Petropolist

Sophie has a Master's degree in Animal Science / Monogastric nutrition and B.Sc Animal Science at McGill University 

She is an innovative pet nutrition expert with proven skills in research and development with more than 22 years of experience with the last 8 years dedicated exclusively to developing new complete and balanced diets for cats and dogs.

Sophie's business focus is on launching new products and participating in the improvement of existing brands.

David Primrose

A food technologist by training, Synergy Petfood Managing Director David Primrose also has an MSc in Food Safety Management and over 40 years experience in the global pet food industry. This has enabled him to develop an extensive knowledge of pet food science and technology combined with food safety management.

In a 27-year career in Mars Petcare, he worked in diverse areas including Research and Development, materials quality and development, and process development. Through global supplier quality assurance responsibilities, he developed an extensive knowledge of petfood raw materials quality, safety, and functionality.

*The views, information, or opinions expressed during The Petropolist podcast or youtube video series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the host or the employees of The Petropolist. The primary purpose of this show is to educate and inform. This show does not constitute medical or other professional advice or services. Please contact a medical professional/veterinarian for all questions regarding the health of your pet.  The Petropolist show and podcast are available for private non-commercial use only. You may not edit, modify or re-distribute this show.*

I am going to start with, I don't get paid to promote brands nor do I accept payment to feature them on my podcast  - in fact, when I started this podcast I didn't want to discuss brands. Unfortunately, I found that this is absolutely impossible mostly because every day I am asked which brand is best and which brand will help an animal that is unwell become well...it's a tough ask by pet owners mainly because of the amount of banter on the web. The big dollars spent on ads and the big number of brands entering the marketplace because pet food and pet products consistently create big revenue with low upfront investment requirements committed to ingredient quality has made the pet food segment a place of havoc and chaos for the pet owners.  I want pet owners and independent pet retailers to know that there is more out there than what comes up on the first 2 pages of a Google search for BEST pet food.  Where the big brands have the upper hand and power is the money they spend on the advertisements and brand recognition all over the web and the veterinary clinics (a big share owned by pet food manufacturers). These foods being advertised have been consistently the foods that cause all of my clients to be clients !!! 

The advertising dollars pushing the unsubstantiated claims won't get any of our pets eating quality products but will lead the masses into thinking whatever the brands want them to think  - my purpose with my food episodes is to introduce and open up the conversation about those brands that commit to bringing quality and some sort of moral code to a very unregulated and ethically devoid industry.  

Want to learn more about RAWZ and the Scott Family?  Check out RAWZ here:  https://rawznaturalpetfood.com/

*The views, information, or opinions expressed during The Petropolist podcast or youtube video series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the host or the employees of The Petropolist. The primary purpose of this show is to educate and inform. This show does not constitute medical or other professional advice or services. Please contact a medical professional/veterinarian for all questions regarding the health of your pet.  The Petropolist show and podcast are available for private non-commercial use only. You may not edit, modify or re-distribute this show.*

Remember that movie Field of Dreams? The one where that voice keeps saying

Well, that's sort of what founders Chris and Meg Raimo felt was happening to them shortly before they conceived the idea for the Happy Cat Hotel & Spa. The couple had owned and operated their original business venture, Home Sweet Home Pet Care, a house-call pet care service that provided dog walking, pet sitting when they heard that voice whisper to them.  At that time it was widely accepted that it was better to leave your pets home than to put them in a kennel - especially cats. When it came to visiting those same cats, however, Chris, Meg, and their team began to notice that their feline friends were not doing so well. Cats that were typically withdrawn or aloof began pining for affection while others would regress and develop a stir-crazy mentality that would bring about fits of destruction, urinating, and hunger strikes.

Entrepreneurs that they are, Chris and Meg started asking questions. What does it matter that a cat is at home in its 'normal' environment, if the home is barren of contact and socialization? What does the place matter to a truly social creature?

From there, the founders started answering the questions and developing a solution. What if the cat didn't stay home but went instead to a place that provided enrichment all day long? Would they adapt?    Behavioral research shows they will. Give them places to climb, hide, run, and rest, offer them physical touch and affection, as well as interactive replications of play and hunting, and they, will not only adapt but THRIVE. In other words, create a place just for cats. 

Check out the Happy Cat Hotel

*The views, information, or opinions expressed during The Petropolist podcast or youtube video series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the host or the employees of The Petropolist. The primary purpose of this show is to educate and inform. This show does not constitute medical or other professional advice or services. Please contact a medical professional/veterinarian for all questions regarding the health of your pet.  The Petropolist show and podcast are available for private non-commercial use only. You may not edit, modify or re-distribute this show.*

Til Death do us part...for me, this is where I think, God, I hope a long life and an easy pain free death is the only thing in life that will separate me from my pets. I am not alone in feeling the value and importance of the human animal bond. So often, the death of a pet is just not acknowledged the same way a loss of a human would be. 

As pet owners, pet parents, animal lover... however you choose to identify your relationship with your pet  - I would bet that you have felt the disconnect from people that just didn't understand the relationship you shared with the pets in your life. 

Who knew there are people out there called Pet chaplains that can help when you are grieving the loss of a pet. I hope this episode helps you or someone you care about get through a difficult time with just a little more ease and knowing that we don't need to be alone or ashamed of the way we feel. Ask for help - there are lots of us that understand. Love, Tazz.

This episode is about Pet Food, pet health, pet insurance and definitely a lot about how we can help our pets have a long healthy life...hopefully. 

Dr. Judy Morgan is a best-selling author of four books, hundreds of online and print magazine articles, and has hosted her own Naturally Healthy Pets radio show on DreamVisions7 Radio network for two years. She has been featured on Fox News, local cable television, CNN, PBS, ABC, CBS, and as a guest on over 200 radio shows. Her goal is to change the lives of over ten million pets by educating and empowering pet owners worldwide in the use of natural healing therapies, minimizing the use of chemicals, vaccinations, and poor quality processed food.

If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Morgans' insightful courses please go to: https://www.drjudyu.com/

*The views, information, or opinions expressed during The Petropolist podcast or you tube video series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the host or the employees of The Petropolist. The primary purpose of this show is to educate and inform. This show does not constitute medical or other professional advice or services. Please contact a medical professional/veterinarian for all questions regarding the health of your pet.  The Petropolist show and podcast are available for private non-commercial use only. You may not edit, modify or re-distribute this show.*

Ahhhh easy listening about canned pet food - the facts, the fakes and the information that will matter to pet owners when trying to sift through all the claims and advertisements during a pet food search. What makes one brand of canned pet food better than another? It all seems to resemble meat or chunks of meat.  Where is the food made and why are so many shredded canned pet foods made in Thailand?  Is human grade meat really used in pet food ? What does it all mean? Your questions about canned pet foods will be answered here in a relaxed easy going conversation with Koha Pet Food CEO Lonnie Schwimmer.   

*The views, information, or opinions expressed during The Petropolist podcast or you tube video series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the host or the employees of The Petropolist. The primary purpose of this show is to educate and inform. This show does not constitute medical or other professional advice or services. Please contact a medical professional/veterinarian for all questions regarding the health of your pet.  The Petropolist show and podcast are available for private non-commercial use only. You may not edit, modify or re-distribute this show.*

The title says it!! Everything you need to know about adopting cats and dogs is in this episode. 

Dr. Rachel Geller, my go to Cat Behaviorist for the Cat University series and Tracie Koehnlein, Dog Trainer & Writer answer questions about the adopting cats and dogs. 

Learn more about Dr. Rachel Geller by checking out her site and get a copy of her amazing book Saving the World One Cat at a time - All proceeds are donated to saving cat lives!!!

Learn more about Tracie Koehnlein by following her IG page @tracielovesdogs or find some of her dog articles here: barkbuildings.com

*The views, information, or opinions expressed during The Petropolist podcast or you tube video series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the host or the employees of The Petropolist. The primary purpose of this show is to educate and inform. This show does not constitute medical or other professional advice or services. Please contact a medical professional/veterinarian for all questions regarding the health of your pet.  The Petropolist show and podcast are available for private non-commercial use only. You may not edit, modify or re-distribute this show.*

What is Canine Cognitive Behavior Therapy ? Listen to Episode 67 to find out what it is as I annoy the hell out of my dear calm guest, Bille Groom with questions that get the listener to the core of what this type of training is all about.  

Billie Groom is an expert in Canine Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. She works exclusively with dogs over the age of six months because this is when cognitive skills develop causing change in behaviors. This is an unheard of area of expertise because there is no other formula grounded in C.B.T. that effectively addresses behaviors associated with aggression, anxiety, rescued dogs, adolescent dogs and change in behaviors. For more information about this method of dog training please go to Upward Dogology. 

Listen to Billie's Podcast Dog Training Disrupted

*The views, information, or opinions expressed during The Petropolist podcast or you tube video series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the host or the employees of The Petropolist. The primary purpose of this show is to educate and inform. This show does not constitute medical or other professional advice or services. Please contact a medical professional/veterinarian for all questions regarding the health of your pet.  The Petropolist show and podcast are available for private non-commercial use only. You may not edit, modify or re-distribute this show.*

What's the "BEST" pet food?   God, I hate this question - and for those people (especially pet store employers and employees) that actually try to answer this question without ASKING a shit load of questions - you are out of your minds.  There is no "Best" pet food... we can learn more about this in my upcoming series about the vast varieties of pet foods in the market place...Check out the first of the series with Identity Pet Nutrition CEO Jeremy Petersen.

*The views, information, or opinions expressed during The Petropolist podcast or you tube video series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the host or the employees of The Petropolist. The primary purpose of this show is to educate and inform. This show does not constitute medical or other professional advice or services. Please contact a medical professional/veterinarian for all questions regarding the health of your pet.  The Petropolist show and podcast are available for private non-commercial use only. You may not edit, modify or re-distribute this show.*

Do you know if your pet food is safe? What happened in 2007 with food fraud and the economically motivated adulteration of pet food that killed 4000 pets can happen again...What can each of us do to mitigate the risks and the vulnerability associated with food fraud and risky food practices.

David Primrose - Expert in pet food safety discusses where we have the opportunity to create change in food safety. 

Here are a few important take-aways from the episode:

Traceability study...ask your pet food brand to provide this information for your specific batch of pet food and see what they tell you. Do they have this data? if not, then be wary. 

When it comes to Salmonella is a zero tolerance policy for salmonella realistic, especially with the large number of raw foods in the commercial pet food sector?  David delves into this question. 

David is adamant that HACCP needs to be applied to the pet food supply chain and with that  a greater sharing of data between all manufacturers in order for brands and manufacturers to create a state of prevention as opposed to constantly being in a reactive response mode. 

Education of all stakeholders in the pet food supply chain including the pet owners is incredibly important - in general we need more transparency and the pet owner needs to show a high standard of hygiene from feeding to cleaning up/picking up feces... Listen & learn 

*The views, information, or opinions expressed during The Petropolist podcast or you tube video series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of the host or the employees of The Petropolist. The primary purpose of this show is to educate and inform. This show does not constitute medical or other professional advice or services. Please contact a medical professional/veterinarian for all questions regarding the health of your pet.  The Petropolist show and podcast are available for private non-commercial use only. You may not edit, modify or re-distribute this show.*