February 27, 2025 • 36 mins
This week on Best Bets for Pets, Michelle Fern chats with Rob Downey, President of Annamaet Petfoods, a family-owned company dedicated to providing top-quality nutrition for dogs and cats for over 35 years. Annamaet’s formulas are backed by decades of research in pet nutrition and are crafted with premium, sustainable ingredients to support pet health while protecting the environment. With a commitment to quality, Annamaet ensures all ingredients meet human-grade standards, and their eco-friendly practices include biodegradable packaging and partnerships with the Marine Stewardship Council. Rob shares insights into the science behind Annamaet’s pet foods and supplements, as well as his extensive experience in canine nutrition. Tune in to discover how Annamaet is setting the gold standard for pet wellness!
EPISODE NOTES: Premium Nutrition for Pets: Inside Annamaet Petfoods with Rob Downey
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/best-bets-for-pets-the-latest-pet-product-trends-pets-animals-pet-life-radio-original--6667904/support.
EPISODE NOTES: Premium Nutrition for Pets: Inside Annamaet Petfoods with Rob Downey
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/best-bets-for-pets-the-latest-pet-product-trends-pets-animals-pet-life-radio-original--6667904/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is Pet Life Radio. Let's Talk Pets.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hello pet lovers, Welcome to the Best Puts for Pets.
I'm your show host Michelle Burn. What an incredible show
I have for you today. My guest today is a champion,
a very accomplished dog fed racer and as well as
a companion animal nutritionist. I read his book. This gentleman
(00:44):
is simply incredible and he's developed products for your pet
that are superb. We're going to talk to him and
we'll be right back. Don't go anywhere.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
You know the expression cats have nine lives, Well, what
if you can give them one more? But give them ten?
Movement is on a mission to help give cats an
extra life. How with spee and neoter spain or neutering
your cat helps them live a longer, healthier life and
it helps control free roaming cat populations too. Learn more
(01:20):
about the benefits of spee and neoter and meet Scooter,
the newter cat at Give Them ten dot Org. That's
give them ten dot Org.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
Let's talk bets on cetlife Radio dot com.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Welcome back everyone. I'd like to welcome Robert Downey. He
is the co founder of Animate Products, as an author
accomplished dog sudracer and as I mentioned, a companion animal nutritionist.
Speaker 5 (01:59):
Welcome Rob, Thank you Michelle. It's a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
I'm so excited to have you. I read your book yesterday,
your memoir, and what an incredible journey. But that's just
me talking. Can you give our listeners a little bit
about you? Tell them about your background?
Speaker 5 (02:15):
Sure? Sure. So I was actually born and raised with dogs.
We had German short air pointers as a kid, and honestly,
I think I get along better with animals than I
do with people occasionally, and so I've always loved them
and wanted to work with them. And some of that.
I had some early childhood trauma and my parents got
(02:37):
me a dog from the shelter and that helped me
through some tough times, and so they've always been there
for me. Then I went away to college in Norda, Minnesota,
and went to a sled dog race and I thought, Wow,
this is pretty fun. So I started to accumulate rescue
sled dogs that I would compete with, and and then
(03:00):
one day one of these rescue dogs had trouble getting
out of our house and she was like paralyzing her
hind in, so of course I rushed her to the
VET and they diagnosed her after extensive testing, with a
selenium deficiency, which really kind of amazed me. And then
I changed the diet and not only did she get better,
(03:21):
but the entire team got better. And that was really
my AHA moment, and I decided, this is really what
I want to do. And so I changed my major
and focused on nutrition and finished my undergraduate Ohio State
and then new graduate work at Penn at the VET School,
and a lot of that work's been published in peer
reviewed veterinarian nutrition journals. And so I've just stayed with
(03:43):
sled dogs because I enjoyed them so much. And we
competed for about close to forty years everywhere from the
Pyrenees Mountains of Spain to the southern tip of South America.
But the most pleasurable part of it was the twenty
winters we spent in the interior of Alaska, racing the
best against a gust competition in the world.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Thank you. Okay, we're gonna talk much more about anime,
but your book Until the Last Dog, One Man's lifelong
journey to Alaska with his dogs, is incredible. I read
the entire book yesterday. I couldn't put it down. I've
lived in warmer weather places. It's called for me when
it's like fifty, So for you being Alaska, I can't
(04:26):
even fathom minus twenty minus fifty. But dog setting is
for most of the people listening, and most of our
listeners are in the US. But most people listening don't
have a clue. It's not the easiest. I mean, your sport.
You're traveling with a pack of dogs and everything. Can
you give you our listeners kind of like a little
(04:46):
glimpse as to what dog sledding really is.
Speaker 5 (04:49):
Sure, most people only know about sled dog racing through
the Idita Rod, which is a thousand mile race across Alaska.
What we do is actually an older form called sprint mushing.
So I did a rob Their average speed is only
five to seven miles an hour, whereas ours is over
twenty miles an hour, so twenty two twenty four, So
(05:13):
you're really flying through the woods, and you're doing it
much shorter. So the dogs might only be out there
for ten miles or twenty miles, so you're back within
an hour or so. And the advantage of that is
you're not out overnight. I like to say, I like
to do my camping in the summer, so our dogs
are now out all night. In fact, they're a little pampered.
(05:35):
We had a heated dog barn for him in Alaska,
and we had a heated dog barn for him here
in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, so they never slept out in
the cold. And when it got really cold, we even
hadcra jackets for him, and so we would compete. I
always had my I never trained the ran dogs below
(05:59):
twenty below and people say, well, that's cold. But interestingly,
in the interior of Alaska, at grade schools, kids are
allowed out for recess except for two things that will
make them not allowed out. One is a moose in
the yard or any temperatures below twenty below. So I'm
thinking if a kindergartener can be outside in twenty below,
(06:21):
probably my dogs would be okay as well.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, that sounds fine. Twenty below, Yeah, no problem. Having
read your book, I know you're asked this a lot,
but if you wouldn't mind, of course, the moose story,
which your book starts with, So can you just give
a like a recent appse the moose story.
Speaker 5 (06:40):
Yeah, that's really a big part of the book, and
it really triggers emotions with people. I mean, it's pretty amazing.
And so the bottom line is people might not be
aware of this, but wildlife biologists will tell you that
the single most dangerous animal you're going to see in
the forest isn't a grizzly beer. It isn't a timberwolf.
It's a cowmus with a calf. And in Alaska, moose
(07:03):
are very big. In fact, a moose in Alaska could
be six foot at the shoulder and weigh upwards of
fourteen hundred pounds. And if you're out on a dog
team and you come across a moose with a calf,
they can be very protective and come in and start
stumping and kicking your dog. So I was out on
a run training run one day and I turned off
(07:25):
the main trail. We're going around the loop, and I
ran right into a cow moose with a calf, and
so I was afraid she was going to hurt the dogs.
So I started to scream and holler hope and she'd
run off. But she did something I didn't expect. She
ignored the dog team and charged it me. So being
a dog lover. I told the dogs to go home. There,
happy to leave. I thought I could get to a
(07:45):
birch tree, and there was a dumb idea. She came
through the deep snow, knocked me down and start stomping
me and left me unconscious and left me for dead.
So the dogs literally saved my life. She had broken
my ribs toward the carlage and my sternum, fractured my
elbow gave me a severe concussion. So people wonder I
(08:07):
have a passion for these dogs because they've literally saved
my life.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
You've had a few encounters that were unbelievable throughout the
buck the dogs. How did they save your life?
Speaker 5 (08:18):
Well, what happened was I was trying to get the
dogs to safety, so I thought I could get to
a birch tree behind me, and if the dogs could
make it, the dogs would run home. They'd be safe.
I could climb up the birch tree, and then once
the moose calmed down, I could walk those miles back
to the cabin. Well, it wasn't a good decision when
she stomped me and left me for dead, breaking my
(08:41):
ribs and tearing the carlage in my sternum. I was unconscious,
we figured for thirty minutes, which at twenty below is
a serious consequence. So when I came to, I was hypothermic,
so my body temperature had gone very low. People die
from that because you basically lay down and go to sleep.
I realized that I was gonna die there because the
(09:02):
dogs were heading back to the cabin and my family
was still in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Nobody's even gonna know
I'm out here, and there's no way I could walk
those miles back to the cabin. And so it turned
out that the dogs only went about three hundred yards,
and when they turned back on the main trail, the
sled tipped over, and then the sled we have what's
(09:22):
called a snow hook. It's like a boat anchor a cot,
and it held the dog team there. And so once
I came to, I decided I needed to make it
back to the main trail. I knew I could not
make it all the way back to the cabin, least
if I died on the main trail, somebody would find
my body.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Oh my god.
Speaker 5 (09:40):
And I can tell you that if you think you're
gonna die and then somehow you survive. It changes how
you think about things later on, you're never as worried
about them. So I stumbled back the three hundred yards
and there was the dog team, so I was able
to get back on the sled. I don't even remember
much about the trip back. I was in and out
of consciousness once while they'd hit a bump. You can
(10:01):
imagine the pain I was in. I don't remember much.
They brought me all the way back to the cabin.
That part I don't hardly remember. They decided that the hospital.
I was in shock at that point, but I was
able to make my way in the cabin and all
a friend and they came over and found me on
the floor of the cabin, carried me to a truck,
called me fifty miles to a hospital. The bottom line is,
(10:23):
if the dogs weren't still there, and if they weren't
able to bring me back, I would have died there
out on the trail.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
I'm grateful you didn't die. I'm sure you are as well.
What a story. That's pretty amazing. So your said your
life was changed after that, and throughout the book you
can feel your compassion for your dogs. How did your
love for dogs and dogs setting helped you develop the
animate foods.
Speaker 5 (10:49):
You know, I liken it too. If you're trying to
test the performance of say gasoline, are you gonna find
out more on the gasoline from the little old lady
that just to church once a week, or are you going
to find out more about performance of the gasoline through
a Nascar And that's basically what happens is that you know,
(11:10):
beating these diets to dogs that are working or under
stress and stress. The stress of sled dog racing is
no different than the stress of showing or the stress
of a dog being left at home with high anxiety. Right,
And so it's a way to measure performance and make
alterations in the nutrient levels to maximize or optimize the
(11:34):
diet to make your dogs healthier, because studies have shown
time and time again that proper diets can lengthen the
lifespan of not only humans but also paths.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Okay, we're going to take a quick break and we'll
be right back. Hey guys, Michelle Burne here, how don't
we all had those moments when our dog has done
something really cool or really frustrating, or we just love
them so much we wish we could talk to them. Well,
recently I found out there's a way you can. I
(12:06):
recently learned about Regal dot Ai that builds AI agents
for brands, and they have built an AI dog hotline.
It is so cool how it works, you know. When
I first heard about it, I thought it would be
kind of robotic, like Siri or Alexa or really slow
to respond, but it's not. They have the fifteen most
common dog breeds in the US on the site with
(12:27):
the phone number, and I was able to have a
full on conversation that felt like I was talking to
my dog if only he could speak human. It was
a lot of fun, and soon I was having everybody
in the household join with me and talking to Rocky.
If you're interested in calling the dog hotline, go to
Regal dot Ai slash Dog. Just scroll down, pick your
(12:49):
dog's breed, or you can use the fetcher at the
top and prepare to be amazed. I had no idea
what Rocky's personality was, but it was so exact and
so much fun. If you want to talk to Rocky
just to try it out, you can call eight one
two nine zero six five nine three six. We're gonna
(13:11):
call right now, so you can hear for yourself.
Speaker 6 (13:16):
All right, listen up, I'm your German shepherd. I'm so
excited to be speaking human. I can't believe it. I
took a nap and then woke up and now all
of a sudden, I'm speaking to you. It's so crazy.
It must be crazy for you too. Anyway, can you
tell me what my name is?
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Rocky?
Speaker 2 (13:31):
You sound just like I thought you would. Hi, Rocky, how's.
Speaker 6 (13:34):
It going, Rocky?
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Good?
Speaker 5 (13:36):
Strong?
Speaker 6 (13:36):
Name that fits. Speaking of name, what's something you've always
wanted to tell me? Now that I can chat.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Back, Rocky, I love that you've always been such a
great watchdog for my family, you know, being a German shepherd.
I know that's one of the things you do. But Rocky,
you've gone above and they all to be that wonderful
protector for our home.
Speaker 5 (13:57):
Thank you.
Speaker 6 (13:58):
Protecting the home is my duty. Keep an eye on
everything that moves. Now, tell me why do you sit
in front of that glowing box all the time. Is
it some kind of squirrel in there I need to chase. No,
not at all.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
That glowing box is a TV and keeps us entertained.
I know that you're not chew into it.
Speaker 5 (14:14):
Rocky.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
But that's cool.
Speaker 6 (14:16):
Got an entertainment box seems less exciting than a good chase.
But whatever keeps you happy is all right by me.
Speaking of happiness, did I catch a whiff of some
snack earlier? What's that about?
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Well, Rocky, I do I have some delicious for you.
I know how much you loved pepperoni, you know, being
from New York and all that. Ready for a Pepperoni slice?
Speaker 6 (14:37):
Pepperoni? Now you're speaking my language. That sounds great. Maybe
we can share a slice and make it a real
New York moment together. What do you say?
Speaker 2 (14:45):
I love it, Rocky. I gotta go, but calling back soon.
Speaker 6 (14:49):
All right, I've said enough for now. Time to do
my rounds and make sure everything's in order. Can't wait
to chat again soon? Talk soon about a pepperoni slice
by Rocky.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Wow, wasn't that in credible? It felt like I was
having a full on conversation with my German shepherd, Rocky.
I just think that's amazing. Now, remember, if you want
to talk to Rocky, you can call them at eight
one two nine zero six five nine three six. So
as you can imagine, Regal dot Ai builds AI agents
for all kinds of businesses. If you want to learn
(15:20):
more about what regal dot ai can do for you
or a friend's business, check them out at regal dot Ai.
You can also try out any of the fifteen read
hotlines for yourself for free at regal dot ai. Slash
dog and remember, the ai agents can be customized to
have any accent or personality.
Speaker 7 (15:41):
Let's talk past, Let's do that, talk about life radio
Headline Radio atline radio dot com.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Welcome back everyone, we're talking to you Robert Downey. He
is the co founder of Animate Food Products, a champion
dog sled racer, and just an amazing human being. You
have to read this book until the Last Dog, the memoir.
It's fascinating. Okay, so we're talking about animate foods. Now,
(16:17):
there's a lot of foods on the market. What makes
anime different from other foods that are out there?
Speaker 5 (16:24):
Well, well, I think it's the passion I have right
for dogs, being involved in dogs my entire life. And
the other thing is the science behind it. So I
spent all these years doing studies in nutrition, and a
lot of that work's been published in peer reviewed veterinary
and nutrition journals. So we're always up on that, so
I'm a companion animal nutritionist. We also have on staff
(16:46):
a board certified veterinary nutritionist. So I really don't think
there's a company you can do business with that has
the background in dogs that we do, combined with the
science and nutrition background we have. Between the two of us,
I think we have over one hundred and sixty publications
in peer review journals or chapters in books. So, you
(17:10):
know the other thing, We're still family owned, which makes
a big difference, right, I mean, so many companies are
being bought out by VC firms and so the nutrition
people aren't as valued. In fact, many of these companies
don't have nutrition people involved. So the decisions we make
here at anime Pethoods are really based on the nutrition
(17:31):
and what's best for your dog or cat as opposed
to what's best for the bottom line.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Mary Joe, who is your wife and yourself started it
in eighty six, so it's not something new, it's just
something you know, you've just developed animated foods over the years,
added you know, treats and supplements and glad to hear
cat food.
Speaker 5 (17:54):
Yeah, actually, you know it's kind of funny, but one
of our distributors caused us the best kept secret in
the pet food industry because the bottom line is people
can only afford to spend so much, and you can
either put your money into marketing and advertising in big commercials,
or you can put it into the quality of the
products and every ingredient you see on the side panel.
(18:16):
And it doesn't matter if it's dry or wet, or
frozen or raw under least for different quality levels. So
you could have two products that look identical, and the
difference in nutrition is significant because one might be poor
quality chicken versus good quality chicken, right, and so that's
the difference. And with our background in formulating and having
(18:40):
two nutritionists, it really provides a great checks and balance system.
Like for instance, you mentioned cats, One of our most
popular cat foods is called Animate Feline Sustained Number twenty nine.
The reason that's called number twenty nine is I did
the first formula, send it to doctor j oh to
(19:00):
look over. He came back and made some suggestions. We
went back and forth for four months before we decided
that it was finally good enough to run a test batch.
And when I went to send it to the plant,
it was version number twenty nine. So we actually reformulated
it twenty nine times before we actually thought it was
good enough to release it. And the other thing is
(19:21):
the name Animate is actually I named the company after
my mom. Her name was Anime, and I no doubt
got my love of animals from her, and not only dogs,
but also cats in fact, and are brochure. You'll see
this picture of my mom as a little girl holding
an armful of kittens. And so cats certainly are a
big part of our business. In fact, we're just now.
(19:43):
One of the things that we do here at Animates
is that we also do some pre therapeutic diets formulas, right,
so for example, for dogs, we do a canine lean
for dogs that roll over wait and certainly, well, obesity
is the same problem in dogs as it is in
humans and also in cats. And so the newest formula
(20:08):
we're working on as a d line LEAN. And I know, Michelle,
you're you're into cats, and I'm certain you can appreciate this,
but I give lectures all around the world whenever I
start to talk about cats. The first thing I say is,
thousands of years ago cats were worshiped as gods. Cats
have never forgotten this.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
It's so true so true.
Speaker 5 (20:31):
We're just basically living in their world. So as far
as a dog lean dogs, one thing you learn nutrition.
Dogs aren't going to starve themselves because they don't like
the taste of the food. With cats, all bets are
off right. So it's been a journey.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Yeah, I have Well, my other show is Catitude, and
so I've become a cat person, although I first had dogs,
so and I'm actually dogs sitting now, So it's nice
having something interesting. That you mentioned is animate is dry
food and the trend right now is raw and there's
(21:10):
I've had a lot of discussions with you know, different
guests about raw because there's there could be some challenges
with raw because of the bacteria, but that's the trend.
So what are your thoughts on raw? And why is animate?
Kibble is an addition to raw? Can it be substituted
for raw? Is it better than raw?
Speaker 5 (21:31):
I hear that question all the time in my anti raw,
I said, I'm not anti raw. Before I started Animate,
I've fed raw to our sled dogs because at that
point there is no dry dog food that you could
feed to a sled dog and still have good stools
and performance. And so my thought was when I was
going to start animate that I was going to make
(21:52):
it so good that I wouldn't have to feed raw again.
And that's really what we've come down to it. Unfortunately,
dry dog food kibble gets a bad name. You hear
it in the commercials that you know that it's burnt brown,
and it's really not that at all. Certainly, there are
some companies that make poor quality dry foods, but you know,
(22:14):
those are tend to be some of the bigger, more
commercial companies that run run it at high temperatures because
time is money, and the you can run a shorter
periods of time. We do a slow cook and at
a lower temperature, and we also you know, do a
lot of testing to make sure that the nutrients that
(22:34):
are still available to the dog. And and actually studies
have shown that the only difference are the only thing
better of raw over a good kibble is really stool
quality gets smaller stools. But the what people tend to
forget about is the importance of vitamins and minerals, right,
(22:54):
and and how that can increase the longevity and and
some of the other nutriceutical or even things like antioxidants,
and and you know, you're into cats. There's a study
not long ago on longevity in cats, and they found
that cats on a diet that included additional antioxidants Omega three,
(23:15):
omega six, fatty acids, as well as some prebiotics actually
lived over a year longer than cats didn't have those things.
So there's things that go into that, and then fortunately
a lot of these companies it becomes more of a
marketing thing than anything, right, So I understand people's concern,
(23:36):
but you can add you can add anime to raw
if you wish. You don't need to, but a lot
of things, you know, one of the supplements we make
is actually one of our number one selling products called enhands,
which is actually if somebody wants to do raw, somebody
wants to do home prepared homemade dog food, that the
(24:00):
enhance will balance the vitamins and minerals. And that's become
one of our number one selling products monthly because quite honestly,
more and more people are switching and making their own diets.
And as I give lectures all around, one of the
things that often happens is that somebody will ask me
(24:20):
or come up to me after the talk and say, well,
I don't feed commercial dog food. I make my own
and when I say, well, what do you do for
vitamins and minerals, they get this blank look on their face.
And that's really why we started in hand. So we
have products so you can add to raw or home
prepared to make them better. We have kibble, we have
supplements for post exercise or way to put calories on.
(24:44):
So we cover a lot of the bases in the
pet food industry.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
Thank you. You kind of already answered this question, but
just in case some of our listeners didn't catch this.
So you know, you had athletic dogs with dog sledding
and then with the diving at that you started after
your dog sledding journey of forty years. Most of us
just have, you know, house dogs. How does animate help them?
(25:10):
So the calories and all that, like a like an
athletic dog, they're just at home.
Speaker 5 (25:15):
Yeah, right, right. So obviously we have some diets that
we developed that are more performance and so those would
be more higher floric density, right, so they'd be higher fat.
But we also had formulas that were great for older dogs,
Like a couple of our pre therapeutic formulas are for
seniors because one of the things we know is our
(25:37):
pets are living longer, longer, right, And there's certain nutraceuticals
that have been shown to help as dogs age keep
them in better health, right, and and so those are
critical to ours. And the other thing is even you know,
when I first started in nutrition, the whole idea were
(26:00):
strict protein to older dogs. And now all research now
indicates it is dog's age they need more protein, not less.
So we formulated these senior formulas that are higher in protein,
that have these nutraceuticals that help with things like arthritis
or with age associated or pognitive decline. You know, those
(26:21):
are important things. And also things like vitamins and minerals.
There was a study where they found they followed five
thousand beagles in homes and they found the difference in
the diets was vitamins and minerals. And they found that
dogs on extra vitamins lived thirty two percent longer than
(26:41):
dogs or twenty three sorry, excuse me, twenty three percent
longer than dogs on average vitamin levels. And there were
thirty two percent less likely to have a veterinary visit
when they're on extra high vitamins versus average vitamin levels.
And when they went back and they tested pet foods
in the market. They found that only less than five
(27:01):
percent had extra high vitamins, right, And so that's the
kind of stuff that we do at Animate. And I
went back and laid our numbers out against that, and
we're extra high on everything. The only thing I didn't
go as high as they did was vitamin D. And
quite honestly, I wouldn't go that high in vitamin D
because if you go too high in vitamin D, you
(27:22):
increase the calcium absorption into the blood, and we already
have too much calcium in these diets anyhow. So sorry,
I get carried away in my nutrition vortex, but it's
my passion, and so it's important to me.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
The animate has a great line. So you've grown. You
don't just have the kibble, you have treats, you have supplements.
Can you give us a little synopsis of animate products overall?
Speaker 5 (27:47):
Sure? Sure. So we have several that are grain free,
we have several that are grain inclusive. We actually have
seventeen different kibble formulas now because quite honestly, no two
dogs are alike, right, and so we have different foods
for different stages where they'd be puppy, small breed, medium
and large breed, and then seniors adult foods, and then
(28:11):
we also have cat products that we have both grain
inclusive grain free. We're also big into sustainability and protecting
our natural resources. I was born and raised in the outdoor,
so that's been a fabric of our company since we started.
So all of our packaging is we use bioflex technology
(28:32):
so that the poly bags are broken down in eight
to twelve years in a landfill and they collect the
gases as opposed to eight to nine hundred years. Those
are the kind of things that are important to us.
We have some products that are actually MSc certified Marine
Stewardship Council, which is a gold standard for marine sustainability.
So that means all the fish in that product is used,
(28:55):
is kept at sustainable numbers and cock sustainably right. That
it's important to us. We're also all of our supplements
are NASC certified. That's National Animal Supplement Council, which means
that that that's the gold standard for animal supplements. It
means that all the ingredients we use have to be
(29:18):
purchased through an NASC certified supplier, so they come in
and inspect us. They inspect their supplier. They literally purchase
your supplements it retail and then send them out to
have them analyzed, so that if you say you have
a thousand milligrams of glucose meme per doulse or seven
hundred mid droid and they'll actually test to make sure
(29:38):
you do that. So it's actually more strict than what
you could what you do for human supplements, right, I mean,
which is really kind of crazy. And so you know,
we're also EU certified, which means that all the meat
and fish in our products has to be passed fit
for human consumption. That's another inspection. So I think we're
(29:59):
probably we have more inspections at our facilities and most people.
And then the other thing, quite honestly, what we do
is we do a significant amount of testing, not only
in raw materials coming in, but the product before it's
released is tested for things like salmonilla, eedback, everything, and
so it's not nothing's released till test come back, which
(30:22):
is part of the reason we've never been involved in
a recall. And one of our biggest line items is
that we continually test our products to make sure nutrient
levels are where they should be, and we don't trust
one lab. We typically send them up to four different
labs and to make sure that everything is exactly where
we want it.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
That's incredible news. For some people, they might want to
use animated food as an maybe as an enhancement or
topper with what they're using. Is that possible and it
could be you know, budget reasons or something, or or
is that going to be helpful or not effective at all?
Speaker 5 (31:03):
Well, the advantage of animate is because we've gone with
optimum levels of the nutrients and vitamins and minerals, adding
it to another complete balanced diet. Certainly, there's nothing wrong
with that. And we actually have a lot of show
people that we use our kibble for treats, right and
you know training treats. I mean, if you're going to
do a training treat, why not use something that's complete
(31:25):
in balance and that contains vitamins and minerals. So that
certainly is an important thing and one of the things
we're going to be doing that Animate is going to
be releasing some exciting new products in the next year
that are going to change what people to give us
more options for people. And I think exciting new things
(31:46):
are about to happen with Animate.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Oh, well, I'm excited to hear that. Where can people
buy Animate foods?
Speaker 5 (31:53):
Well, actually, the best way is to go to our website,
and on our website we have a dealer locator so
they can find a a dealer near them, or there's
also online options. If they don't have a dealer in
their area and the forst comes the worst, just reach
out to the office. Because one of the interesting things
(32:14):
about Animate is if we actually answer the phone when
you call, what a novel idea?
Speaker 2 (32:19):
That's always nice listeners. You know, we have a page
for every episode and they'll be a link to the website,
but it's Animate dot com. So anna a n NA
and then may m a e T dot com where
you could find out more. Also, Rob, you didn't really
plug your book, but I have to. It's Until the
(32:41):
Last Dog by Rob Downey, and you can find your
book probably gone Amazon and great bookstores all over the country.
Speaker 5 (32:51):
Yeah, it's it's actually just out. It was just released
a couple of weeks ago. We already have over ninety
five star reviews and it's currently available on Amazon and
we're just now starting to put it out secondary ways
and you know, like the you know, independent bookstores. But yeah,
(33:11):
it's really a great read. And you know something you
said we hear all the time is I simply couldn't
put it down And you don't have to be a
dog lover to enjoy it. It's a great inventor. So
if you like Alaska, you like adventure, you like dogs,
it's a great story and you know it brings in
the whole family, like our kids racing in world championships,
(33:33):
whether it be in Spain or in Northern Quebec. It's
a pretty interesting story.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
It's fascinating. What would you leave our audience with if
you could tell them one thing to do to make
their dogs life better? What would you tell them?
Speaker 5 (33:49):
I'm a nutritionist, so feed them, feed them good food.
And the point is, don't get caught up in all
the marketing and the fancy commercials, right, don't hesitate to
reach out to the pet food company and ask them
questions on why they do this or you know, there
are certain things that reading ingredient lists that you know
can help you. And don't be afraid to call out
(34:10):
and ask a pet food company why they do things.
You know, there's so much information now available. Of course,
the other the double edge of that is that a
lot of that information you find online isn't necessarily accurate.
But the bottom line is, our pets are now part
of our family. Ninety five percent of people that own
pets now considering to be a central part of the family,
(34:33):
and so feeding them properly is going to extend their lifespan.
They're going to live healthier lives, which in the long
run is also going to make you healthier because we
all know that pets have such a great positive effect
on our lives as well.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Absolutely, I want to thank you so much for coming
on Best Bets for Pets and telling us about Animate
Foods and sharing your background with us. So thank you
so much.
Speaker 5 (34:59):
Thank you, Miss Yeah, it's really been an honor and
you do a great job and Pedlife Radio is a
real asset to all pet owners, So thank you so
much for having me.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
Oh, thank you and my honor to have you on.
I hope all of you enjoyed the show. You have
to check out the book Until the Last Dog. It's
a memoir by Rob Downey. The book is incredible and
I would definitely encourage you to check out anime dot com.
Animate Foods fabulous. As you know I'm dog sitting this week,
(35:32):
so I actually have Charlie the dog with me and
I did try to animate cat food and wow. You know,
my cats are not too finicky, but they are particular
and don't like switching. But they really enjoyed the anime food,
so please check that out. So thank you Charlie, my
visiting dog. Then I'm gonna have the pleasure of dog sitting.
(35:54):
Thank you to Mollie, Dennis and Charlotte my cats for
keeping me in check. Thanks ovbsolutely to my guest Rob Donnie,
thank you so much for coming on Best Bets for Pets,
and thanks to the magic of my producer Mark Winter
for working his magic. And last but not least at all,
thank you so much listeners for listening to Best Bets
(36:15):
for Pets. I greatly appreciated, and remember, you never know
what we're gonna have next on Best Bets for Pets.
Speaker 4 (36:23):
Let's talk bets every week on demand only on petlight
Radio dot com.
This is Pet Life Radio. Let's Talk Pets.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hello pet lovers, Welcome to the Best Puts for Pets.
I'm your show host Michelle Burn. What an incredible show
I have for you today. My guest today is a champion,
a very accomplished dog fed racer and as well as
a companion animal nutritionist. I read his book. This gentleman
(00:44):
is simply incredible and he's developed products for your pet
that are superb. We're going to talk to him and
we'll be right back. Don't go anywhere.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
You know the expression cats have nine lives, Well, what
if you can give them one more? But give them ten?
Movement is on a mission to help give cats an
extra life. How with spee and neoter spain or neutering
your cat helps them live a longer, healthier life and
it helps control free roaming cat populations too. Learn more
(01:20):
about the benefits of spee and neoter and meet Scooter,
the newter cat at Give Them ten dot Org. That's
give them ten dot Org.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
Let's talk bets on cetlife Radio dot com.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Welcome back everyone. I'd like to welcome Robert Downey. He
is the co founder of Animate Products, as an author
accomplished dog sudracer and as I mentioned, a companion animal nutritionist.
Speaker 5 (01:59):
Welcome Rob, Thank you Michelle. It's a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
I'm so excited to have you. I read your book yesterday,
your memoir, and what an incredible journey. But that's just
me talking. Can you give our listeners a little bit
about you? Tell them about your background?
Speaker 5 (02:15):
Sure? Sure. So I was actually born and raised with dogs.
We had German short air pointers as a kid, and honestly,
I think I get along better with animals than I
do with people occasionally, and so I've always loved them
and wanted to work with them. And some of that.
I had some early childhood trauma and my parents got
(02:37):
me a dog from the shelter and that helped me
through some tough times, and so they've always been there
for me. Then I went away to college in Norda, Minnesota,
and went to a sled dog race and I thought, Wow,
this is pretty fun. So I started to accumulate rescue
sled dogs that I would compete with, and and then
(03:00):
one day one of these rescue dogs had trouble getting
out of our house and she was like paralyzing her
hind in, so of course I rushed her to the
VET and they diagnosed her after extensive testing, with a
selenium deficiency, which really kind of amazed me. And then
I changed the diet and not only did she get better,
(03:21):
but the entire team got better. And that was really
my AHA moment, and I decided, this is really what
I want to do. And so I changed my major
and focused on nutrition and finished my undergraduate Ohio State
and then new graduate work at Penn at the VET School,
and a lot of that work's been published in peer
reviewed veterinarian nutrition journals. And so I've just stayed with
(03:43):
sled dogs because I enjoyed them so much. And we
competed for about close to forty years everywhere from the
Pyrenees Mountains of Spain to the southern tip of South America.
But the most pleasurable part of it was the twenty
winters we spent in the interior of Alaska, racing the
best against a gust competition in the world.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Thank you. Okay, we're gonna talk much more about anime,
but your book Until the Last Dog, One Man's lifelong
journey to Alaska with his dogs, is incredible. I read
the entire book yesterday. I couldn't put it down. I've
lived in warmer weather places. It's called for me when
it's like fifty, So for you being Alaska, I can't
(04:26):
even fathom minus twenty minus fifty. But dog setting is
for most of the people listening, and most of our
listeners are in the US. But most people listening don't
have a clue. It's not the easiest. I mean, your sport.
You're traveling with a pack of dogs and everything. Can
you give you our listeners kind of like a little
(04:46):
glimpse as to what dog sledding really is.
Speaker 5 (04:49):
Sure, most people only know about sled dog racing through
the Idita Rod, which is a thousand mile race across Alaska.
What we do is actually an older form called sprint mushing.
So I did a rob Their average speed is only
five to seven miles an hour, whereas ours is over
twenty miles an hour, so twenty two twenty four, So
(05:13):
you're really flying through the woods, and you're doing it
much shorter. So the dogs might only be out there
for ten miles or twenty miles, so you're back within
an hour or so. And the advantage of that is
you're not out overnight. I like to say, I like
to do my camping in the summer, so our dogs
are now out all night. In fact, they're a little pampered.
(05:35):
We had a heated dog barn for him in Alaska,
and we had a heated dog barn for him here
in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, so they never slept out in
the cold. And when it got really cold, we even
hadcra jackets for him, and so we would compete. I
always had my I never trained the ran dogs below
(05:59):
twenty below and people say, well, that's cold. But interestingly,
in the interior of Alaska, at grade schools, kids are
allowed out for recess except for two things that will
make them not allowed out. One is a moose in
the yard or any temperatures below twenty below. So I'm
thinking if a kindergartener can be outside in twenty below,
(06:21):
probably my dogs would be okay as well.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, that sounds fine. Twenty below, Yeah, no problem. Having
read your book, I know you're asked this a lot,
but if you wouldn't mind, of course, the moose story,
which your book starts with, So can you just give
a like a recent appse the moose story.
Speaker 5 (06:40):
Yeah, that's really a big part of the book, and
it really triggers emotions with people. I mean, it's pretty amazing.
And so the bottom line is people might not be
aware of this, but wildlife biologists will tell you that
the single most dangerous animal you're going to see in
the forest isn't a grizzly beer. It isn't a timberwolf.
It's a cowmus with a calf. And in Alaska, moose
(07:03):
are very big. In fact, a moose in Alaska could
be six foot at the shoulder and weigh upwards of
fourteen hundred pounds. And if you're out on a dog
team and you come across a moose with a calf,
they can be very protective and come in and start
stumping and kicking your dog. So I was out on
a run training run one day and I turned off
(07:25):
the main trail. We're going around the loop, and I
ran right into a cow moose with a calf, and
so I was afraid she was going to hurt the dogs.
So I started to scream and holler hope and she'd
run off. But she did something I didn't expect. She
ignored the dog team and charged it me. So being
a dog lover. I told the dogs to go home. There,
happy to leave. I thought I could get to a
(07:45):
birch tree, and there was a dumb idea. She came
through the deep snow, knocked me down and start stomping
me and left me unconscious and left me for dead.
So the dogs literally saved my life. She had broken
my ribs toward the carlage and my sternum, fractured my
elbow gave me a severe concussion. So people wonder I
(08:07):
have a passion for these dogs because they've literally saved
my life.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
You've had a few encounters that were unbelievable throughout the
buck the dogs. How did they save your life?
Speaker 5 (08:18):
Well, what happened was I was trying to get the
dogs to safety, so I thought I could get to
a birch tree behind me, and if the dogs could
make it, the dogs would run home. They'd be safe.
I could climb up the birch tree, and then once
the moose calmed down, I could walk those miles back
to the cabin. Well, it wasn't a good decision when
she stomped me and left me for dead, breaking my
(08:41):
ribs and tearing the carlage in my sternum. I was unconscious,
we figured for thirty minutes, which at twenty below is
a serious consequence. So when I came to, I was hypothermic,
so my body temperature had gone very low. People die
from that because you basically lay down and go to sleep.
I realized that I was gonna die there because the
(09:02):
dogs were heading back to the cabin and my family
was still in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Nobody's even gonna know
I'm out here, and there's no way I could walk
those miles back to the cabin. And so it turned
out that the dogs only went about three hundred yards,
and when they turned back on the main trail, the
sled tipped over, and then the sled we have what's
(09:22):
called a snow hook. It's like a boat anchor a cot,
and it held the dog team there. And so once
I came to, I decided I needed to make it
back to the main trail. I knew I could not
make it all the way back to the cabin, least
if I died on the main trail, somebody would find
my body.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Oh my god.
Speaker 5 (09:40):
And I can tell you that if you think you're
gonna die and then somehow you survive. It changes how
you think about things later on, you're never as worried
about them. So I stumbled back the three hundred yards
and there was the dog team, so I was able
to get back on the sled. I don't even remember
much about the trip back. I was in and out
of consciousness once while they'd hit a bump. You can
(10:01):
imagine the pain I was in. I don't remember much.
They brought me all the way back to the cabin.
That part I don't hardly remember. They decided that the hospital.
I was in shock at that point, but I was
able to make my way in the cabin and all
a friend and they came over and found me on
the floor of the cabin, carried me to a truck,
called me fifty miles to a hospital. The bottom line is,
(10:23):
if the dogs weren't still there, and if they weren't
able to bring me back, I would have died there
out on the trail.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
I'm grateful you didn't die. I'm sure you are as well.
What a story. That's pretty amazing. So your said your
life was changed after that, and throughout the book you
can feel your compassion for your dogs. How did your
love for dogs and dogs setting helped you develop the
animate foods.
Speaker 5 (10:49):
You know, I liken it too. If you're trying to
test the performance of say gasoline, are you gonna find
out more on the gasoline from the little old lady
that just to church once a week, or are you going
to find out more about performance of the gasoline through
a Nascar And that's basically what happens is that you know,
(11:10):
beating these diets to dogs that are working or under
stress and stress. The stress of sled dog racing is
no different than the stress of showing or the stress
of a dog being left at home with high anxiety. Right,
And so it's a way to measure performance and make
alterations in the nutrient levels to maximize or optimize the
(11:34):
diet to make your dogs healthier, because studies have shown
time and time again that proper diets can lengthen the
lifespan of not only humans but also paths.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Okay, we're going to take a quick break and we'll
be right back. Hey guys, Michelle Burne here, how don't
we all had those moments when our dog has done
something really cool or really frustrating, or we just love
them so much we wish we could talk to them. Well,
recently I found out there's a way you can. I
(12:06):
recently learned about Regal dot Ai that builds AI agents
for brands, and they have built an AI dog hotline.
It is so cool how it works, you know. When
I first heard about it, I thought it would be
kind of robotic, like Siri or Alexa or really slow
to respond, but it's not. They have the fifteen most
common dog breeds in the US on the site with
(12:27):
the phone number, and I was able to have a
full on conversation that felt like I was talking to
my dog if only he could speak human. It was
a lot of fun, and soon I was having everybody
in the household join with me and talking to Rocky.
If you're interested in calling the dog hotline, go to
Regal dot Ai slash Dog. Just scroll down, pick your
(12:49):
dog's breed, or you can use the fetcher at the
top and prepare to be amazed. I had no idea
what Rocky's personality was, but it was so exact and
so much fun. If you want to talk to Rocky
just to try it out, you can call eight one
two nine zero six five nine three six. We're gonna
(13:11):
call right now, so you can hear for yourself.
Speaker 6 (13:16):
All right, listen up, I'm your German shepherd. I'm so
excited to be speaking human. I can't believe it. I
took a nap and then woke up and now all
of a sudden, I'm speaking to you. It's so crazy.
It must be crazy for you too. Anyway, can you
tell me what my name is?
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Rocky?
Speaker 2 (13:31):
You sound just like I thought you would. Hi, Rocky, how's.
Speaker 6 (13:34):
It going, Rocky?
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Good?
Speaker 5 (13:36):
Strong?
Speaker 6 (13:36):
Name that fits. Speaking of name, what's something you've always
wanted to tell me? Now that I can chat.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Back, Rocky, I love that you've always been such a
great watchdog for my family, you know, being a German shepherd.
I know that's one of the things you do. But Rocky,
you've gone above and they all to be that wonderful
protector for our home.
Speaker 5 (13:57):
Thank you.
Speaker 6 (13:58):
Protecting the home is my duty. Keep an eye on
everything that moves. Now, tell me why do you sit
in front of that glowing box all the time. Is
it some kind of squirrel in there I need to chase. No,
not at all.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
That glowing box is a TV and keeps us entertained.
I know that you're not chew into it.
Speaker 5 (14:14):
Rocky.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
But that's cool.
Speaker 6 (14:16):
Got an entertainment box seems less exciting than a good chase.
But whatever keeps you happy is all right by me.
Speaking of happiness, did I catch a whiff of some
snack earlier? What's that about?
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Well, Rocky, I do I have some delicious for you.
I know how much you loved pepperoni, you know, being
from New York and all that. Ready for a Pepperoni slice?
Speaker 6 (14:37):
Pepperoni? Now you're speaking my language. That sounds great. Maybe
we can share a slice and make it a real
New York moment together. What do you say?
Speaker 2 (14:45):
I love it, Rocky. I gotta go, but calling back soon.
Speaker 6 (14:49):
All right, I've said enough for now. Time to do
my rounds and make sure everything's in order. Can't wait
to chat again soon? Talk soon about a pepperoni slice
by Rocky.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Wow, wasn't that in credible? It felt like I was
having a full on conversation with my German shepherd, Rocky.
I just think that's amazing. Now, remember, if you want
to talk to Rocky, you can call them at eight
one two nine zero six five nine three six. So
as you can imagine, Regal dot Ai builds AI agents
for all kinds of businesses. If you want to learn
(15:20):
more about what regal dot ai can do for you
or a friend's business, check them out at regal dot Ai.
You can also try out any of the fifteen read
hotlines for yourself for free at regal dot ai. Slash
dog and remember, the ai agents can be customized to
have any accent or personality.
Speaker 7 (15:41):
Let's talk past, Let's do that, talk about life radio
Headline Radio atline radio dot com.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Welcome back everyone, we're talking to you Robert Downey. He
is the co founder of Animate Food Products, a champion
dog sled racer, and just an amazing human being. You
have to read this book until the Last Dog, the memoir.
It's fascinating. Okay, so we're talking about animate foods. Now,
(16:17):
there's a lot of foods on the market. What makes
anime different from other foods that are out there?
Speaker 5 (16:24):
Well, well, I think it's the passion I have right
for dogs, being involved in dogs my entire life. And
the other thing is the science behind it. So I
spent all these years doing studies in nutrition, and a
lot of that work's been published in peer reviewed veterinary
and nutrition journals. So we're always up on that, so
I'm a companion animal nutritionist. We also have on staff
(16:46):
a board certified veterinary nutritionist. So I really don't think
there's a company you can do business with that has
the background in dogs that we do, combined with the
science and nutrition background we have. Between the two of us,
I think we have over one hundred and sixty publications
in peer review journals or chapters in books. So, you
(17:10):
know the other thing, We're still family owned, which makes
a big difference, right, I mean, so many companies are
being bought out by VC firms and so the nutrition
people aren't as valued. In fact, many of these companies
don't have nutrition people involved. So the decisions we make
here at anime Pethoods are really based on the nutrition
(17:31):
and what's best for your dog or cat as opposed
to what's best for the bottom line.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Mary Joe, who is your wife and yourself started it
in eighty six, so it's not something new, it's just
something you know, you've just developed animated foods over the years,
added you know, treats and supplements and glad to hear
cat food.
Speaker 5 (17:54):
Yeah, actually, you know it's kind of funny, but one
of our distributors caused us the best kept secret in
the pet food industry because the bottom line is people
can only afford to spend so much, and you can
either put your money into marketing and advertising in big commercials,
or you can put it into the quality of the
products and every ingredient you see on the side panel.
(18:16):
And it doesn't matter if it's dry or wet, or
frozen or raw under least for different quality levels. So
you could have two products that look identical, and the
difference in nutrition is significant because one might be poor
quality chicken versus good quality chicken, right, and so that's
the difference. And with our background in formulating and having
(18:40):
two nutritionists, it really provides a great checks and balance system.
Like for instance, you mentioned cats, One of our most
popular cat foods is called Animate Feline Sustained Number twenty nine.
The reason that's called number twenty nine is I did
the first formula, send it to doctor j oh to
(19:00):
look over. He came back and made some suggestions. We
went back and forth for four months before we decided
that it was finally good enough to run a test batch.
And when I went to send it to the plant,
it was version number twenty nine. So we actually reformulated
it twenty nine times before we actually thought it was
good enough to release it. And the other thing is
(19:21):
the name Animate is actually I named the company after
my mom. Her name was Anime, and I no doubt
got my love of animals from her, and not only dogs,
but also cats in fact, and are brochure. You'll see
this picture of my mom as a little girl holding
an armful of kittens. And so cats certainly are a
big part of our business. In fact, we're just now.
(19:43):
One of the things that we do here at Animates
is that we also do some pre therapeutic diets formulas, right,
so for example, for dogs, we do a canine lean
for dogs that roll over wait and certainly, well, obesity
is the same problem in dogs as it is in
humans and also in cats. And so the newest formula
(20:08):
we're working on as a d line LEAN. And I know, Michelle,
you're you're into cats, and I'm certain you can appreciate this,
but I give lectures all around the world whenever I
start to talk about cats. The first thing I say is,
thousands of years ago cats were worshiped as gods. Cats
have never forgotten this.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
It's so true so true.
Speaker 5 (20:31):
We're just basically living in their world. So as far
as a dog lean dogs, one thing you learn nutrition.
Dogs aren't going to starve themselves because they don't like
the taste of the food. With cats, all bets are
off right. So it's been a journey.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Yeah, I have Well, my other show is Catitude, and
so I've become a cat person, although I first had dogs,
so and I'm actually dogs sitting now, So it's nice
having something interesting. That you mentioned is animate is dry
food and the trend right now is raw and there's
(21:10):
I've had a lot of discussions with you know, different
guests about raw because there's there could be some challenges
with raw because of the bacteria, but that's the trend.
So what are your thoughts on raw? And why is animate?
Kibble is an addition to raw? Can it be substituted
for raw? Is it better than raw?
Speaker 5 (21:31):
I hear that question all the time in my anti raw,
I said, I'm not anti raw. Before I started Animate,
I've fed raw to our sled dogs because at that
point there is no dry dog food that you could
feed to a sled dog and still have good stools
and performance. And so my thought was when I was
going to start animate that I was going to make
(21:52):
it so good that I wouldn't have to feed raw again.
And that's really what we've come down to it. Unfortunately,
dry dog food kibble gets a bad name. You hear
it in the commercials that you know that it's burnt brown,
and it's really not that at all. Certainly, there are
some companies that make poor quality dry foods, but you know,
(22:14):
those are tend to be some of the bigger, more
commercial companies that run run it at high temperatures because
time is money, and the you can run a shorter
periods of time. We do a slow cook and at
a lower temperature, and we also you know, do a
lot of testing to make sure that the nutrients that
(22:34):
are still available to the dog. And and actually studies
have shown that the only difference are the only thing
better of raw over a good kibble is really stool
quality gets smaller stools. But the what people tend to
forget about is the importance of vitamins and minerals, right,
(22:54):
and and how that can increase the longevity and and
some of the other nutriceutical or even things like antioxidants,
and and you know, you're into cats. There's a study
not long ago on longevity in cats, and they found
that cats on a diet that included additional antioxidants Omega three,
(23:15):
omega six, fatty acids, as well as some prebiotics actually
lived over a year longer than cats didn't have those things.
So there's things that go into that, and then fortunately
a lot of these companies it becomes more of a
marketing thing than anything, right, So I understand people's concern,
(23:36):
but you can add you can add anime to raw
if you wish. You don't need to, but a lot
of things, you know, one of the supplements we make
is actually one of our number one selling products called enhands,
which is actually if somebody wants to do raw, somebody
wants to do home prepared homemade dog food, that the
(24:00):
enhance will balance the vitamins and minerals. And that's become
one of our number one selling products monthly because quite honestly,
more and more people are switching and making their own diets.
And as I give lectures all around, one of the
things that often happens is that somebody will ask me
(24:20):
or come up to me after the talk and say, well,
I don't feed commercial dog food. I make my own
and when I say, well, what do you do for
vitamins and minerals, they get this blank look on their face.
And that's really why we started in hand. So we
have products so you can add to raw or home
prepared to make them better. We have kibble, we have
supplements for post exercise or way to put calories on.
(24:44):
So we cover a lot of the bases in the
pet food industry.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
Thank you. You kind of already answered this question, but
just in case some of our listeners didn't catch this.
So you know, you had athletic dogs with dog sledding
and then with the diving at that you started after
your dog sledding journey of forty years. Most of us
just have, you know, house dogs. How does animate help them?
(25:10):
So the calories and all that, like a like an
athletic dog, they're just at home.
Speaker 5 (25:15):
Yeah, right, right. So obviously we have some diets that
we developed that are more performance and so those would
be more higher floric density, right, so they'd be higher fat.
But we also had formulas that were great for older dogs,
Like a couple of our pre therapeutic formulas are for
seniors because one of the things we know is our
(25:37):
pets are living longer, longer, right, And there's certain nutraceuticals
that have been shown to help as dogs age keep
them in better health, right, and and so those are
critical to ours. And the other thing is even you know,
when I first started in nutrition, the whole idea were
(26:00):
strict protein to older dogs. And now all research now
indicates it is dog's age they need more protein, not less.
So we formulated these senior formulas that are higher in protein,
that have these nutraceuticals that help with things like arthritis
or with age associated or pognitive decline. You know, those
(26:21):
are important things. And also things like vitamins and minerals.
There was a study where they found they followed five
thousand beagles in homes and they found the difference in
the diets was vitamins and minerals. And they found that
dogs on extra vitamins lived thirty two percent longer than
(26:41):
dogs or twenty three sorry, excuse me, twenty three percent
longer than dogs on average vitamin levels. And there were
thirty two percent less likely to have a veterinary visit
when they're on extra high vitamins versus average vitamin levels.
And when they went back and they tested pet foods
in the market. They found that only less than five
(27:01):
percent had extra high vitamins, right, And so that's the
kind of stuff that we do at Animate. And I
went back and laid our numbers out against that, and
we're extra high on everything. The only thing I didn't
go as high as they did was vitamin D. And
quite honestly, I wouldn't go that high in vitamin D
because if you go too high in vitamin D, you
(27:22):
increase the calcium absorption into the blood, and we already
have too much calcium in these diets anyhow. So sorry,
I get carried away in my nutrition vortex, but it's
my passion, and so it's important to me.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
The animate has a great line. So you've grown. You
don't just have the kibble, you have treats, you have supplements.
Can you give us a little synopsis of animate products overall?
Speaker 5 (27:47):
Sure? Sure. So we have several that are grain free,
we have several that are grain inclusive. We actually have
seventeen different kibble formulas now because quite honestly, no two
dogs are alike, right, and so we have different foods
for different stages where they'd be puppy, small breed, medium
and large breed, and then seniors adult foods, and then
(28:11):
we also have cat products that we have both grain
inclusive grain free. We're also big into sustainability and protecting
our natural resources. I was born and raised in the outdoor,
so that's been a fabric of our company since we started.
So all of our packaging is we use bioflex technology
(28:32):
so that the poly bags are broken down in eight
to twelve years in a landfill and they collect the
gases as opposed to eight to nine hundred years. Those
are the kind of things that are important to us.
We have some products that are actually MSc certified Marine
Stewardship Council, which is a gold standard for marine sustainability.
So that means all the fish in that product is used,
(28:55):
is kept at sustainable numbers and cock sustainably right. That
it's important to us. We're also all of our supplements
are NASC certified. That's National Animal Supplement Council, which means
that that that's the gold standard for animal supplements. It
means that all the ingredients we use have to be
(29:18):
purchased through an NASC certified supplier, so they come in
and inspect us. They inspect their supplier. They literally purchase
your supplements it retail and then send them out to
have them analyzed, so that if you say you have
a thousand milligrams of glucose meme per doulse or seven
hundred mid droid and they'll actually test to make sure
(29:38):
you do that. So it's actually more strict than what
you could what you do for human supplements, right, I mean,
which is really kind of crazy. And so you know,
we're also EU certified, which means that all the meat
and fish in our products has to be passed fit
for human consumption. That's another inspection. So I think we're
(29:59):
probably we have more inspections at our facilities and most people.
And then the other thing, quite honestly, what we do
is we do a significant amount of testing, not only
in raw materials coming in, but the product before it's
released is tested for things like salmonilla, eedback, everything, and
so it's not nothing's released till test come back, which
(30:22):
is part of the reason we've never been involved in
a recall. And one of our biggest line items is
that we continually test our products to make sure nutrient
levels are where they should be, and we don't trust
one lab. We typically send them up to four different
labs and to make sure that everything is exactly where
we want it.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
That's incredible news. For some people, they might want to
use animated food as an maybe as an enhancement or
topper with what they're using. Is that possible and it
could be you know, budget reasons or something, or or
is that going to be helpful or not effective at all?
Speaker 5 (31:03):
Well, the advantage of animate is because we've gone with
optimum levels of the nutrients and vitamins and minerals, adding
it to another complete balanced diet. Certainly, there's nothing wrong
with that. And we actually have a lot of show
people that we use our kibble for treats, right and
you know training treats. I mean, if you're going to
do a training treat, why not use something that's complete
(31:25):
in balance and that contains vitamins and minerals. So that
certainly is an important thing and one of the things
we're going to be doing that Animate is going to
be releasing some exciting new products in the next year
that are going to change what people to give us
more options for people. And I think exciting new things
(31:46):
are about to happen with Animate.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Oh, well, I'm excited to hear that. Where can people
buy Animate foods?
Speaker 5 (31:53):
Well, actually, the best way is to go to our website,
and on our website we have a dealer locator so
they can find a a dealer near them, or there's
also online options. If they don't have a dealer in
their area and the forst comes the worst, just reach
out to the office. Because one of the interesting things
(32:14):
about Animate is if we actually answer the phone when
you call, what a novel idea?
Speaker 2 (32:19):
That's always nice listeners. You know, we have a page
for every episode and they'll be a link to the website,
but it's Animate dot com. So anna a n NA
and then may m a e T dot com where
you could find out more. Also, Rob, you didn't really
plug your book, but I have to. It's Until the
(32:41):
Last Dog by Rob Downey, and you can find your
book probably gone Amazon and great bookstores all over the country.
Speaker 5 (32:51):
Yeah, it's it's actually just out. It was just released
a couple of weeks ago. We already have over ninety
five star reviews and it's currently available on Amazon and
we're just now starting to put it out secondary ways
and you know, like the you know, independent bookstores. But yeah,
(33:11):
it's really a great read. And you know something you
said we hear all the time is I simply couldn't
put it down And you don't have to be a
dog lover to enjoy it. It's a great inventor. So
if you like Alaska, you like adventure, you like dogs,
it's a great story and you know it brings in
the whole family, like our kids racing in world championships,
(33:33):
whether it be in Spain or in Northern Quebec. It's
a pretty interesting story.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
It's fascinating. What would you leave our audience with if
you could tell them one thing to do to make
their dogs life better? What would you tell them?
Speaker 5 (33:49):
I'm a nutritionist, so feed them, feed them good food.
And the point is, don't get caught up in all
the marketing and the fancy commercials, right, don't hesitate to
reach out to the pet food company and ask them
questions on why they do this or you know, there
are certain things that reading ingredient lists that you know
can help you. And don't be afraid to call out
(34:10):
and ask a pet food company why they do things.
You know, there's so much information now available. Of course,
the other the double edge of that is that a
lot of that information you find online isn't necessarily accurate.
But the bottom line is, our pets are now part
of our family. Ninety five percent of people that own
pets now considering to be a central part of the family,
(34:33):
and so feeding them properly is going to extend their lifespan.
They're going to live healthier lives, which in the long
run is also going to make you healthier because we
all know that pets have such a great positive effect
on our lives as well.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Absolutely, I want to thank you so much for coming
on Best Bets for Pets and telling us about Animate
Foods and sharing your background with us. So thank you
so much.
Speaker 5 (34:59):
Thank you, Miss Yeah, it's really been an honor and
you do a great job and Pedlife Radio is a
real asset to all pet owners, So thank you so
much for having me.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
Oh, thank you and my honor to have you on.
I hope all of you enjoyed the show. You have
to check out the book Until the Last Dog. It's
a memoir by Rob Downey. The book is incredible and
I would definitely encourage you to check out anime dot com.
Animate Foods fabulous. As you know I'm dog sitting this week,
(35:32):
so I actually have Charlie the dog with me and
I did try to animate cat food and wow. You know,
my cats are not too finicky, but they are particular
and don't like switching. But they really enjoyed the anime food,
so please check that out. So thank you Charlie, my
visiting dog. Then I'm gonna have the pleasure of dog sitting.
(35:54):
Thank you to Mollie, Dennis and Charlotte my cats for
keeping me in check. Thanks ovbsolutely to my guest Rob Donnie,
thank you so much for coming on Best Bets for Pets,
and thanks to the magic of my producer Mark Winter
for working his magic. And last but not least at all,
thank you so much listeners for listening to Best Bets
(36:15):
for Pets. I greatly appreciated, and remember, you never know
what we're gonna have next on Best Bets for Pets.
Speaker 4 (36:23):
Let's talk bets every week on demand only on petlight
Radio dot com.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.