April 25, 2025 • 34 mins
Ever wondered how being a "Dog Mom" can feel like living the thug life? In Episode 69 of Plus Fitness with Tara, I'm thrilled to welcome Danielle Melanson as a regular guest. We dive into the hilarious and heartwarming world of dog ownership in our episode, "Dog Mom Thug Life." From my childhood companion, Sandy, to Danielle's family dog, Hugger, we share stories of the joy and chaos these furry friends bring.
We discuss everything from training challenges and the emotional bonds we form with our pets to the therapeutic benefits of having a dog.
Join us as we navigate the bittersweet moments of saying goodbye to our beloved pets and discover how Amare helps me stay energized for all my dog mom duties. Tune in for a heartfelt episode celebrating the paw-sitive impact of dogs!
Connect with us:
- Tara's Instagram: @TaraCMacDonaldInc
- Danielle's Instagram: @DaniMCameron
For more info and helpful tips visit my website at taraCmacdonald.com
Connect with me and my growing community on Facebook and Instagram!
Yours in health,
Tara
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Danielle Melanson (00:01):
This is the EWN Podcast Network.
Tara (00:05):
Hi. I'm Tara from Plus Fitness with Tara. I'm a curvy,
fun body positive coach andpersonal trainer. I love
business and fitness. You havethe tools you need to be a rock
star in fitness, a healthy loveof yourself and help from me in
sifting through health news willdo that.
I've got fitness topics andguests. Rockstars aren't born,
they're bred an experience andfire. Let's do this together.
Danielle Melanson (00:27):
Hi there and welcome to Plus Fitness with
Tara, the podcast. Today, I amtalking to Danielle Malonson,
who is going to be a regularguest on our monthly podcast.
And I should say bimonthly, thatcomes out twice a month. But
today, we're talking about dogmom, thug life. And I named it
that because literally half thetime you deal, so like you have
to be a thug when you deal withyour dogs.
(00:49):
And people wonder why you'reyelling at them. Well, there's
usually a good reason becauseyou've started off gently and
they haven't listened. ButDanielle is here today. She can
tell you, we're going to startoff right off where you can
reach us. You can reach me onInstagram at Teracy McDonald
Inc.
And Danielle?
You can reach me on Instagram at Dani, D A N I
M, Cameron.
(01:09):
Perfect. And so, yeah, so we're going to talk
about dogs today. And if you'renot an animal lover, I
apologize, but maybe this is notthe podcast for you. However,
you may turn into one by thetime you finish listening to it.
So there's always thatpossibility.
Okay. So my first dog ever wasgrowing up. So we had moved back
(01:30):
to Canada from The UK. I wasnine years old and I went from a
place that was full of childrenall around because we lived in
like a townhouse situation. Andthen before that we lived in a
house that was surrounded byapartment buildings.
I had kids to play with all thetime. Come back to Nova Scotia.
I'm like nine years old andthere's no one on my street my
age. There's no one in theneighborhood my age. There's a
elementary school up the street,but like, you know, those kids
(01:51):
go to school and go home kind ofthing.
So my parents finally listenedto me and got a dog and that dog
was the best thing I ever had.Named her Sandy after the movie
with Annie and stuff, and justhad a really good experience.
Unfortunately, that dogeventually got bone cancer and
died a little horribly becausemy dad couldn't let go. At the
(02:13):
time that the dog died, I wasliving out of the home and my
mom and him had been goingthrough a divorce. And so this
dog was his best friend.
And like he couldn't saygoodbye. I've never had that
issue. We'll talk about thatlater. But I've never had that
issue because I just know fromwhen I came back and saw her
just before she died, that I waslike, this is not good. Yeah.
This is gone from being, youknow, you're hanging on to
(02:34):
something that's not there, butyou don't see it, you know? But
that was my first dog. So likeshe was crazy, like such, she
was such a, like, this wasbefore the time of click
training and trick training andbehavioral studies. It was
Barbara, I think it was Witsfordor something from the British
kennel club, and it was chokecollars and stuff. Well, my mom
tried to take her to a chokecollar class.
She came home and was like, evenmy mom who was kind of mean and
(02:57):
stuff like that was like, No,we're not doing that to this
dog. Do you know what mean?Like, was just like, We're not
choke collaring this dog. That'sjust ridiculous and stuff. So I
got dragged for, you know,fifteen to twenty years with
this dog, you know?
And you're wondering why you have like any,
you know, shoulder issues, likeweight
and shoulder I know, My massage therapist and
chiropractors thank me. Yes. Buthow about you, Janelle? What was
(03:20):
your first dog?
Very similar story as far as like the pulling
goes, because I think all thetime when my father always says,
he's actually had a shouldersurgery and he's like, it's
because of that dog hugger whodrug the shoulder right off of
me trying to walk the dog. Andback then too, there wasn't
these dog off leash parks oranything like that.
If you didn't live
on a farm, if you didn't have property that
(03:41):
had a fenced in area, then youwere forced to drag your dog
around or what they call walkinga dog on leash. And ours was
hugger, okay? But you know what?I was 18 when I had my first
dog. So that was thirty yearsago.
I didn't do it when
I did it
though. You've got thirty years ago.
Swear I had my first dog.
(04:01):
Go do the math. Yeah. And it
wasn't until my So there's three boys Sorry,
three girls and a boy, and theboy was the baby. So, there was
thirteen years between theoldest and the youngest. He was
my mom's pleasant surprise. Andbecause he was the only boy,
that was the final yes togetting a pet, to getting a dog
because my father had this thinglike every boy needs a dog. But
(04:24):
the dog became my dog.
The dog became my dog and Huggeris a family name because I'm
from Cape Breton and mygrandfather was a Hugger in the
mines. I don't really know whatpart he did, but they are like
our names, we were my brothersor my uncles and stuff, they
were little huggers and mygrandfather's name was Huggers.
(04:44):
So the dog was Huggers, youknow, my uncle's boat's name is
Huggers. So, that's what I fellin love with animals though,
because I remember coming homelike grade 12, I was like fully
hormonal plus like I'm a reallyragey teenager. And I remember
walking up the driveway, nobodydid anything to me inside the
house.
But I remember walking up andthinking, oh, if anybody talks
(05:07):
to me, I'm going to, oh, I'mgoing to, you know, kill them.
This thing like just being ragyand walking up and opening up
the dog and opening up the doorand there was hugger. Tail going
and everything, you know, lovey,lovey, lovey. And he would melt
me. She would melt me, I shouldsay.
She would melt me. And Iremember going away to
(05:29):
university the next year and Iwas devastated. I would call
home, ask about the dog, comehome on holidays to see the dog.
My brother felt so bad for me.He was an artist and he even
sketched a picture of the dogfrom my dorm room.
And that was my first dog,Hugger.
Oh, I love that. I know it was just so
(05:50):
happy to see you. Like wheneverI came back from university, my
dog was like, Oh my God, you'restill alive. This is great.
You know? And you're just like, Oh God. They
never forget.
I know. Yeah. So I mean, after that, I didn't
have a dog until after my daddied and it was definitely
something I had prepared myselffor. Having gotten the news that
my dad died in November anddealing with that, I eventually
(06:14):
knew that I would come back toNova Scotia. I came back, in
April of the year after that, in02/2007.
And I stopped on the way inbecause I wasn't supposed to fly
into Halifax and then I wasgoing to drive to New Brunswick,
get the dog and come back. Itwas a puppy, a Cairn Terrier
from Belle English over in NewBrunswick near St. John. And I
literally like got diverted froma snowstorm. So I landed in
(06:35):
Moncton.
So I called him and I said, Hey,I'm in a rental car. Like, do
you know what I mean? I can pickup a crate. He gave me a crate
and like, I took the dog home.Then Oscar, he was so he was so
calm.
The kennelogs were all barkinglike, Where are you taking that
puppy? You know? He gets in thecrate, he just sits there, looks
around, looks at me and justgoes, head tilt and goes, this
(06:56):
is interesting. And then, youknow, he could see me drive.
Well, after that, for the nextten years of his life, because
he died of cancer too, but thenhe literally like would just
like watch me drive the wholetime.
Like, and he'd even like look atmy blind spot kind of thing.
Like he was a total, totalmysterious, like little, little,
the backseat driver and stuff.Like, do you know what you're
(07:17):
doing? You know? Are you shortmom?
Yeah. But he was such a greatdog. And it was so funny because
he was the one dog that Ithought, okay, this dog is
great. Like he was house trainedthe first night. As soon as he
realized that I wanted him topee on the grass, that's what he
went and started to do.
I thought he was so great that Iwas going to get a second dog.
So a year and a half later, Iget Skye. Skye ruined me for
(07:38):
Westies because she was so bossyand so bitchy that it was just
like she could not let go of thehousehold control. So she fought
me until she died for likesixteen years. Do you know what
I mean?
About control of the household.Every morning with this big It
was wild. And Oscar, when hefirst met her, he was like, what
did you do? He literally backedup and sat down and just looked
(08:00):
at her like, nope, she's incharge. We're good.
Do you know what I mean? Like,here's like, here's all my toys.
Leave me alone. Don't eat me inmy sleep kind of thing. Know?
Like, it was just crazy.
There's something about that female
alpha dog. It doesn't matter thesize. It does not matter the
size. That was the way it waswith my little Yorkie that I got
Daphne. And there was two otherdogs.
(08:23):
By the time, we did our dogcollection, there was three in
the house and they would waitfor this seven pound dog to
finish eating. And she wouldgive the nod like, you can have
my leftovers. One of them was aRobweiler mix. One of them
was a Robweiler mix. Know.
(08:43):
Not believable. Nobody there was a
boss. There was
a boss. I know. And it was hilarious
because, like, even when, like,Skye was, like, so getting so
older and she was dodging allkinds of bullets health wise,
She managed to not getBordetella when my two huskies
did. And so they had it. Shedidn't have it, but she didn't
like that she was separated fromthem.
And she would constantlyquestion me every moment that
she could. Like she'd go over towhere the gate was, where they
(09:05):
partitioned everybody in thehouse. And she'd be like, I
don't agree with this. And she'dsit down and look at me like,
Time to move the gate. I'm like,Not happening.
Everyone's still sick. And she'djust be like, I don't agree with
it. And she'd pee in front ofme. I was like, We just went
outside. What are you doing?
Yep. Absolutely.
Yeah. I remember that when we got my
(09:27):
male dog, Zeke, and oh my God,he was just so, so sweet. And
she was pissed that I got him.And she was totally sorry.
Shouldn't have said P I S S E D.
She was so mad and she'd beenhouse trained forever. And she
(09:48):
literally, like Mick said, Ithink she took your pillow and
measured from side to side tomake sure she laid one right in
the middle, a turd right in themiddle of my pillow, had to
throw it all out. Andabsolutely, she was sending a
message. And that was themessage again, do not agree with
this decision. I was not broughtin on this memo.
(10:15):
So Sky, like when I went to like Griffin, I
took Sky with me by car becauseit was like, you know, like six
hour trip to Cape Breton to backand so picking up Griffin from
the ferry. Had Sky in the car. Ibrought Griffin. She was kind of
like wondering why I'd left. Ibrought Griffin in and strapped
him in in the harness and puthim in.
And he was like, what am I doingin a harness? And then he saw
another dog and he's just like,oh, this is great. Skye, the
(10:35):
look she gave me.
Yeah.
If if if hell could freeze over, like I was
like and then every time westopped to let him out to use
the washroom because he wasnervous. So he had kind of, you
know, some diarrhea on the wayback. She was just like, we're
leaving him. Right? Like, justtells I bring my cart.
She'd be like, oh, you know,what are we doing?
(10:56):
I know, I know. That just speaks to the
personality of dogs. And I knownot everybody gets dogs. I know
not everybody understands theirpersonality and the connection.
But you know what?
There's so much The more I readabout it, there's so much more
studies being done on dogsbecause before we didn't know so
(11:17):
much about dogs and theircapability and how smart they
were because nobody was studyingthem. But now that people are
studying them, they are provingthat they do understand what we
are saying. I mean, have youever seen a working dog like in
work
with Yeah.
Like even just going through like a police
dog or Police dogs, yeah. Policedog. You know what I mean? They
(11:40):
are incredible. Like these dogswho can literally detect cancer.
These dogs who can tell whensomebody is A blood safe. Yep.
Yeah.
Who would
drop their blood sugar or have a seizure.
Like, I'm sorry. They'reexceptional. Yeah. I love
it. I love it. There's this, I think it's a
TikTok or Instagram that Ifollow where this guy's showing
(12:01):
his police dog and showing himlike the dog on other sides
besides work and stuff, youknow? And like the dog is just
like, they go to Starbucks andhe's just like, okay, just hang
on a minute. And the dog's like,you know, getting excited.
And they get to the thing andthe dog's like, you got the
order, right? Do you know what Imean? Like, it's so excited and
stuff like that. And he's like,just hang on. He goes and the
dog is like trying to reacharound him.
(12:22):
And it's just a conditioned dog,working dog, full of all kinds
of rules and stuff like that.But when he gets to Starbucks
and knows where he is, he loseshis mind because he knows he's
getting a pup cup. Do you knowwhat I mean? Like, it's just
like and it and like and likeand like and like the guy has to
drive and hold it for him so hecan drive out of the drive
through because the dog is soexcited that he can't stand it.
(12:42):
The pop cup has to be eatenright away.
Do you know what I mean?
Adorable. That is so
No. It's a massive German shepherd looking
like as mean as anything, andthen it goes to pop up and it
turns into a total puppy. Yeah.
Exactly. Right? And that's the thing. And
you know, it's so funny becauseeverybody thinks, you know, the
bigger dogs are usuallyaggressive and they don't have
(13:04):
that soft side and that andquite the opposite that smaller
dogs, like we talked about, youknow, Skye, you know, don't have
an edge to them. I remember whenI got my Daphne, so I was like
20, I was in my late twenties.
And I remember my husband and I,he had just bought a new home.
We were still not married, butwe were together for like three,
(13:24):
almost four years. I said, okay,he had asked me to move in with
them. And I was like, okay, soI'm moving out of an apartment.
I'm gonna get a dog.
And I remember I took my Ididn't go on vacation. I took my
vacation pay to pay for thisdog. I always wanted a Yorkie.
And he was like, oh, that dog'snot going in my car. That's not
a real dog.
(13:46):
All of the things. It was like,you know, when Paris Hilton was
like putting the dogs in thepurse.
The first is yes.
It was during that era with the Paris Hilton
and the dogs in the purse. Andhe was like, you are not doing
this. I'm not walking her. I'mnot playing with her. She's not
going That was the funniestthing.
She's not going in my car. Like,come on, this is an animal
lover. And he was her number onefan. Like he had her eating out
(14:13):
of his, the palm of his handwithin a week because she was so
spicy. She's like, I told youabout the feeding.
Well, he had to constantly playwith her. He had to constantly
run with her. When we would runthat seven, eight pound Yorkie
would run 10 ks in front of usand look behind us as to say,
are you guys Hurry up. Yeah,yeah, hurry up. Yeah.
(14:34):
Like was a little bullet. Andthen, you know, like you just
talk about that other the videoof that other dog and people
would think, oh, you know, thatdog would never have a soft
slide. And they're just littletiny. You know, they're just
soft and like little lambs, youknow? Such diversity dogs do it.
I know. They teach you such valuable lessons
(14:56):
too. Like there's studies, likeyou said, that have shown
recently that apparently there'sa chemical release in the brain
that when you pet a dog, youautomatically de stress. Like
your brain goes into de stressmode. The cortisol levels go
down because you're doingsomething rhythmic, but also
you're connecting with anothersoul.
Do you know what I mean? Likeyou're touching another animal
and the dog's just happy. You'regiving it scratches and pets and
(15:18):
stuff like that. So it'senthusiasm and attitude can
totally change your entire mood.
Absolutely, without a doubt. And that's why
they bring animals into likeseniors' homes and hospitals and
everything else. It's becausethey make people feel so good.
And my husband works in aprivate detox and PTSD facility.
(15:44):
And they even had a patient, aclient who they accepted their
dog in because it was such,there was rules around it
because not everybody wasexcited that there was going to
be a dog in there.
But imagine somebody who's inPTSD and addictions recovery and
was separated from their dog forsix weeks. I wouldn't go. So, I
(16:07):
was so glad to hear that theywere willing to make exceptions
and have that dog in And eventhough there was like strict
rules and he was telling me thestrict rules, the dog's not
allowed up on the furniture. Thedog has to stay with the owner
at all times. Can't wanderaround.
It can't be petted by otherpeople. Was another story
because by the time the dog gotthere, the dog was the therapy
(16:29):
every client and every clientwas loving it. Right? Every
client was loving it becauseit's just so good for your
mental health and reducingcortisol and just getting you to
breathe and yeah. Some
of the dogs that do search and rescue, like
I think the last dog fromnineeleven passed about a year
(16:50):
ago or something that I readsomewhere like a golden
retriever, but like they foundpeople in the rubble. Do you
know what I mean? And just, andwouldn't give up. Like they were
just constantly going. As longas it was safe for them to go in
there.
They were finding people andhelping them pull out. I mean,
they did some great work andit's just one of the things I
got to love about dogs is that,you know, we definitely know
(17:10):
their personalities and we knownow there are scientific
benefits to having a dog, but Igot to tell you, it is also, you
know, a bit of work. Like youhave to, it's almost like
personal development, like onlike a % steroids. Like you're
just like, you're like, oh, thisis how it is now.
Oh yeah, it's literally, I call myself, I was
(17:32):
spoiled there for a whilebecause my husband was home for
two years. So he literally dideverything with the dogs while I
worked. And now I'm, know, youcan totally relate. I'm primary
caregiver. But I was locked intoprimary caregiver overnight,
right?
I was spoiled and then I waslocked into primary caregiver
overnight. And I'm loving it.But at the same time, I'm like,
(17:54):
holy smokes. And when I talkedto my girlfriends, they're in a
pod chat, we're trying to gettogether for a workout or we're
trying to check-in with businessor whatever. And they've got
kids, some of them three, one ofthem four kids.
And often them, they're 10. Andthey say to me, oh my gosh,
those two dogs you have areworse than kids. They're more
(18:15):
worse than kids. Yeah. Like Iliterally was like supposed to
be on a call the other night andI'm with them and I was like,
I'm really sorry.
Dolly decided that she was goingto roll in what I'm gonna tell
myself was animal feces. And nowI'm on my way home to back her
and that is an hour procedure. Icannot make the call. Am so
(18:36):
sorry.
Well, and I time everything by bladder.
Like, I know exactly that I havefour to five hours maximum if
I'm out and I have to dosomething. So depending where I
go on the route, depends ontraffic and how I get home. And
I'm just literally just like, Igotta go. Like, I can't stay.
Like, like, but you know, whenthe slowdown happened on the
McDonnell Bridge that day, thatweekend, because the McCabe
(18:58):
Bridge was closed down, I triedto go around Bedford. I likely
had enough time, but I literallysaid to the person I was with
for lunch, I was like, I got togo. I was like, if it takes two
hours to get home, I only havetwo hours before I can let them
out of the crate and there'sthis huge accident. I go, and
I've cleaned up enough puppyspills. No, I don't want to do
that right now as adult dogsright now.
And the other thing is they'llroll in it. So this is bath time
for two dogs. And I'm like, andme. And then know, I know. But
(19:24):
do dogs have any favorite toysor anything like that or any
favorite parks and beaches youwant to chat about?
They do. They absolutely love They love all
toys. As long as it's a ballthey will absolutely love a
ball. So if I have them offleash for instance and I want to
kind of keep them away you knowI find my dogs off leash as good
(19:47):
as they are. Even if we're in anoff leash park, if there's
another dog that's on leash, Ido call mine gangsters.
So, you want to talk about sublife. I literally say to people,
they're like, oh, it's okay.Your dogs can come up. And I'm
like, no, they're gangsters.Because as soon as they see a
nice behaved dog on a leash,they wanna gang up.
But if I have that one ball inmy hand, so I just kinda keep it
(20:10):
in my fanny pack. If I show themthat ball, nobody else is in the
park. No other dog, no otherhuman. And I have full control
over them. But they love thosebully sticks too.
And you know, bully sticks,they're dried up beef.
I know. I know what they are. Yes, yes,
yes, yes. They really are.
My father did not believe me. Made him look it
(20:31):
up on his phone. He goes, theyreally are. And he said, ever
since I learned that, he goes, Idon't pick them up. I just kick
them out of the way if they'reon the floor.
I'm like, okay, fair enough.
Know, I know.
But those are their two favorite things is
they love a ball and then theylove the bully sticks. I know. I
know. Yeah. But I have reallystrange dogs that aren't food
motivated.
(20:53):
I don't know if that's a doodlething or not, but what about
yours, Tara?
Mine are pretty motivated by food, but
what I've done in the past,because I've had now I've had I
had Oscar, Skye, Griffin, andthen Fergus, and now Logan. And
so now I just have two dogs,Fergus and Logan, but because
they were overlapping into, youknow, different things with
(21:15):
their health, I got the olderdog to help train the puppy. Do
know what I mean? So it just, itkind of flipped over the whole
time. Like when Oscar wasconsidered, you know, terminal,
I got Griffin.
And then when he died, Griffinwas still around with Sky. And
then when Sky died, we hadFergus still around. Do you know
I mean? Then Fergus and Griffintrained Logan, and now we just
have Fergus and Logan. And it'sjust like, so they are all food
(21:38):
trained because they learnedfrom the previous dog that if
they get attention and treats,it's a good thing.
And I'm really glad for thatbecause if they were not, it
would be almost impossible tobreak through the husky
stubbornness. Do you know whatmean? Like, they sometimes, you
can give them a command andthey'll look at you and they'll
think about it. And that'sbecause they love me that they
will do the actual command, youknow? Like it's just like
(21:58):
because they're so smart, right? Yeah.
I'm glad that they respond totreats.
I know. I respond to treats.
I
know, I know.
Because we'll be in the park sometimes and
like there's somebody andthey'll always, they say, I find
people are so respectful. Ifthey're real dog people and
they're bringing treats to thepark, they always bring like a
(22:19):
liver treat because they knowthat a lot of dogs, you know,
have weed issues and stuff likeBut a freeze dried liver treat
is usually a safe bet. And theyalways ask, you know, can your
dog have a treat? And I'm like,if she'll take it from me, you
can give it to her. And that'swhat I always say.
She's not mood food motivated,but I am. I'm like, I don't need
(22:40):
a liver treat. But we love totake them to the Like, we're so
lucky here in the HRM because Ilive in Halifax Regional
Municipality just like Taradoes. And I mean, Tara's back on
to one of the greatest parks,off leash parks, Shuby. It's hit
and miss, but we usually drivethe twenty five minutes,
(23:01):
especially in the summer downthere because it's on the lake
and the dogs can cool off and soon and so forth.
But I even like up here, we loveto take ours too. Well, when the
Oakville Golf Course is shutdown off season, they let us
take our dogs. We don't like todo it all the time because we
(23:21):
have Even though the pesticidesaren't fresh, we don't We're
aware of it. Do you know what
I mean?
We're aware of it. So we will do a weekend
when some of the other parks area little more populated and we
don't want to deal with thecrowds or whatever. We'll do
that once a week, but it's notan everyday thing. But then we
have Lori Park, which is aclosed down campground. I'm
(23:45):
going to go there today withthem.
And then I just love going tothe beach and right after you
too is Conrad's. It's kind of aunofficial dog friendly beach.
Yeah. Conrads is the only beach I can't take
my dogs to because everybodytakes their dogs off leash
there, which is fine. But mydogs, if they see a running dog,
(24:07):
it is like they go chase thatdog and then they'll be gone.
Like, they'll be like, see youlater, mom. Catch you later.
And I'm like, lost dogcompletely, you know? But I take
them to Martinique because it'sa long stretch of sand and we
can just walk, you know, forfive kilometers and stuff and do
that.
Oh, Martinique is so beautiful.
And I tried to do that early in the
mornings, especially in thesummer so that we just see the
surfers and like, we're just,it's as quiet as it can be
(24:28):
generally before the crowdstarts. So I know what you mean.
And like to have the morning, first of all,
mornings are amazing. I know I'mone of those like total geeky
morning people, But the morningsare amazing. There's a magical
time in the morning. But if youget to spend the morning with
your dog Yeah. Like double duty,and then you get to spend the
(24:50):
morning with your dog at thebeach.
Yeah.
I mean, one more thing other than that.
It's more soothing. Well, I have to, so
I'm just going to bring it up inour, we've got about less than
ten minutes left, but I just,you know, because of the product
that you gave me in Amari that Icame to on my own, like I
watched you with it for over ayear and then tried it three
(25:12):
days later, I can now get upwhen my dog cries at five in the
morning. I can get up now. Noproblem. The mental brain fog
from the medication I take isgone, But I just, you know, it
gave me a whole day longer.
Do know what I mean? Because Ican get up and be wide awake and
do stuff. And then my 09:00, I'mlike, Oh, and I'm still
surprised because it's only beena few months. I'm still
surprised that at 09:00, I'mlike, God, I'm like, right now
(25:33):
it would be like three in theafternoon and my day would be
shot. Do you know I mean?
I would have to get everythingdone before supper and get
supper made and then do thewhole thing in the evening and
get everything. I'm like, I haveso much more time now. It is a
gift. Do you know what I mean?So I feel very happy that thanks
to your community that you builtwith the online membership, but
also to Omari that I have theability to have more time in my
day.
I just got to say that's a greatYeah.
(25:56):
I mean, that's what it's all about. And
you know what? I was just doingsome Instagram stories and I was
talking about it, yes, I havelike so many testimonies. People
who have different bowel issuesor people who have issues with
anxiety or bloating orperimenopause or whatever. And
we have a kid's line, but tohear your testimony, Tara, that
(26:18):
is why we actually started Amarias the mental health company is
global, because mental wellnessis something that needs to be in
the forefront of all of our, youknow, like it's great if you
lose bloat, it's great if thishappens or if it helps you
maintain better quality of lifedealing with certain bowel
(26:40):
diseases or whatever.
But when you have that mentalclarity and that calmness and
that brain fog on, that is epicfor your that is an incredible
testimony. And I know I
know that a lot of my friends who have PhDs
and do scientific evidence allthe time and post about it.
That's great. I know what I'msaying will be considered
(27:01):
anecdotal evidence, but I'mtelling you the scientific
studies are coming because like,this is a product that works and
I'm on board. And you know, andit's kind of funny, I think I
have a different topic for myPhD thesis eventually. But if
I'm able to, by that time, getpermission, and I'll wait six
years, but keep doing otherstuff to prove that AMRI does
work, you know what I mean?
And that it just, it's like, andthere's, and there's scientific
(27:23):
reason behind it because nothingelse I did since the year
February when I got put onmedication has worked. And then
finally in twenty twenty four,October, something did and it's
fantastic. But I have to say, sowe've only got a few minutes
left and I just want to tell youthat, you know, it's been great
chatting to you about dogs, butdogs as wellness is I think what
(27:43):
we're trying to say, you know, awell rounded life, you know,
where you get out and exerciseand do more things on your own
terms is perfect, But dogs canadd to that. And I know some
people are be like, cats cantoo. And I'm like, sure.
Yes, I understand that, butwe're talking about dogs today.
I have to say as a dog lover, Ithink the worst heartbreak I've
ever gone through is theknowledge that you have to go
through when you have toactually let them go. When
(28:05):
they've become too sick thatthey can't function anymore, but
they look at you and theirspirit is ready to keep going,
but their body is just not. Youknow what I mean? And I know,
you know, what's going on withthat because I remember your
post about your little Yorkieand how she's just sitting in
the back of your car enjoyingthe ride.
And you're just like, I thinkit's almost time. And I'm like,
oh god. I'm like, that was thatwas the that's, you
(28:26):
know, you're you're never ready. You know?
You're never ready. And if youlook close enough, they tell you
though.
Yeah.
They tell you. And I remember when, you
know, well, that little Yorkieand so she was like my first
pet, like not my family's pet.And I know you know that too
about Oscar. I remember Mickgoing out and doing Scoopy Poo.
(28:50):
And he was like thinking, how amI going to tell Danielle it's
time?
Like what am I He all day long.And I called him and said, I
made an appointment with thevet. We're going tonight. And he
said, Oh my gosh, I'm sorelieved that you came to this
decision on your own. But shetold me.
Sometimes if we're silent enoughthat connection. And you know
(29:13):
what Tara, my mother always toldme. And I'll always, and I
repeat it to anybody who I seehave lost a pet. I will always
message them and tell thembecause it gave me such comfort.
And she said, making thosedecisions for animals is the
last act of kindness we can showthem after a lifetime of love
(29:35):
they've shown us.
And it's so true. It's soselfless. And when we reframe it
that way, it doesn't take theheartbreak away, but it takes
the decision making away becausewe know we're doing the right
thing. I mean, I could do awhole episode with you about how
I feel. I feel both dogs arereincarnated.
(29:59):
Yeah. I know. There's just so many lessons to
learn and they look at you likethey already know you when you
meet the puppy.
Like, there's a Like, literally from even the
coloring of my dog Dolly, Ithink is my reincarnated dog
Daphne, my Yorkie. And I knewthat. And then I had two spirit
(30:25):
workers tell me that. Very cool.Very cool.
I mean, that might be get alittle hokey. I know it could be
a little hokey. Okay, they justlost me. That's a tear up. Get
rid of this other
No. No. But I I have to tell you, there's room
for hokey and spiritual andscience all in the same breath
because we are human beings.Absolutely. Science and we
cultivate with spiritual.
(30:46):
Do you know what I mean? Like,it's
just No.
Matter what you believe in, there is
something to it. I mean, who's Imean, we just had the Pope die
after he gave us final Easterblessings. Do you know what I
mean? Tell me that is notcombined with something, you
know, like, yeah, like it justlike, was able to do his last
service and then he passed theday after. So like, I just have
(31:07):
to tell you, like, there's onething about dogs, even Griffin,
like he was hanging on so muchand it wasn't until they did the
test and the x rays to show mewhat he was dealing with.
And I was like, but he's notshowing any pain. And they're
like, yeah, he's hiding it fromyou. I'm like, God, Beeping,
beeping, beeping because then Ifelt so guilty. And so then I
was just like, okay, he's gonnalet me know when. Well, he hung
(31:27):
on an extra seven months.
Do you know what I mean? Andlike, I was getting him checked
out because, you know and thenfinally, I said to a friend over
supper, said, just wanna let youknow that I've made the
appointment with Forever Loved.They're coming to my home in
about a week, and it's going tobe four days before Christmas,
but I don't think he can hang onanymore. And they cried. Do you
know what I mean?
And I was just like, oh, God.But I was like, you know, when
(31:49):
it was finally his time, he wasjust so like, he stretched out
with a big sigh that I haven'tseen him do in like a year. And
he was just so much more withthe sedative and it was just
like, oh, this is the rightthing to do, but completely
tragic at the same time. You'reliterally just trying to cope
with it, you know? And so foreverybody, Christmas was like,
What did do for Christmas?
What are doing for Christmas?And I was like, Man, I pushed
(32:10):
the world away. And I was justlike, I'm just chilling on my
own, but
Absolutely. I would have done the exact same
thing. And that's the same thinglike off camera. I know we were
talking about my sister, who's alovely person. I swear she's a
lovely person, but she's not ananimal person at all.
And when she pats my dog, shejust does that, like, you know,
(32:32):
flat handed pat on the head,like, hi. Like, get away from
Yeah.
They don't touch me, Pat, which is I'm
trying to be nice, but I don'twant you to come near me. Yeah.
Exactly. And she runs she's the director of
many departments in nutritionhere and five hospitals. So,
(32:52):
she's a big staff. And she saidthat one of her staff, she goes,
I don't understand. She goes,she didn't come to work because
her cat died.
And I was like, oh my God, isshe okay? And then she was like,
what?
She needs
to come to work. I said, And you know, it
turns out that this person askedfor a week off and I can
understand that's lessexcessive. But I said, Oh my
(33:14):
gosh, at least give her a day ortwo off. And she was like, Okay,
well, clearly I talked to thewrong person about this. That's
why we wanna kind of talk aboutthis because sometimes if you're
a dog person and you're goingthrough this and the ups and the
downs and the highs and the lowsof being a pet owner and you
don't Not everybody understandsit, but
(33:36):
parenting. Yeah. And they can have a
stronger connection to you thansome family members for sure.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Okay. All right. Okay. So Danielle can be
reached on Instagram at
DaniMCameron. D A N I M C A M E R O N.
Great. And she's got an online membership
group that I'm a part of and Ilove it. I kind of binge it on
(33:59):
the weekends and stuff likethat. When I have free time, I
just go through everything andI'm like, oh, so true. Oh, so
good.
I love It's just, it's so muchfun. I even love the little
recipes, but it's like, haven'tcooked in a while because I
really just can't get motivated,but I just, I use saute
restaurant to have their foodand I just like heat it up. But
it's just so funny because Ilove seeing them come through
(34:19):
because I'm like, I'm going totry that. That looks really
good. You know, like, so yeah,especially to get the protein in
women, as we all know, we needprotein and strength training
now that we're in our past ourforties.
Absolutely, Yep.
And then I am Tara C. McDonald Inc. And yeah,
thanks so much for being a gueston the podcast today, Danielle,
and you'll be hearing from heragain next month.
(34:39):
Can't wait. Thank you, Tara. Always fun.
All right. Thanks, guys. Thanks for
listening.
This is the EWN Podcast Network.
Tara (00:05):
Hi. I'm Tara from Plus Fitness with Tara. I'm a curvy,
fun body positive coach andpersonal trainer. I love
business and fitness. You havethe tools you need to be a rock
star in fitness, a healthy loveof yourself and help from me in
sifting through health news willdo that.
I've got fitness topics andguests. Rockstars aren't born,
they're bred an experience andfire. Let's do this together.
Danielle Melanson (00:27):
Hi there and welcome to Plus Fitness with
Tara, the podcast. Today, I amtalking to Danielle Malonson,
who is going to be a regularguest on our monthly podcast.
And I should say bimonthly, thatcomes out twice a month. But
today, we're talking about dogmom, thug life. And I named it
that because literally half thetime you deal, so like you have
to be a thug when you deal withyour dogs.
(00:49):
And people wonder why you'reyelling at them. Well, there's
usually a good reason becauseyou've started off gently and
they haven't listened. ButDanielle is here today. She can
tell you, we're going to startoff right off where you can
reach us. You can reach me onInstagram at Teracy McDonald
Inc.
And Danielle?
You can reach me on Instagram at Dani, D A N I
M, Cameron.
(01:09):
Perfect. And so, yeah, so we're going to talk
about dogs today. And if you'renot an animal lover, I
apologize, but maybe this is notthe podcast for you. However,
you may turn into one by thetime you finish listening to it.
So there's always thatpossibility.
Okay. So my first dog ever wasgrowing up. So we had moved back
(01:30):
to Canada from The UK. I wasnine years old and I went from a
place that was full of childrenall around because we lived in
like a townhouse situation. Andthen before that we lived in a
house that was surrounded byapartment buildings.
I had kids to play with all thetime. Come back to Nova Scotia.
I'm like nine years old andthere's no one on my street my
age. There's no one in theneighborhood my age. There's a
elementary school up the street,but like, you know, those kids
(01:51):
go to school and go home kind ofthing.
So my parents finally listenedto me and got a dog and that dog
was the best thing I ever had.Named her Sandy after the movie
with Annie and stuff, and justhad a really good experience.
Unfortunately, that dogeventually got bone cancer and
died a little horribly becausemy dad couldn't let go. At the
(02:13):
time that the dog died, I wasliving out of the home and my
mom and him had been goingthrough a divorce. And so this
dog was his best friend.
And like he couldn't saygoodbye. I've never had that
issue. We'll talk about thatlater. But I've never had that
issue because I just know fromwhen I came back and saw her
just before she died, that I waslike, this is not good. Yeah.
This is gone from being, youknow, you're hanging on to
(02:34):
something that's not there, butyou don't see it, you know? But
that was my first dog. So likeshe was crazy, like such, she
was such a, like, this wasbefore the time of click
training and trick training andbehavioral studies. It was
Barbara, I think it was Witsfordor something from the British
kennel club, and it was chokecollars and stuff. Well, my mom
tried to take her to a chokecollar class.
She came home and was like, evenmy mom who was kind of mean and
(02:57):
stuff like that was like, No,we're not doing that to this
dog. Do you know what mean?Like, was just like, We're not
choke collaring this dog. That'sjust ridiculous and stuff. So I
got dragged for, you know,fifteen to twenty years with
this dog, you know?
And you're wondering why you have like any,
you know, shoulder issues, likeweight
and shoulder I know, My massage therapist and
chiropractors thank me. Yes. Buthow about you, Janelle? What was
(03:20):
your first dog?
Very similar story as far as like the pulling
goes, because I think all thetime when my father always says,
he's actually had a shouldersurgery and he's like, it's
because of that dog hugger whodrug the shoulder right off of
me trying to walk the dog. Andback then too, there wasn't
these dog off leash parks oranything like that.
If you didn't live
on a farm, if you didn't have property that
(03:41):
had a fenced in area, then youwere forced to drag your dog
around or what they call walkinga dog on leash. And ours was
hugger, okay? But you know what?I was 18 when I had my first
dog. So that was thirty yearsago.
I didn't do it when
I did it
though. You've got thirty years ago.
Swear I had my first dog.
(04:01):
Go do the math. Yeah. And it
wasn't until my So there's three boys Sorry,
three girls and a boy, and theboy was the baby. So, there was
thirteen years between theoldest and the youngest. He was
my mom's pleasant surprise. Andbecause he was the only boy,
that was the final yes togetting a pet, to getting a dog
because my father had this thinglike every boy needs a dog. But
(04:24):
the dog became my dog.
The dog became my dog and Huggeris a family name because I'm
from Cape Breton and mygrandfather was a Hugger in the
mines. I don't really know whatpart he did, but they are like
our names, we were my brothersor my uncles and stuff, they
were little huggers and mygrandfather's name was Huggers.
(04:44):
So the dog was Huggers, youknow, my uncle's boat's name is
Huggers. So, that's what I fellin love with animals though,
because I remember coming homelike grade 12, I was like fully
hormonal plus like I'm a reallyragey teenager. And I remember
walking up the driveway, nobodydid anything to me inside the
house.
But I remember walking up andthinking, oh, if anybody talks
(05:07):
to me, I'm going to, oh, I'mgoing to, you know, kill them.
This thing like just being ragyand walking up and opening up
the dog and opening up the doorand there was hugger. Tail going
and everything, you know, lovey,lovey, lovey. And he would melt
me. She would melt me, I shouldsay.
She would melt me. And Iremember going away to
(05:29):
university the next year and Iwas devastated. I would call
home, ask about the dog, comehome on holidays to see the dog.
My brother felt so bad for me.He was an artist and he even
sketched a picture of the dogfrom my dorm room.
And that was my first dog,Hugger.
Oh, I love that. I know it was just so
(05:50):
happy to see you. Like wheneverI came back from university, my
dog was like, Oh my God, you'restill alive. This is great.
You know? And you're just like, Oh God. They
never forget.
I know. Yeah. So I mean, after that, I didn't
have a dog until after my daddied and it was definitely
something I had prepared myselffor. Having gotten the news that
my dad died in November anddealing with that, I eventually
(06:14):
knew that I would come back toNova Scotia. I came back, in
April of the year after that, in02/2007.
And I stopped on the way inbecause I wasn't supposed to fly
into Halifax and then I wasgoing to drive to New Brunswick,
get the dog and come back. Itwas a puppy, a Cairn Terrier
from Belle English over in NewBrunswick near St. John. And I
literally like got diverted froma snowstorm. So I landed in
(06:35):
Moncton.
So I called him and I said, Hey,I'm in a rental car. Like, do
you know what I mean? I can pickup a crate. He gave me a crate
and like, I took the dog home.Then Oscar, he was so he was so
calm.
The kennelogs were all barkinglike, Where are you taking that
puppy? You know? He gets in thecrate, he just sits there, looks
around, looks at me and justgoes, head tilt and goes, this
(06:56):
is interesting. And then, youknow, he could see me drive.
Well, after that, for the nextten years of his life, because
he died of cancer too, but thenhe literally like would just
like watch me drive the wholetime.
Like, and he'd even like look atmy blind spot kind of thing.
Like he was a total, totalmysterious, like little, little,
the backseat driver and stuff.Like, do you know what you're
(07:17):
doing? You know? Are you shortmom?
Yeah. But he was such a greatdog. And it was so funny because
he was the one dog that Ithought, okay, this dog is
great. Like he was house trainedthe first night. As soon as he
realized that I wanted him topee on the grass, that's what he
went and started to do.
I thought he was so great that Iwas going to get a second dog.
So a year and a half later, Iget Skye. Skye ruined me for
(07:38):
Westies because she was so bossyand so bitchy that it was just
like she could not let go of thehousehold control. So she fought
me until she died for likesixteen years. Do you know what
I mean?
About control of the household.Every morning with this big It
was wild. And Oscar, when hefirst met her, he was like, what
did you do? He literally backedup and sat down and just looked
(08:00):
at her like, nope, she's incharge. We're good.
Do you know what I mean? Like,here's like, here's all my toys.
Leave me alone. Don't eat me inmy sleep kind of thing. Know?
Like, it was just crazy.
There's something about that female
alpha dog. It doesn't matter thesize. It does not matter the
size. That was the way it waswith my little Yorkie that I got
Daphne. And there was two otherdogs.
(08:23):
By the time, we did our dogcollection, there was three in
the house and they would waitfor this seven pound dog to
finish eating. And she wouldgive the nod like, you can have
my leftovers. One of them was aRobweiler mix. One of them
was a Robweiler mix. Know.
(08:43):
Not believable. Nobody there was a
boss. There was
a boss. I know. And it was hilarious
because, like, even when, like,Skye was, like, so getting so
older and she was dodging allkinds of bullets health wise,
She managed to not getBordetella when my two huskies
did. And so they had it. Shedidn't have it, but she didn't
like that she was separated fromthem.
And she would constantlyquestion me every moment that
she could. Like she'd go over towhere the gate was, where they
(09:05):
partitioned everybody in thehouse. And she'd be like, I
don't agree with this. And she'dsit down and look at me like,
Time to move the gate. I'm like,Not happening.
Everyone's still sick. And she'djust be like, I don't agree with
it. And she'd pee in front ofme. I was like, We just went
outside. What are you doing?
Yep. Absolutely.
Yeah. I remember that when we got my
(09:27):
male dog, Zeke, and oh my God,he was just so, so sweet. And
she was pissed that I got him.And she was totally sorry.
Shouldn't have said P I S S E D.
She was so mad and she'd beenhouse trained forever. And she
(09:48):
literally, like Mick said, Ithink she took your pillow and
measured from side to side tomake sure she laid one right in
the middle, a turd right in themiddle of my pillow, had to
throw it all out. Andabsolutely, she was sending a
message. And that was themessage again, do not agree with
this decision. I was not broughtin on this memo.
(10:15):
So Sky, like when I went to like Griffin, I
took Sky with me by car becauseit was like, you know, like six
hour trip to Cape Breton to backand so picking up Griffin from
the ferry. Had Sky in the car. Ibrought Griffin. She was kind of
like wondering why I'd left. Ibrought Griffin in and strapped
him in in the harness and puthim in.
And he was like, what am I doingin a harness? And then he saw
another dog and he's just like,oh, this is great. Skye, the
(10:35):
look she gave me.
Yeah.
If if if hell could freeze over, like I was
like and then every time westopped to let him out to use
the washroom because he wasnervous. So he had kind of, you
know, some diarrhea on the wayback. She was just like, we're
leaving him. Right? Like, justtells I bring my cart.
She'd be like, oh, you know,what are we doing?
(10:56):
I know, I know. That just speaks to the
personality of dogs. And I knownot everybody gets dogs. I know
not everybody understands theirpersonality and the connection.
But you know what?
There's so much The more I readabout it, there's so much more
studies being done on dogsbecause before we didn't know so
(11:17):
much about dogs and theircapability and how smart they
were because nobody was studyingthem. But now that people are
studying them, they are provingthat they do understand what we
are saying. I mean, have youever seen a working dog like in
work
with Yeah.
Like even just going through like a police
dog or Police dogs, yeah. Policedog. You know what I mean? They
(11:40):
are incredible. Like these dogswho can literally detect cancer.
These dogs who can tell whensomebody is A blood safe. Yep.
Yeah.
Who would
drop their blood sugar or have a seizure.
Like, I'm sorry. They'reexceptional. Yeah. I love
it. I love it. There's this, I think it's a
TikTok or Instagram that Ifollow where this guy's showing
(12:01):
his police dog and showing himlike the dog on other sides
besides work and stuff, youknow? And like the dog is just
like, they go to Starbucks andhe's just like, okay, just hang
on a minute. And the dog's like,you know, getting excited.
And they get to the thing andthe dog's like, you got the
order, right? Do you know what Imean? Like, it's so excited and
stuff like that. And he's like,just hang on. He goes and the
dog is like trying to reacharound him.
(12:22):
And it's just a conditioned dog,working dog, full of all kinds
of rules and stuff like that.But when he gets to Starbucks
and knows where he is, he loseshis mind because he knows he's
getting a pup cup. Do you knowwhat I mean? Like, it's just
like and it and like and likeand like and like the guy has to
drive and hold it for him so hecan drive out of the drive
through because the dog is soexcited that he can't stand it.
(12:42):
The pop cup has to be eatenright away.
Do you know what I mean?
Adorable. That is so
No. It's a massive German shepherd looking
like as mean as anything, andthen it goes to pop up and it
turns into a total puppy. Yeah.
Exactly. Right? And that's the thing. And
you know, it's so funny becauseeverybody thinks, you know, the
bigger dogs are usuallyaggressive and they don't have
(13:04):
that soft side and that andquite the opposite that smaller
dogs, like we talked about, youknow, Skye, you know, don't have
an edge to them. I remember whenI got my Daphne, so I was like
20, I was in my late twenties.
And I remember my husband and I,he had just bought a new home.
We were still not married, butwe were together for like three,
(13:24):
almost four years. I said, okay,he had asked me to move in with
them. And I was like, okay, soI'm moving out of an apartment.
I'm gonna get a dog.
And I remember I took my Ididn't go on vacation. I took my
vacation pay to pay for thisdog. I always wanted a Yorkie.
And he was like, oh, that dog'snot going in my car. That's not
a real dog.
(13:46):
All of the things. It was like,you know, when Paris Hilton was
like putting the dogs in thepurse.
The first is yes.
It was during that era with the Paris Hilton
and the dogs in the purse. Andhe was like, you are not doing
this. I'm not walking her. I'mnot playing with her. She's not
going That was the funniestthing.
She's not going in my car. Like,come on, this is an animal
lover. And he was her number onefan. Like he had her eating out
(14:13):
of his, the palm of his handwithin a week because she was so
spicy. She's like, I told youabout the feeding.
Well, he had to constantly playwith her. He had to constantly
run with her. When we would runthat seven, eight pound Yorkie
would run 10 ks in front of usand look behind us as to say,
are you guys Hurry up. Yeah,yeah, hurry up. Yeah.
(14:34):
Like was a little bullet. Andthen, you know, like you just
talk about that other the videoof that other dog and people
would think, oh, you know, thatdog would never have a soft
slide. And they're just littletiny. You know, they're just
soft and like little lambs, youknow? Such diversity dogs do it.
I know. They teach you such valuable lessons
(14:56):
too. Like there's studies, likeyou said, that have shown
recently that apparently there'sa chemical release in the brain
that when you pet a dog, youautomatically de stress. Like
your brain goes into de stressmode. The cortisol levels go
down because you're doingsomething rhythmic, but also
you're connecting with anothersoul.
Do you know what I mean? Likeyou're touching another animal
and the dog's just happy. You'regiving it scratches and pets and
(15:18):
stuff like that. So it'senthusiasm and attitude can
totally change your entire mood.
Absolutely, without a doubt. And that's why
they bring animals into likeseniors' homes and hospitals and
everything else. It's becausethey make people feel so good.
And my husband works in aprivate detox and PTSD facility.
(15:44):
And they even had a patient, aclient who they accepted their
dog in because it was such,there was rules around it
because not everybody wasexcited that there was going to
be a dog in there.
But imagine somebody who's inPTSD and addictions recovery and
was separated from their dog forsix weeks. I wouldn't go. So, I
(16:07):
was so glad to hear that theywere willing to make exceptions
and have that dog in And eventhough there was like strict
rules and he was telling me thestrict rules, the dog's not
allowed up on the furniture. Thedog has to stay with the owner
at all times. Can't wanderaround.
It can't be petted by otherpeople. Was another story
because by the time the dog gotthere, the dog was the therapy
(16:29):
every client and every clientwas loving it. Right? Every
client was loving it becauseit's just so good for your
mental health and reducingcortisol and just getting you to
breathe and yeah. Some
of the dogs that do search and rescue, like
I think the last dog fromnineeleven passed about a year
(16:50):
ago or something that I readsomewhere like a golden
retriever, but like they foundpeople in the rubble. Do you
know what I mean? And just, andwouldn't give up. Like they were
just constantly going. As longas it was safe for them to go in
there.
They were finding people andhelping them pull out. I mean,
they did some great work andit's just one of the things I
got to love about dogs is that,you know, we definitely know
(17:10):
their personalities and we knownow there are scientific
benefits to having a dog, but Igot to tell you, it is also, you
know, a bit of work. Like youhave to, it's almost like
personal development, like onlike a % steroids. Like you're
just like, you're like, oh, thisis how it is now.
Oh yeah, it's literally, I call myself, I was
(17:32):
spoiled there for a whilebecause my husband was home for
two years. So he literally dideverything with the dogs while I
worked. And now I'm, know, youcan totally relate. I'm primary
caregiver. But I was locked intoprimary caregiver overnight,
right?
I was spoiled and then I waslocked into primary caregiver
overnight. And I'm loving it.But at the same time, I'm like,
(17:54):
holy smokes. And when I talkedto my girlfriends, they're in a
pod chat, we're trying to gettogether for a workout or we're
trying to check-in with businessor whatever. And they've got
kids, some of them three, one ofthem four kids.
And often them, they're 10. Andthey say to me, oh my gosh,
those two dogs you have areworse than kids. They're more
(18:15):
worse than kids. Yeah. Like Iliterally was like supposed to
be on a call the other night andI'm with them and I was like,
I'm really sorry.
Dolly decided that she was goingto roll in what I'm gonna tell
myself was animal feces. And nowI'm on my way home to back her
and that is an hour procedure. Icannot make the call. Am so
(18:36):
sorry.
Well, and I time everything by bladder.
Like, I know exactly that I havefour to five hours maximum if
I'm out and I have to dosomething. So depending where I
go on the route, depends ontraffic and how I get home. And
I'm just literally just like, Igotta go. Like, I can't stay.
Like, like, but you know, whenthe slowdown happened on the
McDonnell Bridge that day, thatweekend, because the McCabe
(18:58):
Bridge was closed down, I triedto go around Bedford. I likely
had enough time, but I literallysaid to the person I was with
for lunch, I was like, I got togo. I was like, if it takes two
hours to get home, I only havetwo hours before I can let them
out of the crate and there'sthis huge accident. I go, and
I've cleaned up enough puppyspills. No, I don't want to do
that right now as adult dogsright now.
And the other thing is they'llroll in it. So this is bath time
for two dogs. And I'm like, andme. And then know, I know. But
(19:24):
do dogs have any favorite toysor anything like that or any
favorite parks and beaches youwant to chat about?
They do. They absolutely love They love all
toys. As long as it's a ballthey will absolutely love a
ball. So if I have them offleash for instance and I want to
kind of keep them away you knowI find my dogs off leash as good
(19:47):
as they are. Even if we're in anoff leash park, if there's
another dog that's on leash, Ido call mine gangsters.
So, you want to talk about sublife. I literally say to people,
they're like, oh, it's okay.Your dogs can come up. And I'm
like, no, they're gangsters.Because as soon as they see a
nice behaved dog on a leash,they wanna gang up.
But if I have that one ball inmy hand, so I just kinda keep it
(20:10):
in my fanny pack. If I show themthat ball, nobody else is in the
park. No other dog, no otherhuman. And I have full control
over them. But they love thosebully sticks too.
And you know, bully sticks,they're dried up beef.
I know. I know what they are. Yes, yes,
yes, yes. They really are.
My father did not believe me. Made him look it
(20:31):
up on his phone. He goes, theyreally are. And he said, ever
since I learned that, he goes, Idon't pick them up. I just kick
them out of the way if they'reon the floor.
I'm like, okay, fair enough.
Know, I know.
But those are their two favorite things is
they love a ball and then theylove the bully sticks. I know. I
know. Yeah. But I have reallystrange dogs that aren't food
motivated.
(20:53):
I don't know if that's a doodlething or not, but what about
yours, Tara?
Mine are pretty motivated by food, but
what I've done in the past,because I've had now I've had I
had Oscar, Skye, Griffin, andthen Fergus, and now Logan. And
so now I just have two dogs,Fergus and Logan, but because
they were overlapping into, youknow, different things with
(21:15):
their health, I got the olderdog to help train the puppy. Do
know what I mean? So it just, itkind of flipped over the whole
time. Like when Oscar wasconsidered, you know, terminal,
I got Griffin.
And then when he died, Griffinwas still around with Sky. And
then when Sky died, we hadFergus still around. Do you know
I mean? Then Fergus and Griffintrained Logan, and now we just
have Fergus and Logan. And it'sjust like, so they are all food
(21:38):
trained because they learnedfrom the previous dog that if
they get attention and treats,it's a good thing.
And I'm really glad for thatbecause if they were not, it
would be almost impossible tobreak through the husky
stubbornness. Do you know whatmean? Like, they sometimes, you
can give them a command andthey'll look at you and they'll
think about it. And that'sbecause they love me that they
will do the actual command, youknow? Like it's just like
(21:58):
because they're so smart, right? Yeah.
I'm glad that they respond totreats.
I know. I respond to treats.
I
know, I know.
Because we'll be in the park sometimes and
like there's somebody andthey'll always, they say, I find
people are so respectful. Ifthey're real dog people and
they're bringing treats to thepark, they always bring like a
(22:19):
liver treat because they knowthat a lot of dogs, you know,
have weed issues and stuff likeBut a freeze dried liver treat
is usually a safe bet. And theyalways ask, you know, can your
dog have a treat? And I'm like,if she'll take it from me, you
can give it to her. And that'swhat I always say.
She's not mood food motivated,but I am. I'm like, I don't need
(22:40):
a liver treat. But we love totake them to the Like, we're so
lucky here in the HRM because Ilive in Halifax Regional
Municipality just like Taradoes. And I mean, Tara's back on
to one of the greatest parks,off leash parks, Shuby. It's hit
and miss, but we usually drivethe twenty five minutes,
(23:01):
especially in the summer downthere because it's on the lake
and the dogs can cool off and soon and so forth.
But I even like up here, we loveto take ours too. Well, when the
Oakville Golf Course is shutdown off season, they let us
take our dogs. We don't like todo it all the time because we
(23:21):
have Even though the pesticidesaren't fresh, we don't We're
aware of it. Do you know what
I mean?
We're aware of it. So we will do a weekend
when some of the other parks area little more populated and we
don't want to deal with thecrowds or whatever. We'll do
that once a week, but it's notan everyday thing. But then we
have Lori Park, which is aclosed down campground. I'm
(23:45):
going to go there today withthem.
And then I just love going tothe beach and right after you
too is Conrad's. It's kind of aunofficial dog friendly beach.
Yeah. Conrads is the only beach I can't take
my dogs to because everybodytakes their dogs off leash
there, which is fine. But mydogs, if they see a running dog,
(24:07):
it is like they go chase thatdog and then they'll be gone.
Like, they'll be like, see youlater, mom. Catch you later.
And I'm like, lost dogcompletely, you know? But I take
them to Martinique because it'sa long stretch of sand and we
can just walk, you know, forfive kilometers and stuff and do
that.
Oh, Martinique is so beautiful.
And I tried to do that early in the
mornings, especially in thesummer so that we just see the
surfers and like, we're just,it's as quiet as it can be
(24:28):
generally before the crowdstarts. So I know what you mean.
And like to have the morning, first of all,
mornings are amazing. I know I'mone of those like total geeky
morning people, But the morningsare amazing. There's a magical
time in the morning. But if youget to spend the morning with
your dog Yeah. Like double duty,and then you get to spend the
(24:50):
morning with your dog at thebeach.
Yeah.
I mean, one more thing other than that.
It's more soothing. Well, I have to, so
I'm just going to bring it up inour, we've got about less than
ten minutes left, but I just,you know, because of the product
that you gave me in Amari that Icame to on my own, like I
watched you with it for over ayear and then tried it three
(25:12):
days later, I can now get upwhen my dog cries at five in the
morning. I can get up now. Noproblem. The mental brain fog
from the medication I take isgone, But I just, you know, it
gave me a whole day longer.
Do know what I mean? Because Ican get up and be wide awake and
do stuff. And then my 09:00, I'mlike, Oh, and I'm still
surprised because it's only beena few months. I'm still
surprised that at 09:00, I'mlike, God, I'm like, right now
(25:33):
it would be like three in theafternoon and my day would be
shot. Do you know I mean?
I would have to get everythingdone before supper and get
supper made and then do thewhole thing in the evening and
get everything. I'm like, I haveso much more time now. It is a
gift. Do you know what I mean?So I feel very happy that thanks
to your community that you builtwith the online membership, but
also to Omari that I have theability to have more time in my
day.
I just got to say that's a greatYeah.
(25:56):
I mean, that's what it's all about. And
you know what? I was just doingsome Instagram stories and I was
talking about it, yes, I havelike so many testimonies. People
who have different bowel issuesor people who have issues with
anxiety or bloating orperimenopause or whatever. And
we have a kid's line, but tohear your testimony, Tara, that
(26:18):
is why we actually started Amarias the mental health company is
global, because mental wellnessis something that needs to be in
the forefront of all of our, youknow, like it's great if you
lose bloat, it's great if thishappens or if it helps you
maintain better quality of lifedealing with certain bowel
(26:40):
diseases or whatever.
But when you have that mentalclarity and that calmness and
that brain fog on, that is epicfor your that is an incredible
testimony. And I know I
know that a lot of my friends who have PhDs
and do scientific evidence allthe time and post about it.
That's great. I know what I'msaying will be considered
(27:01):
anecdotal evidence, but I'mtelling you the scientific
studies are coming because like,this is a product that works and
I'm on board. And you know, andit's kind of funny, I think I
have a different topic for myPhD thesis eventually. But if
I'm able to, by that time, getpermission, and I'll wait six
years, but keep doing otherstuff to prove that AMRI does
work, you know what I mean?
And that it just, it's like, andthere's, and there's scientific
(27:23):
reason behind it because nothingelse I did since the year
February when I got put onmedication has worked. And then
finally in twenty twenty four,October, something did and it's
fantastic. But I have to say, sowe've only got a few minutes
left and I just want to tell youthat, you know, it's been great
chatting to you about dogs, butdogs as wellness is I think what
(27:43):
we're trying to say, you know, awell rounded life, you know,
where you get out and exerciseand do more things on your own
terms is perfect, But dogs canadd to that. And I know some
people are be like, cats cantoo. And I'm like, sure.
Yes, I understand that, butwe're talking about dogs today.
I have to say as a dog lover, Ithink the worst heartbreak I've
ever gone through is theknowledge that you have to go
through when you have toactually let them go. When
(28:05):
they've become too sick thatthey can't function anymore, but
they look at you and theirspirit is ready to keep going,
but their body is just not. Youknow what I mean? And I know,
you know, what's going on withthat because I remember your
post about your little Yorkieand how she's just sitting in
the back of your car enjoyingthe ride.
And you're just like, I thinkit's almost time. And I'm like,
oh god. I'm like, that was thatwas the that's, you
(28:26):
know, you're you're never ready. You know?
You're never ready. And if youlook close enough, they tell you
though.
Yeah.
They tell you. And I remember when, you
know, well, that little Yorkieand so she was like my first
pet, like not my family's pet.And I know you know that too
about Oscar. I remember Mickgoing out and doing Scoopy Poo.
(28:50):
And he was like thinking, how amI going to tell Danielle it's
time?
Like what am I He all day long.And I called him and said, I
made an appointment with thevet. We're going tonight. And he
said, Oh my gosh, I'm sorelieved that you came to this
decision on your own. But shetold me.
Sometimes if we're silent enoughthat connection. And you know
(29:13):
what Tara, my mother always toldme. And I'll always, and I
repeat it to anybody who I seehave lost a pet. I will always
message them and tell thembecause it gave me such comfort.
And she said, making thosedecisions for animals is the
last act of kindness we can showthem after a lifetime of love
(29:35):
they've shown us.
And it's so true. It's soselfless. And when we reframe it
that way, it doesn't take theheartbreak away, but it takes
the decision making away becausewe know we're doing the right
thing. I mean, I could do awhole episode with you about how
I feel. I feel both dogs arereincarnated.
(29:59):
Yeah. I know. There's just so many lessons to
learn and they look at you likethey already know you when you
meet the puppy.
Like, there's a Like, literally from even the
coloring of my dog Dolly, Ithink is my reincarnated dog
Daphne, my Yorkie. And I knewthat. And then I had two spirit
(30:25):
workers tell me that. Very cool.Very cool.
I mean, that might be get alittle hokey. I know it could be
a little hokey. Okay, they justlost me. That's a tear up. Get
rid of this other
No. No. But I I have to tell you, there's room
for hokey and spiritual andscience all in the same breath
because we are human beings.Absolutely. Science and we
cultivate with spiritual.
(30:46):
Do you know what I mean? Like,it's
just No.
Matter what you believe in, there is
something to it. I mean, who's Imean, we just had the Pope die
after he gave us final Easterblessings. Do you know what I
mean? Tell me that is notcombined with something, you
know, like, yeah, like it justlike, was able to do his last
service and then he passed theday after. So like, I just have
(31:07):
to tell you, like, there's onething about dogs, even Griffin,
like he was hanging on so muchand it wasn't until they did the
test and the x rays to show mewhat he was dealing with.
And I was like, but he's notshowing any pain. And they're
like, yeah, he's hiding it fromyou. I'm like, God, Beeping,
beeping, beeping because then Ifelt so guilty. And so then I
was just like, okay, he's gonnalet me know when. Well, he hung
(31:27):
on an extra seven months.
Do you know what I mean? Andlike, I was getting him checked
out because, you know and thenfinally, I said to a friend over
supper, said, just wanna let youknow that I've made the
appointment with Forever Loved.They're coming to my home in
about a week, and it's going tobe four days before Christmas,
but I don't think he can hang onanymore. And they cried. Do you
know what I mean?
And I was just like, oh, God.But I was like, you know, when
(31:49):
it was finally his time, he wasjust so like, he stretched out
with a big sigh that I haven'tseen him do in like a year. And
he was just so much more withthe sedative and it was just
like, oh, this is the rightthing to do, but completely
tragic at the same time. You'reliterally just trying to cope
with it, you know? And so foreverybody, Christmas was like,
What did do for Christmas?
What are doing for Christmas?And I was like, Man, I pushed
(32:10):
the world away. And I was justlike, I'm just chilling on my
own, but
Absolutely. I would have done the exact same
thing. And that's the same thinglike off camera. I know we were
talking about my sister, who's alovely person. I swear she's a
lovely person, but she's not ananimal person at all.
And when she pats my dog, shejust does that, like, you know,
(32:32):
flat handed pat on the head,like, hi. Like, get away from
Yeah.
They don't touch me, Pat, which is I'm
trying to be nice, but I don'twant you to come near me. Yeah.
Exactly. And she runs she's the director of
many departments in nutritionhere and five hospitals. So,
(32:52):
she's a big staff. And she saidthat one of her staff, she goes,
I don't understand. She goes,she didn't come to work because
her cat died.
And I was like, oh my God, isshe okay? And then she was like,
what?
She needs
to come to work. I said, And you know, it
turns out that this person askedfor a week off and I can
understand that's lessexcessive. But I said, Oh my
(33:14):
gosh, at least give her a day ortwo off. And she was like, Okay,
well, clearly I talked to thewrong person about this. That's
why we wanna kind of talk aboutthis because sometimes if you're
a dog person and you're goingthrough this and the ups and the
downs and the highs and the lowsof being a pet owner and you
don't Not everybody understandsit, but
(33:36):
parenting. Yeah. And they can have a
stronger connection to you thansome family members for sure.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Okay. All right. Okay. So Danielle can be
reached on Instagram at
DaniMCameron. D A N I M C A M E R O N.
Great. And she's got an online membership
group that I'm a part of and Ilove it. I kind of binge it on
(33:59):
the weekends and stuff likethat. When I have free time, I
just go through everything andI'm like, oh, so true. Oh, so
good.
I love It's just, it's so muchfun. I even love the little
recipes, but it's like, haven'tcooked in a while because I
really just can't get motivated,but I just, I use saute
restaurant to have their foodand I just like heat it up. But
it's just so funny because Ilove seeing them come through
(34:19):
because I'm like, I'm going totry that. That looks really
good. You know, like, so yeah,especially to get the protein in
women, as we all know, we needprotein and strength training
now that we're in our past ourforties.
Absolutely, Yep.
And then I am Tara C. McDonald Inc. And yeah,
thanks so much for being a gueston the podcast today, Danielle,
and you'll be hearing from heragain next month.
(34:39):
Can't wait. Thank you, Tara. Always fun.
All right. Thanks, guys. Thanks for
listening.
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