81. AI Savings, Sanctuary Heroes & Pet First Aid Power

Disclaimer: Our podcast is produced as an audio resource. Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and human editing and may contain errors. Before republishing quotes, we ask that you reference the audio.

Speaker 1 (00:00):

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 Bonafide, powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog tv.

Speaker 2 (00:14):

Hello and happy almost fall, my favorite season of the year. This is the Pet's Ad Life podcast and we have another possum show lined up for you today. You're not going to believe our guests today, they are amazing guests. I am so impressed that we were able to lay on these two, so you guys definitely want to stick around to see who they are. And I'm Kristen Levine, and I'm super excited to welcome back a guest co-host, Walter Brown. Walter, I am so glad you could be here today.

Speaker 3 (00:44):

I am excited to be here again. It's always fun to co-host with you all. And again, shout this out to dog tv. You guys are doing an amazing job with this podcast. So again, hey, I'm here for the fun. Thanks for inviting me again.

Speaker 2 (00:56):

Of course. And just to remind our audience, Walter is a veterinary technologist. He's also known as skinny, go live on social media. He's a content creator. If you're not following him already, you need to follow him because he will crack you up on a regular and he'll help you learn a little bit about what it's like to work in veterinary medicine too.

Speaker 3 (01:17):

Absolutely, absolutely,

Speaker 2 (01:18):

Absolutely. And if you have a doodle, do not follow him.

Speaker 3 (01:22):

I love your doodles, but we got to slow down a little bit on the doodle one. So how about we say you did and don't, but

Speaker 2 (01:28):

We did. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So Walter, are you a pumpkin spice latte kind of guy?

Speaker 3 (01:33):

Oh my gosh. Have you been talking to somebody?

Speaker 2 (01:37):

I haven't actually.

Speaker 3 (01:38):

Really

Speaker 2 (01:39):

Have you not? No, that was just, no, I just brought it up. I love fall and I love Starbucks. Finally launched the PSLA couple of weeks ago. I'm just loving it.

Speaker 3 (01:47):

Yeah, it is funny that you say that, Chris, because that's my other ick. If you think doodles was my itch before that, it was the pumpkin spice latte. Really? Nobody, because my wife loves it. Right? And my wife basic, she know I calls her basic, but she fits every basic girl category and that's one of them. And it is like nobody really likes pumpkin spice, but clearly I've been proven wrong over the years. So let me guess, you're a pumpkin spice person.

Speaker 2 (02:15):

I like it, but I don't like a lot of the pumpkin spice flavor, so I like to get, I always ask for just one pump, so

Speaker 3 (02:23):

Gotcha. So when you go to Starbucks, it's like pumpkin spice, but one pump please,

Speaker 2 (02:26):

But one pump. Yeah, pumpkin is I can spice light on the pumpkin spice. So yeah, so it's really great that we just started off the show with your most hated items.

Speaker 3 (02:36):

You know what, we are going to do great today. This is going to be great, but shout out people fall is a great time. I love fall colors. So I guess that's where I give a little bit of grace and mercy to pumpkin spice. That's a pretty,

Speaker 2 (02:48):

Usually

Speaker 3 (02:49):

Every pumpkin spice product has a nice orange and all white coloration that I can deal with, so I'll give it a little

Speaker 2 (02:55):

Vice

Speaker 3 (02:55):

Versa.

Speaker 2 (02:56):

Exactly. Okay. Well Walter, you have been here before, so you know the drill. We're going to share two stories. We're going to have two amazing guests. We're going to share two product recommendations, and then we'll wrap up the show by answering two of our audience questions. So you ready to dive into story time? Let's

Speaker 1 (03:14):

Dive into story time. Kristen and Chris, present story time.

Speaker 2 (03:22):

Okay, I'm going to let you go first. You're the guest host.

Speaker 3 (03:25):

All right. Oh, story time. I guess again, we're going to go with, I like to keep up with what's going on. Again, mental health and being healthy is one of those biggest things that I think where should definitely make sure that we have a conversation about. Little do people know, you may or may not know for those who are watching, men are actually 20% of the folks that are in veterinary medicine and myself being a veterinary technologist, we are even smaller. And as men, a lot of time I feel like we don't have try to tough a lot of things out until it's like you can't tough it out, and then you got to have that moment. So a couple weeks ago, literally after co-hosting with you guys, I had this weird anti-inflammatory deal where every joint in my body was hurting, and I go to the gym often. So instead of me the first couple of days, I'm trying to tough it out and just kind of walk. And it was miserable, right? But it was just that mental health play. It's like, wait, it clicked, right? Because anytime you turn over, you get over a 40, you start thinking, all right, what ailment is happening next?

Speaker 2 (04:26):

Or what is this?

Speaker 3 (04:28):

What's happening? Am I dying? And whatever you do, right? Don't go on WebMD. Literally guys, don't go on WebMD. I mean, I had gone so far down a rabbit hole that I had diagnosed myself with ovarian cyst, and if you know the gap, right? So yeah, so stay up WebMD, but I had a very, Hey,

Speaker 2 (04:47):

All the symptoms lined up, right?

Speaker 3 (04:48):

You lined up right? So I was like, I got to have ovarian cyst, but no, went to the doctor I got on the course of steroids. But long story short, I definitely had that moment of panicking of what's happening to me? Am I taking care of myself and X, Y, and Z? And it played on me mentally, physically as well. So it's always good to just make sure you take care of your mental health, have a safe space, talk to someone, and don't be afraid to go to the doctor Fellows after 40. Trust me. We need to make sure that oil changed a little bit more than normal.

Speaker 2 (05:18):

I mean, the same advice you would give your clients to be preventative about veterinary care. You got to do that for yourself too,

Speaker 3 (05:28):

Right? Exactly. And you got to do all those things, and if you don't, you will. It'll hurt it in the long run. So definitely make sure you take care of yourself. People make care

Speaker 2 (05:36):

Well, are you feeling better?

Speaker 3 (05:38):

I am feeling better. Again, I just finished some of the medications a couple days ago. Long story short, we're going to keep our fingers crossed, knock on wood that it was just some weird inflammatory from my body, but again, going to the doctor and getting things checked out, but hey, right now I'm great and I'm here with you all. So I'm feeling amazing.

Speaker 2 (05:54):

Awesome, awesome. Well, I'm glad because we have some amazing guests today. And so my story this week I found this interesting new app. It's called Pet Bucks. And what it does is it's an AI powered cash back app that's specifically for pet parents, and it allows you to buy your regular pet supplies anywhere you can buy them in store or online, wherever you like to do your shopping. What you do is you scan your receipt and you upload it on this app. If the brands that you're buying from, whether it's your food or treats or litter or what have you, if they're a partner with Pet Bucks, they give you a cash back, kind of like a loyalty treat. And I was looking on the app and it looks like they range from two to 5% back, which definitely adds up. And all you have to do is you download the Pet Bucks app, it's available on both app stores, and then you do have to set up your profile and you have to connect to your bank so that they can deposit the rewards into your account. And then the only thing I couldn't figure out is if you're able to use those rewards, I mean, I'm sure you can just transfer it to your bank account or whatever, but I thought that was a really great way to save on pet care expenses because as we know, caring for pets can be costly.

Speaker 3 (07:16):

They can,

Speaker 2 (07:18):

And this way you don't have to look for a particular manufacturer coupon or you don't have to go wait for a specific sale. You can literally buy whatever you want and just upload the receipt to the app.

Speaker 3 (07:30):

I love that. I love that. Again, it is technology, right? And I think I'm one of those folks. I love technology and I like when things are simpler. Some people are like, give me a paper, whatever. And I'm like, Hey, whatever I can do to go paperless. So that is pretty awesome. That is. Have you used it yet, or have you been,

Speaker 2 (07:47):

I just downloaded it yesterday and I got it all set up. And one thing I should add is it looks like there's about 30 or 40 brands partnering with the app right now, but they're adding daily, they're adding new brands. So if you don't see the stuff that you buy regularly, I saw several brands of things that I normally buy. So I was happy about that. But yeah, it's super simple. You just have to save your receipt or electronic receipt and take a picture of it.

Speaker 1 (08:11):

Love it. I love it. Beyond the leash, exploring the untold stories of pet passion and professionalism.

Speaker 2 (08:20):

Okay, I am so excited to introduce our guest. Lee Asher is the founder of the Asher House, a nonprofit animal sanctuary in Salem, Oregon, spanning 240 acres and serving as a forever home for over 140 rescue animals. It includes dogs, cats, birds, and farm animals. And Lee began this mission by traveling across 49 states in an rv, and he was promoting shelter adoptions before he created this, settling into this sanctuary. And he's got a massive following on social media, millions of fans on TikTok and other platforms, and he's become a viral voice for rescue awareness and compassionate care. We are overjoyed to have you join us, Lee, welcome.

Speaker 4 (09:06):

Thank you so much. Thank you so, so much. It's really a pleasure to be here.

Speaker 2 (09:13):

Yeah. Well, all of us have been following you for years on social media, but why don't we go back to the earlier days when you started out traveling in an RV to advocate for shelter pets across the country. What inspired you to start that journey and at what point did you know it was time to settle into a sanctuary?

Speaker 4 (09:33):

Yeah, I love talking about that. So thanks for asking because my life is so much different now. And it's important to remember where we started and why we started. And I started in Los Angeles and I was going to the South LA Animal shelter almost every day. I would love to tell you it was after work, but it was during work. I just felt so drawn to there. I felt so connected to the dogs there, and I really couldn't believe how many dogs and how many beautiful dogs and affectionate dogs were there waiting to get forever homes. And I started going there almost every single day and for hours on hours. And I realized that through social media, people didn't they, people on social media also couldn't believe how many amazing beautiful dogs were there. Anytime I would post a video of the dogs there, people would say, I can't believe they have a St.

(10:39):

Bernard there. I can't believe they have this puppy Cain Corso. I didn't know they had so many puppies. And it was really the people. It was the people who kind of influenced me that I had to not just do this for this shelter. I wanted to do it for dogs and shelters all across the country wherever I could. And that was the sign that I needed. It really showed me that the response to my videos was how I responded when I first went to the shelter. I was heartbroken, but I was also overjoyed to be able to bring light to the shelter. And it became my mission to really show the world how many amazing dogs were waiting inside of shelters to get adopted. Not the dogs that you see in the commercials with the Sarah McLaughlin with the one eye popping out and they're sick. Yes, those dogs are there, but people who haven't been to a shelter think that the whole shelter is filled with dogs that are desperately seeking a home that are really sick or even have behavior issues. But that's just 1% 99% of the shelter. It's the healthiest dogs that can go home with you that day and be the best, most loyal companion in the world.

Speaker 3 (12:04):

That is awesome. That's what make you special. I think that's, and I can hear the passion and love for it and just wonderful. That just makes my heart warm. But I got a question for you, Lee. I have to ask this question, right? Because I'm a guy I have, I call my little mini sanctuary of just my pets, right? Tortoises.

Speaker 4 (12:29):

I see the picture, the pictures of the dogs in the background.

Speaker 3 (12:33):

Oh yeah. I got a ton of things happening on the other side of this wall, and it takes me forever to get up in the morning and I just remembered I forgot to feed the tortoises now. 240 acres, 140 animals. How do you structure your routine? What's the routine? What's the socialization like the scheduling, how do you manage 148 and shots out to your lawn care guy? Because two 40 acres, I'm sure you got some jokes out there, right? It's got to be

Speaker 4 (13:03):

It's shout outs to a lot of people. A beautiful thing, as Kristen mentioned, I started off in my RV and I really thought I was going to be doing that for the rest of my life until I was older and then have an animal sanctuary. But when CO happened, that kind of took me off the road almost immediately. But my mission, I wasn't willing to give up. My mission was just starting. It wasn't going to die. And when I started an animal sanctuary, I had no previous experience. I had no idea what I was doing, but I had what you sense in me, that passion. I had that love for animals. And just because you have passion and love doesn't mean you're not going to make mistakes. And it started with just me. But now, in order to have 240 acres and 140, I mean we, we've had up to 220 dogs to have that.

(14:04):

It takes a team of experienced people. When I started, I had no experience. But what I did was slowly but surely surround myself with the best of the best from veterinarians to animal caretakers, to med team. We have the most amazing farm team management. I mean, one of our farm team members is our lead horse trainer. She's known horses since she was a baby. She knows their body language, she knows what they're thinking. We have an expert in every single area. So I really can only take the credit not for building this, but for finding the right people to see that I'm not just crazy. You hear of my vision, you're like, this guy's insane. You have to combine insanity and passion with structure and a plan. And that's what I did. And it's really my team who has created just the most amazing animal rescue and mission and sanctuary in the world. I mean, from our fundraising department, we have every area in a business that you can think of from A-C-F-O-A-C-E-O-A board. We have that here. And they're the best of the best at what they do.

Speaker 2 (15:21):

That is incredible. And I wanted to ask you, Lee, what, obviously you have an incredible social media following. How has that community of followers helped you take your crazy, passionate dream and make it a reality? What role did social media play in that?

Speaker 4 (15:41):

Everything social media has taught me so much. It's been so beautiful because I grew up very alone. I didn't have the type of parents that, I don't want to get too deep into it, but I just felt, let's, just to make it short, I felt very alone, very isolated. I grew up with severe learning disabilities, so I was in special classes with only three or four people with all the cool kids and the popular kids across the hall with 20, 30 people in their class. So I really thought that that was going to be my reality for the rest of my life. And when I got to a place on social media where I found my voice and started talking about my experiences, my love for animals, my philosophies, I'm getting the chills right now. I found out I wasn't alone. There are so many people that feel alone, that feel misunderstood, that feel like they have this amazing love and passion for animals that no one will understand. And I think that this community sees me as someone who doesn't just talk the talk, but I am in it every single day. For example, Walter, you talked about my routine. My fiance and I we're up every single morning, 4 45, we start giving meds, releasing the dogs. It is my whole life. It is everything.

(17:12):

It is my entire plate. And I really do believe that the majority of people on social media see that and respect that. And then you have the other side of social media, the negative side, the hate and the people who do a lot of talking, but no actual good for animals or humanity, honestly. And it's this beautiful, that's also beautiful. That's also good for you because it's good for your ego. It's good to understand the world. It's good to know you want to really be on top of your game every step that you can. So there's so much good from social media. What's important for people that I see struggling is the mission becomes social media and not the actual mission why they started. If your goal is to gain followers, if your goal is to be funny, if your goal is to be inspirational, if your goal is attention, even if you get it, you eventually won't and you're going to lose.

(18:15):

The reason we have the most followed animal rescue on social media in the world is because my, I don't care if a video gets 30 million views, a hundred thousand views or five views, my only focus is the animals is making sure my team is healthy and doing a good job is that the sanctuary is getting the support that it needs. Never do I look at the numbers. It doesn't even occur to me, and it never did. Sure, I've had my moments where I've had to get myself back in check when I was first getting started when I was younger, but we learn, we grow. And the people who don't learn and grow well, you know what happens to them.

Speaker 2 (18:58):

Well, Lee, I wish we could talk to you for an hour, but we are coming up on time. So my last question is, what future expansions or programming do you have besides, obviously you're going on tour, so that'll keep you busy, but what's coming up next for the Azure House and how can people learn more and find out how they can get involved?

Speaker 4 (19:19):

Well, the only place to either donate or learn about the Asher House is on our website, the asher house.com. There's a lot of scammers and fake Asher house that we only have the Asher house. And although we're very big on social media, we really are very young in the industry. We are just doing something that's never been done before. And we're proving what can be done with time, dedication, and a lot of love and hard work. There's no one in the world to see this many dogs living indoor and outdoor, this type of different breeds and sizes, and it's really special. And for my next chapter in life, I would really love, and I'm not there yet, I'm hoping maybe in three more years I can start helping other people start this dream because the only way to really make a difference, I can't do it alone. I would love to inspire hundreds, hopefully thousands of people to buy land and create a safe haven for animals, all kinds, whatever animals, and really show people what can be done. But it takes an extreme amount of work and resilience. But if dogs have that type of resilience, so can we.

Speaker 3 (20:41):

Absolutely. Oh, I love it, Ashley.

Speaker 2 (20:43):

Well, this has been such an uplifting conversation and just meeting you in person or even though it's digitally, you are as real and authentic as you appear to be on social media. And I just thank you for all the work that you do for the Animals, and thanks for being on the Pet's Ed Live podcast today. Thank

Speaker 4 (21:01):

You for having me. It was a pleasure.

Speaker 2 (21:05):

Oh my gosh, he's amazing. We literally both have goosebumps.

Speaker 3 (21:10):

Oh my gosh, that was just amazing, wasn't it, Kristen? It's some people, you can just feel the passion and you've done a lot of interviews. I've been around the people and you can just see where some things are just like scripted or come like you feel the passion come

Speaker 2 (21:27):

Through. It's dripping from him.

Speaker 3 (21:28):

It's, it's amazing. So definitely big shots to Lee Asher. For those who are watching, please, please go follow this guy. He is amazing. And what he is doing for the pet community and for the animal world is just outstanding.

Speaker 2 (21:42):

Yeah, kudos to Ron for booking Lee Asher. Awesome, Ron.

Speaker 3 (21:49):

Awesome, man. We are back for another episode, and I am excited to introduce our next guest, which is Arden Moore. Arden Moore is known as an American Pet Health and safety coach. She's a bestselling author, Fear-Free, certified Professional, a master instructor in Pet First Aid. And CPR Arden also founded the first aid for you in 2013. And as Director of Education for Pro Pet Heroes has also taught lifesaving courses in person as well as on Zoom via virtually has taught thousands worldwide. She's also the host of the long run OBE Behave podcast, Erin Weekly since 2007, and has appeared frequently as a expert in media. So let's give a warm welcome to our amazing guest, Artie Moore. How are you doing, Arden?

Speaker 5 (22:40):

Hey, pa up. Walter. Kristin, good to see you. I got a couple of teammates with me. See, you're now looking at the world's busiest safety cat and the very shy, shy go now. Wow, that is awesome. Certified therapy pets. And they help me teach realistic pet first aid.

Speaker 3 (23:04):

That is awesome. Well, we got to kick things off because again, you have a lot going and you are an amazing person. So I hear that you've launched a self-paced first aid course and a mobile app, which is way beyond me and what I could do. I get scared when I think about developing apps. Who can do it? Can you share people now? So lemme share what it how. Yeah, go ahead. Go for, tell us all about this app.

Speaker 5 (23:32):

For years I've taught, I've taught pet first aid in person when geographically reasonable. I've also taught it interactive Zoom. And we have taught people in Cairo, Egypt, New Zealand, we've taught people in South Africa. I've taught people in Greece all over the world. But there was a big void, a big gap. And that was how do we reach that person who at two o'clock in the morning says, I think I want to learn to do pet first aid. I don't want to be in a class. I want to do it on my time. So it's taken a lot of work, but we have not won. But now two new courses, a dog, cat, pet First Aid, CPR class online, and a cat only CPR first aid class. That's amazing. So now you can learn Pet First aid in your pajamas. And we did it with, I love it. So we did it with, we just got the Apple app. I sound so cool. And we do one step away from getting the Google Play app. So anytime, anywhere anyhow, go here and you can save your pet's life and learn how to keep your life safe. I love it. I love it

(24:52):

That that's high tech product placement right there.

Speaker 2 (24:56):

Very impressive. Arden, you never fail to impress. I have a question for you. So speaking of Kona and Casey, you're using real dog and real cat training assistance in your courses. So how does that work when you're either on Zoom or doing the videos through the app? How does that work?

Speaker 5 (25:19):

Yeah, well, I think it's nice to see a pet for state class with one of these, but wouldn't you rather have one of these? And so

Speaker 2 (25:30):

Definitely

Speaker 5 (25:31):

If you're taking an interactive live class, the beauty is you can be in your own home with your own pets. And I guide you in real time, and I bring Kona and Casey to my live classes. And now you're going to get to see a self-paced course, not with a demo pet, but a real person with a real dog and a real cat showing how to wrap a wound, how to do CPR. I mean, I'm laughing because I had Casey in one thing and Casey come here, he was up against me and I was trying to show the kitty, right? So I had him just like this, which you're supposed to do right against your belly to go down the rib cage. And he looks up at me during the camera recording and does this. I'm like, did he really? Yeah. And we kept it in and his answer was, well, I've done this a few thousand times. You're going to have a little fun taking our course. It is all veterinary approved, but we have some fun. You learn when you're having fun and when you feel safe. And he is a That's so true.

Speaker 3 (26:44):

That is awesome. I where you get from, I've recently just, I've gotten my second cat, I've had this cat now with for two years now. I love my cat. It is like the best

Speaker 5 (26:56):

Real men love cats. Walter, come on. You

Speaker 3 (26:59):

Know what? I need that on the shirt. Lemme write that down, right? Men love cats. Shout out to dog tv. But no, you got little art your job, right? So I know you got either a cool story, cool testimony of where you've done this, these courses, and you have a story to share where someone actually was able to use some of your techniques or some of the learning to actually save a life of a pet as they've taken your courses.

Speaker 5 (27:29):

I've had many people write me saying what they learned in my class saved their pet's life. And one involved a dog named Mr. Finnegan. He's a medium-sized mutt. He's in the backseat of her car. She thinks the seatbelt tethered into his harness. The window's down, they're on a highway. Mr. Finnegan goes flying out the window, lands in the media, Nick's an artery, she turns her car around. She had just taken my class two weeks earlier and I had taught her these little tactics to how to stop an arterial bleed in a way you remember? And she said, you were in my head, Arden, as I applied the right pressure on the artery to slow down the blood loss because you nick an artery, you can bleed out. You Walter, you Kristen Dogs, cats in five to seven minutes. So she stopped the bleed. She hailed down a guy, this is hilarious, brand new truck. He's in a brand new truck, smells good. This bloody woman with this bloody dog, this kind man took them to the nearest vet and they saved Mr. Finnegan's life. And one of the things we all teach in my class is we act and think like a first responder is you all get permission in a pet emergency tub. Freak out later. So she got freak out later. That's good. She saved Mr. Finnegan's life.

Speaker 2 (28:58):

That'ss incredible.

Speaker 5 (28:58):

Love it. And I dunno what happened to the truck, but it was a bloody mess, man.

Speaker 2 (29:06):

Oh, very kind. Very kind. And I'm sure, I'm sure he probably took it to a detail shop and got it all cleaned up. So did you kill somebody? Right? Right. So when Walter was introducing you, he mentioned that you're a Fear free certified professional. How do you incorporate the stress-free methods from Fear Free into first aid and emergency protocols?

Speaker 5 (29:30):

Yeah, that's a great question, Christian, because it's okay if you know how to wrap a wound and how to do the mechanics of First Aid. But don't forget about this muscle your brain. And what I love about being a longtime Fear-Free certified speaker is we're all about reducing FAS, fear, anxiety, and stress in pets. So in our class, we actually at the beginning take time to get you to think a first responder, to not freak out, to say things like, I got you. Everything's okay. Don't baby talk, don't apologize. And pets smell our emotional state, so you got to fake it till you make it. So we incorporate a lot of Fear Free. Yeah,

Speaker 3 (30:14):

Love it, man. That is awesome. And again, fear Free is very important. And I love the fact that how Fear Free started it has definitely evolved over time and gone over to the pet owners where we teach the pet owners some different things where almost it was exclusive to some of our clinics and rescues, and now we're actually passing some of that great knowledge over to the pet owners, which is great. I

Speaker 5 (30:33):

Could have students while I'm sleeping, finish the program. That's pretty cool, don't you think? And we just launched it. I mean, you guys are getting the big news and we're big fans of dog tv

Speaker 2 (30:46):

And you can learn in your pajamas and fuzzy slippers. So where can people find you Arden, if they want to learn more about how

Speaker 5 (30:54):

The course, let's go right here. They just need to go right here and it'll give you the three options. Do you like my product placement?

Speaker 2 (31:03):

I love it. I love it. You are always such a fun

Speaker 5 (31:08):

Guest artist. I love our pets. They make us better humans. I am so blessed to have Kona and Casey. I mean, they really are saving lives. And so I'm so excited. I'll try to settle down, but I'm excited.

Speaker 3 (31:25):

I love it, I love it. I love the excitement. We need more people to be excited about CPR because again, I know Arden, it's a hard conversation to have when it rolls around. So it's better to be prepared. The more prepared we are, the better the outcome is, right? So I think the more people that are prepared for those situations, you never know when going to happen. You never know when going to happen. So shout out to you for

Speaker 5 (31:49):

Me. And same thing with the weather being really hot, that weather's very hot. I want you all to have a tip. Never give a hot dog or cat who's going into maybe heat stroke. That gums are going to turn red any ice, because ice will cause shock. A hot body meets a cold, don't put ice in the water, don't put a frozen pack of peas. And everybody in my class has to do this. Ready, ice, ice. Not nice baby.

Speaker 2 (32:18):

I love it. Oh wow. That's a great place to end with the wrap there. Great job, Arne, always great to see you and you are such a gem and we always grateful to talk to you.

Speaker 3 (32:30):

Awesome.

Speaker 5 (32:31):

I love you guys. Nice to see you. Nice to meet you, Walter.

Speaker 2 (32:37):

Wow, she's awesome. Had you met Arden before?

Speaker 3 (32:40):

I have not met Arden, but I have now and I'm sure we'll have more conversations. She's amazing and I love her. She is hilarious. Got to love an educator with a sense of humor. I think that's about her. And I click exactly

Speaker 2 (32:54):

The product

Speaker 3 (32:54):

Of the

Speaker 2 (32:55):

Week. We're on a roll. So we are going to just jump into our product of the week, and I'm excited to see what you got for us, Walter.

Speaker 3 (33:03):

Oh man, I think, okay, first product of the week. We kind of just broke it out of the box. I wish I had it here with me, but of course it's out in the yard. But of course we have a Corgi that just love for you to, if you could throw the ball all day, she would let you throw the ball all day. So I broke down and I was like, I've seen these things on Instagram and whatnot, but the final automatic ball launcher, the best thing that happened, best thing for me that happens. And it is gotten to the point where she's played with it for a little while. And again, if you don't know what it is, I'm sure you've all seen some either product that looks like it, but you put the ball in it, it waits a few seconds and the lunches it across the yard. So you can basically have a glass of lemonade while you just wipe the go back and forth and you don't have to do the work in the yard. So that has been great. What we are hoping to do next is get her to actually learn how to put the ball back in the luncher and then have it go herself. But yes, the automatic ball luncher, love it for anybody that wants to take a break from throwing the ball. And if you have one of those smart dogs, the Phyto Dog Ball, luncher, love it. Go

Speaker 2 (34:08):

For it. And I'm not familiar with that particular one, but does it have settings where it'll throw at certain distances if you have a little dog, it'll go shorter distance and then a bigger dog have the longer distance

Speaker 3 (34:19):

Dog. And it even has this safety mechanism on it where I think the one we have where it has almost like a sensor or motion detector, so it won't just launch it and hit your dog in the face certain feet.

Speaker 2 (34:30):

Yes, let's not do that

Speaker 3 (34:30):

Back up before it launches. So great product didn't think I would be one of those folks to get one. I'm like, who wants one of those again? We talk about me getting older. I don't have time to be out there throwing the ball. So some technology. Love it.

Speaker 2 (34:44):

Got to give that arm a break after the gym though, Walter, so you

Speaker 3 (34:48):

Just got to give it a break. So have at it, Lexi in the yard.

Speaker 2 (34:53):

Okay, Lexi, have fun. So I decided since we talked to Arden today about pet safety, that I would do a pet safety product. Nice. And this is one that I actually have used and tulips is in the car, but I grabbed, we used to have a lab named Chili, and this was his harness. I saved everything of his, this is the sleepy pod, click it sport car harness, click it sport car harness. And the reason they wanted to share it is because it is, in my opinion, it's absolute top of the line. It's not inexpensive, but it's crash tested. It's got a five star safety rating from the Center for Pet Safety. It has this infinity loop webbing. I don't know what that means, but it's just very, very durable. And they come in several beautiful colors. And it's also multipurpose because it's not only a car harness, but you can also use it as a walking harness.

Speaker 3 (35:49):

Oh

Speaker 2 (35:50):

Yeah. You don't have to have both on your dog or you don't have to remember to carry both. So yeah, I love Sleepy pod. They make great safety products for travel. And I want to say this one is around a hundred bucks. They also have a bundle that you can get that comes with a certain kind of clip for your seatbelt. So you might want to, we'll put the link in the show notes so you can read about it to see if you need the bundle or if you can get away with just getting the click at sport harness.

Speaker 3 (36:20):

Oh, I love it. That's awesome. That's awesome. Again, and I love the fact that you added the safety also, I put in a safety product as well, so that is awesome. On my end, my product or safety product for the week actually is a shout out to Paw Print oxygen and Paw print oxygen. Basically they've created a portable oxygen cage for rescue opportunity for those who do rescue. Or if you have a dog that may have a predisposed condition to an upper airway misfunction or abnormality, whether it be a pug or something, or maybe they were diagnosed with something where they need oxygen. In the case of emergency paw print makes these basically collapsible oxygen cages that you can put your dog in the case of emergency, they come with these portable oxygen and it is great. It has done outstanding. It has saved so many lives for the red folks that rescue, and again, there are some folks that are out there that like to have these products in that car. You never know when there may be hit by a car. You want to be ready. So this is just another product you can have in your ready kit for any emergencies.

Speaker 2 (37:30):

Wow, I didn't know there was a consumer product like that. I know that vet hospitals have that type of apparatus, but I didn't realize there was a consumer product like that.

Speaker 3 (37:40):

Yeah, what they actually did, I don't know if you remember this whole thing that came around during COVID, Kristen, where you could get oxygen, the portable oxygen for the folks who climb mountains or whatnot, and they have light. So they basically took that concept and added it. So I think there was some regulation things done, whether it be FDA or whoever regulates these things to say you can have a certain amount of portable oxygen with you without a prescription type of deal. So these are great for just a quick, it's not something that's going to last you for hours, but as a, let's see if we can get him to the vet and get him stable. Something where oxygen.

Speaker 2 (38:12):

So temporary oxygen.

Speaker 3 (38:14):

Yeah, temporary. Definitely a rescue mechanism. So hey, that

Speaker 2 (38:17):

Is

Speaker 3 (38:17):

Interesting

Speaker 1 (38:19):

QA.

Speaker 2 (38:22):

Okay, Walter, it is time for our favorite part of the show and that is where we get to answer questions from our audience.

Speaker 1 (38:28):

Perfect.

Speaker 2 (38:30):

Yeah. Yeah, we've been getting lots of questions lately, so it's kind of tough to pick which ones we're going to answer. But if you want to see your or hear your question answered on the show, all you have to do is go to the Pets at Life podcast website, which is pets add life.org/podcast. Scroll down to the bottom of the page. There's a little form there where you can enter your question and you could also choose to record your voice asking the question, which we highly, highly encourage. Awesome. So we get a few of those from now and again, but I'm going to kick it off here. I'm going to actually have you help me kind of like phoning a friend. Walter, we got a question from Michael in Miami, and he wants to know about, he says his rescue pup hides and shakes whenever guests arrive, and he doesn't say how long he's had, but he wants to know how he can help him feel at ease and more confident around people. So I thought I'd kind of take a stab at this one and then you can add your expertise to it.

Speaker 3 (39:30):

Absolutely.

Speaker 2 (39:31):

So first of all, I want to thank Michael for recognizing his dog's emotional needs and fear and wanting to address that. The good news is that with time and consistency and general guidance, you can help your dog feel a little bit more confident, but it might just be that your dog is fearful and he doesn't necessarily have to, your goal doesn't necessarily have to be to change him, but to rather manage his fear and help him feel less fearful. So I would say first you want to avoid forcing any interactions with your pup. Let him hide if that's what makes him feel safe. Because if you force him, that can actually make things worse. Instead, you might want to create a safe zone near the door, like maybe a cozy crate or just an area that he likes to go with his bedding and toys so that he can retreat when guests come, maybe listen from afar. And you can also start making positive associations when a guest arrives. So tell your guest to ignore your pup completely. No eye contact, no reaching out to them, and you are going to be dropping high value treats while you are greeting your guest. So whatever your pup really loves, cheese or chicken, whatever that might be. And then over time, your dog may start to acknowledge, I'm sorry, associate good stuff with guests. So that's another tip for you. What say you, Walter, do you have anything to add to that?

Speaker 3 (41:01):

I mean, you nailed it all for the most part, Kristen. It's that slow introductory, right? And I think you nailed the points of not rushing your dog to be social, right? Don't rush them. They are a rescue. And it's always good to make sure you kind of follow that information that you get from a rescue. A great rescue will tell you what this dog is fearful of, what it loves, what it doesn't like, what bothers or what makes it hot. So we want to try to avoid those same situations. And also letting your guests know prior to coming over, Hey, I have a dog that's a little bit fearful, just FYI and that also, these are some of the things that when you come into the home, so allowing your guests to know because your dog's home. That's not your guest home, that's

Speaker 2 (41:44):

Your dog home. Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 3 (41:45):

So make sure that your guests respectful to your new family member is also important. And the other part of it is don't be afraid to ask your veterinarian or any of your trainers or people in that veterinary profession about different supplements that can kind of help them get to that point. There are a ton of natural ingredients out there, and I always say some of these, every dog is different. I've had one dog where these supplements calm and confident, works perfectly on my dog, keeps 'em calm, doesn't make 'em too drowsy, but just allows them to have people come in. They have this calm and confident, whether I've had other dogs, they're like, this stuff doesn't touch me. So it's all about at least talking to your veterinarian. I'm always real about different supplements, whatnot. It works from dog to dog. So don't be afraid of any supplements. And again, make sure your guests are respectful to your new family member, their home and

Speaker 2 (42:37):

Not Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Thanks for that edition. And calm and confident is that you get it through your veterinarian, you

Speaker 3 (42:44):

Can actually get it through your veterinarian. And also there's a website where you can order it, talk with a professional there, and they can actually recommend or they can actually send it to a veterinarian for you for that product. Yes, it is a product for a consumer over the counter kind of deal as well as in your veterinarian office. But I always recommend making sure you talk with your veterinarian.

Speaker 2 (43:04):

You know what I love about doing the show with you, Walter? We get to do four products of the week instead of two. I mean, you've just dropping some great product ideas. I love it.

Speaker 3 (43:12):

You know, that's how it happens. It happens. You got to drop the gyms. We want to make sure we keep the pups happy, right?

Speaker 2 (43:18):

I know, I know.

Speaker 3 (43:18):

It's so true. We keep working from home and they're like, what am I supposed to do it by RAs? Hey.

Speaker 2 (43:23):

Exactly. So Walter, for this next question, I think we're going to phone a friend. We're going to have our guest, Arden Moore, come back and help us answer this one. Arden, thank you for coming back. This question is just right out. Oh, always

Speaker 5 (43:36):

Got to be. Hi. Hi Kristen. Hi doc.

Speaker 2 (43:42):

Okay, so here's the question. It comes from Emma in Portland and Emma says, if my dog gets hurt or suddenly falls ill at home, what first aid steps can I safely take before rushing to the vet? Like checking vital signs, stopping bleeding, or doing CPR?

Speaker 5 (44:00):

Okay, well a lot of things can happen inside a home, Emma, but the main thing is to make sure that that dog and you are safe. So get the other pet's kids out of the way because a dog that isn't injured could be reactive to the dog who is injured. Second veterinarians love it when you do a little video and do a circle for like 10, 15 seconds of the surroundings. So you may think it's this, but their more trained eyes have saw the cause of and flip that lip. Gums don't lie. Healthy gums are bubblegum pink. But if they're bright red, yellow, little blue or pale, these all indicate something is wrong. Bright red gums could be they're too hot or they ate a poison look around. Or if they're pale, they could have anemia, they could have shock, or they could have internal bleeding.

(44:56):

Your dog might've just come back from the backyard and whammed into something into the side. We don't have x-ray vision, but the gums are pale. You need to get the stats on the phone ahead of time to the vet. Veterinarians don't like surprises in the parking lot. You're coming in, there is this thing called the cell phone with the speaker mind. Call ahead, let 'em know you're coming so they can prioritize for your pet. And above all permission to freak out later once you get your cutie pie to the vet team. Freak out if you want, but the pet needs you as my cat Casey would say in the meat now.

Speaker 3 (45:39):

I love it. You nailed it as a critical care veterinary nurse, you nailed it. All these things, we love a good video. We don't like surprises. And yes, freak out once we have your animal to the back and you can freak out in a lot of esrs all you want. But right now be levelheaded and tell us what happened and then you can freak out later. But yes, shout out to Arden. We really appreciate that information for sure.

Speaker 2 (46:03):

Thank you, Arden.

Speaker 3 (46:04):

Well, that's why you should tune into dog tv. You never know what question to help you.

Speaker 2 (46:07):

That's right. And actually speaking of that, I'm glad you brought that up because I wanted to drop another gem. Next week is Canine Enrichment Week at dog tv and there's going to be an entire enrichment special. You can watch it on unleashed by dog tv, which you can see on Amazon Fire Channels. Stir. I've not heard of that one, but apparently that's another one. And the dog tv, YouTube channel of course. And actually we're out of time. We're out of gems to drop. So Walter, I can't thank you enough for joining us again on the show today. It

Speaker 3 (46:38):

Is always a player, Kristen to be with you all in dog tv. So again, if you need me, you know where to find me.

Speaker 2 (46:43):

Yeah, well remind us where to find you.

Speaker 3 (46:45):

We can follow you. You can find that skinny Go live. That's S-K-I-N-N-I-G-O-L-I-V-E. Don't get it messed up with skinny Go Olive people. Always do that. Put it's skinny. Go skinny, go live. I see all platform from Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. So make sure you tune in to learn some. You get a little laughter and a little bit of education.

Speaker 2 (47:04):

Absolutely. And you always deliver that, Walter. And we want to thank everybody for tuning in. If you're listening on the podcast, don't forget, you can watch us on YouTube, you can see us, you can see us in person, you can see us holding up our products of the week sometimes. And you can also catch us on Dog TV's Unleashed Channel on Amazon Fast Channels. And of course, we want to make sure you're following us on, in addition to following Walter, you want to follow Pet's ad life on any of your favorite social channels. So that's where you can get some tidbits. So with that said, and with fall, just around the corner, pumpkin, spice and pet advice here on the Pets Add Life coup podcast. We'll see you next week.

Speaker 3 (47:43):

I have a pumpkin spice for you, Kristen

Speaker 1 (47:46):

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 Bonti, powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog tv.