Petworking

The profound emotional and psychological impact of pet ownership often serves as a catalyst for the inception of numerous pet brands. This deep, emotive connection with their pet(s) fosters a unique empathy and understanding of the intricate needs of animals, driving individuals to venture into creating solutions that address health, nutrition, comfort, and emotional well-being of pets globally. I can speak firsthand to the impact that pet ownership can have on a professional career. From the moment I adopted Peony in 2017, it changed my life, and my entire perspective on consulting in the petcare and animal health verticals. From that point on, I had a unique empathy for the love that all pet owners share for their pets, and it brought an added sense of purpose to my work, which ultimately led to the launch of Petworking. On this week's episode of Petworking, we had the chance to chat with Julie Chen MS, RD of A Better Treat, and she shared a similar tale of her cousin, Boris Chung, the founder of A Better Treat. Adopting his first dog, Emmy, transformed Boris Chung's outlook on pets, and inspired the birth of "A Better Treat." The brand sources premium wild-caught, organic ingredients to ensure holistic nutrition for pets, matching the quality we'd personally choose for ourselves. Julie noted, when creating A Better Treat, she and Boris "wanted be able to source the way that we personally like to shop for ourselves and give pet parents an opportunity to be able to source that way when they buy our products." Julie and I discussed the challenges of establishing sourcing relationships as a young company, and the other myriad challenges of launching a pet food brand, such as navigating market entry, being bootstrapped, faced hurdles like minimum order quantities and budget constraints. We also had a fairly in-depth discussion about nutrition, as Julie holds a master's degree in nutrition and is also a registered dietician. Despite her educational background, Julie explained that she and Boris consulted with a PhD in animal nutrition to formulate their pet food, ensuring it met the best practices and guidelines based on recent studies. She stressed the importance of relying on expert advice rather than following trends or misinformation prevalent in the area of pet nutrition, and highlighted the DCM study from ~5 years ago as a key example of this. The study became a critical point of discussion due to its findings on the potential link between certain grain-free diets and DCM in dogs. Finally, Julie and I discussed the benefits of a freeze-dried diet for pets, which I had previously discussed with Dr. James Templeman of Primal Pet Foods. However, while Primal advocates for the adoption of all minimally processed diets, A Better Treat advocates strongly for freeze-dried pet food, driven by several compelling benefits that align with the brand's commitment to optimal pet health and convenience for pet owners. Julie outlined several reasons for the brand's commitment to freeze-dried. In addition to its meat-based, single-ingredient treats, and its freeze-dried inclusions in its kibble, A Better Treat recently launched a freeze-dried pumpkin treat. A great Halloween treat for your dog or cat, the freeze-dried pumpkin treats also provide a mess-free, convenient alternative that retains all the health benefits of canned pumpkin puree. Pumpkin is a great natural remedy for digestive issues your pet may experience, and also doubles as a great training treat, due to the low-calorie content (0.2 calories each).

Preventative diagnostics is a critically important component of veterinary care. In the U.S., only 40-50% of pet owners take their pets to the vet once a year. While the costs of vet visits continue to increase, the cost of not taking your pet to the vet regularly can far outweigh the cost of a vet visit. With the cost of a simple vet visit now approaching $100 in some areas, and the costs of any tests and treatments further adding to the total cost of the bill, many pet parents take the approach of not bringing their pet to the vet unless they see overt signs that their pet is struggling. However, dogs and cats are very good at masking issues that they might be having and not outwardly showing any signs of pain, and without regular checkups, issues that could have been easily managed if they were caught early can quickly turn into much more catastrophic health events. On the latest episode of Petworking, I was joined by Dr. Ben Hantler, DVM, MBA, and Senior Product Manager at Heska, and my colleague, Jessica Stewart, Senior Manager at Maia Strategy Group. Prior to joining Maia, Jessica was a Diagnostic Support Consultant at IDEXX. In the course of our conversation, Ben noted that 20-30% of serious cases could have been mitigated or prevented with regular veterinary visits. While pet insurance is undoubtedly a key driver in getting pet parents to visit the vet more frequently, Ben, Jess, and I kept our conversation focused on diagnostics. We touched on the variety of tests available, from organ function assessments and blood counts, to infectious disease screenings like heartworm testing. The necessity of these getting these tests on an annual basis cannot be understated, when it comes to catching potential health issues early. When we adopted Peony, we were told she was heartworm-negative. However, a month after we got her, I brought her to the vet, because she seemed to be experiencing pain in her hind legs, and our trainer suspected she might have pulled a muscle. Wanting to eliminate tick-borne illnesses as a potential cause of her symptoms, our vet ran a SNAP test. While it was negative for Lyme, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma, it did show that she was positive for heartworm. Had we not gotten Peony tested, it's very likely that we would have caught the infection too late to treat her. The American Heartworm Society notes that even the most sensitive heartworm test can fail to detect the presence of antigen when levels of circulating antigen are low due to the presence of immature worms. Our vet told us that this was likely how we were told Peony was heartworm-negative when we adopted her. Unfortunately, if left untreated, heartworm can cause severe organ damage, heart failure, and respiratory issues, and can have fatal consequences. Even catching it early, it was a several-month process to treat Peony, during which we had to restrict her activity to two 5-minute walks per day. In addition to catching potentially fatal diseases like heartworm, regular diagnostic testing can provide pet owners with a baseline that they can refer to as their pet ages. Having year-over-year data on biomarkers like blood levels, kidney function, etc. can alert your vet to changes that may indicate potential health issues in your pet, even in the absence of symptoms. As part of this discussion, Ben, Jess and I delved into the potential use of biometric data from pet trackers, and the need to expand preventative diagnostic testing to a direct-to-consumer model. There is significant potential to enhance the quality of care through the provision of consumer-collected data to veterinarians, but a limiting factor that needs to be addressed is ensuring consistent quality in at-home sample collection. Ultimately, this is a field at the cusp of significant evolution, promising a future where preventative care, supported by technological advancements, could drastically improve the lives of pets and pet owners alike.

I had the chance to meet Dr. James Templeman, Director of Nutrition at Primal Pet Foods at SuperZoo this summer, and we had a great chat about the nutritional benefits of raw, freeze-dried, and gently-cooked diets. Adding even a little bit of one of these food forms to your pet's kibble can go a long way towards improving their overall health. Since SuperZoo, I've made a conscious effort to increase the levels of freeze-dried food in my dog, Peony's diet, and the results have been amazing. Peony was already demonstrating higher energy levels since we put her on Leap Years® in April, but switching her canned topper to a freeze-dried gravy has her running to her bowl again every morning. While we didn't discuss Peony directly, in this episode, Dr. Templeman and I touched on the reasons more pet parents should consider including at least some minimally processed food in their pet's diet, and how pet parents can provide increased nutritional benefits to their pets, even on a budget. Minimally Processed vs. Processed Foods: The conversation began with a focus on the nutritional differences between minimally processed diets (like raw freeze-dried, fresh, refrigerated, and gently cooked foods) and more processed foods, such as kibble. The balance between cost, convenience, and nutrition is a challenge many pet parents face. Recent Research Breakthroughs: Dr. Templeman highlighted Primal's recent research assessing the digestibility of pet foods, going beyond just macronutrient levels. They employed a unique methodology from the University of Illinois called the Sectorized Rooster model to assess standardized amino acid digestibility in these diets. Benefits of Minimally Processed Foods: While Dr. Templeman, as a researcher, hesitated to discuss anecdotal benefits, he did mention potential positive changes pet owners might observe. These include improved gut function, higher quality stools, and an increased desire of pets to consume the diet. Economic Realities: Recognizing the economic constraints many pet parents face, the discussion acknowledged that not everyone can switch entirely to minimally processed foods due to their higher cost. However, even introducing a mix of these foods with kibble can offer some of the nutritional benefits. This episode provides some eye-opening insight about the importance of research-backed data in making informed decisions about pet diets. Enjoy!

In the latest episode of Petworking, Daisy Chavez, BS, CVT of Pet Insurance Review and I sat down to discuss the current state of the pet insurance industry, why adoption rates are so low, and the benefits that pet parents can expect from investing in pet insurance. Many pet parents overestimate the cost of pet insurance, don't think they'll need it, or have been misinformed about the benefits/effectiveness of pet insurance offerings. One would think that many of these misperceptions could be corrected by veterinarians, but Daisy and I explored the many reasons why this is not the case.

On the 9th episode of Petworking, we cover a topic that has the potential to drive profound reverberations across the pet food ecosystem, the human food ecosystem, and in the fight against climate change. Regenerative agriculture is a system of farming principles and practices that seeks to rehabilitate and enhance the entire ecosystem of the farm by placing a heavy premium on soil health. It is a method of farming that "regenerates" the soil, improving its nutrient content and increasing its carbon capture potential. I was fortunate enough to be joined by Tina Owens, Senior Fellow of Regenerative Agriculture at Green America to discuss regenerative agriculture, and why it is more than a sustainability buzzword. Take a listen to the episode to hear Tina and I discuss: Regenerative Agriculture and its Ties to Nutrient Density in Food The importance of soil health in determining the nutrient content of food Produce that is grown, and livestock that is raised, on regenerative soils, are 10-20 times more nutrient dense than their counterparts that are produced on "conventional" farmland The Positive Health Effects of Eating a Nutrient-Dense Diet for Both Humans and Animals Nutrient deficiencies in food can lead to health issues such as obesity, as the body craves more food to compensate for the lack of essential nutrients Nutrient density, not calories, is the driver of satiety. Studies have shown that consumers of nutrient-dense diets were able to eat fewer calories and still feel full Regenerative Agriculture's Potential to Contribute to Carbon Sequestration Livestock contributes approximately 14.5% of all human-induced GHG emissions "Conventional" agriculture degrades soil and eliminates methanotrophs that digest methane In the U.S., 30 million cattle are slaughtered on conventional farms each year, versus only 350,000 on grass-fed/regenerative farms The U.S. is the number-one country in terms of meat consumption in the world American dogs and cats are the 5th-largest consumers of meat in the world on a per-country-basis Roaming, grazing livestock on regenerative soils contribute to carbon sequestration Despite all of the benefits outlined above, very few companies are marketing regenerative agriculture to the consumer, and outlining the connection between regenerative agriculture, and increased nutrient density, better health outcomes, and carbon sequestration. Regenerative agriculture is still in its early stages. Several companies, like Cargill, Pepsi, and Nestle, have committed to implementing regenerative agriculture practices. Regenerative practices can be profitable for farmers and can contribute to the longevity of their farms. However, ultimately, it will require demonstrated demand from the consumer to ensure that regenerative agriculture is adopted on a large scale. Hopefully, after watching this episode, you'll find it in you to become an advocate for regenerative agriculture, for the good of human health, animal health, and the health of our planet.