Today we were joined by Kayti Earle, Training Specialist at Primal Pet Foods. Their company's goal is to help pet owners "Build a Better Bowl" through complete & balanced raw food, recreational raw bones, hydrators, and toppers.

In the training Kayti addresses:

• Safety Concerns: Unlike the raw meat found in grocery stores, there is a zero tolerance policy for pathogens in raw pet food. Primal uses High Pressure Processing (HPP) to eliminate the presence of Salmonella, E. Coli and Listeria. They test and hold all of their products before they reach the consumer. 
• Sourcing: Primal rigorously selects and sources their ingredients from vendors who humanely raise, sustainably grow, and responsibly process all of the proteins, certified organic produce, and unrefined food-based vitamins and minerals in their products.
• Products & Feeding: The process of feeding Raw is certainly different than traditional scoop and serve kibble or canned wet food. Kayti offers helpful tips to make feeding their products as convenient as possible, including staging portioned containers of frozen raw.

Primal also has updated their Retail Training Portal with new content, which can be accessed using Kayti's email as the password (kayti@primalpetfoods.com). You earn prizes like free products and apparel upon completing the three part test . Even if you have already completed it you are welcome to do so a second time to earn additional giveaways. 

In this live training we are joined by Shannan Morlas, Director of Sales at Skout's Honor. We are proud to stock Skout's Honor both in our stores and grooming rooms, as they strive to make a positive difference in the world by offering environmentally responsible and socially-conscious pet products:

• Probiotic Grooming: When applied to the skin, probiotics support pets’ natural defenses against the most common skin problems. From shampoos and conditioners, to daily-use essential items - your pet will never look, feel or smell better.
• Probiotic Pet Wellness: They take a proactive & preventative approach to gently treating pets' most common ailments.
• Pet Stain & Odor Solutions: Surprisingly powerful and plant-derived cleaning solutions that you can count on to tackle any odor or pet mess, every single time.
• Pet-Safe Sanitizing Solutions: Safer sanitizing solutions for use on dogs, yourself and in your home. Kills 99.99% of germs, viruses and harmful bacteria.  

In addition to the above categories, they are launching a natural Flea and Tick line later this year.

Roxanne Moore from The Honest Kitchen joins us for an overview of their entire product line which includes: foundational meals, bowl boosting toppers, hydrating supplements and inventive treats.

What defines "The Honest Difference": 

• 100% Human Grade: All of their products are produced in a human grade facility and meet the same strict standards that apply to human food.
• High Quality Ingredient Sourcing: They have a zero-tolerance policy on GMO ingredients, strict standards for pesticide residues, country of origin documentation, safety testing protocols and 3rd party auditing to safeguard against recalls.
• Real Meat, Not Meals: Protein is derived from an abundance of real human grade meat, not feed-grade meat meals.
• MadeHonest™: Their Dehydrated and Clusters lines are produced differently than traditional kibble and maintain the nutrients and taste of real whole foods.  

This training also has a preview of new products coming in 2021 that includes a full line of products developed just for cats!

Weruva Major Accounts Manager Tanya Noack joins us for an overview of their new Paté Slide N' Serve Pouches. Spin the wheel and choose from flavors like "Jeopurrdy Licious" Chicken, "The Newly Feds" Beef & Salmon, and "The Slice is Right" Wild Caught Salmon — all packaged in an easy-to-feed Terracycle pouch.

Key points about Slide N' Serve: 

• Paté Texture: They are just like Weruva Classic recipes, except they are hit with an immersion blender to create a creamy smooth texture.
• Ultra Hydrating: Moisture is essential to any cat's diet and these pouches are packaged with added broth.
• What You See is What You Get: Limited to single or double proteins.  
• Convenient: The food slides right out of the package and into the bowl. There's no waste and no spoon required to serve.  
• Fun Factor: Weruva's creative department stays on brand by comically spoofing game shows with this new product lineup.

If you ever have a question about any of Weruva's products you can always reach out to tanya.noack@weruva.com

Shelby Flinn, the Education Manager at Pet Releaf, joins us for a comprehensive overview of the science behind CBD and we learn what sets their brand apart in what is still an unregulated industry. 

How Pet Releaf stands out from the competition:  

• USA Grown: Made with traceable US grown hemp
• USDA Organic Certified: Grown and processed according to federal guidelines
• CO2 Extracted: Not extracted using alternative methods that utilize chemicals 
• 3rd Party Lab Tested: Proves quantity of CBD and that there are no residual chemicals
• Full Spectrum: The "Entourage Effect," or "Wolfpack" as Shelby describes it, means multiple components of cannabis work together for maximum benefits

By ticking these boxes and more, Pet Releaf is truly a high quality product we can confidently stand behind.

In our first training of 2021, Pets Global Senior Sales Manager Matt Munzer delves into the core benefits of feeding Zignature and Fussie Cat in a way that is very straightforward with talking points you can easily relay to a customer.

He also gets pretty candid about DCM — a topic that has quieted down in the past year, but has not gone away entirely. Zignature was named in the controversial June 2019 FDA study as the second-most often linked brand to cases of DCM. 

Matt counters in the training that the FDA study was clouded by financial conflicts of interest. Furthermore, a literature review was published in July 2020 that concluded there is no definitive evidence to suggest a relationship between grain-free diets and DCM. The review was conducted by The Journal of Animal Science, which is published by Oxford University Press and is peer reviewed by a highly qualified team of board-certified veterinary nutritionists, cardiologists and PhD researchers.

If you would like to learn more we have compiled a DCM Resource Page full of helpful information regarding this rather divisive topic.

In our final remote live training of 2020, we are joined by Kraig Kimelton from Petcurean. In his presentation he highlights The Petcurean Difference 

• They have a PhD in pet nutrition: Their formulas are developed by Dr. Jennifer Adolphe, who boasts a rare PhD in companion animal nutrition.
• They have recipes for every pet, and consumer: high protein, moderate protein, L.I.D., life-stages and different kibble shapes & sizes.
• They are proudly Canadian: They are a top rated brand throughout Canada with high quality ingredient sourcing that meets or exceeds regulatory standards across the North Americas and Europe.

During Kraig's overview of their products he also reveals for the first time the reboot that is coming in 2021 for their NOW FRESH™ kibble line. It is set to include sharper price points, simplified and stonger positioning, and of course fresh new packaging!

Kristen Sanders returns for another training on Nulo pet food — this time with more emphasis on their line of cat offerings. Nulo's four key nutritional values are:

• Industry Leading Animal-Based Protein Inclusions
• Low Carb Levels
• Low Glycemic Ingedients
• Viable BC³⁰ Probiotics

The inclusion of GanedenBC^30® is notable because it's the first probiotic that survives heat, cooking, shelf life and stomach acids. As it moves through the body and intestinal tract, it aids in the absorption of nutrients, improves stool and overall intestinal and immune health. The inclusion of this patented probiotic is unique to Nulo and should be considered a key selling point.

In this training Susan McCarthy details the full line of products offered by Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Food. Much of their kibble has been recently reformulated with improved ingredients. It should be noted that meat is now listed as the first ingredient across the board.

Natural Balance is the #1 brand in "limited ingredient" dry dog food.* For over 15 years they have been pioneering these simple formulas, which benefit pet diets by keeping things simple and help pet parents single out food allergens. If a customer's pet is doing great on a Natural Balance L.I.D. formula, know that there is a limited ingredient treat to compliment the food and maintain their pet's optimum nutrition levels.

*By shares and dollar sales in total pet specialty

Retail Training Specialist Emma Kumbier takes us through all the ways we can "build a better bowl" with Primal Pet Foods. Emma provides some helpful tips on how we can open up a dialogue with our customers to find out what areas their pet can benefit most from the nutritional boost that Primal Pet Foods can provide. Oftentimes the answer is right in our freezer section.

We are joined once again by Jake Hewson for live remote training. While our last Merrick session took a deeper dive into products, this training focuses more broadly on defining "The Merrick Difference".

Wayne Deaven from Diamond Pet Foods gives a live remote training session on Taste of the Wild!

Wayne covers their entire product line and explains how they pivoted to introduce "Ancient Grains" in light of last year's DCM controversy. The key takeaway is that these recipes are based off of their TOTW grain free counterparts and are formulated to allow for a seamless transition to a grain inclusive diet.

They invest less in advertising and marketing than their leading competitors and this allows them to offer a great product at an exceptional value. Still they intend on supporting us and their products next month by offering a generous "dollars off" deal on the entire Taste of the Wild lineup.

In this week's remote training session we are joined by Lauren Mahaffey from Radio Systems Corporation — parent company of both PetSafe and Kurgo pet products. The training begins by focusing mainly on Kurgo's extensive line of simple, need-based products designed to help you go safely, comfortably, and happily together with your pup.

Later in the session she covers our most popular PetSafe leads and harnesses and addresses questions that our staff have encountered while interacting with customers, including proper Easy Walk fitting and Gentle Leader training.

Those who attended training live are offered their choice of a FREE Kurgo or PetSafe product to try out with their own pet, including carriers, harnesses, seatbelt tethers and more!

Dr Danielle Bernal, WellPet's Global Vet Nutrition Director, shares with us some key selling points for Wellness' Balanced Nutrition and Core offerings, as well as Whimzees Dental Treats. 

Complete Health offers exceptional value. Their natural formulas come at a daily cost of only $0.38 (small breed) - $1.17 (large breed). At this price a person could easily spend more in one trip to Starbucks than it would cost to feed their pet a healthy diet for an entire week. 

Core is their commitment to elevated nutrition, with high percentages of meat derived proteins, moderate fat content and digestible carbohydrates. We are all set to begin carrying Core with Wholesome Grains in early October, which adds in easy digestible grains such as oats, barley and quinoa while maintaining the same high protein levels of the grain free Core. 

Whimzees Dental Treats boast the claim that they are scientifically proven to clean 2x better and last 3x longer than their leading competitors. In lieu of brushing teeth (which Dr Danielle points out hardly anyone does for their dog) dental treats should be recommended as part of any dog's daily routine.  

In this live remote training session, Sonya Sestito from Open Farm explains the ways their company champions their motto "Do Some Good" through ethical and certified humane sourcing and production. Peep the labels on the bag: animal welfare designations like "Certified Humane" are things you normally only see at higher end grocery stores like Whole Foods!

While Open Farm is one of the more expensive brands we carry, Sonya points out that their pet foods have above average kcals per cup. In other words, it's more nutrient dense — so as you feed less it ends up costing close to the same as other brands.