Something You Should Know - How to Be More Influential & A Top Veterinarian Answers Important Pet Questions

Episode Date: July 1, 2019

You sometimes see products labeled refurbished – particularly electronics. Are they a good deal? This episode begins by looking at what refurbished means and whether or not it is a good deal worth considering or if you are better off leaving those products on the shelf. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/laptops/refurbished-electronics-buying-guide You are constantly trying to persuade and influence people. Whether it is your boss, your family, your co-workers or your friends, exerting your influence is how you get them to understand you and go along with your ideas. Joining me with some practical advice on how to be more influential is Shelle Rose Chavret. She is an expert on influencing and persuasion and author of the book Words That Change Minds (https://amzn.to/2ITFGOt)  While some people are more optimistic than others, there is no doubt that being more optimistic has a lot of benefits. I discuss some of those benefits and how to look at life in a more positive light. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/prescriptions-life/200911/dont-worry-be-happy-the-surprising-benefits-optimism Pet ownership is at an all-time high. About 70% of us have at least one pet. And we all have questions about our pets’ health and happiness. Here with some answers to both common and perplexing pet questions is veterinarian Dr. Gary Weitzman who is host of the NPR radio show The Animal House and author of National Geographic Complete Guide to Pet Health, Behavior, and Happiness (https://amzn.to/2NllHN5) This Week's Sponsors -Fab Fit Fun. For 10% off your first box go to www.FabFitFun.com and use the promo code: something -Capital One. What's in your wallet? www.CapitalOne.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a listener to Something You Should Know, I can only assume that you are someone who likes to learn about new and interesting things and bring more knowledge to work for you in your everyday life. I mean, that's kind of what Something You Should Know was all about. And so I want to invite you to listen to another podcast called TED Talks Daily. Now, you know about TED Talks, right? Many of the guests on Something You Should Know have done TED Talks. Well, you see, TED Talks Daily is a podcast that brings you a new TED Talk every weekday in less than 15 minutes. Join host Elise Hu.

She goes beyond the headlines so you can hear about the big ideas shaping our future. Learn about things like sustainable fashion, embracing your entrepreneurial spirit, the future of robotics, and so much more. Like I said, if you like this podcast, Something You Should Know, I'm pretty sure you're going to like TED Talks Daily. And you get TED Talks Daily wherever you get your podcasts. Today on Something You Should Know, should you ever buy a product labeled refurbished or are you just buying someone else's trouble? Then, understanding the techniques that make you more influential and more persuasive.

It's very hard to persuade somebody if you are thinking the way you do and trying to get somebody to come over here without you going to get them. So we do need to figure out by listening in a very particular way what's important to that person. And then we're going to know how to talk to them to be persuasive. Also, how to be more optimistic. And a top veterinarian answers questions about your pet. Like, why are dogs so afraid of fireworks? Fireworks are incredibly scary. What we like about them is the connection in our brains

between what we hear and what we see. And dogs aren't necessarily looking up and seeing beautiful colors. It's simply loud noise, and it's very scary for a lot of animals. All this today on Something You Should Know. People who listen to Something You Should Know are curious about the world, looking to hear new ideas and perspectives. So I want to tell you about a podcast that is full of new ideas and perspectives,

and one I've started listening to called Intelligence Squared. It's the podcast where great minds meet. Listen in for some great talks on science, tech, politics, creativity, wellness, and a lot more. A couple of recent examples, Mustafa Suleiman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, discussing the future of technology. That's pretty cool. And writer, podcaster, and filmmaker John Ronson discussing the rise of conspiracies and culture wars. Intelligence Squared is the kind of podcast that gets you thinking a little more openly about the important conversations going on today.

Being curious, you're probably just the type of person Intelligence Squared is meant for. Check out Intelligence Squared wherever you get your podcasts. Something you should know. Fascinating intel. The world's top experts. And practical advice you can use in your life. Today, Something You Should Know with Mike Carruthers. Hi, welcome. Have you ever had the opportunity to buy something refurbished at a discount? Usually it's electronics. Maybe you decided to skip it and buy a new one because you worried that refurbished meant you were buying something that was defective and had to be fixed. Well, not always.

Surprisingly, only about 5% of returned electronics are defective, according to a survey. Some refurbished laptops and other products haven't even been touched by the person who purchased them. They've been returned because a clerk nicked the box during shipping, or maybe the buyer just didn't like the color. When there's a true defect, retailers such as Best Buy send the item to an authorized repair center or back to the manufacturer for inspection, repair, and repackaging. And the discounts on those refurbished products can be between 15 and 50%. It's probably best to stick to the name brands and reputable retailers like Amazon, Apple, and Best Buy

when buying refurbished products, but at least now you know what refurbished really means, and it may just be a good deal. And that is something you should know. You probably don't think about it all that much, but every day you're required to influence people. Your kids, your co-workers, your boss, your friends. You exert influence to get them to do things or to give you things or behave in a certain way. You have to be influential to be effective. And since we don't necessarily think about it all that much, we don't typically have a plan or a formula to be influential.

But if you did, if you did have a plan, you would probably be more influential. And here to help you be more influential is Shelley Rose Chevret. Shelley is an international expert on influencing and persuasion, and she's author of the book Words That Change Minds. Hi, Shelley. Hi, Mike. Since we're all trying to influence people every day, what is it that you see when you observe people?

What is it that you see people do wrong that makes them less effective and less influential? You know, what people generally do wrong is they focus on getting the thing that they want. And it's almost as if they're the only person in the equation. In fact, there's two people. So although it's important to be clear on what your goal is, when you want to persuade and influence someone, it's also important to figure out or to help find out what the other person wants, because there's both of you there. And thirdly, going to meet them where they are at what I call their bus stop. It's very hard to persuade somebody if you are thinking the way you do, feeling the way you do, and kind of trying to

get somebody to come over here without you going to get them. So we do need to figure out by listening in a very particular way what's important to that person, how they think, how they make decisions, and then we're going to know how to talk to them to be persuasive. So give me an example of how that would work. Let's imagine that Susie wants to convince her husband Bobby that there's something wrong with the car. What Susie usually does is she says, Bobby, there's something wrong with the car. And Bobby isn't convinced because Bobby needs to decide for himself whether or not he thinks there's something wrong with the car. So just simply saying, listen, there's something wrong

with the car. I heard a noise. We have to take it to the garage. And then getting annoyed when Bobby doesn't do that, to be able to have an impact with Bobby, knowing that Bobby doesn't want to be told what to do, and that's one of the triggers I talk about, is you then go to where Bobby is thinking and saying, hey, Bobby, I heard a weird noise with the car, and I suspect there's something wrong with it. Can you check it out? So the formula is you offer that person information and invite them to decide for themselves. What most of us just do is tell other people what to think. Yeah, we do, don't we? Here's what I think and you should think the same

thing. That's right. Here's what you should think and here's what you should do. Now, chances are, in couples, people don't like to be told what to do. You know, partners don't want the other partner to tell them what to do and what to think. And it's so frustrating because one partner will say, well, it's obvious. Why doesn't she just get it? Or why doesn't he understand? And the thing is, the more assertive you are, the more resistance you get. Whereas if you're invitational, the more likely your partner is to actually consider what you want. So I have a problem. I'd like to talk to you about it. Would it be okay if I told you what's going on and get your input? Like, you don't have to sound like you're begging and pleading. You just need to invite the person to decide for themselves.

And so isn't this sort of manipulating people? You know, a lot of people are worried that influence and persuasion is manipulation, but there's a difference between manipulating somebody and influencing them. If you're manipulating them, you don't really care what their goal is or what they want. You just want what you want. When you're trying to have an impact or a positive impact or influence, you have to take the other person's goal in mind, because otherwise it just doesn't work. People have radar. They know when they're being manipulated. Sometimes not

right at the moment, but sometime later you go, I just don't trust that person. And it's because we have radar for manipulation. It's interesting. I know you say that being enthusiastic can actually hurt your ability to influence people if you're too enthusiastic. Enthusiasm is good in and of itself. But if you sort of put it like a sheet over top of the other person, too, then it doesn't work. But if you can be enthusiastic for yourself, you can say, I love this movie. I thought it was the best one all year. And I wonder what you think about it.

I'm curious as to whether or not you would like it or not. That's an invitation. That's okay for me to be enthusiastic, but I can't decide for you what you're going to think. So if you say, oh, this is a great book, you're going to love it. Well, unless you have absolutely impeccable credibility with that person and they trust your judgment, they're going to get a bit skeptical and say, well, you know, I'll read it. Maybe I'll read it. Maybe I won't. But it's not just because the other person told you you're going to love it, that you're going to love it. It does seem very often that people, in trying to influence other people, are maybe a little too subtle. You know, they use body language or they kind of hint at what they want rather than be direct and say what they want.

And you say that often doesn't work, often backfires. So talk about that. So there's a group of people who are not very good at noticing or hearing body language or voice tone. So if you say to them something like, all right, they think you said all right, because they didn't hear the frustration in your voice tone. Or if you're looking upset, they don't necessarily pick it up because they're focused on the content. And all of us do this at different times. There are some people who do it more often than others. And if you've tried hinting and it doesn't work, then you need to be a little bit more direct about how you're feeling. Explain the platinum and the golden rules of communication, because that plays into this whole idea of influence.

Well, you know, we've all heard about the golden rule, do unto others as you would have done unto you. I think that fits for a lot of situations. But in terms of interpersonal communication, everybody's kind of different. What works for you doesn't necessarily work for somebody else. So I believe in the platinum rule. And the platinum rule is do unto others as they would have done unto them. So here's an example. Let's say I like to have lots of choices in where we go to a restaurant. So when we're talking about where we're going to a restaurant, I might say, hey, there's this option, there's that restaurant, there's the Italian, there's the Chinese, there's the Greek restaurant.

And my partner may not like to have any options at all. My partner may like to go to the same restaurant over and over again. So if I want to persuade my partner, I'm going to have to use the language that my partner uses. So instead of saying, well, look, there's all these choices, we could go somewhere new. I might need to say, hey, you know, you said you really like spaghetti. I know a place where you can get the spaghetti that you might just like. It might be worthwhile testing out. You don't say, let's go to somewhere new and different when you know a person wants to do more or less the same kind of thing. And that's an example of paying attention to what's important to the other person. Often when we're trying to influence people,

we're trying to get them to make a choice. Do you want this one or that one? Do you want to go here or go there? And I know I've read or heard that choice is a problem, that you would think giving people lots of choices, well, then they're bound to find something they want. But in fact, when you give people too many choices, you improve the likelihood that they choose nothing because you've overwhelmed them with too many choices. That's exactly true. And the traditional research says that it's because there are too many things and a person can't make up their mind. But if we go even deeper into our unconscious mind, if it's not clear what we want, like we have no criteria for choosing, and B, we have no procedure

for choosing, too many options is instant overwhelm. And most people don't think about how they make decisions. They just either decide or they don't decide. And so if you're trying to persuade someone, it's useful for you to think about, A, what's important to them, what do they want? And B, how are they most likely to make a decision? And someone who is looking for something that is similar to what they already have, what's going to help them make a decision is if you can point out how what you're proposing is similar. But isn't it just human nature? When you ask someone what kind of ice cream you want and you give them 31 different flavors to choose from, it's going to take a lot

more work to get them to choose one than if you said, would you like chocolate or vanilla? Absolutely. Absolutely. And here's the trap, though. Sometimes, if you say, would you like chocolate and vanilla, and you have one of those people who doesn't want to be closed into a box where someone else chooses, they'll say, hey, listen, I like strawberry. But at least then you get a decision. Because if we don't have strawberry, then your choice is to not choose, but that's a choice. But it's a choice, and the person will decide.

Some people don't want to be boxed into that two-choice thing. not choose, but that's a choice. But it's a choice and the person will decide. Like some people don't want to be boxed into that two-choice thing. And in traditional sales technology, there's often these techniques like the alternative clothes, either this or either that, or here's what our most popular flavor is. And if people are what we call internal, that means they like to decide for themselves based on what's important to them, they don't go with the flow. So it works if somebody is more easily influenced by what other people think, but if they aren't, it doesn't work. So you have to find out in this case what's important to that person and how they would know they made the right decision. So when you're choosing a flavor of ice cream, what do you go for? And a person might say, well, I want something

new and different from what I've had before, or I always liked the same thing. You know, you have to listen to those things. And what we don't do is we don't ask enough of the right questions to find out how does somebody decide? How do they make judgment calls? Are they looking for new and different? Are they looking for same? Are they looking for better? Right, because everybody's different. We are talking about influence and how to influence other people. My guest is Shelley Rose Chavre, and her book is titled Words That Change Minds. Hi, I'm Jennifer, a founder of the Go Kid Go Network. At Go Kid Go, putting kids first is at the heart of every show that we produce.

That's why we're so excited to introduce a brand new show to our network called The Search for the Silver Lining, a fantasy adventure series about a spirited young girl named Isla who time travels to the mythical land of Camelot. Look for The Search for the Silver Lining on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. Since I host a podcast, it's pretty common for me to be asked to recommend a podcast. And I tell people,

if you like something you should know, you're going to like The Jordan Harbinger Show. Every episode is a conversation with a fascinating guest. Of course, a lot of podcasts are conversations with guests, but Jordan does it better than most. Recently, he had a fascinating conversation with a British woman who was recruited and radicalized by ISIS and went to prison for three years. She now works to raise awareness on this issue. It's a great conversation. And he spoke with Dr. Sarah Hill about how taking birth control not only prevents pregnancy, it can influence a woman's partner preferences, career choices, and overall behavior due to the hormonal changes it causes. Apple named The Jordan Harbinger Show one of the best podcasts a few years back,

and in a nutshell, the show is aimed at making you a better, more informed, critical thinker. Check out The Jordan Harbinger Show. There's so much for you in this podcast. The Jordan Harbinger Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. So Shelly, we're talking about the importance of understanding how people decide and what they prefer. And it made me think, I used to know a guy who would eat dinner at the same restaurant every day. But not only that, because that in itself would drive me crazy, but he ordered the same thing every single time. Every time.

He has what we call a sameness pattern in the context of food. And what we don't realize is that these patterns that I talk about, sameness and internal and whether somebody wants something new and different, they're not personality patterns. They're contextual. So he may want the same food in the same restaurant when he's at work, but when he's on holiday, he might like to experiment or he might like to have the same thing. We don't know because these tendencies are contextual. We do different things at different times. And that's one of the challenges in human communication. Not only are people different than me, they do different things at different times.

And so trying to stuff somebody like a round peg into a square hole doesn't work. I would imagine that a lot of your ability to influence or to get someone to make a decision or whatever it is you're trying to do, has a lot to do with the influencer. I'm much more comfortable when certain people ask me something than when other people who aren't maybe so sure of themselves. There's something about the persona of the influencer that makes decision-making easier, right? That's absolutely true. You wouldn't want to decide to work with

somebody if you didn't believe they were credible in the field that they were proposing you should do work with them. If somebody comes across as unsure, well, they see doubt in the mind of the other person. Or if somebody comes across as arrogant, they see defensiveness in the other person. And so it's really important to think about how do I establish credibility? Secondly, how do I establish trust? Like, what is going to enable this person to know that they can count on me? What are the things I need to do? And there's kind of a formula for trust. And it's a longer term formula, but it's this, it's what I call say do. If I say I'm going to do something, I do it. And I do it when I said I was going to do it. And if you do that a minimum

of three times, and you do it over and over again, you are proving to the other person that you are trustworthy. How many times have somebody said they were going to do something for you and they didn't come through? What did you think of that person as a person? A very important influential moment, I think, that people have trouble with is when they have to deliver bad news. Because how you deliver the bad news can have a big influence on how people receive the bad news. And nobody likes to give bad news. I developed something called the bad news, and nobody likes to give bad news. I developed something called the bad news formula, and it's a way of decreasing the emotional upset on both sides when you have to tell somebody something they really don't

want to hear. And the bad news formula starts with the bad news. So you're talking to a person, you know, make sure, you know, you're sitting in a place or you're on the phone and you're both comfortable with each other. And the formula goes like this. I'll do the formula and then I'll do an example. The bad news formula is bad news. And then you use the word but. But is quite important because it tells the person that something different is going to happen. So bad news, but good news for the other person, and good news, and good news. And of course,

the first objection to the bad news formula is, what do you do if you don't have any good news? Well, you have to find some. So bad news is what I can't do for you, but, and then you propose something that goes some way towards doing something for the other person or another solution. And I was thinking, you know, the bad news formula is very, very effective. And someone used it on me and I couldn't believe it. I had done a huge contract for a software company on managing customer expectations. I went all over the States and then down to their headquarters in New Zealand. And three months later, I hadn't received my check. So I emailed one of the people in payables who had taken my training. I knew everybody in the company. And I said to him, hey, George,

I haven't received my check yet. Can you look into it for me? And then I got back an email and George said, dear Shelley, I know you haven't gotten your check yet, but I will be seeing the VP of Finance this week, and I'll be putting your bill in front of him, and I'll let you know just as soon as I hear. And so I went, it was in my office by myself, and went, oh, okay. Wait a minute. Because I realized after what he'd done. So I wrote him back a note and said, I taught you how to do that. And he wrote back with a smiley face. So I mean, even if you know about this, it still works. And the idea is you start

with the bad news. That creates trust and credibility. You're not hiding stuff from people. And then you talk about the bad news, but a piece of good news or what you're going to do or what might be helpful and another piece of good news and another piece. The reason it works is three to one. Now, what most people are used to doing and hearing is the infamous sandwich where you say something nice and then you stick the bad news in or the criticism in the middle and then you say something nice. And most people feel really manipulated by that. And secondly, the really bad thing that this sandwich has done to everybody, as soon as you hear a compliment, most people start psychologically ducking because they know a criticism or a piece of bad news is coming right after that. So my suggestion for handing out compliments would be

run into somebody's office, give them a compliment, say very quickly why it was helpful, whatever they did, and then leave or hang up the phone. Because if you stay there, because we've been so programmed by the sandwich, they're going to think, oh, you're just buttering me up for some kind of criticism. And they'll be waiting for the other shoe to drop. So I suggest you separate it. You need to have a compliment or you're really impressed with something that someone has done or said. You say that and leave. So what's left hanging in the air is the compliment. And if you have a critique to make, the best way to do it, in my opinion, would be to use the bad news formula. And that's how you influence better relationships.

Here's a question, because I think a lot of times people would like to try to influence certain people, but we can't get a hold of them. We can't get them on the phone. They won't call us back. Do you have a good way to get people to return a phone call? A lot of people have this problem. If they've talked to somebody, maybe it's a potential customer or it's somebody you're working with on a project, and you've called them, and they don't call you back. And you've called them a couple times, they still don't call you back. Well, the problem is people are really busy. And so what I suggest is to kind of change the tone a bit. So one way of

getting somebody to call you back is to tell them you have an idea that you'd like to run by them about the thing they're working on. So you know that problem we talked about last week? I've got an idea that just might work, and I'd like to run it by you. Can you give me a call, please? And you always call when you know they're not going to be there so that you can weave that message. Well, that creates some curiosity, and the person is more likely to call you back. Another technique for getting them to call you back is, this is like bringing out the big solution, I would do it rarely, is that sometimes people are too busy, but you end up thinking, you know, I must have hurt their feelings, or I must have insulted them. And again, phone them up when they're not going to be there, or when they're unlikely to answer

their phone, which is most of the time nowadays. And say, listen, you know, we talked about moving forward on this project and I called a couple of times and I haven't heard back from you. I'm wondering if I said something or did something that offended you. And I'm not sure what it is. I'm just feeling a little antsy about this and very sorry. I didn't mean to do anything to offend you. And while most people will email you back, you can even do that in email and say, no,

no, I didn't get back to you. I'm really, really sorry. And then you can continue from there. But getting traction is one of the challenges today because people have got so much to do. They're so overwhelmed with everything they have to do. But sometimes you need to have some mechanisms to get people to get back in touch with you. Well, it's so interesting to hear this because with all the miscommunication that goes on in the world, it's good to get some tools to use to improve our ability to communicate and influence.

And I appreciate you sharing all this. Shelley Rose Chavre has been my guest. She's an expert on influence and persuasion and author of the book Words That Change Minds. You'll find a link to her book in the show notes. Thanks for being here, Shelley. Thanks, Mike. It's been a real pleasure. Hey, everyone. Join me, Megan Rinks. And me, Melissa Demonts, for Don't Blame Me, But Am I Wrong? Each week, we deliver four fun-filled shows.

In Don't Blame Me, we tackle our listeners' dilemmas with hilariously honest advice. Then we have But Am I Wrong, which is for the listeners that didn't take our advice. Plus, we share our hot takes on current events. Then tune in to see you next Tuesday for our listener poll results from But Am I Wrong. And finally, wrap up your week with Fisting Friday, where we catch up and talk all things pop culture. Listen to Don't Blame Me, But Am I Wrong on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Do you love Disney? Then you are going to love our hit podcast, Disney Countdown. I'm Megan, the Magical Millennial. And I'm the Dapper Danielle. On every episode of our fun and family-friendly show, we count down our top 10 lists of all things Disney. There is nothing we don't cover. We are famous for rabbit holes, Disney-themed games, and fun facts you didn't know you needed,

but you definitely need in your life. So if you're looking for a healthy dose of Disney magic, check out Disney Countdown wherever you get your podcasts. 68% of U.S. households have a pet. That's up from 56% of U.S. households in 1988. Clearly, we love our pets, and how best to take care of them is something very important to us. Here with some really good practical hands-on pet advice is Dr. Gary Weitzman. He is a practicing veterinarian, he is host of the radio show Animal House on NPR, and he's author of a new book called National Geographic's Complete Guide to Pet Health, Behavior, and Happiness. Hi Gary, welcome. Thank you, Behavior, and Happiness. Hi, Gary. Welcome.

Thank you. Great to be here. So I'm curious, as medical advances happen in human medicine, are they also happening in animal medicine? Is veterinary medicine much further along than it was 10, 20 years ago? Yeah, it's an excellent question. It's profoundly changed the way animals are cared for by veterinarians now. When I graduated in the late 1890s, it feels like it was very different. You know, general practitioners would literally do

everything. You'd go to one vet and you could have vaccines done or fractures repaired, heaven forbid, or, you know, a neurologic diagnosis, eyes are checked, all of that. It's very different now and it parallels human medicine. There's specialists in everything and, you know, it's a double-edged sword. It's great care for animals, but there's a price tag on all of that. So we are trying to negotiate, you know, where the profession is going and figure out how do we provide advanced medical services when for nearly everybody, it can be too expensive. Something that's always amazed me about veterinary medicine is how a vet, someone like you, can in one visit, treat a dog.

In the next visit, you'll see a cat. The next visit, it could be an iguana or a bird or a hamster. How do you know all that? Yeah. You know, we, as a profession, have always had a sense of pride about being able to take care of all species. And it's really, to be honest, Mike, it's not possible anymore. While there's a baseline knowledge of so many species, we really all specialize. So, for instance, I'm more proficient in companion animal medicine than I could ever even think about being with equine or livestock

or wildlife medicine. They're all specialties now, but there's a little bit of knowledge there, and hopefully there's enough knowledge to do no harm and to refer people to the right specialist. There's so much knowledge now and so much, and this is a good thing, expectation for gold standard care that it's advanced the welfare of animals, but it's also made it really difficult for people to get that care. I would bet one of the biggest concerns any pet owner has, whether it's a dog or a cat or a hamster or a bird or whatever it is, is that wondering, is my pet happy?

Is the situation that they find themselves living in in my home, are they happy with it? And what about the time they spend alone? Is it okay that I'm gone for 8, 9, 10 hours every day at work and sometimes gone on the weekends? And is my pet okay being alone? No. That's an unequivocal no. I think it depends on the personality of the animal, but I think very much like humans, it's not great to be isolated. And it's really important that people realize that if they go to work for their normal eight or nine-hour day, that dog or cat, they're alone. And they're waiting, really waiting for the enrichment that humans provide to their lives. So it's not necessarily great for them to be home alone.

I think we've really advanced not only in medical knowledge but also in behavioral knowledge and the need for enrichment for our pets. But I think your question about how do we know if they're happy is a really important one. And it's not just if they're eating, of course, because we know a lot of animals will eat even if they're not feeling well or they're in some pain or distress. But there are some things to look for, certainly thriftiness physically, tail wagging in dogs. Cats, you know, will do things, and now we know more about it, that actually show an affinity for their owners. They'll do a slow blink, and that will actually be something that's really reserved for someone that they are very bonded to. And we know there's a feeling that you know that when you see your pet, you can tell if he

or she is happy. You can also tell if something's wrong. So that's a really subjective evaluation of how happy your animal is. But it really, there's some power behind that. It's really true. Do you think though that, I don't know, like if my dog has a toothache, do they just suck it up and live with it, or will I know they have a toothache because they'll let me know? Yeah, sometimes not, absolutely. That's a good example. A lot of animals are very stoic,

and they're definitely more stoic in most cases than humans. Toothaches are among the worst things a human can endure. And in an animal, it's amazing. We will do a dentistry and see so many teeth that have really serious problems, and the family never knew about it. So a lot of times animals will really, you're right, just suck it up, and you'll never know. They'll eat.

They'll act normally. A dog will play with a ball. But there's some discomfort there. Now, you will know when there are physical manifestations of it, you know, a swelling. And sometimes you will know when it becomes painful enough. But a lot of animals can be very, very stoic about it, cats especially. You know, cats, while they're great hunters, they can certainly be vulnerable prey as well. So they'll hide a lot of the physical manifestations of illness and disease.

Should you brush your pet's teeth? Oh, absolutely. Now, I don't know that I would go around proselytizing that people should do it every day like we do. And it'd be great if you could, but you have to be practical as well. So I always tell people, if you can do it twice a week, that's fantastic. Every dog, every cat should have their teeth brushed. And if you can only do it with a little bit of pet toothpaste on your finger, that's better than doing nothing at all. So there's a lot of things you can do, and we just have to make it possible for people to do it. But no human toothpaste, right? That's in the...

No. No, that's a bad thing because it can't be digested and it can make animals sick. And similarly, don't use pet toothpaste yourself unless you really are fond of artificial chicken flavor or liver. And I don't think anybody wants to wake up to either of those. This episode will publish just a couple days before 4th of July, which brings up the issue of fireworks. My dog and many dogs hate the sound of fireworks. And I get it that it's a loud noise and it freaks them out, but it seems like it freaks them out more than it should. I mean, other loud, equally loud noises don't have that effect. But I mean, my dog just starts to shiver and quake and hide. And same thing with thunder. So what's going on there? Yeah, it's pure fear. Fireworks are incredibly scary.

What we like about them is the connection in our brains between what we hear and what we see. And dogs aren't necessarily looking up and seeing beautiful colors. First of all, their color spectrum, while they do see colors, is different than ours. So we can't guarantee we know what exactly they're seeing in the sky. But the more important fact is they're not going to look up at the sky. It's simply loud noise and pressure because they can feel the noise as well as hear it. And it's very scary for a lot of animals. A little different than thunder. Thunder really, we think now is the electrical current that they can feel before the thunder happens, as well as the noise, which just compounds it. So for dogs, it can be really scary, and for cats, and for wildlife.

When it comes to spending time with your pet, what does it mean to spend time with them? Do you have to be out throwing a ball or, you know, shining your laser pointer on the wall and making the cat run around? Or is sitting on the couch and petting them, is that spending time with them? Both. In a lot of cases, it depends on the dog. But I think if you're spending time with them watching television, that's absolutely fantastic. And if they're curled up on the couch next to you, regardless of how big they are, that's absolutely fantastic.

You have to realize that, like us, animals need specific things. And we have created breeds of dogs and cats that have specific physical needs. So you can't really expect that you're going to have an Australian Shepherd or a Border Collie or even a German Shepherd, I could name about a dozen different breeds, that are going to be happy without any real physical exertion. They need a job and they need to move and run after balls and have work to do. And those breeds, people should be knowledgeable about the breeds. And that's the most important part about knowing what your specific pet may need. But I think the number one thing for any dog or cat or pet that we have is contact with their human. And

we can't be playing ball all the time. And many of us do like to watch television. And I think that's a really great experience to have that quiet time with your pet. Do cats like to have other cats around and do dogs like to have other dogs around? Or are they just fine being in the company of humans? You know, it depends on the animal, of course. But what I used to tell people, and I think it's still true, is we have to realize we have created these animals, these pets, specific breeds, domesticated them, although they started it by coming closer to our encampments 10,000 to 15,000 years ago, to make them dependent on us and attached to us, and therefore we're the entire orbit of their lives.

You know, to have them only with us seems to be unnatural. They should also have the company of their own species. It depends on the animal. Some dogs are more social with other dogs, some cats with other cats. Some cats absolutely despise other cats and it can lead to behavior problems in the house. But it really depends on the animal. But I think if you can always have at least two dogs or two cats, that is a good rule of thumb. It's generally not more work than one, and we want to give animals a chance to bond with their own species. Well, I know years ago I had two dogs,

and they got along great, and we got a third dog, and everything changed, and not for the better. It didn't work. It really screwed up the relationship that the other two dogs had because the new dog picked on, he was a male and he picked on the other male, and it wasn't a good thing. Yeah, and that happens quite a bit. Two is a good number. Three often is not. And more than three is a whole pack, and that will have its own social structure.

What you're describing is not uncommon at all because with your two dogs who got along, all of a sudden the entire dynamic changes by adding another one. And while dogs and cats have different and varying levels of really of a dominance hierarchy, we don't even like the word dominance anymore when talking about dogs and cats, but of a hierarchy, when you add a third one, you're actually changing that pyramid. So that may well have been what happened with your animals. Let's talk about what to feed them. And I know there's been a lot of new kind of artisan pet foods and all,

and yet there's also the supermarket pet food. And where do you come down on this? Yeah, it's interesting. There is less and less supermarket pet food I'm seeing in supermarkets now and more of it in retail vendors, you know, like Petco and PetSmart and smaller pet stores. I like it. I think that, you know, we are recognizing the value of nutrition and how food can be medicine. And high quality food is really important, not just for us,

but for our animals. Now, granted, dogs and cats, you know, came to live with us by eating the scraps and the garbage that we threw out, and they did fairly well. But I think having high quality food, concentrating on nutrition and the importance of it, obviously is a really good idea. Now, the foods that you just described, the specialized foods, the grain-free foods, corn-free. I mean, corn is the big enemy of animals. It's really not. A lot of that, obviously, is to attract the human pocketbook, the human wallet. So it's marketing in a lot of cases,

but I think the important part is to go for the highest quality ingredients. Don't use anything with byproducts or artificial ingredients if you can help it and if you can afford it. Yeah, because I know that there is vegetarian dog food, and I think, well, did you ask your dog if he wants to be a vegetarian? Because it seems to me that's not a natural fit for a dog. No, and I'm not a fan. There are vegetarian and vegan dog foods and cat foods. Cats are obligate carnivores. They must have meat. That's natural

for cats. Now, there are cat foods that don't have meat, very few, but there are, and they can be completely a full spectrum of the nutrition that cats need. But it's not natural. It's really asking a cat to be something that it's not. So I'm not at all a fan of vegetarian dog foods or cat foods, especially not of cat foods. I'm also not a fan of raw food. And I say that with some hesitation as someone who will admittedly say that I have fed my dogs raw food, you know, commercial raw food, because I had to try it based on so many people telling me how well their animals have thrived on it. And my dogs did really well. But as a veterinarian, I'm terrified of it because it does have bacteria in it. And the rationalization that dogs' digestive tracts can withstand that amount of bacteria is really not rational.

We'll deal with salmonella the way we do and listeria and there have been outbreaks. And it's just, in my opinion, not the healthiest thing to do. But there's so much food out there, fresh packed food and human grade food. And I think that's all advancement for the better. What do you see as a practicing doctor, pets coming in with problems because of bad things that the owners have fed them? Well, I think now most people know not to feed chocolate to dogs or cats, not to feed grapes and raisins to dogs because they can be highly toxic. Macadamia nuts are a good one to absolutely avoid with our pets. But there are other things too, xylitol and artificial sweeteners

and a lot of the things that we eat to save calories. We don't want our pets getting into that. And then of course, the number one thing that we're all talking about without a lot of data yet is marijuana and cannabials and CBD and whether or not that's safe and how much to give our pets. And we just simply don't know the answer to that one yet. But the normal household foods to avoid with animals are certainly grapes, raisins, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol. All of those things are, of course, should be off the menu for our dogs and cats. Do you see a lot of problems with dogs or cats coming in because they've swallowed bones? Not so much anymore,

but years ago, about a decade ago, yeah, we used to see a lot of that. I think most people know not to do it anymore. I don't know if that's a change in our diets that have led to that. There's not a lot of things with bones and the bones that are available for animals, and this may be more the reason. You can get them in many pet stores. They're actually treated so that they're not brittle and a dog can really, you know, chew on it and play with it and not run into problems. But there are occasions certainly where an animal will eat all sorts of things, dogs, well, especially dogs, and bones can be one of them, but we don't see as many problems with that as we used to. You said earlier that,

you know, people know, nobody knows their pet more than the people who own those pets. But do you think that if your pet's acting weird, it's not normal, there's something off, you can't really put your finger on it or know why it's this way, is that reason enough to go to the doctor? Absolutely. Just like it would be for yourself. If you don't know what's wrong with your animal and something seems wrong, there's a good chance that something is. I can give you an example. One of my dogs, my pit bull, Betty, she's 11 years old. For about a year, something didn't

seem quite right. And I wouldn't say that I waited a year, but I ran blood work during that year and found out that she needed thyroid supplement. That's the kind of thing that's really easy to fix. I have a totally different dog now. Those are the things that if you think something is off, go talk to your vet about it and find a vet that you can have a good relationship with and a good, honest, candid conversation about how to best take care of your pets.

I think that's the most valuable thing that you can do. Pet insurance? Pet insurance is fantastic, and it stumps me how difficult it is to get traction in that industry. Most people don't have pet insurance, and it's as valuable as medical insurance for ourselves. And I just don't understand why so many of us don't do it. But I'm hoping that will change because I think that's the answer to taking really great care of our pets, to be able to not worry about the cost of that care. That may be an unreasonable hope, but I really think that that's where we can get some incredible traction on taking better care of our pets. There's a lot of insurances out there, and it's really important that they're explained to people.

I think people don't really understand how pet insurance works, don't necessarily trust that it will cover them when they need it to. And those are the challenges that we have with pet insurance, but it's really important. And your vet's a good one to talk to about that, or even going online with different pet insurance companies and talking to them directly about what they'll cover. There's some fantastic plans out there now. Well, having been a pet owner most of my life, I think like most people, it's great to hear what's going on in veterinary medicine and what the latest recommendations are, and I appreciate you spending time with me today to explain all that. Dr. Gary Weitzman has been my guest. He is a veterinarian. He is host of the

radio show Animal House on NPR, and he's the author of a new book called National Geographic's Complete Guide to Pet Health, Behavior, and Happiness. And you will find a link to his book in the show notes. Thanks for coming on, Gary. Oh, thank you very much. Really, really fun talking to you. Being optimistic isn't always easy, especially when your life hits a big bump in the road. However, your attitude has a lot to do with how you get over that bump. The father of positive psychology, Martin Seligman, had these words to say about optimism and pessimism,

and they're worth listening to. He says that if you are a pessimist in the sense that when bad things happen, you think they're going to last forever and undermine everything you do, then you're about eight times as likely to get depressed. You're less likely to succeed at work. Your personal relationships are more likely to break up, and you are likely to have a shorter and more illness-filled life. So what do you do instead?

Focus on your strengths. Focus on your successes. and focus on all that's good about your life. Even if you've never done this before, you can start right now. We all have so much to be optimistic about. Think of this, if you have access to the internet, you have a better standard of living than millions of other people out there. Be grateful for what you have. It really is a choice. And that is something you should know. Check us out on Twitter. We're at somethingysk. I'm Mike Carruthers. Thanks for listening today to Something You Should Know. Welcome to the small town of Chinook, where faith runs deep and secrets run deeper. In this new thriller, religion and crime collide when a gruesome murder rocks the isolated Montana community.

Everyone is quick to point their fingers at a drug-addicted teenager, but local deputy Ruth Vogel isn't convinced. She suspects connections to a powerful religious group. Enter federal agent V.B. Loro, who has been investigating a local church for possible criminal activity. The pair form an unlikely partnership to catch the killer, unearthing secrets that leave Ruth torn between her duty to the law, her religious convictions, and her very own family. But something more sinister than murder is afoot, and someone is watching Ruth. Chinook, starring Kelly Marie Tran and Sanaa Lathan. Listen to Chinook wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi, this is Rob Benedict. And I am Richard Spate. We were both on a little show you might know called Supernatural. It had a pretty good run. 15 seasons, 327 episodes. And though we have seen, of course, every episode many times, we figured, hey, now that we're wrapped, let's watch it all again. And we can't do that alone. So we're inviting the cast and crew that made the show

along for the ride. We've got writers, producers, composers, directors, and we'll of course have some actors on as well, including some certain guys that played some certain pretty iconic brothers. It was kind of a little bit of a left field choice in the best way possible. The note from Kripke was, he's great, we love him, but we're looking for like a really intelligent Duchovny type. With 15 seasons to explore, it's going to be the road trip of several lifetimes, so please join us and subscribe to Supernatural then and now.