Chats with the Chatfields

Ep 27: Keeping fit with your pet!

June 14, 2022 Dr. Jen the vet and Dr. Jason Chatfield
Chats with the Chatfields
Ep 27: Keeping fit with your pet!
Show Notes Transcript

Obesity is a HUGE problem for pets (see what we did there?!)!

The incredible Dr. Adam Christman, Chief Veterinary Officer for DVM360, social media celebrity, and self-admitted gym rat, enters the Chat Room to talk all about ways for you to help keep your pet in shape!  Join Dr. Jen the vet, Dr. Jason, and Dr. Christman as they discuss pet fitness, weird musical lyrics, and more!

This episode is certified to provide 1 hr of PACCC CEU’s!  The unique code will be delivered during the episode, so listen up! Don’t know what PACCC is? And why would they be involved in CEU’s?  Pet lovers can get more information at www.paccert.org

Show our sponsors some love:
FullBucket Veterinary Strength Supplements - the leader in digestive health for horses, dogs, and cats!

Merck Animal Health - the science of healthier animals

V's View is brought to you by the AVMA Trust - Veterinarian inspired coverage protecting you through it all!

SUBSCRIBE to our show on Youtube or on our website: https://chatfieldshow.com
Follow us on instagram @ChatfieldShow

Share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it...or might be interested in the topic...or just to make their day brighter! :)

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

dog, pet, veterinarian, walk, tick, vet, running, chrisman, jason, talk, friends, water, pet owners, animals, adam, exercise, feel, thought, activity, exam

 00:04

This episode is brought to you by full bucket veterinary strength supplements the leader in digestive health for dogs, cats and horses,

 00:14

Merck animal health, the makers of Nobivac vaccines. Welcome to chats with the Chatfields, this is a podcast to expand your idea of what impacts veterinarians, pet owners. Basically all animal lovers in the galaxy as humans. We are your hosts. I'm Dr. Jen the vet, Dr. Jason. And if you've not yet subscribe to our show, why not? Just go to Chatfieldshow.com And subscribe today. And if you want to reach us, if you got a message full of love and positivity, you can find me at Jen@Chatfieldshow.com

 00:49

for all of you folks who like to keep it real, you can find me at Jason@Chatfieldshow.com

 00:55

Okay. So, Jason, how you doing over there?

 00:59

I'm doing great. I know you're shocked because that was the shortest intro to my email I've ever had to straight to it. Right. I normally have some kind of saying or something. I don't know what yeah, some say it's not that day. I'm so excited about our topic. I want to get right right into it.

 01:12

Okay, well, I mean, me too. Also, we have I'm excited not only about the topic, but about our guest

 01:21

what, Jason, what are you trying to say? And why do you got to do that? I made you feel terrible. All right. I'm excited about the guests too. I'm always excited about any guest. Doesn't matter who it is. But especially today, it's very exciting. Lots of energy, folks, there's gonna be a lot of energy not not from me, for sure. Gonna get the normal amount of energy from me

 01:42

the normal amount of energy for Dr. Jason, but we're just going to bring it right in because I feel like for a lot of pet owners and pet parents, he needs no introduction because he's so huge on social media, because it like he lives to talk to pet lovers about pets. And also he is a leader in the veterinary industry. He is currently the Chief Veterinary Medical Officer for DVM360 the leading multimedia publications in our industry. So please, everyone, welcome into the chat room, Dr. Adam Christman.

 02:22

You know, it's always a pleasure to see both of you. You know, I just feel like we should just be breaking bread and hanging out

 02:30

with that. Let's do it.

 02:31

I don't turn down bread. No, never ever.

 02:35

Although maybe that doesn't quite go with today's topic. But you're right. Bread is great. And tastes good. Right? Yes.

 02:41

You know that song by the way went back in the day that's on bread bread wine. Do you know I was religious on when I was a kid I thought was bread big wine? It's funny. I'm singing in the car and the light. No, Adam, it's right. I'm like bread. Spot. Oh my Lord.

 03:01

Why don't we seen this on Sunday? This is so great. It's very funny, we could make it into a religious song. I mean, that's awesome. I love it.

 03:14

Okay, like we have me and Jason and our bajillion car trips that we took growing up if we went down the rabbit trail of song lyrics that we got wrong. Oh, god. What we thought they were when they turned out to be we would

 

03:32

because the radius miracle right? It's a miracle. What do you what? I don't even know that one.

 

03:41

Rated spherical. It's a Billy Billy Joel was the greatest.

 

03:45

Oh,

 

03:47

the longest time

 

03:47

was the song was longest. Not the greatest miracle was and it was not to us for many, many years. And it's what's worse, Adam is when it's your friends. When is your friend to tell you you're wrong? No, I right. My parents said I was right. No problem. No, you're wrong, my friend.

 

04:04

Because what is this miracle? Yeah, no one knows.

 

04:08

As good. We thought they were cool. You know? Yeah.

 

04:12

Okay, all right. There. we digress. Okay. All right, diners. Listen up, because we're going to talk about something that I think is really fun. Having had Border Collies in the past I don't think my French or I don't think the farm fresh Frenchie really thinks it's that cool anymore. But we're going to talk about kind of like how to do fun activities outdoors with your pets safely, safely. What considerations should you take? And the reason we have Dr. Chrisman on is not only because he's fabulous, but also because look at this man. Right? Those of you who are on the YouTube channel, this is a fifth dude. Look, if you haven't everyone's lad Jason, come down.

 

04:58

Bam, he's on big screen now. Look at

 

05:09

but look, if you look on his social media, he posts all kinds of things because sickness and health physical fitness is important to him and has been for years. And also if you go to any of the DVM 360, Seche veterinary conferences, you'll potentially find there at 6am Not Dr. Jenn, the vet know that you will find Dr. Adam Chrisman leading, like, poolside fitness

 

05:36

or something. Oh, wow. I didn't know that. That's cool. Yes.

 

05:41

And so we're going to talk about fitness and things you can do outside and safely involve your pet. And so I thought who better to talk about it? Right?

 

05:50

Absolutely. I mean, I mean, more than half of our animals in this country are overweight or obese, more than half 56%. So it's like it's a catch 22. And it's so easy. I was just like chatting about this the other day, when they're saying, oh, diet and exercise, it's easier said than done. It really is way easy. I agree. Right? But how can we make it fun for both of us to both us, you know, humans and then the dogs so and I think there's a lot of great things that we can do that are don't cost a lot of money. And just and we're all about enhancing, which is what I'm obsessed with the human animal bond. So like what better way to do it and to not do it with treats but to do it with loved in a different way. Right? It's like an activity or an activity. Exactly right. There's doggy bingo. Did you know that? That's a thing you can do outdoor dog bingo. You will literally Yeah. So I'm telling you so almost. Have you ever heard of cow bingo?

 

06:44

Cow? Cow tipping? Of course, right?

 

06:48

They can do a whole thing where you actually can like lift your dog and move around to another area like a human gameboard outside. They do all those different things. And then easy things to of course, like Okay, wait,

 

07:03

hold on, hold on. I'm gonna run so

 

07:06

what do you mean go truck up friend.

 

07:09

Take your dog giant.

 

07:11

Maybe this is just in Jersey, but get a spray can and you probably illegal but you get a stray cat you do you hold right and like, you know, make a big bingo. Right? And then they all the numbers and you take your dog and you have to hold them or her the entire time without dropping them. week or whatever. So like you got it. So you're human. So like bi and you're moving to the different areas.

 

07:40

Oh my gosh. Wow. Have you done that? Have you participated? I have participated. Don't be ashamed. That sounds cool. To hear his voice change. Did you hear his voice change? I have purchased

 

07:55

doggy yoga. I've done like goat yoga.

 

07:59

Look, look look listen, listen, listen. Our listeners know the chatterboxes are readily aware that I don't do yoga.

 

08:12

But I understand that it's a big thing of yoga and dog yoga. So I think that's a lot of fun things to do. But I know we were just talking earlier like simple things so like you can take him to an off leash dog park if that's what you want to do or you know a stroll. You know it all varies with like the type of pet parent that we have if depending on our wants and needs or physical disabilities all those different things

 

08:37

Okay, so the type of pet parent I am I guess what could what could do for me What do good for me is I would sprint right from the couch to the refrigerator and then sprint back and there's always I've made my dog maybe we could race we could have Sprint's back and forth at the commercial breaks. Is that good enough or is that not gonna? I mean

 

08:58

that sounds good as my wiener races that Yes. I just have wiener races.

 

09:03

Wiener races that look I know what happens at your house like the morning calisthenics consist of all the like, okay, so he has for dioxins, everybody, and it consists of the dotson's running down the ramp to the backyard. And everyone taking making bets on what toy Clark W Griswald the most mischievous of the of Adams. dachshund is going to snatch and run down the ramp with and take into the yard. Right like that's morning calisthenics at your house.

 

09:38

Awesome. I love it every day. It's

 

09:41

you can place your bets. Yep, yes.

 

09:43

You place your bets. Yeah, he took down the storm trooper today. Today in honor of taking down a stormtrooper

 

09:54

that's perfect, right

 

09:59

yeah, He takes down a lot. He just sucked down before it was on. He just took down our beach towel because you know, we had like the towels for the pool. So he's like, mop the ring and he brings that down the ramp too. So, you know, it's part of his exercise. And he's so proud of course when there's little wiggle, but that he does

 

10:14

Oh, yes. No, he struts with the item that's after he grabs it. And he runs with his ears back like because that does when she's running when she knows that. She's not supposed to have it. Yes. And he runs down the ramp and all the others. I don't know what the other dogs are doing. But they're not doing that. And and then of course, we hear you laughing always in the background.

 

10:37

You every day. It's funny.

 

10:41

Yeah, because he's a little dog. Huge personality. And so he just cracks me up.

 

10:45

So yes, just a maniac. He's a maniac that clerk

 

10:49

take all the time, you know, but um,

 

10:52

so Okay. Well, I

 

10:52

have a couple of I have a couple of questions, right. So I would say I was kidding about sprinting to the fridge, I will not sprint to the fridge. That ruins the whole trip. Right. But I do agree with exercising with with your pets. It always sounds like fun, especially this past year in 2020. We had that weird pandemic situation I walked my dogs more than I ever have in the past Lord knows why I have no idea why but all of a sudden, I pretend to have all this free time to walk the dogs. But I did start to go running with my dogs now. I'm a veterinarian. So I should know this. But I'm going to ask you you know, I was concerned. Because my dogs didn't go running very much. And so I went running I think most people like to run with their dogs. You see it all the time? Is that necessarily a bad thing for your dog to just get to it? Or should you warm up warm a mob should you there's a stretches you can do with your dog? Should you start running a quarter mile then train them up? I have no idea. I stopped and that was my excuse. I didn't wanna hurt my dog. So step one. I didn't want to hurt the

 

11:51

well, we as veterinarians go through our differential diagnoses and about two seconds before I take two strikes. Oh my god and cruciate ligament. I'm out. Yeah, but, you know, a lot of the breeds in general, they are meant to just go at it. Intuitively, I mean, that's what nature allows them to do. But if they're overweight or obese, as you as we all know, that can slow things down. So you know, to slowly increase your exercise over time if you have an overweight or obese dog. But yeah, the exercise is the best and then also swimming is another great thing and I also recommend listeners is like if they don't have a cool look into either hydrotherapy certain areas around maybe have like the underwater treadmills or, you know, you can put together a whole like a peek now that PT is huge. And Batman. Oh, yeah. And it's just not for orthopedics. As you know, it can also be a weight loss regimen that's being used as well. So. So there's a whole bunch of reasons for it. But I think that the swimming is a really, really nice one to do.

 

12:53

I never thought about swimming with with the dog called the local wind, see if they can have and I'm not kidding.

 

12:58

Well, that's really, especially for obese dogs, right? Or older dogs, it's great to start with people, or people. But one of the so one of the things that I get asked all the time is how how to like talk, do you think that he's overweight? And I'm like the question or the answer is always yes. But almost always. But then they say how do you know because my wife and I are having an argument about it. Right like and so for everyone listening and Adam, like these are the three things I look at. And then like I don't know if you have something different because I think every veterinarian looks at him a little differently. And so I there's so many variations available in dogs, right? And so I want to see a waist if I looked down from the top of the dog, I want to see their chest be a barrel and a little waist and then flare out again on their hips. Underneath I want to see from the chest bone right the sternum or the I guess the keel some people call it you want to see that low and then I want to see their belly kind of tuck up into their back back legs and then I want to be able to easily feel but not see their ribs right what are what are other characteristics that you look at?

 

14:16

That's that's exactly what I look at. I also look at the neck to the brisket just to see if it's not super thick. You know? That's it's literally what we do. And so there's

 

14:28

no because that he doesn't mean you know No, no

 

14:32

perfect baby angels or

 

14:34

whatever she has no brisket, no neck so let's move on

 

14:43

you know, many of us probably I love this objective like the body condition score. And then when there's a disconnect, which tends to happen just like you said, Jen with the pet owner is often have a chart in the exam room or something. I said, you tell me what you think your dog is and they'll say, Oh, she's a three. And here's why. I think she's a four, you know, so you try to come terms with the fact of it. And then I'll even take a picture of that chart because usually the person that is in denial is not the one that's in the exam room.

 

15:06

Right? All right. And so when at home that feeds them all the treats, right? Always so nobody ever comes to the vet who's feeding their dog inappropriate treats ever, ever. No.

 

15:18

So I do these videos to like I would and I said, you're gonna send this to your significant other when you get home, and we're gonna hold them up. So like, this is the three. This is not a three day.

 

15:31

Right, stop with the treats. Yeah, okay. All right. So, now that we know that, gosh, that's a that's a very sobering statistic that 56% of pets are obese right now in the United States. And we know how to determine if they're obese. I see Dr. Jason sending me the signal to take a break. Here we are, I'll take

 

15:54

a secret you ruined it. Oh.

 

15:56

So listeners know, they're probably wondering like why are we not have not taken a break yet. So we're going to take a very quick commercial break, and then we're going to be right back. And then we're going to talk about some other things that you can do to get fit alongside your pet, and how to keep them safe from diseases and injury while we're doing it. So hang with us. We'll be right back.

 

16:26

It's Dr. Jenn the vet, and I'm here with my friend and colleague, Dr. Keith lassen. He's got an incredibly interesting story all about full bucket health,

 

16:36

my college roommate and that school, housemate. Dr. Rob Franklin and I were collaborating on some cases, both of us were struggling with diarrhea and some of our patients, whether it was after a procedure after after an illness, so we created a formulation but we didn't want to just create a formulation. We also wanted to create a movement and animal health, for being able to help animals in need through the use of bar products that we developed that really has resulted in our one for one giving program, which we're we're really proud of as much as we are our formulations for dogs versus cats.

 

17:10

And so if you want to know more about their one for when giving it full buckets, or if you're interested in better supporting your dog, cat or horses digestive health, head over to full bucket health.com to learn more.

 

17:28

Merck animal health is committed to disease prevention in our animal companions. The nopi vac portfolio of industry leading vaccines empowers veterinarians to have a broader impact on pets and their owners. Merck Animal Health Philosophy is driven by innovation, continuous research and development ensure the latest technological advances are available to provide reliable protection. So ask your veterinarian about Noby back vaccines for your pets. All right, V. What do you have for us from vet school?

 

18:10

These view from that school brought to you by the AVMA trust veterinarian inspired coverage protecting you through it all.

 

18:21

Hello, and welcome to V's view from vet school. Today I want to share the drama surrounding exams in vet school. No newsflash there. I mean, school is school, there will be exams. It seems like every time I turn around, though, we are having an exam in at least one class, it's almost unreasonable. Now, it could surely be worse. I mean, I've heard from reliable sources from Texas a&m, that they used to receive a packet every fourth Friday with every class exam, you had four hours to take a complete it and expect to pass it. That sounds terrible and terrifying to me. But at MSU we have multiple exams, some weeks, singles on others and quizzes along the way. I for one, appreciate the schedule, it seems much more manageable than what Texas a&m At least used to do. Why else do I appreciate it? Because when I was a forensic analyst, we didn't get a schedule of when crime scenes were going to occur, and sometimes they stacked up on a single shift. And when I worked in veterinary medicine as a technician, the day could be unpredictable because while there is a schedule, you never know when that heatstroke dog will walk in as an emergency or the Black Cat for three days will arrive unexpectedly. So I say embrace the sock and leverage it for the learning opportunity it presents. It's an opportunity to practice for practice. Thanks for listening. I'm V and that's my view. Want to share your view? Are you seeing what I'm seeing? Or do you have a question about that school? Send it to me at info at Chatfield show.com

 

20:00

These view from vet school brought to you by the AVMA trust veterinarian inspired coverage protecting you through it all.

 

20:12

Okay, and we're back with the wonderful Dr. Adam Chrisman talking all about how to stay fit with your

 

20:20

pet. Yes. And you know, I was just we were just talking about like some treatment. While some other options out there. Have you ever heard of any wearables that you can put on your dog as well as yourself?

 

20:32

Oh, yes. So like, so true story. I got one of those. It's kind of like a doggy Fitbit. Animal by sure Petcare with Merck, animal health, you put it on their collar, and I got it as a cynic. Right. I was like, this is going to be silly, and whatever. And it was actually really quite interesting. Because I could tell how much she traveled. I could tell, was she coughing or barking? And was she scratching and it was all on my phone? It was really

 

21:06

cool. Yeah. Yeah, it's just another tool that I think is pretty cool. I just rind. That's a tool. That's pretty cool. Dropping beats here, left and right. It's possible. Yes, it is. Yeah, I like those things. Because just to your point it does. It collects all this data to your smartphone to and not just like steps, but also calories burned. And then if they were trembling, or shaking, maybe you didn't even know they may have had like noise sensitivity from fireworks or thunderstorms. So there's a lot of great data that's out there. But I like to use that in conjunction with like a treatment plan. And I know all of us veterinarians, we know that obesity is a disease and we treat it as such, like any treatment plan. So having those tools, any tool at this point really does help, you know, give them better peace of mind to help get some of that weight off.

 

21:54

It does. But the other thing that I think is important to recognize is that as the seasons change, the weather's nicer outside, don't leave your pet inside your outside more take your pet with you. Because as as we alluded to earlier in this episode, it's an that strengthens your bond with them. So if they get to go with you for these activities, so it's a little bit like a date is more fun if you do something besides just sit down and eat. But if you do, if you do a fun activity together, it's way more fun. You know, if you go bowling or you know, go paddleboarding or something like this,

 

22:30

you want us to take you you take take your pet to the bowling alley, that's like,

 

22:35

take cozy well, because that might be mistaken

 

22:37

for

 

22:38

right. Oh my fault. That's alright, that's what I was thinking. I wasn't thinking of bowling alleys that the best place for

 

22:47

she is gonna go paddleboarding with me next month. So yeah, we'll see how she does with that. But that sort of activity with your pet actually enhances that bond, it allows for you to work on that communication with them. And so the problem then becomes like, how do you how do you do that without, with making sure that you're not presenting a life threatening situation to your pet? Right?

 

23:14

Yeah, I mean, listen, I mean, Jen, you have the the poster child of overheated keystroke. You know, and so like, you have to be so careful of like the brachiocephalic are the ones with the pushin bases, of course. So, yeah, it's a good point that you bring up, like, how do we do it without overdoing it on that. And I think, you know, having this type of these types of conversations and educating the pet owners of that it's not a one size fits all, for every dog. I mean, of course, and every age to so a two year old dogs wants to be different than a 12 year old. So, but knowing all the different options that are out there, I mean, if you're a fit person, but has a pretty fairly fit dog, where you love to go camping and hiking, they're used to that. But if you try to try to do that all of a sudden with them, I think that might be a little bit of a culture shock for them. And then hold on, hold on Dad, you know. So yeah,

 

24:07

I agree. I agree. Especially in the south, right? The air is heavy. Humidity is real. And so the struggle is real for those little Smith's face to breathe.

 

24:17

But the struggle is real for for every everybody humans died. You can't just go run 18 miles, you've never really know what to do. But you have to you have to pay attention. So yeah,

 

24:29

you do have to work up to it, you have to work on it. But then the other thing too, is you want to make sure like all the all those things that we maybe don't think of so often. So it's hot outside, hey, the sidewalk is hot friends, and you have shoes on and your pet doesn't. I used to go running when I was younger, and I would take my border collie at the time running and she actually this is before I was a veterinarian. She actually got a blister on a PA pad and it was very painful for her It was also very painful when I had to Lance it. But yeah, so you hit those are considerations to think of is how hot is the asphalt or the cement? Can they get on the grass? They're not trying to be jerks, they really their feet rot, that sort of. And the other piece is that if we're outside, we're not the only ones outside. Right.

 

25:22

Right. They might run into other dogs. Is that what you're saying? are cats, birds,

 

25:28

Husky insects,

 

25:30

insects? Yeah, pesky insects,

 

25:34

all those different types of things out there. So, yeah, yeah. So I mean, it is like it's a, it's a great point that if you're going to be outside, it's wonderful. But make sure they're protected with our heartworm prevention, and tick prevention, you know, all those different things, of course, and to check them when they come back inside, as well. I think that's always crucial, because, you know, some of them in our area ticks and I was gonna go over them and say, like, they love to live in the webbing of the pole pads are underneath the collar pieces that you really wouldn't think that you would find them. So it's always good due diligence to kind of get in that repetition, that routine just to look at that as well. Yeah, I

 

26:10

agree. So you should, you should talk with your veterinarian and get a recommended flea and tick prevention. And then you should still check them. And that's a question I get all the time is that so we went hiking and we took our dog. But, you know, we we didn't realize that he had to take on and we thought we had them on prevention? Yeah, and most prevention. You know, flea prevention is great. It's no problem. But ticks are tricky. And so not all of them have the same speed of kill for tick prevention. So you do want to check them over. Because the longer they're attached, the more likely they are look. Oh my gosh, there's aids visual aid.

 

26:53

Look, I feel like I'm gonna Maybelline commercial. This is tick spoon number five.

 

26:57

That's so funny. Just call

 

27:01

but I mean, how many of you have these I mean, you kind of put them on your, your bring your keychain, or whatever. But like,

 

27:06

I don't even know what that is.

 

27:08

It's a New Jersey thing. What

 

27:09

is it? It's like, it's like a, like a messed up measuring spoon, right.

 

27:15

And so like you get Oh, I get it

 

27:22

you know what's important about that, like, if you remove a tick using that tick spoon that tool, you don't squish them because most of the like diseases that ticks give to pets and people. If you squish the tick to pull it out, you're just squishing it in and they may not even infected you yet. So that's a good tool.

 

27:41

Yeah. And look do you guys know you can actually send it out in the mail the tick you send out you can identify they tell you what you got right kind of ticket so that way you know this might be one that's transmissible I haven't.

 

27:55

I have never never heard of a teaspoon ever either. I feel I feel I feel terrible I haven't ever heard of I

 

28:02

don't find it odd that I randomly just had this on my diet.

 

28:05

I didn't want to mention that but I did. I'm like well maybe he's just super prepared. I don't know if he had two of them. Or not one of those were like different sizes like a quarter a quarter cup different now it's $4

 

28:18

on Amazon and I talked about this a lot of like the live streams my tick tock, tick tock. But it's always a good thing. Yeah, yeah.

 

28:29

That was that was that was a moment right there. I'll tell you that.

 

28:32

Hey, professional. He's a professional. Yeah. Profession professional media guy, right. Did I not tell you is the chief BMO for tvm. 360. Okay, so listen, there's one other thing that like I think I think the world at large would be disappointed if I didn't bring it up. And that is that if you're taking your pet outside, if you're going to the dog park more if you're walking on the streets, like if you're taking it to the streets. No, I'm just kidding. But if you're walking on the street, if you're walking on trails, you're at the knowledge Park. All of these places have wildlife, right. Oh, there's wildlife present. And so, you Chatfield bring it home. I know you're feeling it already. I'm going to talk about vaccination. So you want to talk with your veterinarian so that you can have the appropriate preventatives already on board and in place, but I will go ahead and tell you if you think that any of these vaccines are not appropriate for your pets lifestyle, you send me an email full of love and positivity, however, at Jenifer Chatfield, show.com but lepto distemper how hepatitis para influenza, Parvo, rabies, plus or minus Lyme, right, Lyme there's there's a VAX Same for Lyme disease and dogs. Let's see canine influenza. Hello. Hello, in the midst of an avian influenza outbreak, okay. And they just had those ducks in Colorado that had avian influenza that were in the dog shelter. Okay. Can we say perfect storm? We could. All right. Yeah, and Bordetella. So all of those things are things that you should have your pet vaccinated for. All right, Dr. Chrisman, what do you think about that?

 

30:33

I mean, I couldn't agree with you more. Of course, I tell everyone, we're veterinarians on backson. Aryans, and so you know, having that conversation. It's not a one size fits all again. But to your point, it says, Listen, I've had clients that literally live in high rise apartments and have their dogs that never touched the ground, you know, like little food poodle type things. So maybe we'll have a different conversation about some of those vaccines. But for the most part, I couldn't agree with you more about like, you know, because you just don't know these days, you just don't know. So you would rather just be more proactive than reactive.

 

31:06

Well, and the risk is huge, right? Like, so let's say, We're gonna vaccinate, right? It's gonna cost some money. So anywhere you are, okay, everything costs money, but it's gonna cost you a little money. But the cost of any one of those preventatives is a pittance compared to the risk, and the cost incurred, if your pet contracts any of those diseases. I mean, that's just a fact of life. And so, so people, you know, we need to vaccinate, right? What do you think, Jason?

 

31:41

Yes, I would agree, vaccinating all of your animals is a perfectly acceptable course of action. What do you mean a literal thing? Of course, you got to vaccinate all of the animals before you take them out? Or don't take them out. You have to do that. It's it's, it's called it's responsible pet. Being a pet parent, it's just being responsible, right? So especially if you go, especially if you go to the park for your you're guaranteed to see other other animals. I mean, it doesn't make any sense not to so

 

32:12

yeah, I think that's true. And we have another episode where we talk about how to safely make friends at a dog park, or how to safely go to a dog park with your pet. But that's one of the places a lot of people go these days to a dog park or something doggy daycare, something like that, for their pet to get some enrichment for the day. Oh, that's the other thing for dogs that have behavioral issues. I mean, exercise is great. Right?

 

32:39

Yeah, anxiety. I mean, I know we were talking about like, I host a winter walk twice a year, you might want to have more time to think it's what did he just say? So yeah, we have like over 200 doctrines and ducks and friends that come on the boardwalk. But the reason why I share that is because many of them are reached out. They said, Oh Adam, I don't think I'm gonna bring mine because like, he's not good with other dogs. I said, bring them. You know, the pack mentality is alive. And well, my friends. And like, all the time I swear, I'm not just making this up. They're like, Oh, my God, it worked. I said, I told you like, they know that they got to figure out their stuff. They want to have fun. They want to be part of like the cool kids where everybody walk. Yeah. So

 

33:21

no pressure, like peer pressure.

 

33:23

Exactly. Right. Afterwards, and they were saying like, it's cured them. I said, Yeah. Because they think they're like the hot stuff in the house. You know, because they want to, but then you bring around like, Oh, I'm not as cool as I thought I was. Or another cool

 

33:37

Actually Actually what what, what Adam thinks is when they say, Oh, that cured him out. I'm thinking No, I right. That's what I would be thinking for sure.

 

33:48

But but another piece of that, too, is it's, it's an interesting phenomenon when we like we were all shut in for several years. But if you if you have never taken your pet out for a walk or two, on a trail, like with you, or whatever, we're putting all these things in your head right now that you're like worried about this, where did that so you may have a little anxiety about it, your pet feels that anxiety. And so if you are anxious every time you take your pet out, so if the only time they leave the house is to go to the veterinarian where let's face it, a lot of owners are anxious at the vet. Because you're you know, you're concerned you feel like your vet is judging you. By the way, if you feel that way, get a new pet. And you're just you just you know, get little worried about the checkup. And they feel that and if that's the only time they ever leave the house when mom and dad are anxious, hey, maybe you're giving a little that anxiety to them. But you go for something like the Wiener walk. No one can be anxious at a wiener walk.

 

34:49

Right? No one can no one's allowed.

 

34:53

And so they make it they make it over now some of them may not. But they a lot of times if there's a bunch of more dogs there they're like well, I guess I was like, Shut it, you know, and I want everybody to jump on me.

 

35:04

It's true. I mean, how many times you see that we see a whole bunch of friends she's like, get together, they they enjoy being together dogs in general like the pack. But there is something to be said when they like small dogs, like small dogs beating me. Because sometimes they get intimidated by like, the larger like, whoa, you know, so but I do think that there is something to be said, we know that the research is there for pack mentality from when they go for walks. I mean, you see it all the time, we have a group around here, they do a bully walk with the pit bulls, they go up and down to the beach. And they, they Yeah, they meet like once or twice a week. And they always are commenting on how incredible their dogs are to their just net. And I mean, knock on wood, no separations. I know anxiety issues, they always talk about the other patterns knew how important it is, and it doesn't cost them anything. No, no, nothing, you know? Yeah.

 

35:54

But that's like that. But that's so a bit of enrichment for them, right? It's a mental stimulation, it's emotional stimulation. It's all those things that we get when we interact with other humans. And so it's important for dogs. And that's one reason I think it's very important to include them in your activities like that. Because rarely are we so low in those,

 

36:15

you know, you bring up a great point, too. You know, it's like that knock on the door when the doorbell rings, do you hear them run over? And I say this to everybody that comes over with dropping off like the whether it be the pager or package? I said, Can you just say hi to them, they just want to be right. That's really what it is to say hello, they're not attacking. And you're right. They are part of your family. We invite them to do so many different things with us all the time. The least we could do is take them out with us every now and then for that enrichment. So it's a really good point you just mentioned I didn't think of it that way. So I love that.

 

36:46

Yeah, yep. Yep. So let's talk about swimming for a minute. Let's talk about swimming. So because you did bring it up, and I love that, so I had a dog that was afraid to swim right up until she wasn't right now because that's not really sure about water because you know, she has smashed face she's the farm fresh fringy but she has a little life jacket now so I'm hoping she'll get more accustomed to it. But my my border collies when we would go trail, you know, hiking, they would just jump in any puddle that was there any like, especially to lay down and roll in the mud puddle, and then they would go jump in the lake. And I use the word Lake very broadly. And so I think we have to be concerned about what water are they getting it?

 

37:40

Right. Yeah,

 

37:42

in Florida, we have to be concerned with what else is hit the water with.

 

37:47

Legit, right?

 

37:49

only imagine. And, you know, with my clients, we're by the ocean. So we do see a lot of salt toxicity that happens actually have dogs that are ingesting water. Wow, yeah. Below consent, I had a yellow lab that I could have swore looks like he was pregnant. And electrolyte is flat out and everything to just crazy. And then we had to like pump this abdomen. Right did fine. But like we do see salt toxicity that happens. So you're right. So the types of water that they're in. And if they're in the pool, some of them with the chlorine can actually be a little damaging to their skin, it can be scarier. So I always recommend if you can pose them down afterwards, just to kind of get some of that chlorine off of them. Because sometimes they're a little sensitive. So

 

38:32

with another essential dogs Hello.

 

38:37

Not everything is about the French Bulldogs. Okay, not everything.

 

38:43

I've kind of feel like it is.

 

38:46

So should we, you know, as responsible pet owners should should we be scared to take him it's another conversation to have with with your veterinarian who I guess should have you know, will probably have a good amount of information for the local situation. If you live a lot, if you live if you if you live along the ocean or on the beach, then they're going to know Hey, be careful this watch for this all that kind of stuff. So just another conversation to have with you. But But it's not just throw them in the water without you know, reckless abandon. Right?

 

39:15

Right. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I like that, you know, Jen was talking about like a life jacket. Of course you want to use your due diligence, you know, get them fitted, you go to any major pet store to just saving a couple of months to see what their size is. I mean, dioxins are just weird, you know, like they're missing. Yes. Okay. All right. So yes, they just have a crummy core. So but yeah, so let's

 

39:43

work on that core. That's assuming. Right.

 

39:49

Well, Betsy, but it really so I guess I'm focused on brachiocephalic for the Smash face dogs because they're and they have a giant head, right and so it is difficult for them to hold their head up. It's not like a dachshund where they've got that giant long nose where they can just go like this and their nose is already six feet in the air. And so holding their head up so that the water doesn't get in their nose is difficult. So you have to recognize that and that's why those some of those life jackets are made specially with a little floaty under the chin so that it helped buoy that giant head up. And so we're you know, making sure you have that, again, vaccinating appropriately, making sure that you let your veterinarian know that this is becoming a part of your pets lifestyle, because we see things like giardia, right, which is a GI parasite you could get, we see things like lepto in those pools, because hey, are in those ponds, I hope you don't see it in your pool, in ponds and lakes and puddles where wildlife have urinated and passed on. Left lepto and you can't see it, they can't taste it right. And so you end up with that. So you need to make sure that your veterinarian knows so that they can appropriately prepare your pet so they don't get that, right.

 

41:09

I like that you mentioned that you have that conversation with a veterinarian. I just remembered I had a yellow Labrador Retriever. And I was trying to figure out why this dog was getting fleas. And she's like, I just don't understand entrevista. And she's like, I put the flea tick preventative on topically, then I swim him in the water. And I'm like, when did you when did you start doing that weight backup per se, you know, like,

 

41:29

what order was?

 

41:32

Approved, but then I throw I throw him in the pool? Like, I don't? I don't want to go. Yeah, yeah. But it's great to talk about those because maybe there might be breakthrough and leading to prevented either like the colors depending on how long it's been applied, or whatever. So I think that's a really key point to have that conversation like this just started swimming ago, we started exercising more, because maybe you're seeing some inflammation in the joints potentially. So there's a whole bunch of

 

42:00

things. Yeah, and there's a lot of things that you can do about that as well with the inflammation, especially with our older pets. You know, but also, joint inflammation is not limited to older pets or older people. So, again, talk to your veterinarian if your dog is lethargic after you pick up this new exercise regimen. You know, that could be that they're a little achy, they're a little achy. And always make sure that water is available, and give them a moment to drink the water. Okay.

 

42:32

So you know, that's a great point. I see. I think that's a great point when especially because the majority of activity that people are going to be doing with their pets is going to be running. It's just It's easy. It's fun to do. You can you can you can see the dog having a great time. Yes. And then you stop and you have a drink of your water. You know, I'll make sure they get a little drink to bring something they could drink it out of right. I think that's probably forgotten. Some for sure. So, yeah,

 

42:58

I liked the bowls that they now have to you know, they

 

43:00

have a lapse of one, right?

 

43:03

Yeah. All those things that you can bring even the Yeti bowls to tend to keep things nice and cool. So there's even I gotta send you one in both of you guys gotta get a leash leash. Have you heard of this too? This is like a It's a funny thing. So it's like, you put the leash handling not a retractable but you put any lock it in, but it holds 16 ounces of water in the handle of it. Oh, wow. border that's in there. But it also has a pew pew pew. So like if you have a coyote or somebody coming at you like No, no, no.

 

43:36

That's what I would do if a call is coming out to me.

 

43:42

Is it a supersoaker level stream versus just like a

 

43:48

QQ kind of a thing? You can see

 

43:56

you get to and it's like wait, you could do some?

 

43:58

Oh yeah, like the heavy hands member those from the 80s the heavy hands. Yes, yes. That's awesome. That's interesting. I had not heard of that. That's an incredible product.

 

44:17

Yeah, it's cool until you use it too. If like they have mud on their paws or whatever you could like, you know, kind of Oh, I

 

44:24

like that idea better. That's good. Yeah, that's great. Oh,

 

44:29

I'll send you a couple so you can get them because you'll love them.

 

44:33

Yeah, and then and then do you know what? Cuz that will then provide me is a list of dogs and or people that should be shot with the species. Besides the coyotes.

 

44:47

Coyotes Varrick. What's happened or New Jersey with the cars coming after you love it. Or Why on earth are you running my friend he's running you know Oh coyotes coming after you. Okay, I'll drop the coyotes. I dropped it. I'm sorry, I

 

45:05

dropped the coyotes dropped the coyotes. Okay, so I'm gonna I'm gonna give a number right here. So for our pack friends that are listening your pack C E, course number for this podcast is C C like Charlie cc 220010. All right, cc 220010 Is your pack course, CEE number. And of course, we love partnering with them to provide that for you. So tell them that you like it. Anyway. So let's see what other I think that's basically all the that's all the tips that I had. Dr. Dr. Adam, what is your favorite thing to share with pet owners or the thing you wish every one of them knew about fitness and pets?

 

45:53

Um, well, I think that exercise is, you know, for me, the reason why I'm very passionate about is because it's good for mental health stimulation for me. And it's a big thing for all of us that are tuning and we all just need, whether it be just a walk, just a time to decompress. And you know what, you know who else needs it, your dog, your dog needs that mental stimulation. And it just can't be the same walk every day and the same location, you got to change it up. We talked about enrichment, we talked about engagement. And it really, really does mean the whole effect because no one wants to put their dog on a drug just yet if it's behavioral issues. So the easiest, the easiest thing that you could do is exercise and provide an environment. It's my biggest platform I always talk about is I always say, and then some of the owners will say why have about a two acre backyard. I said, but it's not Alicia. It's not a walk. You're not giving them purpose different,

 

46:45

right? Yeah, it's

 

46:46

totally different.

 

46:48

So you got to, you know, walk with them. You got to bond with him. Jen, you said it so eloquently earlier about the whole human animal bond. It really is so crucial. You know, it's you're taking care of both ends on that leash. Dog. It's true. You know,

 

47:03

the old phrase like the family that blanks together like filling your favorite activity. Right? Yeah. stays together. Well, it's true for like your furry pet family members, too. So you got to include them. You've got to include them once and for all. Dr. Adam Chrisman. This has been a wonderful chat all about fitness and pets, among other things. So we want to say thank you so much for joining us here the chat room today.

 

47:35

Oh, thank you to both of you. It's just so much fun and a pleasure.

 

47:38

Yes. And we hope, folks, don't worry, we're going to we we are going to use the species to get him back. We will definitely pewpewpew with the species if he doesn't come back to the chat room and talk with us again. But that is all we have for you today. I'm Dr. Jenn the vet, Dr. Jason and we'll see you guys on the next episode.

 

48:01

Episode is brought to you by full bucket veterinary strength supplements the leader in digestive health for dogs, cats and horses,

 

48:10

Merck animal health the makers of Novak vaccine