87. Pet Poison Prevention, The Human-Animal Bond & Modern Dog Lifestyles

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Speaker 1 (00:00):

The world's a little loud right now, so why not pause and relax. Download the dog TV app and stream soothing dog friendly content anytime, no signups, no credit card, no stress, just you, your pup, and a little peace and quiet. Pause and relax because your dog deserves a chill day too. Available now free through the end of 2025

Speaker 2 (00:30):

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 3 (00:44):

Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Pets Ad Life. I am your host, Chris Bonafide, and joining me for the first time is Harrison Forbes, the bestselling author, the nationally recognized radio and TV personality. He's been in the biz for over 25 years as a dog trainer. Harrison's a trusted voice on everything from animal behavior to the latest pet trends, and Kristen unfortunately had to take care of some business today, so she won't be with us. And I know we're all going to miss her. We're all going to miss Kristen, but I think we have a very good substitute here with Harrison. So Harrison, welcome into the chair for the PAL podcast.

Speaker 4 (01:34):

I appreciate it. It's great to be here.

Speaker 3 (01:36):

Yeah. How does it feel to be on this end of things? I know you have some experience doing radio and live and stuff. How's it feel to be on the pod?

Speaker 4 (01:46):

Good. I love it. I love getting to talk about some more industry type things. I mean, we're talking about pets, how they add life, and I remember I worked with Powell early in their early days when they were kind of constituting that whole concept together. And I think it's a great thing. The pet industry is so big and wide and varied that sometimes you can get siloed off into little rabbit holes and things, but at the end of the day, we love our pets because of how they enrich our lives. And so I love the format that you guys are doing.

Speaker 3 (02:17):

Yeah, you might even say, we

Speaker 4 (02:18):

Decide to be

Speaker 3 (02:18):

Part of it. Pet sad life.

Speaker 4 (02:20):

That's right.

Speaker 3 (02:21):

You might say it,

Speaker 4 (02:22):

It could happen.

Speaker 3 (02:23):

We may be sans Kristen, but we still have our usual show for you all. We're going to give you two stories, two products, interview two awesome guests, and at the very end of the show we will answer two of your questions. So without further ado, let's go ahead and jump into Storytime.

Speaker 2 (02:42):

Kristen and Chris present Storytime.

Speaker 3 (02:48):

Well, my story is over something. We're talking industry, we're talking about all these new aspects of pet, and I think one of the biggest trends I see in the pet industry and one of the most underutilized aspects of the pet industry is pet insurance, which a lot of people hear insurance and because of how we've been trained with how expensive health insurance is and how expensive car insurance is, you hear insurance and you instantly think, yeah, I can't afford that. But there was a economic study done by NBC recently NBC and Insurify that looked at the average rates of insuring your pet across the United States. This is as of September 1st. Do you want to take a guess, Harrison, on the average monthly cost of pet insurance for dogs and for cats?

Speaker 4 (03:42):

Yeah, individually. For an individual animal, what's it like? 30, 40, 50 bucks, something like

Speaker 3 (03:48):

That. You're right on the money. It's 42 bucks for dogs and 23 for cats, so it's amazing. And a lot of this insurance, what they'll do is they'll help partially cover your emergency veterinary bills. And those are the ones that really, really stack up really, really quickly. When there's something wrong with your pet, you're going to be looking at bills well into the thousands. If surgery is involved, forget about it. And that's when this stuff really, really becomes helpful. Most pets in the United States still are not insured, so if you've been waiting, don't stop, get after it. There are so many companies out there now that offer pet insurance. Some of the major insurance carriers have pet divisions. Now I'm pretty sure Geico has started insuring pets, progressive insurers, pets, and there's a bunch of brands that are pet specific that do an incredible job. I've used lemonade in the past for Tiger, and it's quite incredible how much peace of mind you will have and how much stress will be relieved when you are at the vet and you're not thinking about how much is this going to cost? You're just worried about your animals.

Speaker 4 (05:02):

For me, I think on my first story, so I just came from the National Parks and Rec convention this year. It was in Florida. They have it a different place every year. So you have the parks and rec directors from nationwide. I think there were like 20,000 different people at the convention, and this is I guess my fifth or sixth year doing that. And it's a spokesperson thing I do for Play Corps, which makes dog park equipment. So a lot of the conversation is about dog parks, but one of the interesting things is the evolution of that over time has been where dog parks, just five or six years ago, pre COVID, talking to different parks and rec people around the country, a dog park was maybe something they were thinking about. Maybe they had started one or they just fenced in an area through a bench in there and called it a dog park and things. But the evolution of that in such a short amount of time, and obviously COVID really helped forward that whole concept along as people spend a lot more time with their pets outdoors. But it's just amazing to me of how the conversations that we have at that convention specifically have completely changed to not like there's hardly ever somebody that comes up from a municipality saying, oh, we think we might want to get a dog park.

(06:23):

We're on our third park, we want to put in some different equipment, or what can we do to get better shade? Or they have all these different impactful questions and they're getting a lot of feedback from people. And then I also do some things along dog park and multifamily. And 10 years ago, hardly anybody building a apartment complex was putting in a dog park. And if they were, it was like they were fencing in the corner of a side of a building and now it's a thing where they've got to outdo each other. There's a competition. And it came out in one of the studies that I think Hari was involved in part of it on multifamily and leasing, that the dog amenities and pet friendly community amenities for multifamily, it is like number two behind pricing in their decision making. And so watching the evolution of that, and I had a guy come up and ask me some questions yesterday from one of the parcel rec magazines and he was talking about pet ownership and in his mind, he's not much of a pet guy.

(07:25):

He thought that there'd been this massive explosion in the amount of people that own dogs. And I was like, well, not really. That number hasn't changed. It's the expenditure pet and just the role of the dog in people's lives going from the outdoor dog that you put the food out and he runs around out there and never comes in the house to what we've got now. And I dunno, it's just really interesting looking over the years to watch that evolution. And lastly on that, that was interesting was you and I both go to a lot of the pet conventions and the big industry shows where everybody there is involved in the pet industry. So it's a little bit different conversation, but at that event, we had obviously some dog park equipment in the booth and we had some agility dogs there and we had an agility dog champion from Florida and the dogs running all this stuff.

(08:18):

And how many people came by just to pet the dog and would just sit there and tell you the story of their dog and they were just like, this has been the best break I've had all day. It makes me realize how much I miss my pet. And they just wanted to watch the dogs just pet. I mean, we had the hottest booth out of the 200 there because the dogs were in there and a lot of times it was less about watching 'em do agility things and all that, and they just wanted to sit there and take a picture with 'em and cuddle with 'em. And it's great to see the evolution of that over the years. I dunno, things like that are just kind of refreshing where you see things from a perspective of outside the industry that's, I dunno, it's uplifting

Speaker 2 (09:04):

Beyond the leash, exploring the untold stories of pet passion and professionalism.

Speaker 4 (09:09):

Alright, we are getting ready to get into our interview today. We are blessed to have Dr. Re Renee Schmidt with us. Dr. Renee Schmidt is a senior veterinary toxicologist at Pet Poison Helpline where she helps thousands of pet parents each year navigate emergencies caused by accidental poisonings. With more than a decade of experience in veterinary toxicology, Dr. Schmidt has reviewed and published research on toxic exposures in animals, developed educational resources for pet owners and veterinarians, and frequently speaks at vet conferences. She's passionate about making pet households safer and helping owners recognize hidden dangers before accidents happen. Also this season you'll be able to see her featured weekly on the adoption show on dog TV where she shares expert poison prevention tips for new pet parents. Welcome Dr. Renee Schmidt.

Speaker 5 (10:03):

Well thank you very much.

Speaker 3 (10:05):

So Dr. Schmidt pet Poison helpline is one of those things that we are so happy exists, but are consistently praying we will never need to use. So what are some of the most common household items that I might be surprised are dangerous and maybe I should put them on a top shelf instead of the bottom cabinet?

Speaker 5 (10:31):

So definitely the most common exposure that pets tend to get into is chocolate, which I don't know that there's a lot of people who aren't aware of chocolate as a risk, but some people still don't know about xylitol. And xylitol is a large concern in dogs and we often think about xylitol only being in maybe sugar-free candies or gums, but I think what some pet parents may not be aware of is the fact that it can be anywhere. It might be in a flavored supplement or medicine or a liquid, or it may not even be in a food product at all. It might be in something that helps to extend the shelf life of a product. So maybe we'll see it in lotions and deodorants and skin gels. And so a lot of times we're very astute to think about it only being let's check the back of that sugar-free gum, but it might be in something that doesn't see sugar-free at all.

(11:29):

And so that's something to be really concerned about. And then some of the other things that I like to talk about is just to make sure our cleaning products, if we're toddler proofing the home, that's what we need to do for our pets as well. So some cleaning products that might not be a big issue for URI if we had a little bit on our skin might be more problematic to them. And then we can go back to supplements and vitamins and a lot of us humans feel that if it's natural or if it's a vitamin or a supplement, that's good for us. It must be good for pets as well. And so there are many times where a pet might ingest someone's vitamin or supplement and that pet parent doesn't really give it a second thought because it's okay for them to ingest. And it can be really problematic in animals because of either a lower margin of safety or just something that they're more sensitive to than humans might be.

Speaker 4 (12:27):

Lemme ask, jump back to something you mentioned earlier with the xylitol. I believe you said lotions. I get so many people that talk about, oh my dog, I've put lotion on my body or whatever to moisturize and the dog's always licking it on my legs and stuff. I haven't thought about that as being possibly a mild poisoning. So if your dog or cat is licking you and you use a lot of moisturizer, do you really need to I guess look at the ingredients on there and look for that xylitol or what are some other things that might be in a lotion?

Speaker 5 (13:00):

Yeah, for sure. So xylitol is going to be the biggest one when we're thinking about most skincare products. And fortunately for cats, I always say cats rarely draw the long straw, but they do when it comes to xylitol. So we don't expect to see any issues for a cat with xylitol. But in a dog, the bigger concern, not necessarily them licking, licking off the skin or a small little pea-sized amount fell onto the floor, but it's when that bottle gets left out and they start chewing the bottle and start swallowing large amounts. And I say that because in most of these skincare products, the xylitol concentration or amount is less than what we would see in a flavored food product or a supplement product.

Speaker 4 (13:51):

Okay, so if the dog's just licking your leg a little bit, no water shouldn't be an

Speaker 3 (13:56):

Issue. Correct. And I know what everybody's thinking. They're like, my dog dog won't eat my lotion. Your dog eats his own poop. Okay, your dog eats his own poop. If you leave it out and it has a scent, they're going to try and eat it. Exactly. So that said, Dr. Schmidt, let's just say the worst has happened and I come into the kitchen and I find my pet has gotten into something that's potentially toxic besides stay calm and don't panic, what are the steps I should go through to ensure the safety of my pet?

Speaker 5 (14:29):

So number one, make sure that they don't have access to continue getting into whatever it is they got into while you are figuring out the next steps. And so once you've either cleaned up the area or put the pet in a different area that is free from something that they could get into, then call your veterinarian, call your veterinarian and ask for guidance from them as to what the next step should be. If your veterinarian is not available or if maybe you don't currently have a veterinarian and you can always call pet Poison helpline and we're available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, we never close. Many veterinarians are going to recommend that that pet parent call us. But a lot of times it's nice to just call your veterinarian who knows you, who knows your pet first to see what type of guidance they may be offering.

(15:25):

But a lot of times the step after that's going to be to call the experts, the toxicology experts at Pet Poison helpline number one just to determine is this going to be an issue? And our big phrase in toxicology is the dose makes the poison. So everything can be toxic in the right amount, but even toxic things may not be toxic in the right amount. So just because they get into xylitol or they get into a medication like ibuprofen, it may not be enough to warrant any additional treatment. So that's why we're here to help make that assessment.

Speaker 4 (16:01):

So what would be like a lot of people, they come in, they've maybe been at work all day, the dog's been in the house, they come in and he's acting a little strange. I mean, what are some of the symptom markers of a poisoning versus just the dog maybe is having an off day? What are things that people can look at where maybe they sense something's amiss but they don't want to overreact, but whether it's breathing or something, what are some signs that point to more of a poisoning versus just maybe he's been running all day and tired?

Speaker 5 (16:35):

Right. Yeah, you bet. That's a great question. And sometimes it can be fairly confusing for that pet parent to notice did they get into something or is this normal behavior for them? A few things that we look for is vomiting and sure a cat can vomit from a hairball, a dog can vomit because they got into just something that didn't set right with them. But vomiting is a big one. Or lethargy, say sluggishness, they're not greeting you at the front door when you come home. They don't have that same tail wag energy that they usually have. And those are two of the very common signs when things are worse, maybe they got into something that causes body tremors where the body is shaking and they're not able to stop that with distraction so they don't have control over that shaking that's happening. And then certainly difficulty walking can be another big trigger or a big sign that there could be something more going on than just he's just kind having an off day. And if they're sleeping more than they usually do now if 10 o'clock in the morning is your dog's favorite nap time and it's 10 o'clock and they're sleeping, probably not a symptom that they got into something, but maybe they're generally wide awake and active around two or three in the afternoon and they're just sleeping, you're having a hard time kind of around getting them aroused. Those are probably the most common signs that we would see at home.

Speaker 3 (18:08):

Okay. That's really good to know. I have a question for you. So I recently became a father and one of the things that the nurses drilled into me, and maybe it's because I'm white and have hippie hair, was no essential oils or diffusers around the baby. It's not good to breathe those in, and I always kind of thought of those things to either be somewhere on the scale of harmless to homeopathic. So are there any sorts of perfumes or essential oils or diffusers that can potentially be upsetting pets and should be avoided by pet parents?

Speaker 5 (18:46):

Yeah, essential oil is another big, big

Speaker 3 (18:49):

Topic, not so essential. You don't really need, you don't, you don't.

Speaker 5 (18:53):

They

Speaker 3 (18:53):

Won't like they're,

Speaker 5 (18:55):

And that's one of the things where I like to say all natural doesn't mean all good.

Speaker 3 (19:00):

However,

Speaker 5 (19:01):

In most cases, if you have a pet dog or cat that does not have is healthy, doesn't have any respiratory disease, they don't have asthma, they don't have any breathing issues, a diffuser usually is going to be just fine as long as they are not in a small bathroom. The diffusers on all day, they've been closed in and it's not a real ventilated area, but if you have the diffuser out in an open room, nice ventilation shouldn't be an issue. Now, if your pet has asthma or some type of respiratory concern, that can be a little bit more sensitive and irritating. And so we may want to avoid those. Where we get into big issues is when that excuse pet ingests the concentrated essential oil. So they get ahold of the bottle, they chew the bottle, they lick, they ingest, they swallow the hundred percent essential oil that it may be. In those cases, they can actually have what we call corrosive effects, which means they can have ulcers, lesions, sores developing in the mouth and on the tongue maybe in the esophagus and the stomach as well. And so those are usually going to be the biggest concerns. So I say those, if you have that bottle, that refill bottle that goes way up high on your shelf and making sure that that doesn't stay next to the diffuser but is really up and out of reach, the diffuser itself is not usually going to be an issue.

Speaker 4 (20:33):

Great advice.

Speaker 3 (20:34):

That's Dr. Renee Schmidt, everybody. Where can folks find you on social to follow your story, get more tips as the year continues on?

Speaker 5 (20:43):

You bet. You can follow us just like@petpoisonhelpline.com, we're on Instagram and Facebook as well as LinkedIn. You can also find us on our website pet poison helpline.com. And you can call us 24 hours a day at 8 5 5 7 6 4 7 6 6 1.

Speaker 3 (21:02):

Alright. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day. Yes, thank you. Thank you. Get back to the phone lines they need. That's right, that's

Speaker 4 (21:09):

Right. You hear the phone's ringing now.

Speaker 3 (21:11):

It keeps saving

Speaker 5 (21:12):

Lives.

Speaker 3 (21:13):

Yes. Thank you so much. Well, Dr. Schmidt is a wealth of knowledge, very helpful tips for around Halloween coming up here.

Speaker 4 (21:23):

It is, and I mean, I think again, going back to what we discussed earlier in the show about dogs being such integrated into every part of your life in the car and they're just around so many things now that they can get in trouble with and just like the raisins, I didn't know about that. I mean, there's always these new things that you hear about and it's good that we've got somebody like that to keep us abreast of all the things to watch out for.

Speaker 3 (21:48):

I thought of one more thing too that I should have asked Dr. Schmidt about, but if we talked a lot about dog parks and being outside, if your dog gets into some type of mushroom or plant and gets sick, keep some of that mushroom or plant or at least take a picture of it to help identify, it's going to be one of the first things that they ask for. So one final tip before we go ahead and move on and joining us now is Dr. Rustin Moore, the Rita Jean Wolfen Dow Dean of the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and author of Unleashing the Bond, harnessing the Power of Human Animal Interactions, a veterinarian and scholar with over 40 years in animal health, he has authored more than 120 scientific papers and numerous book chapters with expertise ranging from equine surgery to veterinary education, drawing on personal stories, research, and decades of clinical and animal leadership. Dr. Moore explores how animals enrich and challenge our lives offering insights into both the joy and responsibility, responsibility of the human animal bond. Dr. Moore, thank you so much for joining us today.

Speaker 6 (23:01):

Thank you for having me. Really excited to be here.

Speaker 3 (23:03):

Absolutely, absolutely. So let's start with the book Unleashing the Bond. What inspired you to write it? I mean, you work on all the, in academia, you're doing a lot of writing anyway, but mostly the scientific journaling stuff isn't exactly a creative writing process. So what made you make that switch to decide to write something like unleashing the bond?

Speaker 6 (23:26):

I actually didn't set out to write a book, actually, I did a TED Talk back in 2016 called The Power of a Pet, which was about the human animal bond. The founder of a publisher actually contacted me in the fall of 23 and said, I should turn that into a book. And I said, no, three times I don't have time and I'm not the right one. Then I got on a video call with him and he was pretty compelling. So I ended up agreeing to write a book and now there's a second and there's a third in the works. So it was really, so I say if I'd had known how much work it was going to take when I wouldn't have done it, but I'm glad I didn't because everything I learned as I researched it, but mostly through the over 100 interviews I've done with people, they're so inspiring. And so that's how the book came about

Speaker 4 (24:26):

And something that as a longtime talk show host of answering lots of questions for many, many years. In the book, you talk also not just about the benefits, but the dark side of the human animal bond. Touch on that a little bit because I feel like sometimes in the pet industry we're always hyping things about pets and all that, but there are some dark sides to it and tell us a little bit about that.

Speaker 6 (24:55):

So the dark sides could be anything from someone having such a close bond where they take it too far in terms of how they might treat the animal or they might keep it alive longer than they should because of how important it's to them. But also it could be something like hoarding. Hoarding is something where, I mean, it is a mental health challenge and it's because they care, but then they can't care for them. Another side of the bond dark side is in things like domestic violence where the perpetrator of domestic violence uses the dog or cat or whatever as leverage to control the person and harms the dog or cat and actually sometimes will kill it. And I talk about that in the book. So there are a lot of other dark sides really where it really negatively impacts the welfare or wellbeing of the animal.

Speaker 3 (26:09):

I'm wondering, in your research and all of the science that you have uncovered what you found to prove what all animal owners feel is true, that our animals make us healthier and happier and that human animal bond is a net positive. Have you seen any of those reports, any of that in your science to back that sort of intuitive feeling we get as humans?

Speaker 6 (26:42):

Absolutely. The book is basically a blend of history, science, data and stories. So this is not just a fluffy feelgood book. In fact, my attention statement or purpose of the book is most people feel that a pet is a feelgood thing, but there's so much more behind it. So I haven't done any of my own research other than research what's out there. I want to be very clear on that. I haven't conducted my own studies, but I've read the literature, for example, simply petting a dog or a cat or gazing into their eyes, our body releases dopamine, it releases oxytocin and it releases serotonin. All of those are happy, love, feel good hormones,

Speaker 3 (27:30):

The good stuff,

Speaker 6 (27:31):

The good stuff. It also causes a decrease in cortisol, a stress hormone. And so physically, if people are stressed and you have high cortisol, you're not going to be healthy. And I'm talking physically. So there is a scientific biologic, biochemical reason for why this happens. Some of those same changes happen in the animal at the same time, actually, if you sit down or whatever with a dog, your heart rate and rhythm will typically get synchronized. There's a lot of research out there. People who have a heart attack or a stroke, if they have a dog or a cat, they have a significantly greater percentage of long-term survival as an example. But it goes from everything from physical health, behavioral health, social health to emotional, mental, and psychological. We know it helps people with autism or PTSD or many of the other behavioral type ailments or topics.

Speaker 4 (28:55):

So a question I've got is I think most people, if they're first time pet owners, they've got kind of this image of what this is going to be and they probably have a lot of friends or family that have this idyllic situation with a pet that was like this marque part of their life and everybody wants to achieve that, just like a good marriage or something. What are some key things that people can do to, if they've got a pet now to strengthen that bond and maybe some daily things that they can do to help make that a better, better communication, better understanding, and just really enrich the relationship that they've got or that they're beginning with this new pet?

Speaker 6 (29:38):

Well, I think one of them is simply spending more time with the pet. A lot of people think homeless people should not have a pet. I don't agree with that necessarily, but those pets are with them all the time. They take better care of the pet than they do themselves. So I think depend on people's job and their work. They can't be with them 24 7, but when they're with them, spend quality time doing whatever the pet enjoys doing. Not all pets or not all dogs like to run, and certainly cats aren't so keen typically to be on a leash, but whether it's petting, whether it's looking in the eye, whether it's about spending quality time, and certainly if it's a new animal in your home and it's a puppy or a kitten, that socialization early on, not just socialization to you but the other people. And certainly with dogs if they're going to be out and about socializing them with other dogs is really important as well. So I think that would be my number one thing that I would say. And then of course there's all the stuff around the medical side, which I won't get into today, but it's really about building that bond. And so the bond in my view is universal, but no two bonds are the same. And so I have three black miniature schnauzers. None of them do I have the same bond with,

(31:13):

It's just as strong with all any of 'em, but it's different. Absolutely.

Speaker 3 (31:17):

Absolutely. Well, Dr. Moore, we're coming up on time here, but I want to give you the opportunity to tell people where they could find your book and where they could follow you for updates on that second one that's coming out. Yeah,

Speaker 4 (31:29):

Give us a teaser on this. Give us a teaser.

Speaker 3 (31:31):

Yeah. The

Speaker 4 (31:32):

Sequel

Speaker 6 (31:33):

Book two is called Unlocking the Bond, the Power and Paradox of Human Animal Interactions and really the paradox, or I'll give you a couple of quick examples.

Speaker 3 (31:43):

Yeah,

Speaker 6 (31:46):

Bonds between policemen and their canine officer or military in there is very, very strong, yet we put them in harm's way. Farmers or four Hs have a very strong bond with their livestock beyond financial or economic, yet we produce them for food prisoners. I visited two prisons and interviewed 12 different prisoners in programs that deal with animals, and they basically say, the dog rehabilitated me more than I rehabilitated the dog. And so that's the paradox throughout that. So the current book, unleashing the Bond, you can get it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble. I primarily say Amazon's the easiest. I think that's where most people are getting it. There's actually a paperback, a hardback, an ebook, and probably within a few weeks there'll be an audiobook. I did not narrate it, but one of the 57 people who auditioned that I chose happens to be a veterinarian. I did not choose good pick that reason, but he's got a great voice. So yeah, that's about the book.

Speaker 3 (32:59):

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for taking the time hopping on the podcast. It was a pleasure to have you.

Speaker 6 (33:05):

Thank you so much for having

Speaker 3 (33:07):

Me, man. I love scientists In an alternate reality, I went to college for much longer and I'm doing science.

Speaker 4 (33:17):

It's so interesting and I like the varied background, but then the day-to-day part of being involved in the vet school and hearing kind of where all the rubber meets the road part of it helps keep it from getting too sciencey because sometimes the research you can get off into the data part of it, and then the human animal bond part of it can get a little bit lost. But the way they're doing it with all the people involved

Speaker 3 (33:42):

Is super. And Dr. Moore is certainly busy. We forgot to squeeze his socials in there. So you could follow him on Facebook at Rustin Moore seven, Instagram at Rustin Moore DVM on Instagram and X. And then his website to learn more about the books and follow for updates on the second one coming out would be rustin moore dvm.com. So check those out, the product of the week. All right, Harrison, it's time for product of the week. My

Speaker 4 (34:17):

Little sounds like we're getting ready to go to a monster truck drive,

Speaker 3 (34:22):

My daytime DJ voice, and I've got a little product here. I've talked about their products before. This is from a vacuum company, Bissell, and recently I talked on the show about my cat tiger who recently passed at 22. Very sad, but when you have a 22-year-old cat, you consider yourself blessed. But it came time to get all the pet hair out of the carpet, all the cat hair out of the carpet for good. And let me tell you something right now, folks, if you're not using a vacuum that isn't marketed as a pet hair removal vacuum, you are missing out. I thought that I was a clean and hygienic person using the vacuum every so often to pick up hair, the amount of hair that came out when I upgraded to a vacuum like this, and this one's great. It's going to cost you about 200 bucks.

(35:29):

It's got this smart seal allergen system so it won't just kick up all the cat allergens, but it really picks this stuff up. I mean, I could have knitted a sweater with everything left over and being one of the many cat owners who's also allergic to cats, I've never really been able to breathe properly inside my own home. And I wish I was vacuuming like this while Tiger was still with us. I think I would've been a much, much, much happier camper. So Bissell's got all sorts of products. We've talked about 'em before. They've got the sort of mini carpet and upholstery thing that's, it's like 85 bucks. These things are great if your pet is going up onto the couch and getting paw prints, if they're getting their hair all over the carpeting. If you have sort of a mud room where they walk in, when they go out, when it's raining and they're getting that mud everywhere, they have these great powered mops. So check it out because you don't have to live with animal filth, you don't have to be a Chris. You can buy something and do a better job than me and be much happier. And as always, a link to Bissell's products will be in our show notes. So there we go, Harrison,

Speaker 4 (36:50):

And I agree with you a hundred percent if you haven't, you've got the same old, same old vacuum and then you get one that's really made for pets, you're like, whoa, I was leaving a lot behind. I missed out. No wonder I was sneezing. Yep. Yeah. So mine is, and we'll get the link and put it in the show notes. I don't have it right in front of me, but a few weeks ago when I was in New York, I went to the innovation event that they had at the dog museum and there was a woman there. I'm really, because I've got a working dog background, so I'm always about exercising your dog. And I feel like that is a behavior person. That's one of the core things that leads to probably 80% of the calls and complaints that people have about their pets is that proper exercise and really get those energy needs met really lets a lot of that fall away.

(37:47):

But anyway, luring, if you've never watched luring, go, just search it on YouTube and watch some luring courses. And it is basically like a small towel that runs on a rope that runs around and dogs chase it. It really gets into their pre instinct like chasing the rabbit. Anyway, those have been expensive in the past because it's a big rig. And one of the winners from that innovation, she has a luring course that they have gotten to where they can get it down to residential or public price and a small course that you can do that you can set up in your yard or even indoors and something. So if you've got a dog that's got a lot of prey drive that loves to chase things, this is a great opportunity. And I was excited to see that just because it's something that in the past, as cool as it's been, it's been more of a large scale thing that you've got to go to a place that has a course set up. And that's not something that's easy to do on a daily routine for most people, but this is something that's going to be very affordable to be able to set that up in your yard. And I just think it's going to be cool. I just think about how many dogs I had in the past that would have absolutely gone bonkers over that.

Speaker 3 (39:03):

And

Speaker 4 (39:03):

So I like to see innovation like that. Chris, you're around at global and all the different things every year, I think, how can anybody invent anything new in the pet space? It just seems like what?

Speaker 3 (39:13):

And then every year you see something you go, that's sick

Speaker 4 (39:16):

Every year. There's those couple of a handful of things you're like, oh, wow, that's really awesome.

Speaker 3 (39:24):

And a's,

(39:25):

Alright folks, it's time for our favorite part of the show. That's right. We're going to answer two of your burning questions from you dear listener. And I know what you're thinking. Hey, how do I get my question answered by the pow pals on this little here podcast? Well, it couldn't be simpler. You're going to head on over to pets add life.org/podcast. Scroll on down to the bottom of that page. You'll see a form to submit your question, or if you're feeling as brave as the poison control service people on those phones walking you through all that, you could actually record a voice memo and you will hear your question played live on these airwaves. But without further ado, Harrison, let's look at today's question. So our first question here is coming to us from Emily in Denver, Colorado. Emily, thank you for your question. And Emily asks, my dog polls like crazy on walks. What's the best way to train him to walk nicely on a leash without using something harsh? And as the resident pro dog trainer, I'll let you take the first swing of the bat there, Harrison.

Speaker 4 (40:37):

So there's a lot of different ways to approach this and a lot of it has to do with your particular dog, how old they are, what their motivations are. If you want to step back, if your dog is of age and not a really young puppy, but even as a young puppy, you can start some of this. Go back, find out if they are like food motivated or toy motivated, find out something that they're really interested and then go back to the basics of walking. But do it maybe in your garage, in your backyard, somewhere where there's not any of these other stressors that are causing the dog to go leash crazy and you're doing short little healing sessions on the leash. But then there needs to always be slack in the leash line. People a lot of times if there's tension in the leash that is going to encourage the dog to pull and lean and that just leads to bad behavior on that.

(41:38):

Lemme say this too. I feel like this is something that's hardly ever practiced. A lot of canine handlers we always use, and I always taught this to canine handlers too, is let your dog be a dog too. I think sometimes people overdo the healing where it's like, okay, I'm going to take my dog on his daily walk, and so I want him to walk right next to me all the time. And part of going on the walk is the dog's getting to smell all these killer cool things from the neighborhood and he wants to explore. And that's very natural. And so when you put him in a position where it's kind of like one thing or the other and all they do is heal next to your side, that's not very fun for a dog. So for me, I always taught my dogs to cue off of different things.

(42:21):

I had a, we're going to walk in formation and obedience type. I had a leash for that and a collar for that. And then I also had a long line or a retractable that when my dog, I clipped that on a separate collar that if you would wear both of 'em when he knew when it went on that it's kind of free time. But if you're in an area where it's on leash, but you can cue your dog like that to where it's like, okay, now go smell the bushes. Now you get to have your fun time right now, but then when we go back to this other leash and the other collar, you're doing this. And dogs really respond well to that and they'll learn the difference very quickly. Then both parties are getting what they want. And I think that's

Speaker 3 (43:05):

Good way to start. That's a really clever tip. There's the juicy tidbit, Emily, right there. There's your juicy tidbit. So we'll move on. Thank you again, Emily, for the thoughtful question and for listening to the show, we're going to move on to our next question. It comes from Jason in Raleigh, North Carolina. And Jason asks, my dog barks at every little sound, especially when we're home alone. Is it anxiety, boredom, or something else? And right off the bat, it could be any, right? It really can be's all sorts of reasons that your dog may bark. So what I would recommend here is you need to do a little bit of the scientific method here, Jason. If you remember in middle school when you learned the scientific method, you need to isolate your variables. So you want to understand why your dog is barking at little things, pay attention when they're barking, what kinds of barks are they making?

(44:05):

How quickly do they tamper down? What is happening when this dog barks precisely? What kind of situation are they in? Is it different when you're not home? Are you picking up a lot of barks while you're not home on the ring camera or something? Is it different kinds of barks when it's a familiar person versus a stranger? Are they only barking at home? Are they barking when they're out on walks too? Because dogs, they have one way to communicate verbally and that is the bark. So it can mean all sorts of different things. You're going to have to dig a little deeper. Harrison, I don't know if you have more expertise. I don't speak fluent dog, but maybe you do

Speaker 4 (44:45):

A big huge part of it. No matter what the initial trigger is, the dog has learned, Hey, mom and dad have been gone all day. They come home, oh, now they're watching the news. They're watching a movie. Why aren't they paying attention to me? And then they bark at something. Then all of a sudden you quit watching TV and you're like, Hey, what's going on? Why are you barking, blah blah. And then the attention's on them and study after study has shown many dogs that are attention seeking, they will choose negative attention over no attention at all. So when you think as humans, you're thinking, well, it's common sense. Why would he do this to annoy me? He knows that it ticks me off. But still, if a dog is an attention seeking type of dog, they're still getting your attention. It's you quit watching tv, now you're talking to me.

(45:35):

So if it's a thing where you are constantly, when the dog barks, you are stopping what you're doing and redirecting your attention to them, you are probably perpetuating that. And that then takes a life of its own, its own. What they're barking at really doesn't matter as much as that's the game at that point. So be cognizant of that. And if you've got multiple people living at home, you can kind of help watch each other. And so the answer to that, if that's the situation, is you just can't react when they bark. And I know that's hard to do and it's annoying and it's against what your normal rhythm is, but try not to do that. And at least behaviorally, a dog is not going to be able to link behaviors after about diminishing returns after about five to seven seconds. So if you can just not react to that bark for five to seven seconds, then you can do something to engage the dog or maybe try and solve that. But by skipping that part, they're going to stop linking it to, oh, if I get, when I'm getting ignored, all I got to do is bark and then everybody's paying attention to me now and talking to me. And so I would look at it from that aspect.

Speaker 3 (46:47):

Yeah, that's a great addition there. Harrison and Jason, thank you for your question. And folks, that brings us to the end of this episode of Pets Ad Life. Remember to find us online@petsatlife.org slash podcast. Follow us on all the social medias. Follow Harrison on social media. Don't follow me on social media. Don't even think about it.

Speaker 4 (47:10):

You'll be bored if you follow me. I don't post.

Speaker 3 (47:12):

You're not invited to my social media. Listen, we're going to be getting Harrison back next week as well. So if you enjoyed hearing some new dulcet tones in your ear holes, you're going to be getting those back next week. We'll be here every Tuesday without fail, even when we all have stuff going on. We'll be welcoming Kristen back soon enough. So hold on tight. If you're a huge Kristen Levine fan, I know y'all are out there. Big Kristen Heads are all out there waiting for Kristen to come back. She will be. She's

Speaker 2 (47:44):

The best.

Speaker 3 (47:44):

She is the

Speaker 2 (47:45):

Best pets ad life. Your guide to the latest in Pet Trends products and the joy of the human Animal bond with Kristen Levine and Chris Bon, powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog tv.