Speaker 1: This is pet Life Radio. Let's Talk Pets.
Speaker 2: Hello, pet lovers, Welcome to Best Best for Pets. I'm
your show host Michelle Fern. Today we're going to talk
to a representative at Zoetis, and Zoetis has created a
breed explore that is so much fun and it's really
helpful to decide what is the best breed for you
for a dog or for a cat. Which one gels
with you, really hits your lifestyle. Stay tuned, we'll be
right back.
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Speaker 4: Talk pets on Petlifradio dot com.
Speaker 2: Welcome back, everyone, I'd like to welcome my guest today,
doctor Heather Burst. She is the medical lead at Zoetis,
who is the global leader in animal health, and we're
going to talk about the Zoetis reed Explore. Welcome, doctor Heather.
I'm so happy to have you on the show. Is
it okay if I call you doctor Heather? Absolutely so,
Doctor Heather, I'm so so excited have you on Best
Bets for Pets. So for those of us that have
not heard about Zoetis, who is Zoetis? And then let's
talk about what the Zoetis breed Explore is.
Speaker 5: Yeah, now that sounds great.
Speaker 6: You know, Zoetis is a global animal health company and
we make products for dogs and cats and other species
of animals as well, and we really like to support,
you know, the human animal bond and bring some really
good resources to dog and cat owners.
Speaker 2: Okay, great, thanks for sharing that information with our listeners.
Let's talk about the breed Explore because I think it's
really cool and we are focused on all pets, so
I think it's so important to know what you're getting.
And you don't always know what you're getting with mutts,
but a lot of people will decide, you know, oh,
I just love Jack Russell's they're my favorite, or I
just love it Sphinx, you know, for for cats, not
realizing how high maintenance they are. So I made that
mistake too. I really wanted Sphinx till I found out
more about them and thought I can't commit.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I have a Chinese crusted dog, so I can
empathize with that a Chinese.
Speaker 2: I've seen that a Chinese custed at the dog park.
I was a long time ago. But they're they're so
cool looking. So you can do research, but you have
to go all over the place. So why did Zoetis decide?
You know, I know they're into animal health and wealth there,
but why did they decide we need a breed explore?
Speaker 6: Yeah, you know what, there's so many new cat and
dog owners both around and frequently I think people make
the mistake of they see a cat breed or a
dog breed on TV or in a movie and they're like, Hey,
that's a really cool breed.
Speaker 5: I'm gonna go get it, you know, not really thinking.
Speaker 6: Through that that breed might be to do a job
or function. It doesn't really fit with their family and
their lifestyle.
Speaker 5: So you know, one thing that Zoetas.
Speaker 6: Wanted to do was get a veterinary approved resource that
would really help people who are going out to get
a new pet understand, you know, the unique needs and
what qualities like different breeds might bring to the plate.
Speaker 5: You know, there's a lot of information out there online
and you know, sometimes it can be really challenging to
figure out what are the best resources to find out
information about animal breeds. So, you know, Zoetas wanted to.
Speaker 6: Come out with this veterinary approved, an assessed site that
has over four hundred dog and cat breeds on it
and will give personalized insights to the pet owner about
different animals that might meet their lifestyle.
Speaker 2: Okay, thanks, I like these said VET approved. So how
does the Breed Explore connect with Zoetis's overall mission and
pet health and responsible pet ownership? And in addition the
fact that the Breed Explorer is BET approved. But how
does this all connect together with let's make sure that
the we're really focused on pet health and responsible pet ownership.
I'd like that word responsible.
Speaker 5: Yeah, and I agree with you.
Speaker 6: I think you know, responsible and I would say informed
pet ownership is really critical.
Speaker 5: You know, we want to be able to.
Speaker 6: Strengthen an animal bond and we can do that we
learn by providing guidance, health tips, some education are all
tools and resources. It will help those pet owners understand,
you know, which pet is going to be best for
their family. And you know, beyond linking to the Breed
Explorer when that potential pet owner is going through the
process of trying to think which animal is you know
best for their life lifestyle, it would also link out
to some other zoetas resources that have things like, for example,
if you're bringing a new kitten home a checklist for
things you might want to think about, or if you're
bringing a new puppy home, you know, what's a checklist?
How do you puppyproof for kitten proof of home? You know,
So that it's going to link out to a whole
bunch of other really nice resources. And we have a
team of many veterinarians who work with myself and myself
and peers have gone through the information that they are
both the resources and on a Breed Explorer. Just you
need to make sure they're accurate to make sure the
pet owners are getting the best information possible.
Speaker 2: Okay, thank you. So the Breed Explorer has over four
hundred breeds. What kind of data can you share with
our listening audience that is included for each breed?
Speaker 6: Yeah, no, that was great, and I can tell you
when we first started getting all the data set, it
was even impressive to me as a federal arian, the
amount of information that we had on different breeds. But
you can look for things like energy level, family friendliness,
potentially being hypoallergenic qualities, size, will they be good with kids?
You know, and again that's an individual thing, but in generalities.
Speaker 5: Which types of pets might be better in households with kids?
Were they going to be great city pets or do
they need to be you know, running outside grooming considerations.
We were talking about sphinxes earlier. You know, that's one
that pops on my radar that might have some extra
skin issues. Also, you know, potential health considerations.
Speaker 6: There's some breeds of both cats and dogs that I adore,
but I think owners need to be you know, aware
of different health considerations that they might be getting into,
things to look out for as those pets age, so
they can find you know, kind of all those pieces
of information on this Pet Explorer site.
Speaker 2: Okay, thanks, I think there's great information. And one of
the things that always is, you know, top of mine
for me is that people that are adopting, the more
they're aware of what they're adopting getting into. You know,
it's not a toy you buy in return. Because puppies
grow up to be dogs, kiddies grow up to be cats,
and sometimes people are not informed. I'll give you a
little bit history. I mentioned Sphinx earlier. There was a
listener that wanted to give me a Sphinx. She wasn't
in the same state, but they could be pricey, and
I was really considering it, and it wasn't so much
that they're I know, they're high maintenance. You know, for
a cat that has no fur, their skin gets oily.
You have to bathe them offen. They're just high maintenance
little cats. They need to be around you all the time.
What got me is concerned is the fact that I
have three other cats and one is not so nice,
and a sphinx has no fur, so one claw and
that poor little cat will be scratched. And you know
there's other things too. They have to clean their ears
a certain ways, to other high maintenance things. But the
idea that even that there was a thought that one
of my cats might attack this poor little kitten concern me.
So for that reason, I decided to not adopt the cat,
because the little Sphinx kitten, because I don't want to
bring a kitten into my home that could be, you know,
hurt by one of my other cats. And it's very easy,
as we all know, those of us that have cats,
one little swipe and you have a cut, right, So
can imagine that for a kitten. So that was what
changed my mind. It wasn't so much, it was kind
of knowing the breed and making sure that I was
aware of what everything I was getting into. And I
think knowing that can help people make informed decisions. You know,
like you said, family friendly, high energy. You know, if
you're not a high energy person, don't get a high
energy kitty or breed, or high energy dog like a
Jack Russell, because you know, unless you're planning to go
the dog parks six times a week at least, forget it.
So I think these are really important in helping people
retain ownership, not just you know, adopt and decide, Ah,
this dog's not for me or cat's not for me.
What are your thoughts on that.
Speaker 5: One hundred percent agree.
Speaker 6: And you know, one thing I will say, I'm super
impressed with what you were telling me about the sphinx
because you know, I think most people when they look
at the breed explorer would learn the skin cares a lot.
But I'm even pressed that you thought even further down
the line and how you know another cat scratch could
be more detrimental to that new kitten. So that to me,
what you your story is Florida one of the cornerstones
of good you know, good health owners, you know, good
pet stewardship and being a good pet owner and thinking
through you know, the last thing that we want is
for somebody to get a dog or cat and realize
it doesn't fit with their lifestyle, that it's not working
out for them, and have to try and find a
different house for the animal. You know, being prepared even
from training on up or what you're gonna get with
that breed is critical. You know, every time a movie
comes out with a certain you know, dogg or cat breed,
the we vets will find people coming in with puppies
of that and you know, depending on a dogger cat breeds,
sometimes we're like okay, And sometimes it can be a
more challenging breed to train, or a breed that's known
to have some more potential health problems. That's frustrating that
the people aren't, you know, getting informed about potential issues
with that breed down the line. So I do think
you know, it's important and to plan your pet's life
and to plan your pets care early on whether you
buy one or you know, adopt an older one that
you know is a certain breed.
Speaker 5: I think that's critical.
Speaker 2: Okay, So doctor Heather, how do you assure that the
breed House and the care information is current and accurate?
Speaker 6: You know, we're always continually, you know, updating the Breed
Explore looking at it.
Speaker 5: You know, there's a lot of veterinary research that goes
on a lot of journal articles that get published, so
making sure that we really regularly look at that content,
make sure it's relevant, reliable, you know. I know I
personally have edited some other content on there.
Speaker 6: A few times since it's been up, just to make
sure that we're giving pet owners the most accurate And
we'll look at beyond the Breed Explorer, We'll look at
all of our resources we have for pet owners pretty regularly,
and as trends chain, as information changes with pet ownership,
we update those.
Speaker 5: To reflect that.
Speaker 2: Okay, thank you so much, stay tuned. We'll be right
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Speaker 2: Welcome back to everyone. We talked in the first half
about the Zoetis Breed Explorer. We're gonna talk a little
more about that. So Doctorheader, how does the breed Explore
help those that have they decided on a breed? And
like you said, a movie comes out it's about, you know,
cute lab everybody wants a lab or cute Yorki. Everybody
wants a Yorkie. So there's that. You know, just because
you love a breed doesn't mean that's the breed for you.
But what about mixed breeds? And again, I'm gonna talk
about some of my fur babes. One who's no longer
with us, mister Zeus. So I added a thing for
border Collies, but I like border collage mutts because they're
usually not quite as high energy. I've had two. My
girl was the first one, and she was super high
energy like feisty. My other one was a Border Collie
but also flat hair Retriever, which I thought was a
made up breed, but it's not, and he was more
like chill. So I know that breeds can only tell
you so much. But they both needed to go to
the dog park a few times a week otherwise I
was in trouble. I'd get the zuomies big time in
my house. So how can you people use the Breed
Explore to help with mixed breeds because we see a
lot of those in the shelters.
Speaker 6: Yep, I agrees, you know, and there's a lot of
really cool mixed breeds that I love and I'll share
with you. I mentioned earlier my little dog, Dotti's a
Chinese Crusted, but she's actually a Chinese Crusted mix. She
looks like a Chinese Crusted, but she has Terrier and
Chihuaba in her. But to your point talking about your
border Collies, I think because.
Speaker 5: She has the terrier in her.
Speaker 1: I live in.
Speaker 6: Asheville, North Carolina, and this little dogg will hike up mountains,
do five or six mile hikes, which I wouldn't have
thought for a Chinese crested, so the terrier comes out sometimes,
you know, I would say for mixed breeds, you know
a lot of times by looking at an animal that
you rescue er it's a shelter, you might be able
to have a good guess for what the primary breed
is for sure, and then you know just by looks.
Speaker 5: And qualities on it.
Speaker 6: So I think one thing you could do is if
you see an animal online and a shelter at a rescue,
you know a lot of times those shelters and rescues
will take a stab at hey, this is a Lab cross,
or this is a this is a Bengal cross, or
you know, whatever breed they're looking at, and then you
can look up. You know that there are some genetic
testing that you can get done on your pets to
figure out exactly what breeds they are. But I also think,
you know, talking about the mixed breeds, I think that
the other point we need to think about with a
breed explore is is that you know, these are tendencies
for all these pets, but everybody is an individual and
a lot of how that dogger cat's going to turn
out also is you know, how you raise it, how
your environment is what training, what veterinary care, preventive veterinary
care you get for that pet even will help with
its longevity.
Speaker 5: So I think that's important for people to think about too.
Speaker 2: Okay, thanks. I think it's also interesting how breed traits
can predict potentially predict behavior, and we talked a little
bit about that just now. But I'm going to tell
you a little bit about my cat, Dennis. So Dennis
found me. He was abandoned. He was outside crying one
night cold and opened the door. He just walked in.
And I've had Dennis, oh my gosh, almost eighteen seven years.
Speaker 5: Oh that's amazing.
Speaker 2: I was not a cat person then my cat or
two friends. I was not a cat person. And it
wasn't until I had my next set of cats that
I learned Dennis is like a typical he's more like
a dog in action. So I found out he's part
I didn't do a genetic test, but over just checking
and everything, he's partnering kun. So I thought he was
like this special cool cat that's just in his nature.
He's not what they say, quote cat like. And I
know some people might cringe here in that, but it
was better for me to get started on a cat
like this, you know, my cat app because it was
just a nice way to get used to cat behavior.
But it also tricked me because I learned from my
other cats, especially Molly, that that's how cats are. So
how much breed traits can you actually do as far
as in behavior because we touched on it. But how
exact is that? Or is it just you know, it's
some it's a tool, it's a guy, but it's not
all of it.
Speaker 6: I'm gonna give you a mixed dance, or I'm gonna okay,
that's a little bit of both, is what I was.
Speaker 5: I'm gonna say.
Speaker 6: You know, I think that a lot of cat and
dog breeds have been bred for long periods of time
to do certain jobs. My mind goes more with the
canine side and thinking about working dogs and dogs that
were meant to you know, for example, hard sheep, herd cattle,
or be watchdogs. I do think that when you have
a specific breed of dog or cat that's been bred
for generations to bring out certain qualities, they are pretty
likely to bring some of those. I also think, though
equally as important is you know, hey, you might get
a dog that may have more energy, and you know
that's going to be a behavior piece. So you know,
you may maybe you want to do flyball with a
dog or maybe you want to do some extra training.
Speaker 5: So I think that it both. You know, it's it's
the breeds, and I think that even with a mixed breed,
that predominant breed is going to bring characteristics with it.
And you know, talking about health wise, certainly as a veterinarian,
you know there are.
Speaker 6: Netache diseases, there are certain things that breeds are prone to,
those are gonna come to. But again, you know being
aware of those things, giving appropriate environment is gonna help.
And you know every animal obviously is an individual too,
so so no matter you know what you get, you
might be surprised.
Speaker 2: Okay, good answer. How does Breed Explorer work with other
zoetics resources, like you know, maybe the Pet Health Checklist
or vet visits?
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, I mean really great, Like you know, different
things that can be toxic to dogs or cats, how
to puppy proof a cat or dog. You know, there's
even articles I'm thinking about you talking about having a couple,
you know, multiple cats, Like what if one of your
cats is having a litter box problems.
Speaker 5: What types of things can you do to problem? Shoot,
you mentioned cleaning a cat ears. There is actually an
article I just thought about that is on there about
how to clean the cat ears. So, for example, like
if you look up a breed that may be tending
to have skin problems or ear problems, and you might
see a link at the bottom that's like, hey, you know,
here's a link to how do you know if your
dog has an ear infection? Or how do you know
when to take your dog to a vet or cat
to a vet with an ear infection?
Speaker 6: So you'll be able to find a whole bunch of
other resources related to it, and again all veterinary approof
So I think those are you know?
Speaker 5: To me, that's kind of the critical piece too, is.
Speaker 6: Knowing that a veterinarian has looked at the resources and
approved them.
Speaker 2: Right, and that it's not just generic AI, which is
leads into my next question. So are there plans to
expand read, explore, maybe add more species. You know, dogs
and cats are the most predominant pets in the US,
but people have other things. I can't think of anything
on hedgehogs, guinea pig, ferrets. That's what I couldn't think
of ferrets are coming out there big what about a
vet chat box or possible AI personalization, but it would
have to be of course vet improved AI side. I
don't know how that.
Speaker 6: Yeah, no, you know, and I think that is some
of the things that we've been kind of thinking through
and looking at, you know. So it's like I mentioned,
obviously we make products for dogs and cats, but we
do do all species.
Speaker 5: And I'll tell you the one that popped into my head,
and it's probably just because I have one. You know,
there would be a good new species and I don't
know if we're actually going to work on it or not,
would be horses, because when we were talking about breeds earlier,
you know, that's another animal.
Speaker 6: That people keep as pets, but the breed really has a.
Speaker 5: The bread to do certain things. So similar what I
said with dog and cats.
Speaker 6: So I do think, you know, looking at different species
with something that could be done, you know, I know,
for sure looking at things like VET chat bots, ALI
at powered personalization, and making sure we have the links
out to not just the blogs and downloadables, but even
video content too, so making sure there's a lot of
i'll say, multimedia content on there is going to be
important as we move forward.
Speaker 2: Okay, great, thank you. What is the one myth about breeds,
whether you know cats or dogs, that you wish people
would stop believing?
Speaker 6: I would say that breed, and it's something I sort
of said a few different times, but I'll say it
pretty clear this time. Is the breed alone determines you know, personality,
because I will say, I think you can have any
cat breed or any dog breed, and if you don't
provide that animal with appropriate care, you may not have
the best outcome.
Speaker 5: And on the flip side, if you really do your homework,
if you really are engaged with how you're bringing that
pet home and what veterinary care you're getting for it,
and if how you're working with that animal and handling it,
introducing it, all those things really are critical in your
pet's behavior Beyond breed.
Speaker 2: I absolutely agree. I think you can only look at
the breed as a guide by You're right, doesn't determine personality.
It might just be you know, I think it's very
good for energy level or expectations that people might not
be prepared for, but yes, doesn't indicate personality at all.
Do you think the Breed Explorer can help improve that
animal bond animal like human bond in the long term.
Speaker 6: I think so because I think when you think about
that human animal bond, you know, part of it is,
you know, how we're helping that dogger cat, But it's
also how that dogg or cat.
Speaker 5: Is supporting us in our journeys.
Speaker 6: You know, are they providing us companionship, are they combining
us with an exercise partner?
Speaker 5: Are they helping us when we're stressed? So I think,
you know, if you really sit down and critically think about,
you know, what is my lifestyle, what is my family's lifestyle,
where do I live?
Speaker 6: And which pet will fit in the best, I think
it's a win win because not only will that animal
be happier, but guess what you will be too.
Speaker 5: You know, I think you'll have a more successful relationship
with that dogg or cat and you could see some
of the great benefits of pet ownership.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much. Okay, we have time for one
more question. If you could give every new pet owner
a piece of advice, what would you tell them?
Speaker 6: So, I will say, I think being a veterinarian, I
will say, you know, find a veterinarian in your area.
Speaker 5: It's going to become your partner in your pets health journey.
You know, do your research, ask your friends, talk to
different veterinarians, find a vet hospital that will work with you,
and that person will be, you know, in your pets
entire journey, a partner. They'll be able to obviously help
you with like preventative care, they'll be able to help
you figure out when your pet's not feeling well, and
they can even help out with behavior questions and problems.
So really relying on that veterinarian and that whole entire
vet healthcare team to be your partner with your vets
care as you go through the journey.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for everyone listening. You can go
to the show page for this show and there will
be a link to the Zoetta Spreed Explorer and where
else can we find it? Doctor Heather, So.
Speaker 6: If you go to zoettaspetcare dot com backslash breed hyphen explorer,
it will be there. But even I know me and
I'm not good at typing in those long addresses. If
you just type into Zoetta's US PetCare and say you're
a pet owner, you can navigate to it from there.
Speaker 5: Pretty easily as well.
Speaker 2: Okay, perfect, and that's spelled z's and zebra o e
like egg tea as in tom is is and Sam.
Speaker 7: Yep.
Speaker 2: Absolutely okay, Doctor Heather, thank you so much for coming
on Best Bets for Pets.
Speaker 5: No, thank you, this was fun.
Speaker 2: I hope you all enjoyed this show. Thank you so
much for your loyal listenership to Best Bets for Pets.
Please go ahead and check out Zoetta spreed Explore. There
is a ton of information, all kinds of info on
different dogs if you're thinking about getting one breed over another.
There's a lot of great information, a lot of great
information about cats as well. I found it super helpful
and just so exciting to read about the different breeds
and their needs and so forth. Again so at a
breed Explorer. I want to thank my guests doctor head
or Burst for coming on the show, and thanks to
my cat crew, Dennis, Charlotte and Molly. I checked out
their breeds what I could. Dennis's partnering coomb. He was easy.
Mollie's a tuxedo, Charlotte's a little calico, and I don't
know what else, but harder to pin down their breed.
One of these days I should do a DNA test
on them. But very very exciting information and a big
thank you to my producer Mark Winter for working his
magic what Brawley does, So thank you so much, Mark,
and remember keep listening. You never know what we're hop next.
On Best Bets for
Speaker 4: Pets, Let's talk bets every week on demand only on
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