Episode 9: The Inside Scoop on Pet Food Regulatory & Pet Sustainability Organizations

00:00:00:01 - 00:00:14:23
Chris
Pets Add Life, Your guide to the latest in pet trends, products and the joy of the human animal bond, with Kristen Levine and Chris Bonifati powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog TV.

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Kristen
Greetings, pet lovers. Welcome to the Pets at Life podcast. Chris, this is show number nine.

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Chris
You're keeping count. I lost count at like four.

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Kristen
Well, we did the check once.

00:00:26:02 - 00:00:46:16
Chris
We did the whole Global Pet Expo thing. I lost count, my mind was was in shambles. But we're back for episode nine. Thank you all for joining us. This is the Pets at Life podcast where we are going to deliver two stories. Two guests, answer two questions and recommend two products. As we do every week. Kristen, how are we feeling today?

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Kristen
I'm feeling pretty good.

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Chris
That's great. And I'm here joined by a few friends. If you have clever names, leave them in the comments. Maybe leave a voice memo and let us know what we should name this hamster, bird, cat and dog that I found lying around my office. So I'd love to hear. I'd love to hear some ideas, some clever ideas from from our listeners.

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Chris
but without further ado, let's go ahead and get into the show. Kristen and Chris present story time.

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Kristen
All right, so it's story time, Chris. And, yeah. How would you like to go first today with your story?

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Chris
Yeah, I'll go first. I'll go first. So I've got a story, another science oriented one. I've been I've been reading a lot of, articles that are kind of come out of the that, scientific research that's been going on, inspired obviously, by our conversation where at the beginning of the show with, Steve Feldman and Harry.

00:01:48:07 - 00:02:12:16
Chris
but this is a study that was performed about, aging dogs and really what the study was aiming to look at was changes in diet with a group of aging beagles. So a bunch of aging beagles, there was a control group. There was a group that was, fed a different diet, and then there was a group that was given extra stimulation.

00:02:12:18 - 00:02:42:22
Chris
and what they found was that the diet didn't actually change much with the, the brain of the dog. It was the play time and the stimulation. So they actually when dogs age, their brains do actually start to shrink. and that can be measured with a, with a scan. And they found that the, control group and the dogs fed a different diet did have their, brains get smaller, as dogs typically do as they age, throughout the process.

00:02:42:22 - 00:02:53:18
Chris
But they found that dogs that were heavily, heavily stimulated, given a lot of time for play, taken for longer walks, their brain size actually increased by a point. so.

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Kristen
It really decreases as opposed to increases as opposed to staying the same.

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Chris
Just exactly. It's it's, you know, it's very similar to what we say about aging people, is that, you know, using your brain is just as important as exercising your body, doing things like puzzles and crosswords and, you know, watching jeopardy instead of law and Order every now and again, helps keep us, around for longer. And this study kind of shows that dogs are the same way.

00:03:21:13 - 00:03:49:12
Chris
So while not every aging dog is going to be capable of play, it is highly recommended that you keep your dog stimulated throughout their entire, life. So I found that super interesting, especially since they were looking at, a diet they were going into. This anticipated change in diet would be the leading cause, but what they actually found was that this play time and, stimulation is a much better preventive measure to help with a dog's aging brain.

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Kristen
That's really cool. And, you know, that doesn't cost any money, right? It's your time. That's the best thing you can do for your aging pet. I would imagine that's probably a similar outcome for cats, but yeah. yeah. Good story. And don't you want to.

00:04:03:05 - 00:04:15:12
Chris
Spend time with your dog, right? Don't you want to spend time with your dog? That's the whole point, right? So. So even if your dog's feeling a little lethargic, it might be best to spur them on and take them for that long walk or get them that new toy.

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Kristen
Yeah. And you know what? Your your brain will probably get larger too in the process.

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Chris
I hope so I can use that.

00:04:22:22 - 00:04:46:05
Kristen
So I have a similar well it's not really similar story but I was looking at I was reading the Harry website the other day and I was reminded that nominations are now open and anybody in the public can can nominate for the Human Animal Bond Innovation Award. Now, okay. let me see. Let me just tell you what this is all about.

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Kristen
So it's a program that's designed to recognize people, companies and organizations beyond the pet care realm, that are advancing the human animal bond and creating a more pet friendly society. So from now through May 20th, you can nominate, like I said, a person, a business or an organization. And let me tell you what they're looking for.

00:05:10:20 - 00:05:38:04
Kristen
there's four award categories. There's the first one is called pet Inclusive Culture, and this one recognizes companies, organizations or institutions creating a pet inclusive culture within communities. And that could be within a workplace, too. the second award is for public service. So this recognizes organizations with impactful programs to protect and strengthen the human animal bond in their community.

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Kristen
the third one is pet inclusive infrastructure. So this recognizes companies, organizations or institutions that are purposely developing technology or architecture or transportation, that's going to safeguard and strengthen the human animal bond. And then finally the fourth category is media. and this award will go to recognize, a media outlet or a media person, or a creative content creator that positively educates people about and illuminates the key aspects of the human animal.

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Kristen
But so you can nominate someone, at if you go to hab reorg, which is h a b r i.org/hab. And that's, you know, that's, that's too long to remember. We'll put it in the show notes. But it's basic. I'm sure you could find it on the homepage. it's a really long link so I won't get that to you.

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Kristen
But you got until May 20th to nominate.

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Chris
Plenty of time. That's awesome. I really like the, the ones that are pet inclusive. I think Beth Miller, if you're out there listening, I'm. I'm sure your spidey senses are tingling. with all of these wonderful, wonderful awards for, being pet inclusive and that holistic approach, and the work that Aubrey does is obviously amazing.

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Chris
So be sure to support them. Head on over to that website, fill out a nomination, and learn more about the program while you're over there.

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Kristen
Awesome. So we are, we're about to hear from our guests for this show. And I know Chris, this was this guest, where people that I interviewed at Global Pet Expo while you were running around like a chicken with your head cut off.

00:07:17:03 - 00:07:39:11
Chris
So, yes, that's exactly if you saw me at Global Pet Fact, you've probably all seen some of the video where I looked like the Pale Rider. yes, I was it is. It is an exhausting experience. So unfortunately I wasn't there for those interviews. But I'm very interested to see what our guests have to say. Kristen, do you want to introduce our first guest?

00:07:39:13 - 00:07:52:13
Kristen
Yes. her name is Dana Brooks. She is with the Pet Food Institute, and she and I hit it off immediately because we we realized through some discussion that we are both from Arkansas. It's not every day that I run into somebody from Arkansas.

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Chris
So all of you.

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Kristen
Yeah, I know, right. But, the Pet Food Institute is a voice for us pet food makers and an advocate for transparent and science based regulatory, for their members. And I thought it was really interesting to learn a little bit more about what Pet Food Institute does. So here she is.

00:08:12:02 - 00:08:16:20
Chris
Beyond the Leash exploring the untold stories of pet passion and professionalism.

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Kristen
I love doing interviews while we're at the Global Pet Expo, because we meet such interesting people with such great backgrounds and all different ways of helping pets. And, joining me now is Dana Brooks from the Pet Food Institute. Hi, Dana.

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Dana
Hi. It's great to be here.

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Kristen
It's great to have you. And we both just realized we're both from Arkansas. Yes.

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Dana
Southern girls. I mean, they're not going to be able to stop us from talking.

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Kristen
I know we're going to talk about this.

00:08:43:14 - 00:08:44:21
Dana
It's not a problem. Okay.

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Kristen
Awesome. So, Dana, seriously, tell me about what your role is at the Pet Food Institute, and, help us understand, you know, what you guys do?

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Dana
happy to, I'm Dana Brooks, president and CEO of the Pet Food Institute. We're the trade association representing the vast majority of, manufacturing of pet food in the United States. So we are, we represent them with regulatory government relations, public relations, who are small, but mighty team. And we represent wonderful companies in Washington, DC.

00:09:17:16 - 00:09:26:19
Kristen
So how can you help us understand as a pet parent? Tell me, what does that mean for me and my dog or cat or whatever pet that I have.

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Dana
I think is very personal. well, I have almost every one of us on staff either currently have a pet, or have had a pet, or looking forward to getting a new pet. Right. it's we recognize the importance of the human animal bond, but but for us, what we represent is good nutrition. Yes. So food safety and nutrition, those are our priorities.

00:09:49:06 - 00:10:11:17
Dana
And we believe that, you know, in the long, healthy lives of pets because, again, our love for our pets and what I've seen, you know, see here today, and the importance of see some of the therapy animal pets, we, you know, absolutely want them to have a long and how healthy happy life both for the human as well as for the pet.

00:10:11:19 - 00:10:17:00
Kristen
And how do you go about ensuring the the quality and the safety of pet food?

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Dana
Yeah. So our, members follow a code of practice, but it you know, they follow the Food Safety Modernization Act, which really is the authority over pet food safety, very similar to human food. Okay. We also, have a regulation that that reviews or, gives us what we have to have on the label. And we're in the process of, in the next release, six years, having a new type of label that gives consumers a better understanding of what that that package, that pet food is for, is it for adult?

00:10:57:01 - 00:11:24:06
Dana
Is it for a puppy? Is it for late life stages? Is it active? is, you know, complete and balanced nutrition. So I know how overwhelming it is to go into a grocery store. I will tell this story. My husband is a yacht captain, so it's a cool job. the owners have two little tiny, beautiful sho Maltese, and one day they needed pet food on the yacht.

00:11:24:11 - 00:11:41:11
Dana
So he has to go into a target. He tries to get in touch with me while he's in target. you know, that's where they had right where the boat was. That's where they had to go. And he couldn't get in touch with me. He. But he later said it was so overwhelming for him. We have a pet.

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Dana
We just know what we buy right for her. But to to buy for someone else's pet and going in there, I was like, well, that is my story of the why this new pet food label modernization is important for consumers as well. Consumer wellness, because we want to make sure they get the right thing right.

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Kristen
And pet food companies are just fantastic at marketing and making their packaging look beautiful and using all the words that we want to hear natural, sustainable, healthy, you know, whatever, whatever the marketing buzzwords are of the day. But what? So when you talk about label modern modernization, where are we in this journey? Like has it has it changed over yet or we're getting there.

00:12:25:19 - 00:12:50:08
Dana
So that has been adopted. But it will take we and we do have a like a six year transition period for it, because if you walk around this showcase and you see how many packages, different size and variations that it was, that was an immediate, immediate, immediate change that would be very difficult, for all these companies and packaging.

00:12:50:08 - 00:12:50:13
Dana
And the.

00:12:50:13 - 00:12:51:15
Kristen
Implementation would not.

00:12:51:16 - 00:13:12:11
Dana
Absolutely. Right. the one of the things about it, though, that has had us concerned at pet, you know, Food Institute is it's supposed to be, adopted and followed state to state. Okay. And that is also a kind of a trigger point for us to think, how are the states that are going to review these labels, be able to do this?

00:13:12:12 - 00:13:37:11
Dana
all at the same time if we're forced to make this change, are they going to be able to pass legislation or go through their regulatory program to get this approved? So we've introduced, we've supported legislation in Congress that would give this the federal authority. So we need one regulatory authority over this important thing that we see.

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Dana
As for consumers.

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Kristen
okay. Well, so obviously so that's going to take some time, but. Right. But today can you advise our listeners on what they should be looking for on the package.

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Dana
Absolutely. On the label, I mean, it's it is important look for complete and balanced nutrition. Remember this is sole source nutrition. So that's that's very important. Look at again maybe you know the species obviously. Right. and then the maybe the whether they're active or inactive in the live stage is, is also now there are some really awesome products out there there for all life stages too.

00:14:12:22 - 00:14:24:19
Dana
Sure. The other thing that I tell, you know, family and friends, I mean, you know, food safety, complete and balanced nutrition. But what is your pet? What right. You know.

00:14:24:20 - 00:14:25:17
Kristen
What we we.

00:14:25:17 - 00:14:47:06
Dana
Sometimes we want to replicate what we're eating to our pets because it's about that. Because you may miss the pets, may miss some vital nutrients that they need. other is that. Oh, well, you may want them to eat a certain formula because you think that looks tasty, you know, and somewhat. Yeah, but, your pet may choose something different.

00:14:47:08 - 00:15:00:00
Dana
And so watch your pet make sure they enjoy it. And then also, we want to make sure that anyone that wants a pet can find it in the within their economic means. Right. So we believe in choice.

00:15:00:02 - 00:15:20:07
Kristen
Absolutely. And I'm glad you brought that up because, you know, cost of care has been a big topic at the show with, you know, inflation and just the care of, owning pets costing more. Now, and I notice a lot of the pet food manufacturers are innovating to make even the super premium diets more affordable, which is really exciting.

00:15:20:07 - 00:15:46:16
Dana
Yes it is. It was exciting to see some of the new products today and finding out their price point. Yeah. And it's like that is wonderful. I you know, I say all the time, I don't want a mommy shame. I don't want to make someone feel guilty because maybe they can't buy a high and or some wonderful raw or, minimally processed or they live in a food desert, even for human food.

00:15:46:16 - 00:16:05:09
Dana
And they're they should be able to that feel comfortable in knowing at any price point they're going to get again complete and balanced nutrition with safe products. And if they have any questions, almost all of them have a the companies have information or how to get in touch with them, go to their website, read about them.

00:16:05:11 - 00:16:24:02
Kristen
I mean, even us as humans, we have a whole spectrum of healthy, right? You can right? You can be at one end of the spectrum or the other, or somewhere in the middle. There are a lot of choices and we see the same thing now with pet food. Yes. And that's that's really wonderful. So if if our listeners want more information about what you're doing at the Pet Food Institute, how would we least.

00:16:24:02 - 00:16:43:07
Dana
Visit our website? Pet Food institute.org. If you have any questions about what complete imbalance means, how to read a label, what your pets need, and nutrition. We have some wonderful infographics. We have vet videos on there, so very much encourage anyone with any questions to go to our website at Food Institute. Talk.

00:16:43:08 - 00:16:51:23
Kristen
Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned the resources there for pet parents, right? I didn't think to ask about that. Yes, that's good to know. What is so nice to meet you, Dana. It's a pleasure, and thank you for doing the great work for our pets.

00:16:51:23 - 00:16:52:22
Dana
Thank you very much.

00:16:53:00 - 00:17:16:04
Chris
Pets at life. Oh, it was great to hear from Dana. What's super interesting about Pet Food Institute? They actually run a trade show as well. so I'm sure our listeners out there don't understand how deep the pet industry can get with all of these different events and shows, but just know that there are a lot of people and minds and thought going into your pet's diet.

00:17:16:06 - 00:17:41:12
Kristen
Yeah, yeah. And they also have some great resources for pet parents. So just check out Pet Food institute.org. so my other interview was with Jim Lamb and Cuza, and he's a really cool guy. he's with the Pet Sustainability Coalition. And so if you are a pet parent, that is is interested, as you should be, as we most of us are, interested in making sustainable choices for pet care.

00:17:41:13 - 00:17:49:06
Kristen
I think you'll really enjoy this interview. well, I was going to tease something, but I'll just let you hear it, and and we'll we'll jump into it now.

00:17:49:08 - 00:17:53:18
Chris
Beyond the leash exploring the untold stories of pet passion and professionalism.

00:17:53:21 - 00:17:55:08
Jim
Let's do it.

00:17:55:10 - 00:18:01:21
Kristen
Okay, we are back. We are global pet. That's with our next interview today with Jim. Who's the. Hi, Jim.

00:18:01:23 - 00:18:03:03
Jim
Hi. Great to see you.

00:18:03:04 - 00:18:10:01
Kristen
Great to see you. And you are with a pet sustainability coalition. And I have to welcome you to the pet industry because I just learned your.

00:18:10:01 - 00:18:12:07
Jim
New I am brand new to announce it.

00:18:12:11 - 00:18:14:22
Kristen
That's awesome. What was it?

00:18:15:00 - 00:18:31:23
Jim
CPG before that. So I was with Good Valley, which is a probiotic juice drink. I was in the outdoor industry, some ski mountaineering equipment, and most recently I have my own tea and coffee business that I ran for seven and a half years and just in April 2023. Well, congratulations to you. And so.

00:18:32:00 - 00:18:35:01
Kristen
and you were just telling me that you you can't really have friends in the country.

00:18:35:07 - 00:18:44:03
Jim
It's incredible. Like, everyone is just so warm and welcoming. I think it's just like it goes from owning pets to loving them, and then maybe opening your heart to humans as well, and.

00:18:44:07 - 00:18:45:20
Kristen
To their path to kindness.

00:18:45:23 - 00:18:46:23
Jim
That's right.

00:18:47:00 - 00:18:53:09
Kristen
Awesome. Well, tell us what you know. For our listeners, Stanwix, achieve the recognition.

00:18:53:11 - 00:19:15:20
Jim
Yeah, well, at a high level, these are all things that no one individual company can do themselves. So we have over 200 members in 18 countries and the mission is to bring sustainability throughout the industry. And so that the main things that we focus on helping our members list is ingredient sourcing impact, because those are the two most impactful things with have products.

00:19:15:22 - 00:19:16:18
Jim
Right.

00:19:16:20 - 00:19:28:07
Kristen
And I I'm thinking to myself that maybe for for other pet parents too. But but I think it's choosing to I think is packaging first. Why is why is that.

00:19:28:09 - 00:19:46:13
Jim
I think it's the most visible. And also like on the packaging itself, people look for recycled symbols or recycled content. but it's interesting because a lot of our members and consumers, the packaging is important, don't get me wrong. But actually what's in the bag has a larger environmental footprint, right?

00:19:46:13 - 00:19:49:18
Kristen
Right. I mean, you mentioned ingredients. Yes. So what does that look like?

00:19:49:19 - 00:20:13:19
Jim
Well, so let me just give you some numbers. So the pets in America consume 25% of the proteins, in all food. So that's had an enormous impact environmentally. So you think, oh, I actually I read this statistic that having a mid-sized dog is the equivalent of driving a SUV 6000 miles a year. So there is there is an impact for owning a pet.

00:20:13:19 - 00:20:28:18
Jim
And that doesn't mean that you should not own pets. They bring so much more. But I think what our members and consumers are saying is that we want to mitigate some of the impact. And if you can choose sustainable products, then that's in the impact that only that that's.

00:20:28:19 - 00:20:36:01
Kristen
How aware eating habits are and that their pet is actually, impacting the part that has their own country.

00:20:36:03 - 00:21:01:23
Jim
It's hard for me to say. I would say that based on the growth of sustainability, it's significant. So one study showed that 72% of pet parents look for sustainable products when they're buying their product when they're right. So we know that they're searching for it and it matters to them. so that's why we're here. And that's why I think, like our coalition has grown so quickly in the last 18 months.

00:21:02:01 - 00:21:03:13
Jim
We've more than doubled.

00:21:03:15 - 00:21:04:00
Kristen
Wow.

00:21:04:00 - 00:21:19:01
Jim
So that's that. We haven't that we've yet to have with a business development person. It's just that the industry is coming to us saying consumers are asking for it. How do we do this? Oh, there's actually a coalition here that has done this before and helped other companies. So we don't have to create we own. Right.

00:21:19:03 - 00:21:26:01
Kristen
And how would you advise parents that what makes choices, how would you advise them to go about making this purchase?

00:21:26:03 - 00:21:48:13
Jim
Great question. So there's a couple ways you can do it. So one is as part of the Pet Sustainability Coalition, we have a program called accreditation. So a company you can become an accredited Pets coalition which means that we have that. And then that the business practices that they're employing are actually more sustainable. So any pet parents, you go on to our website and see which companies are.

00:21:48:15 - 00:22:13:11
Jim
So that's one choice. And probably I think one of the best, other ways to look at it is you can look for from an ingredient perspective, you can look for organic certified products, agriculture products and ingredient sourcing. on the packaging side, you can look for packaging that says, really like content and recyclable. And so those are nice, easy choices, right.

00:22:13:13 - 00:22:15:15
Kristen
what do you think sustainability.

00:22:15:15 - 00:22:15:21
Jim
Is.

00:22:15:21 - 00:22:37:07
Kristen
Going or where are we? What are we going to be looking at in 5 to 10 years from now? Earlier, you never chatted about how, people will ultimately be better choices because on the packaging, it'll be clear which product if you have like product side by side, you'll be able to easily make a choice which is the most right.

00:22:37:09 - 00:23:03:08
Jim
So where we see the industry going is so Europe is really leading the way. Europe is requiring companies to understand their carbon footprint and have steps in place to reduce their carbon footprint. So that's a legal requirement we're seeing in America. That's starting to be the case too. So it just got passed through like last week that US companies over a certain size traded companies have to report their carbon footprint.

00:23:03:12 - 00:23:22:03
Jim
So it's already starting in the US. We haven't taken the step to say you have to reduce that carbon footprint, but it's just beginning. So I think that in the next 3 to 5 years we're going to see worldwide that companies will have to report and show up after reducing their carbon footprint. And on products. There are certifications coming to prove that.

00:23:22:04 - 00:23:29:13
Kristen
The straight you mentioned earlier, what was the percentage that you said that consumer extra consumers are looking for?

00:23:29:14 - 00:23:30:23
Jim
72%.

00:23:31:00 - 00:23:46:12
Kristen
That's a significant number. what would you say to the other 20 to 28? Do a quick math here. I think it's like, 28%, 28%. That's 28%. Yeah. What would you say to them? Why is it important?

00:23:46:14 - 00:24:10:02
Jim
I mean, there is a global catastrophe coming with climate change. And we all have to make choices and vote with our dollars to support brands that are taking steps, because oftentimes it is a little bit more expensive regenerative agriculture, meat or recycled packaging, recyclable packaging. So if we don't support the brands that are doing it now as consumers, then those brands don't stay around to do so.

00:24:10:06 - 00:24:34:10
Jim
I also understand that owning pets can be expensive. Doggy, doggy, cat food, bedding, everything is is expensive. So I also don't. I think that you have to live within your means, but choosing like weird, like I was saying before, like if you had to put your money towards something, ingredients make the largest environmental footprint. So choosing appropriate ingredients that are sustainable, regenerative is the most important.

00:24:34:10 - 00:24:42:06
Jim
The second is packaging. so put your money there right? Then we'll have all of us as part of that better future.

00:24:42:06 - 00:24:44:09
Kristen
It's a great way to support. Absolutely brilliant.

00:24:44:09 - 00:24:46:01
Jim
So that's right.

00:24:46:03 - 00:24:53:22
Kristen
yeah. Well, Jim, welcome to the panel. You had to have your part of it. Tell me, help us on the sustainable path. And, it's great to meet.

00:24:53:22 - 00:25:00:07
Jim
You and introduce us. All right. Yeah. Okay. So.

00:25:00:09 - 00:25:23:15
Chris
And it's great to hear from Jim and the entire Pet Sustainability Coalition. If you've listened to some episodes before, especially during product of the week, I've talked about some of their members products. I'm a big sustainability guy. If I have two options in front of me, and one of them either comes in a more recyclable packaging or less packaging, or, has more responsibly sourced ingredients.

00:25:23:15 - 00:25:35:00
Chris
I'm going to go for that one. So it's great that the pet industry itself is starting to think about those things as well. You know, you see it all the time in other consumer categories, but it's really starting to take off in pet now.

00:25:35:05 - 00:25:54:01
Kristen
Yeah. And I thought it was really interesting to to, that there's so many different layers of sustainability. You know, there's obviously packaging and sourcing but manufacturing I mean there's just multi, multi layers. and so yeah, they're doing great work over there. They've grown so much in the past ten years. It's really it's really cool. The product of the.

00:25:54:01 - 00:25:55:18
Chris
Week.

00:25:55:20 - 00:26:00:16
Kristen
Already. It is product time. Can I go first.

00:26:00:18 - 00:26:07:01
Chris
Yeah absolutely. The product your product of the week Chris and I am at the edge of my seat.

00:26:07:03 - 00:26:09:14
Kristen
Aren't you going to do the Papa, Papa, Papa, how do you do that?

00:26:09:14 - 00:26:13:18
Chris
Oh, sure. Sure. Product of the week.

00:26:13:19 - 00:26:14:09
Kristen
Okay.

00:26:14:11 - 00:26:25:00
Chris
So let me just be the narrator for this thing, and I won't even have to get on camera. They're just going to do a do a bunch of bits and they'll find somebody more entertaining to sit in the chair.

00:26:25:01 - 00:26:28:21
Kristen
I'm excited about this one because I actually have it here with me today.

00:26:28:23 - 00:26:29:10
Chris
oh. Great.

00:26:29:10 - 00:26:49:19
Kristen
That's awesome. My little dog, tulip. She's a miniature pinscher Chihuahua mix. She weighs about 16 pounds. And I think some people can relate to having a dog that hates to have her nails trimmed like she does despite, like, we actually have to muzzle her to trim her nails. And I came across the coolest product the other day online.

00:26:49:19 - 00:27:15:04
Kristen
It's called a scratch square. this is by a company called Devorah. And, basically what it is, is it's like this little rubberized toy comes in four sizes. I got tulip the extra small, and you put treats inside of it, and on the outside it has like an emery board material. So like if, if you are actually filing your nails, that's the kind of material like sandpaper.

00:27:15:04 - 00:27:29:09
Kristen
It's on the outside. And it came in the mail literally today. Oops. I put treats in it this morning. And if you're watching on the video version of the Pal podcast, you can see that tulips already scratched it up.

00:27:29:11 - 00:27:32:07
Chris
So that's some bona fide wear and tear right there.

00:27:32:07 - 00:27:47:11
Kristen
Right? Right. So I'm super excited because this is this means I'll have to trim her nails less frequently. and she really no pun intended, but she really digs this product, so check it out if you have one of those dogs that doesn't like their nails trimmed. would you.

00:27:47:11 - 00:27:50:23
Chris
Say that they nailed it?

00:27:51:01 - 00:27:54:20
Kristen
Totally. That's good. That's so good. That is so good. it's.

00:27:54:20 - 00:27:58:17
Chris
1:00 over here.

00:27:58:19 - 00:28:02:06
Kristen
yeah. Super cool. Really smart innovation. I love it.

00:28:02:08 - 00:28:04:14
Chris
Yeah. It's great. Very creative, very creative.

00:28:04:19 - 00:28:06:11
Kristen
What's your product, Chris?

00:28:06:13 - 00:28:28:22
Chris
So we we had a minor disaster in our household. Our our water fountain for the cat broke. the pump just gave out. It's busted. It's time to get a new one. So I was doing my research, trying to find something that the cat would like. She still insists on drinking from the sink, which is just so annoying because she can't get up there on her own.

00:28:29:03 - 00:28:49:22
Chris
So she'll walk around meowing in every room until somebody comes to pick her up and turn the sink on. So it's really, truly time to find a replacement for for that. especially with traveling and stuff, we want to make sure that she can have access to nice, clean water as cats really do. And here's the thing about cats in nature they will seek out running water and clean water.

00:28:49:22 - 00:29:07:22
Chris
They have like a natural instinct to fine. They don't want to drink still water. and if the water's a little dirty, they really won't drink it. So a water fountain is really highly recommended. and I found one from Pioneer Pet. And here's the thing. Is, an aging cat or a larger dog is going to drink a lot of water.

00:29:07:22 - 00:29:31:15
Chris
So tiger, our our cat is, is older. She's drinking a lot of water over and over and over. So the typical cat sized ones I'd have to be refilling every day, which isn't helpful for when I'm traveling. So, Pioneer pet offers a big they call the big Max stainless steel drinking fountain. And I love it because it has, I'm picking this one.

00:29:31:15 - 00:29:52:19
Chris
It has, stainless steel design, so no plastics, which I don't want involved with the the animals water. It has an easy to clean pump that you could simply remove and clean, which will hopefully add to some shelf life. And it has a flow control. So we could kind of play around with it until it gets to the point where she thinks it is a sink, which is what we're gonna have to do.

00:29:52:19 - 00:29:56:04
Kristen
We're gonna need a little side dish on it on the side. Yeah.

00:29:56:04 - 00:30:11:21
Chris
My plan is actually to put it next to one of the sinks we don't really use too often in, like, a guest bathroom, but I and and she could actually finagle her way, sort of, like, under the toilet and then and then jump up onto the counter. So I'm gonna, we're going to see if we could trigger into thinking it's the sink.

00:30:11:21 - 00:30:33:13
Chris
So it's pioneer pet. they make a bunch of different designs. So this is just the one I thought would be best for my pet. So take a look at their website. There's all sorts of great, water fountain concepts out there. Now. It is. I read an article from the New York Times. wirecutter. Which is just like a tech, kind of like a Consumer Reports type division of New York Times.

00:30:33:15 - 00:30:52:12
Chris
and they just did an article last week on, the best water fountain for cats and dogs. So maybe we'll put that, link into your, into the show notes as well. And it does include this super Max one, because we were just looking for something bigger, and big and easy to clean is what I was looking for.

00:30:52:14 - 00:30:56:08
Chris
But your needs might be different. and there's all sorts of stuff out there.

00:30:56:10 - 00:31:11:15
Kristen
Awesome. I think every cat should have a water fountain when, we don't have any cats right now, but, our previous cats that we had, we had two water fountains, and they love them like, they they never drank from their bowl after we got the fountains. So.

00:31:11:17 - 00:31:29:05
Chris
Thoracic. Yep. At least you didn't have to turn on the. Or you'll end up like me and turn into, like a a sink butler. That's what I am. She comes and finds me and meows and then you turn it on. Yeah, I have to provide this concierge service, but that's okay. It's all. It's all good. That's what the things we do for love, right?

00:31:29:05 - 00:31:30:07
Chris
The things we do for love.

00:31:30:08 - 00:31:32:08
Kristen
Exactly, I love it.

00:31:32:10 - 00:32:03:04
Chris
Q and A's. All right. And now it's time for some questions from our audience. Our listeners, thank you for sending these in. And as a reminder, if you would like to ask Christine and I a question, you can go to our website, Pets and life.org/podcast or dog tv.com/cal podcast. There's all sorts of websites. But when you find the website, pet Pets at life.org/podcast definitely works.

00:32:03:04 - 00:32:23:10
Chris
And at the bottom of that page you'll see a comment box. You can go ahead and submit a comment. Or if you're feeling mighty brave, a voice memo. and you'll be able to hear your own voice ask the question on our show. but without further ado, we have some questions from some of our listeners. this question comes from Carla, from Reno, Nevada.

00:32:23:13 - 00:32:34:05
Chris
And the question is, I'm trying to find more ways to keep my dog mentally stimulated while I'm at work. What are some effective and Richmond activities or toys that can help?

00:32:34:06 - 00:33:03:16
Kristen
Yeah. Good question. so I assume she just wants to prevent her dog from being lonely or bored or even anxious while she's away. And some of the best ways that you can do that are are some of the ways that I do that or have done that with my dogs is to provide enrichment type of toys. So it could be, one of those puzzle toys that you put little kibbles into the little boxes that they have to kind of use their brain to figure out where they are.

00:33:03:18 - 00:33:19:01
Kristen
I have this giant Kong. It's shaped like a Kong, but it's hard rubber. And you put treats inside of it and it just wobbles. My dog tulip loves that thing. and I will leave that for her when I'm gone. And I come home and it's empty, so I know she played with it while I was gone.

00:33:19:03 - 00:33:39:00
Kristen
but there are some dogs that will not play with toys or, you know, choose when you're away. My previous dog, chili, used to do that. Like I would leave him, you know, like a great Himalayan chew bone. And he wouldn't touch it until I got back home. So I think in those cases, you can you can leave some soothing music on.

00:33:39:02 - 00:33:53:20
Kristen
you can turn on dog TV if you don't have dog TV. Definitely. You need to get dog TV for your dog. I think they have free trial. If you haven't tried it yet. or a blanket. You know, that smells like you put it on the sofa. what? What else can you see? Can you think of anything else, Chris?

00:33:54:00 - 00:34:16:06
Chris
Yeah, there's some technology solutions out there. some automatic toys that will be set on a timer that will sort of start to rumble and cause them to investigate. there's things like automatic feeders that you could fill into a, sort of like a puzzle bowl. I think they referred to them as what sort of makes the dog have to get a little creative on how they get their food out.

00:34:16:08 - 00:34:38:19
Chris
so there's some technology options as well. I know as a millennial pet parent, we are helicopter parents when it comes to our animals, so we love to stay on top of their activities while we're at work. so there's all sorts of cameras and technology solutions as well. But at the end of the day, dogs do get lonely and they're less likely to engage in activities when they are alone.

00:34:38:19 - 00:34:45:02
Chris
So things like dog TV, leaving your scent around. Those are all great pieces of advice, Kristen.

00:34:45:04 - 00:34:55:18
Kristen
Yeah, and if you have time before you leave, taking them for a walk or playing a game of fetch or just, you know, some some doggy and me time would serve them really well while you're gone.

00:34:55:19 - 00:35:03:05
Chris
Well, you just said walk on the podcast and triggered, I don't know, 10,000 dogs into barking at owners as they listen to this podcast. So that's.

00:35:03:08 - 00:35:04:13
Kristen
It. Sorry.

00:35:04:15 - 00:35:09:03
Chris
That's on our band. one of our band words. It's a bunch of swear words and then walk.

00:35:09:05 - 00:35:10:05
Kristen
That's a trigger word.

00:35:10:10 - 00:35:13:23
Chris
Yeah. Things we can't say on the podcast. Yeah.

00:35:14:01 - 00:35:32:12
Kristen
All right. So this next question I think is perfect for you, Chris. this is from Michelle in Atlanta, Georgia. She said, my cat seems to ignore most of the expensive toys that I buy and prefers simple things like paper balls. Are there specific types of toys that are generally more appealing to cats?

00:35:32:14 - 00:35:57:04
Chris
Oh, the joy of owning a cat. yes. This is. I mean, I can't think of a single cat who hasn't pulled this stunt, right? we we go through the same thing where we will get, you know, a bunch of little mice or fun little, critters. And then the cat will spend the entire day playing with, like, one of those bread twist ties that fell on the kitchen floor.

00:35:57:05 - 00:36:21:06
Chris
Right. here's here's what I'll recommend is a, like, don't overcomplicate your life. If the cat likes to play with empty water bottles in the old cardboard boxes, why not? Right. Why not? but if you all are, if, for example, this is what, my wife, I hope shout out to Hope, likes to say we don't want trash on the ground right.

00:36:21:07 - 00:36:42:15
Chris
Because that looks like trash on the ground is when it does, you know, there's an esthetic to the room. I would recommend a toy that either catnip or treats go into. So cats are less motivated. but the catnip can really get them going. so I would check with your vet. Some cats are hypersensitive to catnip, but overwhelmingly most cats are completely fine with it.

00:36:42:19 - 00:37:01:22
Chris
And you can put a little bit of catnip in some of these feather balls and stuff, and it'll just encourage them and be a, a little bit of carrot on the edge of a stick there for them to play with the toy. so then scattered around your room will be actual toys rather than pieces of garbage.

00:37:02:00 - 00:37:12:21
Chris
but at the end of the day, cats are going to do whatever they want. They really can't be convinced to do otherwise. So I would look at a product like that. I don't know if you have anything to add. Kristen, I know you've had cats and,

00:37:12:23 - 00:37:42:19
Kristen
Yeah, I guess those are great suggestions. The only thing I can think of to add is, and again, this is if your cat is food or treat motivated, you can hide little treats or kibble around the house to kind of allow them to mimic hunting while you're gone. I usually recommend doing that at night for people who have cats that howl a lot at night if you instead of feeding them, you know, at the regular dinner time, you can feed them after you go to bed and hide their food around the house so they have to actually hunt for it.

00:37:42:20 - 00:37:47:00
Kristen
That's like, keep them busy. So that could be another thing to try.

00:37:47:02 - 00:38:09:03
Chris
That's actually a great idea because going back to the whole having to turn on the sink for the cat thing, she's also figured out how to be really annoying at the bedroom door. She's like, learned the noises that will wake us up. and now we'll we'll make those noises on repeat. So maybe we have to. Maybe we have to leave some treats, under the couch and stuff for her to go.

00:38:09:05 - 00:38:10:17
Kristen
Hide them away from the bedroom door.

00:38:10:17 - 00:38:12:01
Chris
Somewhere far.

00:38:12:01 - 00:38:12:14
Kristen
Away.

00:38:12:16 - 00:38:34:19
Chris
Somewhere else. Somewhere else? Yes, absolutely. thank you for sending your questions. Michelle and Carla. And again, if you'd like to have your question answered, be sure to get in the comments box and, ask away. again, we're not vets, we're just fellow pet parents. but consider us part of your network. Your your pals.

00:38:34:19 - 00:38:35:22
Chris
Right? That's the whole point.

00:38:36:04 - 00:38:57:07
Kristen
Yeah, absolutely. And, tell your friends about the Pal podcast. we cover all types of pets, and, you can find us wherever you find your podcasts. Or you can go to dog TV.com slash pal podcast. we would love for you to. We would love more subscribers. It's a new show. We're we're going to be doing show number ten next week.

00:38:57:09 - 00:39:18:21
Chris
That's a milestone episode, right? The milestone episode. And, you know, here's the thing too. If you're listening to this on your way to work and you're wondering, wow, is Chris as handsome as he sounds? We're on YouTube, too. You can look at our beautiful faces as we talk about these awesome topics, so be sure to check out that YouTube version as well.

00:39:18:23 - 00:39:23:08
Chris
but for now, and I think that's the end of episode nine. That's the end of our show.

00:39:23:11 - 00:39:24:19
Kristen
It's a wrap. We'll see you next week.

00:39:24:19 - 00:39:32:08
Chris
That's yeah, we'll see everybody next week. Thanks, as always, for listening and, like and subscribe please. Pets add life.