Welcome to the Soul Touched by Dogs Podcast, the show for dog lovers who
see dogs not as toys or tools, but wise souls worth our respect and care.
I'm an Herrmann, and I'm your host.
I talk to poor some humans, people who do great work for dogs and their people.
So come and join us for today's conversation.
Anke: Hello and welcome, Charlie.
I'm very happy to have you here today.
Charlie: Thank you so much for having me.
I'm excited to be returning the favor.
You were on my show and now here I am on yours, so I'm excited.
Anke: Me too, me too.
So before we dig into our very, I was just about to say me too topic,
which it might be, um, let people know where in this lovely world are you
and so what's your business with dogs?
Charlie: Yeah, so I am located on the east coast of the U.
S.
Um, I live in south central Pennsylvania, originally from Lancaster County,
which is known as Amish country.
But, um, yeah, my business with dogs is I've always been an animal lover.
Um, knew that I probably didn't want to have children.
And so animals and dogs specifically were always going to be that,
you know, fill that space for me.
Okay, Anne.
As I got older, um, you know, I, I started learning more about, um, their
care and I even have a degree in animal nutrition and so it's always kind of
been a part of my life and now I am, you know, teaching, um, real dog food
nutrition to others and also, um, doing some ghost writing for the pet and
equine industries, so it's kind of.
A roundabout way of, you know, doing what I love, but here I am.
Anke: I love it.
It's a dog's life, isn't it?
Charlie: Yeah.
Anke: You know, especially when you get to combine, you know, when you do the
writing and also in that space, I just love that when it's all coming together.
So I think let's just dig into the food piece first because,
um, what, like what sparked your interest in that topic specifically?
Charlie: Yeah, I originally thought I was gonna go, um, be a vet, and so that's
kind of why I majored, um, you know, in animal nutrition and animal science, and
then it actually ended up, I didn't go to vet school, I, I do work in agriculture,
but, um, really where my kind of deep dive into pet nutrition came is when I
got, um, my very first Bernese Mountain Dog, uh, back in 2013, um, um, And as
a puppy, uh, he had constant diarrhea just every single day right from the day
we brought him home from the breeder.
Um, it didn't matter.
I mean, we had him to I don't know how many different vets, specialists.
Um, we, you know, had stomach biopsies, allergy panels, tried this
prescription food, that prescription food, you know, yogurt, pumpkin,
antibiotics, prebiotics, probiotics, you know, the whole nine yards.
And Nothing was working.
Everything, you know, the only thing that would work was is if he, um, was eating
like a bland diet, like just ground burger and rice, you know, they tell you to do.
And so eventually, you know, I kind of started, it took five months, but I
started putting two and two together, like, hey, the only time that he is
Not, you know, pooping water is when he's eating this type of food, and
so we were, um, we had him in puppy kindergarten at the time, and I just
mentioned all the struggles we were having to the dog trainer, and I said,
do you have any, like, advice, you know, for this, and She said, well, you
can try, you know, feeding raw food.
She said, I've been doing that with my dogs for years and
I've never had any gut issues.
Um, and at first I was very skeptical.
I was like, no, I'm not like, that's, that's not something we should do.
You know, it's, um, it's not hygienic.
He's going to get sick.
You know, I just had no idea about it at all.
And I was very skeptical.
And she said, that's fine.
Like, here's the.
You know, contact of who I get my food from and anytime you want to give it a
try, you know, you're welcome to and so a couple of weeks go by and I'm like,
you know what, I'm just at my wits end, like, you know, we were up every hour
on the hour at night with him, you know, we'd come home and have to clean him up,
we'd have to have people come over to the house to let him out, you know, on a
regular schedule while we worked and I was like, I can't, I can't do this anymore.
So I ended up, you know, contacting the people that she had given me the
name of and bought some raw food from them and we switched him cold turkey,
which I know they tell you not to do, um, but at that point we didn't have
anything else to lose other than our sleep sanity and our dog's health.
So we switched him cold turkey that night and within 24 hours,
He never had a runny poop again.
Um, and I was I was like, well, you know, this can't be a fluke.
I've literally tried everything else that professional medicine has told me to do
for this dog, and nothing has worked.
Um, and so I just became a firm believer, and I've kind of never looked back, so.
Anke: Like, I mean, obviously I love that you found a solution that, that,
you know, basically brought peace to your dog's gut and your life.
But I still find it's flabbergasted that, like how, I mean, especially asking you
that you've been sort of in involved in the topic for quite a quite ATI time now.
Like why is it that like no vet ever thought of.
Charlie: So I, I have a unique perspective on that, I think,
because I was going to go be a vet.
And so I have a very traditional, um, education on that.
And I'm also friends with a lot of small animal vets.
And I've asked them that, you know, and I've said like, Why, why do you not
take people down this road if they've been through what we were, went through?
And.
From their perspective, and I do understand this to a point, you know, they
will say, well, it's very difficult for, um, someone who has not had, you know,
education in nutrition to really be able to feed their animal in such a way that
they know for certain that they're getting all the vitamins, nutrients, you know,
minerals that they need, um, outside of just and a, uh, um, a lot of them have all
been It's pouring some kibble in a bowl.
You know, they say, yes, we, we agree that it's not the best quality.
It's not the best nutritional value, but it does at least do the bare
minimum of keeping your dog breathing and, you know, moving forward in life.
That's a very low bar.
Um, but on the other hand, it does keep them safe, you know,
from a liability standpoint.
Now the one thing I will say though on the other side is that It really would
only take a little bit of education, you know, you don't have to have a degree
in animal nutrition to just start making small changes to your dog's diet to
really see significant improvements.
And so, you know, I would say to vets then, like, Make sure you're just doing
a little bit of education each time, especially if people are having trouble
with their dogs like I was, and especially if they're asking the questions.
You know, don't just, um, go with like the gut response and think outside the
box a little bit to help not only the owner, but also the animal as well.
Anke: Hmm.
I mean, in my case, I remember, I mean, you know, that's like I
shared that on your podcast is when, when I first had Leo, it was.
Almost like, not just that nobody would point me in this direction, they
would like actively kind of almost like put like the guilt trip on.
It's like, oh no, you've got to, like don't ever feed anything other
than this kind of kibble, you know.
So it's almost like, well, you know, I don't know.
Uh, so it does, and that's the thing I felt that was kind of, It was harder
to deal with in a sense because you do trust the man like, oh, they should
know, you know, at least enough to not kind of harm the dog, you know, so you
think, well, but, um, it feels like more and more people are now looking.
And also you could even like, at least here where I am, you can even tell
by what's available because like, yeah, 20 years ago, you wouldn't find
the kind of food that the options.
And if you look at the ingredients, I.
People have come sort of to their senses a little bit.
Is that your experience too?
Charlie: Yeah, definitely.
I mean, I, and I think I even asked you this on my podcast and your response
was, you know, well, I don't, I don't go around telling people necessarily
that I feed my dogs this way.
I mean, I do more than you do, just.
with the business that I have, but, you know, I do try to, um, at least make
it known, um, what worked for us when people ask me, so that there is kind of
that little seed put into their brain of like, oh, maybe there is another option
out here than what my vet is telling me.
And again, I would never tell anyone to go against veterinary advice, but On the
other hand, you know, it is your life, your dog, and you know, your gut feeling,
and so if something isn't working, don't be afraid to question that, you know.
But I do think that people are becoming more open and aware of the different
types of, you know, diets that, that pets can have, just like we're becoming
more aware of the different diets that, you know, work for, for people.
Um, and I definitely am on board with that.
I definitely think that, you know, more questioning and more saying,
well, that's You know, this worked for so and so, maybe it'll work for me.
I think that curiosity is, is a great thing and we have to just continue that.
My
Anke: curiosity and the willingness to research, I mean, see what I've
really kind of struck me that I hadn't even considered until I started.
looking in this direction, like reading the labels to start with so you don't
get blinded by the pretty picture on the front, um, was that like commercial
dog food hasn't actually been around for all that long, you know, like
dogs before lived and probably weren't as sick as they're now, you know.
Charlie: Yeah, that's actually been, you know, um, talked about in a lot of
different books and publications, um, you know, because it really is something that
was just kind of brought to the forefront in, like, the 19th, late 19th, early 20th
century of feeding dogs that way, you know, otherwise dogs and their ancestors
and wolves, you know, they just ate what their humans ate or they just ate whatever
they could get from, you know, the wild and, you know, They were living longer,
they were living healthier, you know, and then all of a sudden with the advent of
commercial kibble and the convenience of it for the humans, you know, we've started
to see this astronomical rise in, you know, pet cancer and of allergies, um, you
know, pets dying younger and younger, and I don't understand why it's taken us this
long to kind of put two and two together.
Now there is a lot of, like, lobbying and obviously the pet
industry, pet food industry is a massive, um, you know, conglomerate.
So there's a lot of people that don't want you to know those
things, but Yeah, it is true.
I mean, our dogs did not eat this way until just the last,
you know, even 70 years, really.
Anke: Yeah.
So if somebody goes, well, that makes sense.
I'd be interested in You know, starting to adopt a more healthier, like a healthier
diet for my dog, maybe for myself.
Like, but okay, let's keep, let's stay with the dogs.
So where, where would you, how would you recommend somebody get started?
So what's the first place to, what's the first direction to look into?
Charlie: Yeah, I would always recommend either, you know, asking someone
who, you know, is actively talking about it and you know feeds this way.
Um, and then also there are some great books.
I know you mentioned one on my podcast.
And then also, um, another great one is, um, Give Your Dog the Bone by Dr.
Ian Billinghurst.
Uh, he is an Australian veterinarian and he kind of, Spearheaded this, you
know, raw slash real food movement, um, within the last couple decades.
So I would definitely check that one out.
It's on Amazon.
Um, and then, you know, talk to, uh, a pet nutritionist, a dog nutritionist,
um, you know, and, and you can find them.
You can also go to, um, there's a website.
I'll have to get the exact link, but it's for a list of holistic vets.
that are in your area, um, because they are usually more open to
at least even discussing, if not feeding, this type of way.
So, you know, between the literature and, uh, you know, going to talk to a holistic
vet or a dog nutritionist, um, those would be my recommendations on where to start.
Anke: And I mean, and the thing is, you'll know quickly, like you were saying,
like in your case, it took like 24 hours to see a massive difference, you know?
Well, it was when I first started with Leo, I've made a massive difference too.
And I mean, it's, it's interesting because when you think about like, I'm, I'm just
like looking, comparing to, um, a friend of mine who, you know, feeds kibble,
we've talked about it, you know, she's not going there, but it's interesting because
like all her dogs kind of put on weight.
Charlie: You know,
Anke: and mine are just like, you know, effortlessly.
So there's no, you know, when they eat and they eat well, but
they don't get fat basically.
And I think even that alone is already like a big step, you know, that,
that, that keeps them healthier.
I think it's much easier.
Charlie: Yeah, it's much easier to regulate their weight, you know, skin and
coat conditions usually improve, digestion improves, like, I mean, there are certain
instances, um, you know, if your dog already has cancer or is being treated for
some sort of immune um, response disease.
Like, you should definitely, you know, talk to your vet first and, and see
if the adding this in is a good idea.
Um, but in most cases for most dogs, it's going to, you're going
to see some sort of benefit.
Anke: Hmm.
I love that.
Let's, let's just quickly like switch, switch topics.
Let's, I'm just curious about the writing bit as well.
So, you know, what do people come, what do you, what do people come to you for?
Like you said, you know, right?
Ghostwriter in the canine space.
So what would somebody come to you for to get them?
Charlie: Yeah, absolutely.
So I, my specialty is, um, creating and launching educated, what are called
educational email courses or EECs.
And they're essentially, um, Just a different type of lead magnet, um, that
is kind of a drip sequence where what our goal is, is to really educate, um,
and engage a potential customer to get into your business's ecosystem through
offering them this valuable, um, you know, five day mini course, essentially,
on whatever topic, uh, that you want.
Um, so that's, that's kind of what I, why I specialize in, but social media content,
um, you know, newsletters, blog posts.
Thought leadership articles, you know, any of that is able to be, you know,
created and written by a ghostwriter, especially for You know, businesses
that, um, just don't have time or don't have the, the resources, don't
like to write, uh, maybe aren't good at it, you know, that sort of thing.
So I, and again, I, I gear it towards, you know, the pet and equine industry,
um, because that's where, you know, my niche is, that's where I have
the most, um, that I can offer.
And so, yeah, I mean, I can't talk about any clients or anything
because it is ghostwriting and it's It's, you know, your name is on it.
Um, I'm just the person behind the desk.
But I really, really enjoy it and I love, um, you know, seeing the kind of
increase in engagement and return on investment that the people get from it.
So
Anke: Because I mean, writing is a good one like that because you
can usually Like, it's easier to trace back, it's easier to quantify
quite often, you know, as well.
You can tell how many people took the email calls and you can tell
how many people signed up for something else afterwards, right?
And I love how, you know, it's sort of narrowed into that.
And I think, well, in my experience, You know, dog people are in the business
because they love dogs, usually not because they love marketing or writing
or, you know, hustling on social media.
So I can totally see the value, the value of that.
So if somebody wants to get in touch, like either for the writing or for
the food, like you covered like the two most important areas of life.
What else do you
Charlie: need?
Anke: So where can people go and, um, Find out more about you, get in touch,
get your lead magnet, for example.
Charlie: Yeah, absolutely.
Um, probably my most, uh, I guess, uh, active social media platform is LinkedIn.
Um, and I know, I think the links will be in the show notes.
So you can find me there, um, Charlie Dice.
And then I also, um, have a website, beautyandtheburners.
com.
And then my email is, um, beautyandtheburnersatgmail.
com.
You can just send me an email and I'm also on X and, you know, Instagram,
but really LinkedIn is, um, where I do most of the professional stuff.
So
Anke: awesome.
Well, go in, go in to connect and I'll obviously pop all the links.
So yeah, thank you so much.
This was delightful as always, and yeah, let's
Charlie: feed
Anke: dogs some better stuff.
Charlie: Yeah.
Thank you so much for having me.
This was fun.
Thanks so much for listening.
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That's A N k E at Soul touched by dogs.com.