Speaker 1: It's Maria's MutS and Stuff.
Speaker 2: What a great idea on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 1: Welcome to Maria's Mutts and Stuff. And with me today
Speaker 1: is the Chief Nutrition Officer of bow Wow Labs, JOHNA.
Speaker 3: Devereaux.
Speaker 1: So, John, I know you're very, very busy, so I
Speaker 1: really appreciate that you took some time out today to
Speaker 1: talk about pet stuff. First, let's talk about your job
Speaker 1: at bow Wow Labs. Tell us exactly what your job.
Speaker 4: What your job is, yes, So, as the chief nutrition officer,
Speaker 4: I am primarily there to write blogs and educate and
Speaker 4: form pet parents how to best support their dog's health
Speaker 4: about dog focus. So I do focus mainly on dogs,
Speaker 4: and then as future products come out, I am an
Speaker 4: integral role in the formulation of those products.
Speaker 3: Got it.
Speaker 1: You have a very crucial job when it comes to dogs,
Speaker 1: for sure. So I know that Pet Choking Prevention Day
Speaker 1: was this past Saturday, the twenty second, But basically that's
Speaker 1: something pet parents should be concerned with three hundred and
Speaker 1: sixty five days a year, twenty four to seven. Correct,
Speaker 1: I mean right, there's always that chance God forbid. So
Speaker 1: let's talk a little bit about that because I know
Speaker 1: you are pretty much of an expert in that.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Absolutely, I think awareness is the way that you prevent this,
Speaker 4: because if we think about it, choking is one hundred
Speaker 4: percent preventable.
Speaker 1: So I read a stat Is this true that you
Speaker 1: know pet parents spend on VET bills like four hundred
Speaker 1: and fifty million dollars on choking when they're pet Is
Speaker 1: that a correct number?
Speaker 3: Because it's crazy.
Speaker 4: Well, there's and there's over a million visits to veterinarian
Speaker 4: hospitals and emergency clinics each year due to choking alone,
Speaker 4: which is it's incredible. And what's most incredible is that
Speaker 4: no one really has been talking about this.
Speaker 2: All right, that's.
Speaker 4: Something you know, your alarms to hear that, and that
Speaker 4: is the reaction of most pet parents are like, what
Speaker 4: do you mean?
Speaker 2: Dogs can choke? And it is a very common occurrence.
Speaker 1: Sure, I mean I know it is just from having
Speaker 1: dogs all these years. But I was just blown away
Speaker 1: by the number and also over a million pet visits
Speaker 1: and you're right, it's not very I feel like it's
Speaker 1: one of those things that's not talked about a lot
Speaker 1: actually at all.
Speaker 4: Right, right, it's not, and it's you know, I think
Speaker 4: when you create awareness, then you are allowing and empowering
Speaker 4: a pet parent to be the best pet parent they
Speaker 4: can be and setting up dogs for success and cats too.
Speaker 4: You know, it's a little bit different. Dogs normally, what
Speaker 4: they're going to choke on most of the time is
Speaker 4: going to be food related versus cats, which are going
Speaker 4: to be non food related. And so when we think
Speaker 4: about how dogs are going to choke, it's because they're
Speaker 4: either getting a chew or treat that is too small,
Speaker 4: or if it's a long term chew, you know, they're
Speaker 4: putting it in their pause and when they get down
Speaker 4: to that last one inch they no longer have that
Speaker 4: tactile ability to hold on to it, so they put
Speaker 4: it in their mouth and then they usually swallow it whole.
Speaker 4: And that can present a variety of different potential hazards.
Speaker 2: One being a full.
Speaker 4: Obstruction where there is no air going down the trachea,
Speaker 4: so there's sutt of stress and there's panic, but they're
Speaker 4: not breathing. It can also be potentially a partial obstruction,
Speaker 4: so you know, it's not as much of an emergency
Speaker 4: per se, but it's still an emergency.
Speaker 2: Right Sure, your dog is getting the breathing.
Speaker 4: Is labored, but it hasn't completely stopped, but there is
Speaker 4: that partial obstruction. And then the i'll say best case
Speaker 4: scenario with air quotes, it would be in a steel
Speaker 4: obstruction where it has gone down into the esophagus and
Speaker 4: has become lodged, thinking like perpendicular to the esophagus. So
Speaker 4: you'll notice that your dog is potentially, you know, rubbing
Speaker 4: their net against the rug trying to kind of move
Speaker 4: something down their throat. All three occurrences would obviously require
Speaker 4: veterinary care even been able to remove the obstruction, which
Speaker 4: I'd like to talk about in a minute, but you
Speaker 4: know that's going to be the way for food and treats.
Speaker 4: And then another really common occurrence with dogs are balls.
Speaker 4: People love to play ball with their dogs as much
Speaker 4: as their dogs love to play ball, but a lot
Speaker 4: of people are giving balls that are too small for
Speaker 4: their dogs. I really should not fit inside a dog's
Speaker 4: mouth because if it does, has the potential to go
Speaker 4: right up against that airway if they're too aggressive as
Speaker 4: they go to catch it in the air, and that
Speaker 4: can block that that airway. So cats, it's a little
Speaker 4: bit different. We think like tinsel, hair bands, hair ties,
Speaker 4: plastic bags or plastic pieces because they're just mischievous and
Speaker 4: get into everything and just try to swallow.
Speaker 3: The right but just as bad.
Speaker 2: Yeah, hazard it sure.
Speaker 1: I mean I'm honestly, as you're talking and talking about it,
Speaker 1: it just brought back a memory of and my last dog.
Speaker 1: I stopped giving him raw hide the raw hide sticks
Speaker 1: because you know, we know, and we're eating something when
Speaker 1: you get to the end, like if you're eating a popsicle,
Speaker 1: you stop when you get actually to the you know,
Speaker 1: the cardboard thing, whatever, the wooden stick. But with a dog,
Speaker 1: they just keep going and I just remember, you know,
Speaker 1: the dog is like is choking. So yeah, I mean,
Speaker 1: just listening to you, it's bringing back all those memories,
Speaker 1: and I just the easiest thing was okay, I'm just
Speaker 1: not going to give this to you anymore.
Speaker 3: Sorry, you know.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I had a similar experience, and I think a
Speaker 4: lot of pet parents have and we do tend to
Speaker 4: kind of push it out of our mind. Luckily for me,
Speaker 4: I didn't have you know, any hazard vet resulted in
Speaker 4: my dog's going to the vet. But the same was
Speaker 4: with bully sticks, and I took bully sticks away. It
Speaker 4: was only when I started working for bow Wow Labs
Speaker 4: and understood they were there was a safety device, right
Speaker 4: that was meant to hold these sticks to prevent them
Speaker 4: getting to that last one inch. And I jokingly say,
Speaker 4: you know, the Bowou Buddy and working at Bowou Labs
Speaker 4: brought ballistics back into my dog's lot.
Speaker 2: Eve.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, and the c's.
Speaker 2: Been happier ever since.
Speaker 4: Sure, there's a lot of devices on the market now
Speaker 4: that are you know, available that provide that sense of
Speaker 4: security with the asterisk. Right, No matter how much you do,
Speaker 4: you should never leave your dog unattended with something consumable.
Speaker 2: I have a rule that.
Speaker 4: I live by if if I give my dog a
Speaker 4: treat and I can't get to the front door, look
Speaker 4: back and see that it is completely swallowed and consumed,
Speaker 4: I do not give that treat because anything, if you
Speaker 4: think about it, could be a choking hazard. If you
Speaker 4: have you know, an aggressive chewer, or an excitable cheer,
Speaker 4: or an inhaler. You know, some of a dog that
Speaker 4: gulps even the smallest of treats can go down, you know,
Speaker 4: and issues.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you always be.
Speaker 4: Aware of the duration that something takes to be consumed
Speaker 4: and make sure you're there because if something goes wrong,
Speaker 4: you can actually act and help to prevent what could
Speaker 4: be a tragedy.
Speaker 3: Right right now, it's a very good rule. I like that.
Speaker 3: I'm gonna remember that. That's good.
Speaker 1: It's common sense, but it makes sense, and it's probably
Speaker 1: it's one of those rules that's so simple.
Speaker 3: But a lot of people don't think about it.
Speaker 4: Well, a lot of people think, you know that I'm
Speaker 4: going you know, I'm leaving the house, my dog's gonna
Speaker 4: be bored, and they use consumable choes with dogs specifically
Speaker 4: to entertain them in their absence, right, And what I
Speaker 4: charge people to do is that's a great idea, but
Speaker 4: let's not do it in that capacity. Let's leave out
Speaker 4: a lick matt. Let's leave out you know, a frozen
Speaker 4: tree filled puzzle toy or something. They're not going to
Speaker 4: have that potential to swallow it whole or a piece
Speaker 4: of it the wrong way, because that would be I mean,
Speaker 4: that would be the worst way to come home.
Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, of course, every pet owner's nightmare. I mean,
Speaker 1: you're right, the absolute worst.
Speaker 3: But no, but that's it. That's a very good that's
Speaker 3: very smart.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there are there are so many alternatives then leaving
Speaker 1: you know, your dog behind with something that you think, oh,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna leave him with a bully stick or raw
Speaker 1: hide or whatever so he doesn't chew the couch, and
Speaker 1: it's like, no, not a good idea. Yeah, right, So
Speaker 1: those are all very good for people to know about
Speaker 1: to prevent a dog choking. What this is probably common
Speaker 1: sense because my thought is anytime my dog was choking,
Speaker 1: it would be to open his mouth and get whatever
Speaker 1: he's choking on out of his throat. Is that the
Speaker 1: first best thing that we can all do?
Speaker 4: Well, I would say the first thing that you have
Speaker 4: to do is stay calm, right of course, yes. Or
Speaker 4: you know, dogs and cats their energy beings and they're
Speaker 4: going to feel your energy if you're stressed and if
Speaker 4: you're nervous, correct to be cautious, especially around dogs, because
Speaker 4: if they are in a state of distress.
Speaker 2: They could unintentionally bite.
Speaker 4: Should just be you want to open wealth and you
Speaker 4: want to look in before you just start randomly putting
Speaker 4: your finger in their mouth, because if something is blocking
Speaker 4: the airway and you can see it, you may be
Speaker 4: able to do they call a finger sweep, where you
Speaker 4: take your finger and come from the side and remove
Speaker 4: it from the airway. But you have to be really
Speaker 4: careful because there is the potential that you push it
Speaker 4: down further. So you have to be calm, and you
Speaker 4: have to be, you know, very much in a state
Speaker 4: of is this something that I can do? And if not,
Speaker 4: have someone you know driving a car as you're on
Speaker 4: the phone with your pet with you, or if you're alone,
Speaker 4: get in the car with your pet and immediately calling
Speaker 4: as you're driving, because time.
Speaker 2: Is a essence. Sure, but I alas encourage every pet
Speaker 2: parent to do a CPR class.
Speaker 4: There are a lot of classes that are online right now,
Speaker 4: you can't. I prefer to do them in person because
Speaker 4: I like actually being able to work on a mannequin.
Speaker 4: I feel like, just for myself personally, it just kind
Speaker 4: of sank in all of the techniques. But just having
Speaker 4: that that level of education as to what to do
Speaker 4: makes you better prepared. God forbid you ever need it.
Speaker 4: And so it's not as you're not as panic stricken.
Speaker 3: Right and you're talking about a human CPR.
Speaker 1: Class, correct, Oh, a specific one for animals?
Speaker 2: Okay, so American Red Cross has them.
Speaker 4: You can I mean, gosh, what's available today that wasn't
Speaker 4: twenty years ago? Sure, go on, just say PETSPR course
Speaker 4: in my in my area, and you'll probably find four
Speaker 4: or five that you can go to or ask your
Speaker 4: vet if they know of someone reputable. And I would,
Speaker 4: I would highly encourage everyone that has a pet to
Speaker 4: go out there and take a pet CPR class.
Speaker 1: That's a great idea. That's really a great idea. I
Speaker 1: don't know why, and even of course I just write
Speaker 1: it right away. Assume of a person one and you
Speaker 1: kind of use the same techniques, but of course it's
Speaker 1: very different with an animal.
Speaker 2: You know, how the how the animal is going to
Speaker 2: be laid down.
Speaker 4: Sure, a person act is on the ground, you have
Speaker 4: to have an animal on a certain side, So it
Speaker 4: is it is very different. Yeah, I mean similar ideas,
Speaker 4: but different, but different of course.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, no, that's that's real. I mean that's genius.
Speaker 3: Of course, it's common sense.
Speaker 1: That's a great idea, And especially now you know in
Speaker 1: this time there are a lot more classes and things
Speaker 1: available that you're right, twenty plus years ago he didn't
Speaker 1: have as well as the Internet that you can always
Speaker 1: search for the classes, you know, as opposed to going
Speaker 1: through a phone book way back when. Yeah, I just
Speaker 1: totally dated myself on that. One because I'm sure I
Speaker 1: know there are people who are listening to go, what's
Speaker 1: a phone book? But these are great tips. So let's
Speaker 1: talk a little bit. Because I went to bow Wow Labs,
Speaker 1: I went to your website and I saw the device
Speaker 1: and I had never seen that before. So let's talk
Speaker 1: a little bit about the device that you know holds
Speaker 1: onto the stick so to help prevent the animal from choking.
Speaker 1: Because I have to be honest, I never saw that
Speaker 1: before and I'm like, wow, that's so cool.
Speaker 2: Well, we created the category.
Speaker 4: So back in twenty eighteen, we were the first brand
Speaker 4: to ever come up with a safety device, and within
Speaker 4: the last twelve to eighteen months, there's been a lot
Speaker 4: of companies that have come on board because we basically
Speaker 4: had to, you know, create the niche in the pet
Speaker 4: space and to provide the education as to why it
Speaker 4: was so important and how it would help people. And
Speaker 4: it all started because the founder had been giving his
Speaker 4: dog a bully stick and left the room and the
Speaker 4: dog was choking and he rushed the dogs the veterinarian.
Speaker 4: Thank god, you know, the dog survived and at leaving
Speaker 4: he said, you know, what do I do? Because I
Speaker 4: want to give my dog the benefits and the vet said, no,
Speaker 4: just don't give a bully stick ever again. And the
Speaker 4: pet parent went, you know, Scott is his name went
Speaker 4: back and was like, well, I don't like that answer,
Speaker 4: which I wouldn't have liked that answer, sure.
Speaker 3: Of course, of course.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's like, well, don't ever own a dog again, Like, oh, okay,
Speaker 1: that's not the answer, right, right.
Speaker 2: That's not going to work for me at home.
Speaker 4: And he saw the only thing online regarding advice was
Speaker 4: to give it advice gripts, which is a big no, right,
Speaker 4: don't ever give vice grips attached to a coople to
Speaker 4: your dog because they'll bite on it and break it
Speaker 4: two day.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So he designed.
Speaker 4: This safety device where it allows the dog to put
Speaker 4: their paws on top to get all of the benefits
Speaker 4: of long term choes like bully sticks and collagen sticks
Speaker 4: and cheese chews without that tazard of swallowing that last
Speaker 4: one inch. And I will say a lot of people say, well,
Speaker 4: if it's so much of a risk, why give my
Speaker 4: dog a chew? Right, It's a very understandable question, and
Speaker 4: I think it's one that makes sense. The oder is
Speaker 4: that providing choose to dogs offers a variety of benefits.
Speaker 4: So it offers mental stimulation. As we kind of mentioned earlier,
Speaker 4: the act of chewing actually stimulates and releases neurotransmitters that
Speaker 4: helps to relieve stress and anxiety. It's one of those
Speaker 4: reasons that when dogs are stressed, they're chewing on stuff, correct,
Speaker 4: So if an appropriate outlet to chew, and it also
Speaker 4: provides a mechanical action in the mouth to help reduce
Speaker 4: plaque and to stimulate saliva, which is going to provide
Speaker 4: oral health benefits. And then of course our dogs love,
Speaker 4: you know, love to chew on things, right for all
Speaker 4: of the above reasons, but also because it tastes good,
Speaker 4: So you know, I think the fact of the matter
Speaker 4: is is that the bow Wow Buddy provides a solution
Speaker 4: to a common issue and still allows a dog to
Speaker 4: have all of the benefits and enjoyment of the chewing experience, which,
Speaker 4: let's be honest, it's it's instinctual.
Speaker 2: Of course they're trying to chew, So.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, that makes sense. It's it's true.
Speaker 1: No, it's very true, and you're right, I mean, it's
Speaker 1: what it Besides all of the benefits for a dog
Speaker 1: to chew, it's what they're meant to do. You know,
Speaker 1: it's like dogs need a job and all the things
Speaker 1: that people don't realize, like, oh, you mean, it's not
Speaker 1: just here to lay around my house so I can
Speaker 1: pet it. No, that's not the only reason, you know,
Speaker 1: So you could keep your dog very happy. And if
Speaker 1: your dog is happy, then you will be happy because
Speaker 1: your dog is probably satisfied.
Speaker 3: And not destructive.
Speaker 1: And that, you know, because too many dogs wind up
Speaker 1: back in shelters because people don't know how.
Speaker 3: To deal with a dog being a dog, right.
Speaker 2: They don't, they don't understand it.
Speaker 4: I mean, I hate to say it, but it's very
Speaker 4: common that dogs aren't getting the exercise they need exact
Speaker 4: And one of that's great about chewing is that mental
Speaker 4: simulation does kind of tire them out.
Speaker 2: Yes, really, you know, as.
Speaker 4: A as a clinical pet nutritionist, I'm going to say,
Speaker 4: you know, you give them the choose, but you also
Speaker 4: have to modify the lifestyle to make her a happy dog. Right,
Speaker 4: you have to give them what they what craven are
Speaker 4: designed for, which is to move exactly.
Speaker 1: Know you're you're you're so correct in so many ways.
Speaker 1: I mean, I feel like we can say this until
Speaker 1: we're blue in the face and people are starting to
Speaker 1: realize it more than before. But yes, and that doesn't
Speaker 1: mean just letting your dog out in the backyard to
Speaker 1: run around a little bit to do its business and
Speaker 1: come back. That's not the exercise it needs, you know.
Speaker 4: And I mean it's absolutely not. And I will say
Speaker 4: one of the most beautiful things about having a partnership
Speaker 4: with with dogs different than cats for obvious reasons. But
Speaker 4: with dogs is you mentioned earlier that they're not just
Speaker 4: there so that we can pet them.
Speaker 3: And love them.
Speaker 4: Is bi directional and there is no better way to
Speaker 4: bond with your dog than to enjoy nature with them.
Speaker 4: Too many of us are stuck inside and we don't
Speaker 4: breathe oxygen, and we don't get sunlight anymore. We're just
Speaker 4: like we become in our surroundings. And having a dog
Speaker 4: allows you an opportunity to have an excuse I have
Speaker 4: to go outside right, bond and you both get to
Speaker 4: enjoy the exercise. You know, You're both bodies end up
Speaker 4: benefiting from being opizing together.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I mean, and you can talk to any
Speaker 1: dog behaviorists, any dog trainer. That's the rule one oh one.
Speaker 1: Take your dog out for a walk, and it's great
Speaker 1: for you as well. Walking's the best exercise. You know,
Speaker 1: everybody always wants to be in better shape. Take your
Speaker 1: dog out for a walk, and you're right, it's all connected.
Speaker 4: So and if you're bored, get a weighted vest that'll
Speaker 4: make your work out happen.
Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, yes, yes, absolutely no, you're right. You're
Speaker 1: so right on all of this, all these points, but
Speaker 1: especially on that. So okay, So for my listeners who
Speaker 1: are intrigued, just like I was, by the bow Wow buddy,
Speaker 1: you can definitely check it out at bow Wow labs
Speaker 1: dot com because I thought that was a really cool
Speaker 1: It's a cool little gadget and it's perfect and for
Speaker 1: all the reasons that you can still like you said
Speaker 1: that you should and still could give a stick to
Speaker 1: your dog. So well, JOHNA, this has been very informative,
Speaker 1: and I really do appreciate all of your knowledge, and
Speaker 1: you know, from all of your knowledge and expertise in
Speaker 1: this and sharing it with us, because you know, like
Speaker 1: you said, dogs can choke, cats can choke all year.
Speaker 1: It's not just because the prevention Day was one day
Speaker 1: in June. So right, yeah, well, thank you, and I
Speaker 1: do appreciate you so Johnna Devereaux, thank you for all
Speaker 1: your expertise as always and as I said before, definitely
Speaker 1: check out bow Wow labs dot com for more information.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
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