to be right there to help you through those early stages.

00:36:19:03 - 00:36:33:11
Chrissy
Because puppy hood can be can be a can bring tears, you know, it can be tough. It's not all fun and games. So, you know, get your army built so that you have that support system.

00:36:33:13 - 00:36:34:16
Kristen
Yeah, that's really.

00:36:34:16 - 00:36:59:08
Amber
Really a great point. And there's actually something that's called the puppy blues. And I think that that happens to people when they get on this like really high like expectation of when they're bringing a new puppy home. They're so excited. They expect it all to be like this, rainbows and butterflies. And then reality sets in that you have like a little baby shark with teeth that pees and poops in your house, that destroys your house, that bites you, and you're like, what is going on?

00:36:59:08 - 00:37:21:06
Amber
Especially if you're not used to what a new puppy brings into the house. And so I think giving yourself grace is really important. And everybody, you know, everybody makes mistakes with their puppies. You're going to have some lows and you're going to have some really high highs too. So try to remember that it's just a stage and this is not going to be forever.

00:37:21:06 - 00:37:43:12
Amber
Like Chrissy said, having like people around you to help support you is really important. But also like you are raising an adult dog to be the dog they're going to be. The puppy stage is such a short time, so don't try to make that dog grow up too quickly. Just enjoy them being little. I'm trying to do the same thing with my son, like he's jumping off of tears right now and he doesn't know that he's not supposed to do that.

00:37:43:14 - 00:38:01:20
Amber
But I'm trying to enjoy those, like, stressful moments. Because, you know, he's only little for so long. Same thing with the puppy. They grow up so fast. So fast. So, you know, give yourself some grace, enjoy the little moments. And when you have those hard moments, just remind yourself that this is just a small portion of time.

00:38:02:01 - 00:38:21:11
Kristen
Yeah. For sure. Oh my gosh, that was great advice for anybody with a new puppy. Or I mean, a lot of that advice applies for just adopting an adult dog too. And we are so happy to have you guys join us for the Mother's Day episode. Chrissy, Joy and Amber, a card with the dog mom. Second season coming up and I know Chris, you and I will.

00:38:21:11 - 00:38:30:09
Kristen
We'll announce that when it when it launches, so everybody can catch it. But in the meantime, tell us where folks can follow you on social.

00:38:30:11 - 00:38:39:22
Chrissy
Okay, I'll kick it off. Please, if you want to learn more, see some dog training, cool tricks, and if you have any questions, or just need to vent.

00:38:39:24 - 00:38:40:14
Kristen
You can.

00:38:40:14 - 00:38:45:03
Chrissy
Follow the Joy crew or the Chrissy Joy on any social media platforms.

00:38:45:05 - 00:39:03:07
Amber
Yes, if you guys have a new puppy and you want to vent, you have the puppy blues, or you want to show off all the things you're training your dog to do, you can find me, Amber, a car on social media, or you can find my dog and all of our cool stuff we do together. Whiskey, toddler, all across any social media page, and we'd be happy to connect with you guys.

00:39:03:08 - 00:39:20:19
Chris
Awesome. And if you all out there want to catch up on the Dog Moms before season two drops, head on over to dog tv.com/the Dog Moms. Thank you guys so much for joining us today. Thanks. And maybe they're dangerous giving me an offer to vent. You don't want you don't want.

00:39:20:19 - 00:39:24:01
Amber
You don't want to be in my DMs like I don't want.

00:39:24:03 - 00:39:27:06
Chris
You don't want that for everybody other than Chris.

00:39:27:08 - 00:39:35:14
Amber
I love it. Thanks for having us guys. Really appreciate it. Anytime. Foreign fun.

00:39:35:16 - 00:39:38:12
Kristen
They are so awesome. You know, we go have a chance on.

00:39:38:12 - 00:39:39:08
Chris
Your own show.

00:39:39:13 - 00:39:41:21
Kristen
I know, right? Ridiculous.

00:39:41:23 - 00:39:43:04
Chris
It's ridiculous.

00:39:43:06 - 00:39:52:00
Kristen
We had a great time in person with them a couple months ago at global. Chrissy travels with, like, four dogs, and it's crazy. I don't know how she does it.

00:39:52:02 - 00:40:06:01
Chris
Yeah, and they, you know, we had the the gift of, hair and makeup available for the studio, and they tried to do something with these under eyes, and there just wasn't they just did not have enough makeup. There is.

00:40:06:03 - 00:40:08:20
Kristen
No. You didn't have your shade of concealer.

00:40:09:00 - 00:40:28:23
Chris
Yeah. Which is midnight black. You know, it was a it was a lot of fun, doing this stuff in person. And, you know, for those who don't know, the shows largely filmed just like, kind of with the internet, it's very rare that we all get to be in the same spot together. So it really was a treat.

00:40:29:00 - 00:40:51:11
Chris
The product of the week. Okay, it's time for the pop up a product of the week. And I've got I've got a quick one here. I don't want to I don't want to queue up. Everybody's time with something. But I found another like really just kind of clever product. And it's for people if you've got furniture, you don't want the dog.

00:40:51:13 - 00:41:17:22
Chris
This is called the dog off it furniture protection. And it this is, this is kind of how they describe it. Eco friendly, recycled, material, which, you know, obviously makes it great for, for me. I love that kind of stuff. But basically, they are these, plastic tubes, like half cylinders. You put down, and they are meant to create contrast.

00:41:17:24 - 00:41:47:18
Chris
And it it is more than just like a physical deterrent. The dog looks at it and goes like, I don't want to sit there anymore. It doesn't. It makes it, like, look less comfortable. So, it's where do they where do they say it's like some some type of science? I don't know, it's the same type of science that kind of dog TV uses where, you know, they, they've looked at the way not just humans look at things, but the way dogs look at things and they created a shape and used specific colors.

00:41:47:24 - 00:42:06:13
Chris
Now, here's the thing I don't like about it is it's not an everyday product. This is like if you're going away or if you leave the house during the day and you don't want the dog using the sofa, you kind of just set it up. It kind of slides up, you put it down, supposedly works. They were they were over at Global Pet Expo a couple months ago, and I took a look at the product.

00:42:06:13 - 00:42:23:22
Chris
It's a nice, sturdy, recyclable plastic. They're, you know, really working hard on making sure that it's not just like another crap plastic product, but is kind of, you know, that that recycled material. So check it out now. I think it's just dog off.com that's clever.

00:42:23:24 - 00:42:51:03
Kristen
Like the opposite of dog on it. Dog off. It lets dog off. Very cool. Hey, mine is also one that I saw at Global Pet Expo a couple months ago. This is for kitty cats and this is a company is called fussy Cat Premium Market Fresh. This is a dry food, but, what's special about it is, it's tuna forward.

00:42:51:05 - 00:43:18:24
Kristen
This is for tuna loving cats, which pretty much means all cats, right? It has, antioxidant super rich superfoods like blueberries and cranberries, low glycemic chickpeas, omega three rich flaxseed. And this is a new formula that they're making without any grain. And it also features fresh, lean tuna sushi grade as the number one ingredient. I thought that was pretty cool.

00:43:19:01 - 00:43:20:07
Chris
Yeah. That's great.

00:43:20:11 - 00:43:29:09
Kristen
You know, because I think a lot of, you know, a lot of cats. And I think Tiger might be one of them that only eats dry food or. No, no, she can't eat dry food.

00:43:29:11 - 00:43:31:18
Chris
Yeah. She only eat one food.

00:43:31:20 - 00:43:32:19
Kristen
She gums it.

00:43:32:21 - 00:43:34:21
Chris
Yeah. Yeah.

00:43:34:23 - 00:43:55:02
Kristen
I think this is a really great option for people who maybe would like to switch to a wet food. But their cat is insistent on eating dry food, so now you can really get that top quality, tuna forward. Number one ingredient, food to make sure your cat is getting the best nutrition possible in a dry food.

00:43:55:04 - 00:44:14:06
Chris
That sounds great. Yeah, Tiger. Surprisingly, not a big fish lover. We used to get her, like, the variety pack of, pet food that had. And she would never eat the fish flavors, so we switched. Interesting. She's a bird huntress. As an artist? Yes, she is a bird huntress at heart.

00:44:14:08 - 00:44:17:16
Kristen
Q and it's time for questions.

00:44:17:18 - 00:44:46:05
Chris
Yes, it is time for questions. Some some might call it our favorite part of the show, where we get to answer two questions from our lovely listeners. And I'm in your head listener. I'm there. I'm like, professor X, and I know what you're thinking. How do I have my question answered by Chris and Chris, too? Well, fortunately, I can't use my mind reading powers to know what you want to ask, so you're going to have to head on over to Pat's at Life Dawg Slash podcast.

00:44:46:07 - 00:45:12:13
Chris
Fill out a quick form and you will be able to, get a question answered on the show. And if you're feeling as brave as all of the mothers out there, you can leave us a voice memo and you may hear your question played live on these very airwaves. So without further ado, Kristen, we got a question here.

00:45:12:15 - 00:45:31:20
Chris
Sarah from Lexington, Kentucky. Hey, Sarah, I'm tucky, and I don't know why that became a tongue twister for me, but alas. Sarah asks. As a new dog owner, I'm curious about the best ways to keep my home clean and odor free, especially with shedding and the occasional mess. Any tips?

00:45:31:20 - 00:45:52:24
Kristen
Yeah. Sure, sure. Yeah. So keeping your home your pet home clean is all about managing the the shedding, the stains and the odors. So I would say first off would be regular grooming for your dog. Regardless of, you know, you might have a short cut, a dog, you can still groom them on a daily. It doesn't have to be daily.

00:45:52:24 - 00:46:16:13
Kristen
I guess it could be a few times a week because if you brush them outside or in an area where it's contained, then you're not going to get fur, just shedding off as much. So all of the all over the house. So I would say regular brushing. Also regular bathing if you've ever noticed, if you bathed your dog like in a bathtub or outside, you know, by the house or something like that, you ever notice how much fur comes off during a bath?

00:46:16:15 - 00:46:34:02
Kristen
A lot, because you know, you're you're lathering them up and you're kind of massaging their coat and all those hair is that might fall out on their own in a few days are going to come out. So definitely that will really help the shedding. Control. Also vacuuming more frequently than you probably did before you had a dog.

00:46:34:04 - 00:46:59:19
Kristen
And they have pet specific vacuums. And a lot of companies make them, you know, Bissell, Dyson. I think they all have a pet pet, vacuum. Yeah. But one that has happy filtration is really important. And be sure you get one that has, upholstery attachments too. So if your dog is allowed on any of the furniture, you're going to have shedding there, and it's hard to pick, it's hard to get it up without, you know, a vacuum attachment.

00:46:59:21 - 00:47:24:21
Kristen
As far as the stains or orders that may happen, I highly recommend you use an enzymatic cleaner. Those are basically, plant based cleaners that use natural enzymes that will literally eat the stains and remove them completely. But the trick is with enzyme cleaners, you really have to follow the instructions. And I know this because I have my own enzymes cleaner.

00:47:24:23 - 00:47:45:22
Kristen
It's really important that you leave the solution on long enough for the enzymes to do their work. A lot of people want to spray and then wipe away. That's not going to get rid of the state. So use them properly. And what else? What did I miss? Oh, you know, when they come in, when your dog comes in from outside, make sure you're wiping any muddy paws.

00:47:45:24 - 00:47:53:11
Kristen
You know, telling them off. And other than that, not. That's my best advice. You have anything to add to that, Chris?

00:47:53:13 - 00:48:11:16
Chris
No, just that I have the Dyson pet household vacuum, and it sucks, which is actually kind of a vacuum. So, I'm happy there. Yeah, I got I got everybody with that one. All right. What do you have for me there?

00:48:11:16 - 00:48:26:17
Kristen
Okay. All right. I have a I like this question. I've I've heard this question a lot. This one's from Emily in Denver, Colorado. She says I notice my dog occasionally eats grass during our walks. Is this normal behavior and should I be concerned?

00:48:26:19 - 00:48:52:16
Chris
Great question. And I'll say this much right off the top. A dog eating grass is a lot more normal than a dog smoking grass. But, Anyway. Yeah. So first up, dogs are opportunistic omnivores, scavengers. They will eat, pretty much anything. And grass, is a part of their ancestral diet. But that doesn't mean that they should be eating it.

00:48:52:16 - 00:49:10:07
Chris
But it is totally normal for your dog to, want to eat, grass. Now, if your dog eats a little bit of grass and it never really makes him sick, it might not be worth the effort in changing the behavior. If your dog is eating a lot of grass, you're probably going to want to change the behavior.

00:49:10:13 - 00:49:30:02
Chris
If you're in a area that uses a lot of herbicide or pesticide or long treatment stuff, then you got to change the behavior. They shouldn't be in that at all. And if your dog ever gets sick or throws up green or has really, really loose stools, this is probably the issue. So how do you get them to stop?

00:49:30:02 - 00:49:47:00
Chris
Well, the same way that you, trained a dog to do anything else, you reinforce the behavior that you do desire. So, when you're going on your walks and they, they look at the grass and they get that look in the, their eye of like, I'm going to go eat that. You say, no, stop. And when they stop and sit, you give them a treat.

00:49:47:00 - 00:50:02:24
Chris
And then you move on and continue with your walk. And you give them a treat again for moving on and not going to the grass. So like I said, if if your dog's just going up and, you know, takes a couple of leaves off a plant or a little nibble out of the grass and then just moves on and it's like everything is fine.

00:50:03:03 - 00:50:27:08
Chris
It's, you know, it's probably not worth the effort. Grass can actually be a little healthy for some dogs. I wouldn't recommend it, but it has a lot of fiber. So your your dog may actually be lacking some fiber in its diet. You may need to look at a food that has a little bit more fiber because like, people, you know, we're, opportunistic, omnivores as well.

00:50:27:08 - 00:50:45:12
Chris
We require a very varied diet to get everything that we need. Dogs are the same way. Have you ever noticed, like, Chris and you ever have this feeling where, like, you've had, like, a week where you've, like, only eaten junk food and suddenly you're like, man, I would kill for a broccoli right now. It's seriously stuff.

00:50:45:14 - 00:51:07:10
Chris
Yeah. Your your body's basically telling you, like, oh, I need I need these nutrients right now so your dog can be having, that type of craving as well. Totally possible for a dog to feel that way. So if it's a continued issue, you may want to look into a higher fiber, dog food diet for your for your pet to.

00:51:07:12 - 00:51:14:14
Chris
And, Kristen, that brings us to the end of our Mother's Day episode.

00:51:14:16 - 00:51:15:16
Kristen
Bummer.

00:51:15:18 - 00:51:16:12
Chris
Yeah, bummer.

00:51:16:12 - 00:51:18:01
Kristen
But that was a great show.

00:51:18:03 - 00:51:19:22
Chris
It was a great show. Yeah. It was. Yeah.

00:51:20:03 - 00:51:23:17
Kristen
And I'm actually taking my mom on a trip this year for Mother's Day. Oh.

00:51:23:17 - 00:51:24:19
Chris
Where are you going?

00:51:24:21 - 00:51:33:05
Kristen
She wants to go to Savannah. She's never been. She wants to go. So my sister and I are going to treat her to a little weekend trip in Savannah.

00:51:33:07 - 00:51:43:02
Chris
That's awesome. That's. That's actually really fun. I still don't know what we're doing for Mother's Day. We'll probably go up to my parents house. Probably. Who knows?

00:51:43:04 - 00:51:44:01
Kristen
They just want to see.

00:51:44:01 - 00:52:03:10
Chris
Me and my family were terrible. We're terrible at making plants. We're. We're like. We're like the the worst family ever when it comes to actually just being like, yeah, here's exactly what we're going to do. So yeah, we'll we'll be up there for sure. That's not a problem. Remember, everybody call your mom's, get her card, send her some flowers.

00:52:03:10 - 00:52:17:17
Chris
Do what it takes to be a good child. She brought you into this world, and she can take you out. We will be back here, as always, next Tuesday with another episode. Until then, be kind to yourselves. Be kind to your animals. And Kristen.

00:52:17:19 - 00:52:23:08
Kristen
That's awesome y'all. Tune in next week.

00:52:23:10 - 00:52:34:23
Voice Over
Pets add life your guide to the latest in pet trends, products, and the joy of the human animal bond with Christine Levine and Chris Bonafide. Powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog TV.