Barking Mad Podcast

In this episode, Dr. Megan Sprinkle, Dr. Mary Cope and Dr. Renee Streeter talk with Dr. Stacey Leach, a Board-Certified Specialist in Cardiology, Associate Teaching Professor of Cardiology, and Chief of Cardiology at the University of Missouri. In this episode, they discuss how Dr. Leach flourished in veterinary medicine, the groundbreaking research Dr. Leach has done on dogs, and how Covid impacted his research.

BSM Partners 

BSM Partners is a multidisciplinary team of PhDs, board-certified veterinarians, and nutritionists offering 400+ years of cumulative technical experience, supporting the development of thousands of products per year. From R&D to replenishment, we have you covered. 

BSM Partners offers a wide range of services including research, product innovation, FSQAR, nutrition services, veterinary services, transformation, operations support, and engineering. 

Learn more at https://bsmpartners.net/ 

Show Notes:

(01:15)  Why Dr. Leach Studied DCM

(02:51)  How Covid Complicated the Research Study

(05:26)  Balancing Research and Health Risks During Covid

(08:39)  Challenges in Doing Biopsies on Dogs

(10:39)  What Happened to the Dogs After the Study

(11:40)  How a Veterinarian's Quick Thinking Saved a Family Dog and Inspired a Young Boy to Pursue Vet Medicine

(13:19)  How Dr. Leach Became Specialized

In this episode, Dr. Megan Sprinkle and Dr. Mary Cope talk with Dr. Steve Lerner, a Senior Scientific Advisor at Chr. Hansen.  Topics they discuss include what probiotics are, best practices for giving your pet probiotics, and the future of probiotic research.

BSM Partners 

BSM Partners is a multidisciplinary team of PhDs, board-certified veterinarians, and nutritionists offering 400+ years of cumulative technical experience, supporting the development of thousands of products per year. From R&D to replenishment, we have you covered. 

BSM Partners offers a wide range of services including research, product innovation, FSQAR, nutrition services, veterinary services, transformation, operations support, and engineering. 

Learn more at https://bsmpartners.net/ 

Show Notes

(01:02) How Dr. Steve fell in love with probiotics

(02:31)  What exactly are probiotics?

(05:04)  How probiotics help our digestive system

(08:29)  Differences in probiotics made Easy

(11:25)  How they choose the best probiotics for a particular purpose

(13:45)  Dried versus wet versus refrigerated: What works best?

(17:37)  How to find the right probiotic for your pet

(19:50)  What probiotics can do for your pets

(24:13)  Probiotics: Is there a difference between people and pets?

(27:58)  Can you consume too many probiotics?

(38:04)  The best way to give your pets probiotics

(42:01)  What the future holds for probiotic research

(47:19)  How technology changes so quickly

In this episode, Dr. Megan Sprinkle, Dr. Mary Cope, Dr. Brad Quest and Dr. Stephanie Clark from BSM sit down with Dr. Kate Shoveller, a leading pet researcher.  Topics they discuss include companion animal nutrition, Dr. Shovellers’ work in research, and her thoughts about DCM.

Links:

Dr Kate Shoveller Bio: https://animalbiosciences.uoguelph.ca/abscpeople/ashovell

BSM Article on Dr. Kate Shoveller: https://bsmpartners.net/resources/women-in-industry-dr-kate-shoveller-professor-university-of-guelph-animal-biosciences/

Dr. Kate Shoveller

Dr. Anna Kate Shoveller, professor at the University of Guelph’s Department of Animal Biosciences, has a deep understanding of companion animal nutrition that is rooted in science, passed down and built upon by her team of nearly 20 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Shoveller’s commitment to pet food is illustrated by her dedication and respect for animals, research, and the formidable team of students, colleagues, and industry professionals with which she has surrounded herself.

BSM Partners 

BSM Partners is a multidisciplinary team of PhDs, board-certified veterinarians, and nutritionists offering 400+ years of cumulative technical experience, supporting the development of thousands of products per year. From R&D to replenishment, we have you covered. 

BSM Partners offers a wide range of services including research, product innovation, FSQAR, nutrition services, veterinary services, transformation, operations support, and engineering. 

Learn more at https://bsmpartners.net/ 

Show Notes:

(01:55)  How a chance encounter with a pig specialist lead Dr. Shoveller into the research

(05:13)  Getting into pet nutrition:  An invitation too good to pass up

(09:15)  Bias:  How to keep data pure to tell the real story

(14:07)  Conflicting statements: How pet owners can find reliable sources of information

(17:37)  Mixing science with emotion: A veterinarians perspective

(20:33)  How Dr. Shoveller entered the world of pulse research and DCM

(24:25)  International perspective: How Europeans view DCM versus North America

(28:20)  What other factors impact the health of pets

(31:47)  Advice to pet owners about pulses in diets

(36:16)  How Dr. Shoveller is impacting future generations of researchers

(37:32)  What is the biggest misconception about the pet food industry?

In this episode, Dr. Megan Sprinkle and Dr. Mary Cope talk with Angie Hohensee, founder and CEO of Pet Pasta, a unique, tasty, and nutritious pet topper.  They discuss the idea that inspired Pet Pasta, the ups and downs of pet entrepreneurship, and advice for female entrepreneurs wanting to enter the pet space.

Links:

Pet Pasta Website: https://petpasta.com/

About the Founder

Angie Hohensee created the first nutrient-rich pasta made just for dogs. When used as a base, the Pet Pasta’s Boboghetti is a great addition to help balance a homemade diet. It can also be used as a topper or a nutritious treat. 

BSM Partners 

BSM Partners is a multidisciplinary team of PhDs, board-certified veterinarians, and nutritionists offering 400+ years of cumulative technical experience, supporting the development of thousands of products per year. From R&D to replenishment, we have you covered. 

BSM Partners offers a wide range of services including research, product innovation, FSQAR, nutrition services, veterinary services, transformation, operations support, and engineering. 

Learn more at https://bsmpartners.net/ 

Show Notes:

(01:19) How a random thought turned into a great idea for a business

(02:28) What do you feed dogs that are allergic to everything

(04:42)  How Google helped Angie kickstart her business

(05:26)  The Cold Call that Changed the Game

(06:12)  From Humble Beginnings, a Business is Born

(07:43)  What Makes Pet Pasta Different

(09:14) The Struggles of a Small Business in a Huge Pond

(10:08)  Growing Pains: Finding the Right Kitchen

(11:23)  Pet Pasta Finds a Great Ally

(12:29)  How Pet Pasta Works With Your Dog’s Diet

(13:09)  Advice for Entrepreneurs Wanting to Enter the Pet Space

(18:07) What does the Market Think of Pet Pasta?

(19:44)  Common Questions to the Net Pet Pasta

(21:23)  Practical Advice for Dog Parents

(23:09)  What do Angie’s Dogs think about Pet Pasta?

In this episode, Dr. Megan Sprinkle and Dr. Mary Cope along with Nate Thomas and Seth Kaufman talk with Todd Dittman (Executive Director at IndiePet) and Al Puntillo (President of IndiePet and Co-CEO for Mud Bay).  In this episode, they discuss behind-the-scenes challenges for independent pet store retailers, how IndiePet uses collaboration to give strength to their members, and why working with the Pet Sustainability Coalition is good for business.

About IndiePet

IndiePet's purpose is to empower independent and neighborhood pet retailers to work together as peers for the well-being of North American pets and pet owners as they maintain a strong, sustainable, and growing place at the heart of the pet industry. The company began as a small group of retailers meeting in conference rooms at SuperZoo from 2016 to 2019. In 2020, the company was formally established as the Independent & Neighborhood Pet Retail Association (IndiePet).

Recent/Relevant Articles: 

Indie Pet 

1. Indie Pet – Who Are We 

2. New Year Brings More from IndiePet to You – Learn about IndiePet’s growth in 2022, and company plans for 2023 

3. LinkedIn – Todd Dittman 

BSM Partners 

BSM Partners is a multidisciplinary team of PhDs, board-certified veterinarians and nutritionists offering 400+ years of cumulative technical experience, supporting the development of thousands of products per year. From R&D to replenishment, we have you covered. 

BSM Partners offers a wide range of services including research, product innovation, FSQAR, nutrition services, veterinary services, transformation, operations support, and engineering. 

Learn more at https://bsmpartners.net/ 

1. BSM Partners – What We Do 

2. Pet Age Honors 2022 Best Places to Work in the Pet Industry 

Show Notes:

(02:49) How a chance meeting created an organization for good

(04:58) Why big box is threatening independent pet retailers

(06:32) Two powerful reasons independent pet retailers are better than big-box

(07:34) How Service Plays a Critical Role to Independent Pet Retailers

(08:59) Turning Business Competitors Into Category Collaborators

(11:11) Success with Customers: How Indie Pet trains employees to provide top-notch service

(12:33) How gamification plays into a high level of employee training

(13:32) The twofold approach Mud Bay takes to help pet parents and their pets that online retailers can’t

(15:04) IndiePet unlocks the mystery of delivering consistent recommendations

(16:53) How the Independent Pet Retailer becomes a curator to provide excellent customer service

(19:49) What IndiePet offers to its membership

(21:02) Two exciting programs (and 1 Event) that are coming to IndiePet members

(24:45) The Biggest Challenge in Pet Food Industry

(25:22)  Myth: Online is cheaper

(27:57) Sustainability: the super fuzzy math

(30:59) How big box falls shorts with sustainability

(33:34) Sustainability guidelines created with Pet Sustainability Coalition

(34:58) The Partnership between IndiePet and BSM

(37:09) Mindshift: how veterinarians are evolving in pet nutrition

(38:13) How IndiePet is promoting collaboration between retailers and veterinarians

(40:53) The True Mission of IndiePet

(41:48) Connecting retailers directly to manufacturers

In this episode, Dr. Megan Sprinkle, producer Whitney Russell, and Dr. Renee Streeter interview Renaldo Webb.  Renaldo is the founder of the popular PetPlate.  In this episode, they discuss how Renaldo discovered his passion for creating human-grade pet food, how he uses his MIT experience to help build a better company and experience for his customers, and his thoughts about African-American business owners in the Pet Industry.

About Renaldo Webb:

Renaldo Webb is the founder of PetPlate, with a mission to make better food for dogs so that they can live longer, healthier, and happier lives with their families. He founded the company in 2016 with a unique model of providing healthy pet food direct to consumers. It is frozen food formulated in collaboration with a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist®, Dr. Renee Streeter. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in physics. Before starting his pet food brand, he worked as a consultant for Catterton and McKinsey.

LinkedIn | Website

Recent/Relevant Articles:

• Meet The Only Black Dog Food Founder in The US—Here's Why Renaldo Webb Is On A Mission To Drive Pet Health For All | 2023
• Renaldo Webb & Gertrude Allen of ‘Pet Plate’: 5 Important Business Lessons I Learned While Being on Shark Tank | 2020
• Pet Plate Founder Renaldo Webb Shares a Behind-the-Scenes Look at His Shark Tank Experience | 2020

About BSM Partners: 

BSM Partners is a multidisciplinary team of PhDs, board-certified veterinarians, and nutritionists offering 400+ years of cumulative technical experience, supporting the development of thousands of products per year. From R&D to replenishment, we have you covered. 

BSM Partners offers a wide range of services including research, product innovation, FSQAR, nutrition services, veterinary services, transformation, operations support, consumer strategy, and engineering. Learn more at https://bsmpartners.net/

Show Notes:

(01:12)  How the Family Pet Lead to a Thriving Business

(02:35)  How Renaldo’s MIT Experience Has Helped Grow PetPlate

(04:39)  Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork

(06:45)  From Shark Tank Failure to Massive Success

(09:35)  Why Working with Customers During Testing is Critical

(12:44)  Everyone’s Responsibility to Make the Industry Better

(13:20)  Renaldo’s take on African American Business’ in the Pet Industry

(14:50)  How PetPlate Shattered Human-Grade Dog-Food Myths

(15:40)  Where PetPlate is Today

(16:08)  Renaldo’s Advice for Young People Coming into the Pet Industry 

We are continuing our series on “Women in Industry”.  In this episode, Dr. Megan Sprinkle, producer Whitney Russell, and Dr. Stephanie Clark interview Linda Case.  Linda Case is the founder of the popular Science Dog Blog.  In this episode, they discuss how Linda discovered her passion for science writing, her thoughts on women and female leadership in the pet industry, and why she loves busting myths around pet nutrition.

Links:

Science Dog Blog: https://thesciencedog.com/

About Linda Case:

Linda Case is a well-known science writer, author, canine nutritionist, and dog trainer. She earned her B.S. in Animal Science at Cornell University and her M.S. in Canine Feline Nutrition at the University of Illinois. Linda is the author of numerous publications and nine books, including Feeding Smart with The Science Dog, Dog Smart, and Dog Food Logic. She is also the author of the popular Science Dog Blog. Linda and her husband Mike live in central Illinois and share their lives with three amazing dogs: Cooper, Alice and Stanley, and Pete the cat.  

Show Notes:

(01:43)  How Linda discovered her love of animals

(03:21)  How a chance meeting helped her discover her love of writing

(05:07) The idea that gave birth to Science Dog Blog

(07:12)  Linda's secret to communicating science to the masses

(08:22) Myth Busting: Linda's secret passion

(10:17)  How Linda blends dog training and nutrition studies

(11:59)  The mental strategy Linda uses to finish a book

(13:20)  What has changed in the Pet Industry over the past few years

(17:30)  Linda’s thoughts on larvae as a protein source

(19:48)  What people don’t realize about pet nutrition

(21:44)  Linda’s advice for women in pet nutrition

(24:03)  What changes have happened with female leadership

(26:36)  What Linda is most proud of in her career

(28:33)  Linda on work-life balance

(29:48)  What excites Linda the most about dogs

(30:55)  Linda introduces her dogs

About BSM Partners: 

BSM Partners is a multidisciplinary team of PhDs, board-certified veterinarians and nutritionists offering 400+ years of cumulative technical experience, supporting the development of thousands of products per year. From R&D to replenishment, we have you covered. 

BSM Partners offers a wide range of services including research, product innovation, FSQAR, nutrition services, veterinary services, transformation, operations support, and engineering. 

Learn more at https://bsmpartners.net/ 

BSM Partners on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/bsm-partners/

In this episode, Dr. Megan Sprinkle holds a Women in Industry discussion with Heather Govea (Chief Commercial Officer, Alphia), Catherine McCarthy (Vice President of Innovation, Stella & Chewy's), and Heidi Wilson (Business Development Manager, BSM Partners).  This panel discussion talks about the role of women in the pet industry.  In this interview, they will cover the following topics:

• What inspired these amazing women to dedicate themselves to pets
• What roles women play in the Pet Industry
• What advice these inspiring women want to share with others

Show Notes:

(00:12)  Why BSM Is Doing A Women In Industry Panel

(02:56)  Meet Panelist Heather Govea, Alphia

(04:15)  Meet Panelist Catherine McCarthy, Stella & Chewys

(05:25) Meet Panelist Heidi Wilson, BSM

(08:04)  How Helping Lost Pets Inspired Heather Govea into the Pet Industry

(09:39)  How a Golden Retriever Convinced Heather to Leave Veterinary Medicine to Become a Pet Diet Specialist

(11:43)  How Catherine Discovered Pet Through Her Passion for Natural and Organic Foods

(13:21)  Making An Impact: How Diet Inspired Catherine To Make Pet Her Career Field

(16:52) Candid Observation: How Heather Govea Views the Role of Women in the Pet Industry

(21:35)  Strong Women Role Models: How Catherine’s Career was Shaped

(25:04)  How a Strong Farm Work Ethic Influenced Heidi Wilson Working in Pet

(27:47) Heather’s Succinct Advice for Success In Pet or Any Industry

(30:12) Catherine’s Formula for Living Passionately Without Drowning Others Out

(33:42)  Heather’s Vision of the Future of Working in the Pet Industry

(35:45)  What Catherine Predicts Will Influence the Future of the Pet Industry

In this episode, Dr. Megan Sprinkle, Steve Cauthen, and Whitney Russell talk with Jim and Janet Scott, founders of Rawz All Natural Pet Foods.  In this episode, they talk about how a family tragedy turned into a family business, the powerful lessons that life reinforced with the Scotts, and how strong values gave a sense of purpose to their paraplegic son.

Links:

Raw Natural Pet Food Website

Show Notes:

(00:45) - How a family turned tragedy into a business with purpose

(04:36) - A paraplegic son finds purpose in helping other pet owners

(05:37) - How Jim’s entrepreneurial parents raised him with the entrepreneurial spirit

(07:16) - Lessons Jim pulled from other successful businesses into Rawz

(10:29) - Using Rawz to give back to charity

(11:36) - How the Rawz Fund is impacting the lives of so many

(14:48) - How Jim and Janet balanced entrepreneurship and raising a family

(18:15) - An unexpected life lesson at a sled hockey tournament

(20:19) - What other animals does Rawz support besides dogs

(22:51) - Are you transactional?  Or transformational?

(24:41) - Jim’s mother shares wise advice

(27:34) - What powerful advice does Janet and Jim have for the pet industry?

(30:33) - Jim shares his very first job in his parent’s pet food business

(31:55) - How the family pets helped with their sons’ recoveries

(34:17) - How BSM has impacted Jim and Janet

In this episode, board-certified nutritionist and veterinarian Dr. Katy Miller chats with Dr. Megan Sprinkle and Steve Cauthern.  In this episode, they talk about the connection between veterinarians and pet nutrition.  Dr. Miller shares her insights on pet nutrition, how owners can pick out the best food for their pets, and what Mud Bay Certified means.

Update:  Dr. Katy Miller has joined the BSM Team.

Show Notes:

(03:13) Why Nutritional Education is Important

(04:48) Why a Pet Retailer Needed a Veterinarian

(06:29) How Staff Get Trained on Pet Nutrition

(07:18)  The Impact Employee Training has on Customers

(08:30)  What Most Veterinarians miss with Pet Nutrition

(10:46)  How Anyone Can Pick Out Good Nutrition For Their Pet

(11:37)  What is Mud Bay?

(13:18) What are Some Trends Dr. Katy is Excited About

(14:31)  What MUD Bay Certified?

(17:50)  Why Veterinarians Don’t Specialize in Nutrition

(19:31)  What Dr. Katy Recommends for People Entering the Pet Industry

(21:30)  Dr Katy’s Extensive Pet Collection