Wellness In Every Season

Wellness for Pets

• Autumn Carter/ Toni Shelaske • Season 1 • Episode 167

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If your pets are family (or your sanity-savers), this episode is a wake-up call you don’t want to skip. 🐾


In Episode 167: Wellness for Pets, I sit down with Toni Shelaske, long-time pet wellness advocate, pet food store owner, and host of the Toni Unleashed podcast. We dig into what holistic wellness really means for our animals—from what’s actually in most kibble to why so many pets are struggling with cancer, allergies, obesity, and chronic skin issues.


Toni shares her journey from pet sitter to pet nutrition entrepreneur, and how watching dogs get sicker in front of her eyes pushed her to create real, food-based solutions. We talk about:


  • What a raw or fresh food diet looks like (and why it’s easier than most people think)
  • How to read pet food labels and spot the junk
  • The truth about over-vaccination and how titer testing works
  • Why our pets’ weight, behavior, and quirks are often mirrors of our own wellness
  • How caring for our animals can become a gateway into our own healing and habits


If you want your pets to live longer, healthier lives—and you’re ready to question the “normal” advice—you’ll want to follow Toni’s work. Listen to her show “Toni Unleashed” on your favorite podcast app, and connect with her on Instagram @toni.unleashed and Facebook @toniunleashed.

For more wellness tips and exclusive content, join my newsletter! Sign up now at https://wellness-in-every-season.kit.com/5-days-to-mastering-mornings-and-evenings receive a free 5-day guide called "Awaken and Unwind: 5 Days to Mastering Life's Mornings and Evenings."

Episode 167: Wellness for Pets

[00:00:00] Introduction to Wellness for Pets

[00:00:00] Autumn Carter: This is episode 1 67. what is Wellness for Pets. We've talked so much about what it is for humans. I'm so excited to be able to talk about what it is for pets. 

[00:00:11] Welcome to Wellness In Every Season, the podcast where we explore the rich tapestry of wellness in all of its forms. I'm your host, autumn Carter, a certified life coach, turn wellness coach, as well as a certified parenting coach dedicated to empowering others to rediscover their identity in their current season of life.

[00:00:30] My goal is to help you thrive, both as an individual and as a parent.

[00:00:34] I have Toni with me today, and I'm very excited. We took a little bit before we hit record, because in the background she has a drawing. And two of her dogs are the breed that I've had since I was turning 19. so we had to have a conversation about that. And I had to show her one of my dogs who loves to be in the office with me when I'm recording.

[00:00:57] Let me tell you a little bit about Toni, because I'm so [00:01:00] excited, and then I'll let her actually take the mic and start talking.

[00:01:03] Meet Toni and Her Journey

[00:01:03] Autumn Carter: She does all things wellness related to pets, and she has a unique journey with this. She was dog sitting, had her own dog sitting business at 30 years old, and at this point she said she was feeding her dogs a raw diet. 

[00:01:19] She had all of this knowledge with her from feeding a raw diet, and she was going into other houses to dog sit and seeing that they had skin issues, autoimmunity, cancer, obesity, et cetera. It propelled where she's at now. I am so excited to discuss that journey and what is Wellness for Pets. We've talked so much about what it is for humans. I'm so excited to be able to talk about what it is for pets. So Toni, thank you so much for being here. And one last thing I forgot to name Drop is the name of her business is Toni Unleashed.

[00:01:56] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Awesome intro. Thank you. Yes. You summed that up pretty well. 

[00:01:58] Autumn Carter: Oh, thank you. 

[00:01:59] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: [00:02:00] Yeah. 

[00:02:01] Autumn Carter: If I'm passionate, it just, comes out. 

[00:02:03] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Yeah. There's a lot to think about when feeding pets and I just like to, make people think I, I guess is a good way to put it. I don't push my ideas on people, but.

[00:02:13] I just want them to think and realize that there are alternatives. 

[00:02:19] Starting a Pet Food Business

[00:02:19] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: So from pet sitting, I had that pet sitting business for about eight years and really burned myself out 'cause that's, how I roll. I roll pretty fast. And opportunity came across that, there was a local pet food store, just a tiny little store.

[00:02:35] It was about a thousand square feet that, I frequented. It was in my neighborhood, so I would walk my dog there, but they didn't carry raw food, but they had a natural element to them. Grain-free foods. You wouldn't find Purina and IMS in there. You'd find brands you never really heard of.

[00:02:52] They didn't sell raw food. Um, and I suggested it, and they weren't interested. They also were kind of fearful of it. I made my own [00:03:00] raw food at the time and or ordered it online. There was a couple places I could get it online. I. So, um, the owners decided to move to Florida and sell the business.

[00:03:09] So, I had an extensive retail management background and, I decided to buy it. So that's kind of how my store started. The store was actually called Healthy Pet Products and that was October of 2008. I grew that one store to three stores in Pittsburgh, and then I had a fourth location in Florida.

[00:03:34] After 16 years of owning my Pittsburgh stores, I literally just sold them, about seven months ago. 

[00:03:41] Autumn Carter: Wow. Congratulations. We could even just talk about that journey right alone of having a business baby and then seeing it transition to somebody else, kind of going out the door. Empty nester in that way.

[00:03:53] Yeah. It's like sending 

[00:03:53] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: a child to college and, you know, or, you know, it's, um, it that's a whole other, yeah, whole other episode because for sure. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it was, it was definitely time. I have no regrets, but, um. It's, I'm still going through like a transition, so, um, but 

[00:03:53] Launching the Toni Unleashed Podcast

[00:03:53] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: I started my podcast in 2022 because I wanted to reach more than just Pittsburgh and Florida as far [00:04:00] as what natural foods and supplementation and, and things can do for your pets opposed to always relying on, prescription foods or medication.

[00:04:12] Autumn Carter: Do you still have it going on now? 

[00:04:14] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: The podcast? 

[00:04:15] Autumn Carter: Yes. Oh, 

[00:04:15] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: yeah. Yeah. So I started, I'm almost at my hundredth episode. 

[00:04:20] Autumn Carter: Tell us the name, tell us where to find you. 

[00:04:22] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: So my podcast is Toni Unleashed. My Instagram handle is Toni Unleashed, Facebook and TikTok. They're just normal. Toni Unleashed.

[00:04:31] Um, and you know, I started it while I still owned Healthy Pet Products because, and you, I'm sure Autumn would relate to this, I mean. As an entrepreneur or owning your own business, you always have to kind of be creating and you just have that need to fulfill and do and be and all these things. So after owning my store for so long, I really was kind of like hitting a grind.

[00:04:51] Kind of thing. And this was like after going through COVID and everything, I'm like, I need to a, spread my message further than just Pittsburgh and [00:05:00] Florida, and b, I really like this podcast idea and it would be something different and totally new for me to learn and do. So that's kind of how it started.

[00:05:12] So every week I get on, so far it's, I'm, I'm with a co-host or I'm interviewing someone. I've not really gotten into solo episodes yet. But every topic is a different topic, like natural flea and tick, feeding fresh food opposed to kibble, how to transition, how, you know, there's so many things.

[00:05:33] You know how to battle allergies, ear infections. I have trainers on, I have rescues on, so it's kind of all over the gamut, but it focuses on health and wellness. 

[00:05:46] Autumn Carter: Well, tell us what the thumbnail looks like, because I You're gonna have a new subscriber after this. 

[00:05:53] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Oh my gosh. It's a, kind of a caricature of me and my dog Layla.

[00:05:59] [00:06:00] And Layla is a great Dane, and she has headphones on. It's really funny. And then we each have a glass of wine and we are clinking our glasses of wine. And the wine is. Sloshing all over the place. So it's cute. I mean, I think it's cute. I don't know. So 

[00:06:14] Autumn Carter: I what what we were saying before, what I was saying before I hit record.

[00:06:14] Is, I have two healers. This is my second set, and these ones our first set. We wanted to do it, but college kids, finances time. Yeah. It was non-existent. Yeah. But with these ones, they are in a sport called Flyball and they compete. They've earned several ribbons. Our two oldest are old enough that they go on the weekends when my husband competes too.

[00:06:39] And we do it all pretty local so far, just because our kids are so young. Sure. So anything dog related, we are in dog groups. I will definitely be sharing your podcast with them. Thank you. 

[00:06:50] Understanding Raw Food Diets for Pets

[00:06:56] Autumn Carter: Let's go back a little bit because I'm realizing that this was a decade, a decade ago that I was looking into [00:07:00] raw foods.

[00:07:00] Mm-hmm. For my first baby. I was deciding not to because it was at the same time that I had a newborn. So little too much. I was thinking raw foods. I was looking at that. I was looking at making my own, using my instant pot and I never. It never dawned on me. I'm just now realizing, listening to you that people sell raw dog food.

[00:07:25] Mm-hmm. So let's unpack that a little bit. Mm-hmm. Because I'm sure I'm not the only one that is going What? 

[00:07:30] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Yeah. 

[00:07:30] Autumn Carter: This. 

[00:07:31] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: And a lot of, uh, you're right. It a lot of times it is an assumption that you have to go to a local butcher and get your meat and your bones and. Grind them up or feed them, or, you know, do whatever and get your organs and everything.

[00:07:42] And you don't have to do it that way. If you wanna do it that way, by all means, go for it. But it is, uh, it's a, it's a whole thing. It's quite a commitment if you're gonna do it on your own. If you shop any locally owned pet food stores, which I fully support, [00:08:00] they typically are more naturally minded and already are raw feeders or sell raw food that is already ground and formulated to thaw and serve.

[00:08:13] So you don't have to do anything. I mean, it's so easy autumn, that you literally. Like most of the brands do like eight ounce portions, so you can just, and they're in little patties with a piece of tissue in between. You're literally just thaw and serve. It's that easy. And it's a combination of meat, bone, and organ and that everybody's formula varies, but that is typically 90% of the entire food and then five to 10%, depending on the brand, adds in some fruits and vegetables.

[00:08:51] Raw apple cider vinegar, some botanicals, some bear, you know what I mean? Like good stuff like that. You won't find synthetic supplements [00:09:00] typically in raw food. Synthetic supplements. Just what I said, they're synthetic and the body doesn't recognize them, so you really want to avoid them. So if you see synthetics in a raw food, I would avoid that.

[00:09:14] But for the most part, shopping in the freezer at a locally independent store, you can almost buy anything and they have cool stuff in addition to food. You've got bone broth that's great for joints. It's great for the gut. And you've got raw goats milk, raw goats. Milk is also great for the gut, great for the skin, and coat teeth, everything.

[00:09:40] Green mixes of greens, turmeric, paste, like you name it, they, it's, it's being made. 

[00:09:47] Autumn Carter: Wow. And I was, I guess, on trend using quotes outta my family because I really. When deep diving into ingredient labels for [00:10:00] dog food alongside doing that for my family, especially having a newborn. Like, yeah, I gonna do all the things right now.

[00:10:07] The Importance of Pet Nutrition

[00:10:07] Autumn Carter: And it's crazy how much crap is in dog food. Yeah. Just literal garbage. 

[00:10:13] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Yeah. 

[00:10:14] Autumn Carter: And then corn, don't do it. 

[00:10:15] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Yeah. And you, you have to, you do have to read the labels. And when you start reading the labels, then, then you might realize then, then you real, you should question what's going on?

[00:10:24] I mean, over 50% of our dogs are being diagnosed with cancer. So, I mean, I, my neighbor, five-year-old Frenchie Cancer, she just had surgery this morning. One of my closest friends, 4-year-old, schnauzer Cancer. That's really young and really wrong. And there are so many things that these dogs are up against.

[00:10:46] We need to feed them a better diet. They do so much for us and our families. We need to do more for them and really start being their advocates and not completely listening [00:11:00] to everything from the veterinary industry. We need our vets. And I, I don't, I, I have close friends of mine that are vets ask them where they received their nutrition education, ask your vet how much they learned about true nutrition and who wrote the book.

[00:11:19] Autumn Carter: And it's the same with medical doctors. Yes. Medical doctors. Unless they are receiving extra education. Yeah. Which they should be. They have hours that they have to get to, but most of them aren't looking into nutrition. Right. And their class is oftentimes you're lucky if it's even a semester.

[00:11:37] All the years of schooling that they do. So having them talk to you through different. Nutrition. No, no. That's what a nutritionist is for so many other places that you can go to. I can see that for veterinarian. I haven't thought about it, but it totally makes sense. And what I like about this is you can think of this as your gateway drug, so to speak.

[00:11:59] [00:12:00] This can be your portal too. Let's go over your dog's diet, and then you're, you're thinking about this, you're looking at labels, apply that to yourself and vice versa. So I really like this idea of talking about wellness in this aspect. So what else can you tell us about wellness and dogs? Just thinking that in mind, how we have this pathway that leads to us and them and back and forth.

[00:12:22] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: So it's interesting that you say, think about you as a pet parent when you start to really dive into your pet, because I've actually considered, like I, I'm kind of brainstorming a way to create a community with, you know, pet parents and their pets, both on a journey to, become better. Just be healthier, to take more walks, to go outside barefoot like your dog does, because grounding on our earth really helps us, especially being surrounded by so much wifi all the time.

[00:12:58] So beyond food, [00:13:00] we also have to think about how many vaccines they get. They are over vaccinated. You have choices there. You can choose to titer test instead of automatically doing vaccines. Because if you go for your pet's annual visit, they're automatically going to just revaccinated, revaccinated, revaccinated.

[00:13:18] Um, do you think most of your listeners are familiar with what titer tests are? 

[00:13:21] Autumn Carter: I was just gonna ask. 

[00:13:23] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Okay, so a titer test is, it measures the level of antibodies that your dog or human humans can get titers as well. People in the medical industry typically know what a titer test is because they are routinely titered.

[00:13:35] It measures the level of antibodies that your body still has to fight against any disease that you've been vaccinated for. So you can choose to have a tighter test instead of automatically revaccinated. 

[00:13:49] Autumn Carter: Medical professional can do this, you just ask 

[00:13:50] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: yes. Any, however, a lot of them will.

[00:13:56] Don't like to do it because it's, you know, an extra [00:14:00] step. But I have easy instructions for them to enroll with Kansas City, Kansas State. That's where the tests go. It take literally takes five minutes. I did it with my own vet 'cause she's a conventional vet, but was totally open to me wanting to do titers instead and, it's very economical.

[00:14:18] Very economical, but some vets will use a middleman blood runner and it'll be like $300 per. So the goal is to get straight to Kansas State and not use that middleman. And if your vet is gonna try to charge you $300 for a tighter test, or poo poo the idea of a titer test, you need to find a different vet.

[00:14:42] So to give you an example of. How effective our vaccines are for our pets is my dog Meg, who? Um, she's here. This is Meg. She, um, she was about 1-year-old when I adopted [00:15:00] her from our local rescue. She passed her titers her entire life, and she died at the age of 15. 

[00:15:06] Autumn Carter: Wow. And what is the average lifespan for that breed?

[00:15:06] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: She was a Border Collie mix. Border Collie, Brittany Spaniel, I never got her DNA done. I would say, I mean, she was 47 pounds. So I would say teens, but our dogs and cats should easily be living into their twenties. We are shortening their lives. And this is statistical data. Their lifespan is drastically shortening.

[00:15:31] I mean, anybody can Google it or, or punch it into AI and see it drastically shortening 

[00:15:31] Managing Pet Obesity and Wellness

[00:15:31] Autumn Carter: Well, so dogs that I see that are little marshmallows, which Yeah, 

[00:15:35] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: the like the Maltese and things. 

[00:15:36] Autumn Carter: Yeah. They're just, no, I just mean they're Oh, 

[00:15:38] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: fat. Oh, there's this, the, the obesity rate is like 65%. Yeah, it's absurd.

[00:15:44] It's, it

[00:15:44] is. I, I, you, uh, food is not love and I love to eat and I'm Italian, so, um, you really, yeah. Obesity is just ridiculous. 

[00:15:48] Autumn Carter: Food is my love language too, but moderation in all things for sure. And it's not letting that be your divine emotional outlet. 

[00:15:57] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Oh, I, you froze on me. I don't know if it was me or you.

[00:15:59] What did 

[00:15:59] Autumn Carter: you, okay. Oh, now it says my connection is unstable, so apparently it's my side. But for food, for [00:16:00] me, food is a love language, but it's, mm-hmm. I'm not going to eat the whole pan of whatever you give me. 

[00:16:04] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Right. 

[00:16:05] Autumn Carter: Especially, I have four children. As soon as I pull that thing out, I'm sharing whether I want to or not.

[00:16:11] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Yeah. We have to be mindful of how much we're feeding our pets and most of us overfeed. The obesity rate and that affects joints. They end up becoming diabetic and the list goes on and on 

[00:16:23] Autumn Carter: well, in our sport, the black dog that I showed you earlier, she's blue. I don't know why they call 'em blue healer.

[00:16:31] She is clearly black we thought she was the perfect weight and we were being told by the trainers, no, she's actually overweight because sport dogs should be a little thinner. Mm-hmm. Because especially she hits that box hard to get the ball to pop out at her.

[00:16:46] Yeah. There's that. And then we are used to seeing obese dogs. 

[00:16:51] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Mm-hmm. Exactly. 

[00:16:53] Autumn Carter: The 

[00:16:53] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: time. We have a skewed mentality. 

[00:16:53] Autumn Carter: We, people say that about our dogs, they look like they need a fatten up. And actually, no, they're. Just right, right now, because it's [00:17:00] summertime. She is a couple pounds over what she should be, but 

[00:17:03] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: yeah.

[00:17:04] I bite my tongue so hard when a random stranger says to me, oh, that dog needs to put on a couple pounds of yours. Don't you think? It's so hard for me to not I, 'cause my dogs are lean. I mean, Layla, you can see her ribs and that's okay. It's okay. She's a perfect specimen of an 18 month old dog.

[00:17:28] So, um, that young. Yes. Yeah. And she's, yeah. So, um. Yeah, the obesity is ridiculous. Ridiculous. Makes me crazy when I see one that is waddling down the road, it makes me crazy. 

[00:17:36] Autumn Carter: But talking about how we have that path between us, if you look at the owner mm-hmm. There's usually clear health deficits there as well.

[00:17:44] Definitely. So that's why we can really tease apart. Taking care of your wellness and either end, it will allow you that path to, oh, well this is working. What else can I add to it? Yes. What else can I add? Yes, what else should I [00:18:00] replace as I'm adding? And that's what I really like. I don't want anything with wellness to be about what am I taking out?

[00:18:07] What am I adding? That's so good. Mm-hmm. That things naturally fall off that aren't as good. Love that. 

[00:18:13] Feeding Practices and Treats

[00:18:14] Autumn Carter: So think of it this way as you're, as we're, we are unraveling this conversation and the next thing that I, or one thing that I wanna talk about that really helps for making sure that your dogs are a proper weight is my oldest feeds our dogs every morning.

[00:18:26] They. Became really ill with, I don't even know what, you know, viruses that go around dogs and they decided they wanted to go from eating twice a day to once a day and they didn't wanna go back fine. Easier. Sign me up for that. And it goes with that whole listening to our bodies. We should be doing that as humans as well.

[00:18:45] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Yes. 

[00:18:46] Autumn Carter: What I do for him when he feeds our dogs in the morning is they have measuring cups with the exact amount. He can't overfill it. One dog gets a certain measuring cup and the other dog gets another one because there is a big height difference between the two dogs.

[00:18:59] Mm-hmm. [00:19:00] And oftentimes when we're really working with our blue one to make sure he is, she's a good weight. He loses weight too. So then we have that, oh no, we need to get him back on track. But it really helps to have those measuring cups. Yeah. And here's another, your kids can be on board with you too, but even for yourself, especially if you're feeding your animals in the morning when you're not quite awake, if you're more of a night owl like I am.

[00:19:21] Measuring cup have the exact amount. You don't even need to think about it. Boom. Yep. But here's my question for you, because this is where a lot of people really fall off the bandwagon with weight and with animals is the treats. So let's have that conversation. What is your recommendation? Let's unpack that a little more.

[00:19:43] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: So you have to factor that into their daily caloric intake. So if you are going through a training phase or flyball or whatever, and you know you're gonna be feeding a lot of treats, you need to feed less food and. I think mentally, um, humans have trouble [00:20:00] feeding less food.

[00:20:01] And if the bag says a cup twice a day, they feed a cup twice a day for their dog's weight or cat's weight. And that's not always the case. Everybody's metabolism is different and, and I talk all the time about listening to your dogs and listening to your cats. They are communicating with you. They can't speak, but they are communicating.

[00:20:24] So your dogs went from two males. To one meal. They chose to do that. You didn't lose your mind over it, which I majorly commend you for because most people would for that second meal, be adding Parmesan cheese or hand feeding to try to get that dog to eat a second meal. And in addition to that, they went to one meal a day.

[00:20:48] So they have chosen to fast themselves, which fasting for them is. More natural than it is for us, I feel, because [00:21:00] they would never be served two meals a day, every day of their lives if they were on their own in the wild. They would be hunting for days and sometimes not have anything but water for days or some grasses

[00:21:13] so that is so healthy for their guts that they are. They're fasting and I am. I love that you listened to your dogs. Layla, my great Dane puppies still considered a puppy. She has been a challenge to eat, to get her to eat, but, and because she's mine, you know, it's hard to be objective when they're your own.

[00:21:36] Right. Same. Same with kids. It's hard to be objective because you love them so much. So, but I calmed myself down and I'm like, okay, you can do this. You know what you're doing. Just listen to her. So in the mor, she's not much of a morning eater. So she gets two chicken necks in the morning and a bowl of raw milk and that's it.

[00:21:55] And then she chooses to eat two dinners in the evening, [00:22:00] and that's what works for Layla. 

[00:22:02] Marketing Myths in Pet Food

[00:22:03] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: So you, you know, we've been kind of manipulated into this mindset, and I believe it's rooted in marketing because they wanna sell so many bags of kibble. So we have these, you know, black and white guidelines on the bag that says, if your dog weighs this, if your cat weighs this, they have to have this much food.

[00:22:21] No, that's not always the case. It's just a guideline. 

[00:22:28] Learning from Mistakes with Pets

[00:22:28] Autumn Carter: I love that and I'm grateful that you commended me, but with our first dog, we did it wrong. She was our trial dog and we were doing that. We were putting things that were not great in her food to encourage her to eat when she was deciding to fast.

[00:22:44] Yeah. So it's that whole hindsight and learning from, and I think that's really. Important for everybody 'cause we've all done things like that. Mm-hmm. Toni, please tell us that you have to. Yes, I definitely 

[00:22:55] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: have. 

[00:22:56] Autumn Carter: And it's be curious, what do you need to learn [00:23:00] from this? And then what can you do better going forward?

[00:23:02] Yes. So if you're stuck judging yourself, you're gonna find that you're making more mistakes. Mm-hmm. Because that's what your brain is picking up on. So then it makes it easier to trip up. And my father-in-law. He uses this analogy, and it's one of my favorites, that he was dirt biking and he came across this boulder that was right next to the path, and he was so focused on don't hit that boulder, that he hit it instead of just turning.

[00:23:34] Because if he was focused on the road, he would not have even, yeah, that boulder didn't even matter. But because he was focused on the boulder, and when we do that with our own mistakes. There we go. There you go. There's more of the mistake. Yeah. And it's worse than it was before. That's awesome. So definitely think about what do you want to change?

[00:23:50] What does that look like? And then focus on the, what does it look like part of it. 

[00:23:54] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Exactly. 

[00:23:55] Understanding Pet Behavior and Training

[00:23:55] Autumn Carter: And I love what you said about treats and how [00:24:00] often, and I've done this too. Which is, it's very helpful that it's my husband and me, whereas before with my first dog, it was just me. So I have somebody that can be that sounding board and especially do the math with the calories.

[00:24:07] It was really helpful when we were able to transition our dogs and listen to them, because healers in particular, they're not as treat motivated as they are with a toy reward. Like, okay, here's the ball. You did a great job. Here's the ball. I threw it for you. All right. Now let's work on the next part of whatever we're learning.

[00:24:25] And there is a difference between each dog. If you don't, or cats. You, you mentioned cats too, or any animal that you have. If you're really into whatever the animal is, you'll realize that there are personality differences. Whereas if you're not, not as much. And with one of our dogs, he was a little more treat motivated at first.

[00:24:40] Our other dog, the blue one, not at all. Like I wanna play with, gimme that tug of war toy in between the thing. Throw the ball, like she won't even eat the treat, she won't look at it. She doesn't care. If you're training her, he'll go and eat her treats. So it's very different and it's that reminder that we [00:25:00] are all individual and finding what works and listening.

[00:25:04] Connecting with Your Pet's Wellness

[00:25:04] Autumn Carter: And then my question for you, in regards to listening and wellness, what does that look like in animals? How do you. Really stop the chatter in your head and really tune into your animal. 

[00:25:17] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: I think the key word you said there was how do you stop the chatter in your head? Um, I, I think we need to, I. Uh, and it's interesting, I see like if I've, I've counseled tens of thousands of pet parents over the past two decades, so if I have a, like, I can't tell you how many times I've had someone come in with a picky dog, yet the dog's obese and the human clearly looks like they have an eating disorder.

[00:25:39] So, you know, our dogs and cats feel our energy. They're mirrors of us. So I think that we have to trust in their instincts. They've been around forever and they really know what they're doing. So if they wanna [00:26:00] skip a meal, you have to trust that they are gonna be okay skipping a meal.

[00:26:07] I wish I had a really. Great thing to say as far as how do we really dial in with them. I don't wanna sound overly woo woo, but if the more, the calmer you get, the more you start to meditate and be quiet within yourself, the more you're gonna, you're gonna be able to tune in with your pets. I think that the same goes with your kids.

[00:26:33] You can't take care of somebody else until you take care of yourself first. 

[00:26:38] Autumn Carter: The oxygen mask. Exactly. Exactly. Yes. 

[00:26:40] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Yeah. And my dad used to always say that. And it's true. It's really true. And you're not being selfish by taking care of yourself first.

[00:26:51] You're making yourself a better person. To be able to help those around you, whether it's your aging [00:27:00] parents, your kids, your nieces, your nephews, anybody, your friends. So fortunately I was raised that way. You know what I like. That's, but yeah, you, if, if you get quiet within yourself, you can totally let them take the lead and just kind of fall into place. 

[00:27:17] Autumn Carter: What about for this question is for those who maybe are thinking about, I don't know if I wanna get that next animal or if I wanna get an animal to begin with. Uh, and this is not you looking at science, this is just experience that you've had for yourself and other people. How has having a pet made your life?

[00:27:40] Added color to your life, added to your wellness. I know for me it's added a lot. So what's, what's your take? 

[00:27:48] The Joys and Challenges of Pet Ownership

[00:27:48] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: I really think that it adds so much to your life, mentally, physically, because you're responsible for them. And I think that any [00:28:00] challenges that they bring to your world are challenges that you probably need to overcome.

[00:28:06] Regardless. So, um, they are gifts and we need to treat them as gifts. So, you know, my dogs, and I'm single right now, so my dogs are everything to me. I mean they always are regardless, but, I don't know of human children. My world revolves around them. So, you know, they've helped me make connections with my neighbors.

[00:28:30] So I have great relationships with my neighbors. They know my dogs, I know their dogs. Like, it just brings us out of our circle, and I think that's so important. I remember my boyfriend when he lived with me here, he didn't like neighbors. He didn't, wouldn't talk to them.

[00:28:50] And he's like, no, no, no, no, no. And I'm like, you know what? They're our neighbors. If we have an emergency, if we're away and there's a fire, the [00:29:00] first people that are gonna be by our side are our neighbors. We don't have to be their best friends, but we have to be kind people and neighborly to them. Right.

[00:29:10] So, I don't know, just a little, it's just where my brain went. I don't know why, you know, these podcasts. 

[00:29:10] Autumn Carter: So many thoughts to unpack there. Okay, so, so many areas I can go. So for my first healer that I got when I was turning 19, I started dating my husband. I knew him in, of him in high school. We were in the same friend groups.

[00:29:21] Met him when he was home for the summer from college, and went on a date with him. Came home really late and he knew that I had a dog and I was single. And so he decided to stay while I let my dog out and started playing with her. And I was trying to explain her temperament. 'cause healers are their own breed.

[00:29:41] They're not as temperamental as German Shepherds. I will say that. Loud and clear. Yeah. You guys can leave me all lingered comments you want, but, I was trying to explain her, her quirks and everything and he was like, oh, it's okay. It's okay. I got this and I thought he was being a typical guy.

[00:29:54] Mm-hmm. And come to find out the stinker. His oldest sister had healers, 

[00:29:59] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: so [00:30:00] he knew all along. 

[00:30:00] Autumn Carter: Have just told me that. 

[00:30:01] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Yes, yes. 

[00:30:02] Autumn Carter: But I don't know that I would've totally believed him because that age, you know how boys oversell themselves to that age. Age. Yeah. At least in my generation they did.

[00:30:10] So yeah, we started dating. He even helped me give her a bath because the sprinklers turned on while we were outside and we had fun in the sprinklers, and he was right there. Giving her a bath, not watching my butt like any typical guy would do. And she fell for him before I fell for him. So she basically picked out my husband.

[00:30:29] Aw, dogs are awesome. 

[00:30:30] Building Community Through Pets

[00:30:41] Autumn Carter: And because I was single, I grew up in Arizona, so I was living in Arizona at the time. I'd go hiking and I had a hiking companion. It was built in my walking canyon, my everything else. Yeah. This was my first place that I lived by myself. So it was really nice to have her there.

[00:30:47] And. It. I have a beautiful experience and beautiful stories because of her. Yes. But I totally blame her for falling in love with him before I did. 

[00:30:54] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Aw, that's so cool. And healers have a tendency to pick a [00:31:00] person. So what a great story. And then, and usually 

[00:31:02] Autumn Carter: it's the story that they want their owner and nobody else.

[00:31:06] Can be around. So it was, it a very big deal. 

[00:31:06] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: That's awesome. Yeah. That's a really cool, yeah. My, the blue healer that I have now, 'cause my red one passed a year and a half ago. She, he, um, was very, um, he, him and my ex-boyfriend were very, very, very attached. I mean, he would just look up at Bob and just, just gaze.

[00:31:20] And she adored 

[00:31:20] Autumn Carter: my, my father-in-law too. Super cute. Aw, yeah, yeah, 

[00:31:21] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: yeah. And when you think about everything that you go through during a pet's lifespan and there by your side every step of the way, you know, it's, they just, they bring more than we realize. 

[00:31:35] Autumn Carter: I think we tend to forget that until it's near the end or they've Yeah.

[00:31:39] My husband's aunt, I remember her, she had a beautiful post on Facebook a long time ago about how her cat that helped her get through medical school was passing away. And she went back to school when her. Youngest, I think it was in high school or something like that. [00:32:00] So she finished her degree and then went through med school.

[00:32:02] So that cat was there for a lot. And cats tend to be more night owls from my experience. So it's, it was very, very beautiful post and I know how heartbroken she was and how excited she was when she was getting a dog. She and I texted back and forth about that. Another thing that you talked about, regarding community and neighbors is my third kid forgot to close the gate all the way.

[00:32:26] Oh, our house. Then I get a knock on the door from one of the neighbor kids that I hear my dog bark. At the front door, so I knew exactly what it was. I opened the door. I'm like, come on in. Aw. But it's nice that the neighbors know. Yes. And it was a couple weeks ago that, not that neighbor boy, but other neighbors were coming down the street with that neighbor boy's dog.

[00:32:43] And I opened the door. I'm like, can you make sure to take the dog home? The dog's just following us. Cool. Take it home. Oh my gosh. So it, it's great having that community and knowing about the dogs. And my husband, he was moving a dishwasher for bulk pickup and he was setting it down and it [00:33:00] sliced his knee.

[00:33:01] Ooh. And I was in the middle of helping kids. The piano teacher's over. All of this is going on, so I call my neighbor and I tell her, here's what's going on while I'm getting all the bandage supplies. And she came across the street and because my neighbor right next door saw her going across the street, he came over too.

[00:33:20] Mm-hmm. And saw me bandaging up my husband at that point. And he, after my husband was done being bandaged, he helped move the dishwasher. The, that neighbor's daughter had just come home. So she's the one who took 'em to urgent care while I fed the kids really quick and then picked them up from urgent care.

[00:33:32] So it's great having that community. Yeah. 

[00:33:35] The Social Benefits of Pet Ownership

[00:33:35] Autumn Carter: One of the biggest, I feel like the pinnacles for the dimensions of wellness is social wellness. Mm-hmm. And animals, depending on the animal that you have. Mm-hmm. So dogs, because you tend to take them out for walks. Although I have seen people with kitty strollers, cutest thing ever, but.

[00:33:53] When you are out there and you're walking the neighborhood, you have that chance of having those social connections. And what ages us [00:34:00] the most is when we let those social connections lapse. Yep. Animal owners tend to live a little bit longer from science. They tend to, depending on the type of pet, if it's a pet that gets them outdoors more, they tend to weigh a little bit less to be more active.

[00:34:17] Maybe have more muscle mass if they're more active. But there are a lot of studies on it that are just because of an animal lover. It's one of those CCC type of situations. But. It allows you this opportunity to get out to connect with other people. And because we had dogs way before we had kids.

[00:34:38] If anybody else was an animal lover, they were our person. If they didn't like dogs, sorry, go somewhere else. So, and they were absolutely our babies. We would take 'em if there was a restaurant that we could eat at outside. Depending on the restaurant, we would take them there. Not very often 'cause college students, so funds were limited,

[00:34:54] we would snowshoe with them, we would go on hikes. We would go camping with them. [00:35:00] If we were just going to the garden center, we'd stick them in the back of the, the, the extended cab of the truck. Not the very bad. Yep. I was never on board with that. I know it's legal in a lot of places. I still judge people who do that.

[00:35:12] I'll work on my judgment, but I love the idea. Or the knowledge that pets can enrich our lives and they can be if we're struggling with certain wellness issues that they can be our gateway as we focus on their wellness instead, or vice versa. So I love this conversation. 

[00:35:31] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Yeah. It's a little bit of an oxymoron that they're lengthening our lives, but their lives as their lives are shortening.

[00:35:38] Autumn Carter: Yeah. 

[00:35:39] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: So we really, I think that, I think that speaks volumes right there. So we really need to focus more on, you know, what we're feeding them and how we're taking care of them. Um, there's so many things to think about. 

[00:35:51] Final Thoughts and Resources

[00:35:51] Autumn Carter: So name drop again. Where can we find you? Oh, and it will be in the description, but just in case you're 

[00:35:57] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Yeah.

[00:35:57] Autumn Carter: Starting to zone out. Here it is again. Yeah. Because here's a great [00:36:00] resource for lengthening their lives. 

[00:36:02] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: My podcast is Toni Unleashed, and you can find it anywhere. I'm on YouTube now as well. So most of my, a lot of times if it's video, if, if it's you know, remote, that's, that's an easy video to watch.

[00:36:16] But I talk about everything, all alternatives to chemicals and vaccines and prescription foods, and. Better ways, 

[00:36:27] Autumn Carter: and is it child appropriate to listen to? Because I have a daughter who just snuck in here who loves animals, 

[00:36:30] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: so I have a tendency to swear. So yeah, I'd be cautious. With caution.

[00:36:37] With caution. 

[00:36:37] Autumn Carter: We'll see for her then we're at that point, at that age of saying, I want you to be. Around people who swear because otherwise it's gonna be a huge wake up call when you end up in middle school and high school. 

[00:36:52] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Yeah. 

[00:36:53] Autumn Carter: Be around that. That doesn't mean you need to partake of it, especially with you this young, so 

[00:36:55] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Exactly, totally fine.

[00:36:55] Yes, yes. So, and it's not horrible, but, you know, it's, it's, it's, [00:37:00] it's there. 

[00:37:02] Autumn Carter: Yeah. I have some episodes that do too. And I love the idea for her in particular, and she's right under the computer, so I'm looking at her. She loves animals. I love it. If it's not a hobby, becoming a career for her. Anything to do with animals.

[00:37:18] Mm-hmm. Because she loves them so much, I'm pretty sure. Yep. She's loving on our blue healer right now. Aw. And I had her check out books from the library. We went to library earlier today and I said, here's the animal section. Hint. Hint. 

[00:37:26] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Cool. 

[00:37:27] Autumn Carter: It's so fun. Anytime she's anywhere with any type of animal, she is there in an instant.

[00:37:32] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: So be, and being in the pet industry, it's a really great community. I mean, everybody laughs because if you ever leave it, you always end up coming back. I've made so many friends. I know so many people in the pet industry all over the world.

[00:37:46] I have a new friend from Ireland, that it's just so cool. 

[00:37:51] Autumn Carter: That is so fun. And I feel like that about podcasting. 

[00:37:53] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Yes, exactly. Friends that I 

[00:37:55] Autumn Carter: would never have if it wasn't for how connected we are with Yes. [00:38:00] And through Zoom and everything else is, and WhatsApp. It's amazing. 

[00:38:03] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Yeah. It has grown my network and, and these are like relationships that I feel are very important because we're on the same page.

[00:38:14] You know what I mean? I don't even know. Where are you? 

[00:38:17] Autumn Carter: I'm in 

[00:38:17] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Maryland. Oh, we're not that far apart. Nope. That's cool. Okay. I, oh, I. Are you in? No. Well, 

[00:38:26] Autumn Carter: I'm in Frederick, 

[00:38:27] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Maryland. You're in Frederick? Is that near Sugarloaf Mountain? We need a transport. We need a T. That's actually 

[00:38:28] Autumn Carter: not that far. I can bring my dogs with me when we go.

[00:38:30] No, it's in Frederick County. 

[00:38:32] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Yeah. 

[00:38:33] Autumn Carter: Sugarloaf. Yes. I had a friend 

[00:38:33] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: that lived in Frederick. She was an eye doctor, so 

[00:38:37] Autumn Carter: I almost went into optometry school. Oh, wow. And it was that same week that I was deciding, you know what? I don't wanna do that when I finish my degree.

[00:38:46] This wasn't that long ago, and that same week that I decided, you know what? I don't wanna do that path of being a stay-at-home mom, then a student, and then gone all the time in optometry school and afterwards having, [00:39:00] not being able to. Be there for the last minute school events. Yeah. Because, you know, schools never announced things with very much time.

[00:39:05] And I've worked for optometrists and they're scheduled a year out. 

[00:39:10] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Oh my gosh. 

[00:39:10] Autumn Carter: I would not be able to be there for my kids when I was all this time before. So that same week that I was deciding, you know what, as much as this is my dream, it can't be if I also wanna be a mom and be what I wanna be as a mom.

[00:39:27] That same week I got pregnant with my third. 

[00:39:30] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: Wow. There you 

[00:39:31] Autumn Carter: go. You know it's one of those, the universe, God was waiting. Yeah. Okay. She made a decision. Here you go, Uhhuh. Now it's permanent. So yes, I love anything about the eye. It is super cool. And animals and wellness. I have lots of passions.

[00:39:46] And I love how we were able to bring so many of my passions together in this episode. So thank you, and I am very excited to share this with our animal community that we have here in Frederick. 

[00:39:58] Toni Shelaske- Toni Unleashed: I appreciate the [00:40:00] opportunity and, I just wanna spread the message as much as I can that, you know, if you have a pet that is on prescription food or is having issues with their skin, or if there's, they're cycling through antibiotics and steroids and you're not getting any answers, there are answers and, Toni Unleashed is the podcast.

[00:40:22] My email is Toni@Toniunleash.com. I love helping people, so especially if I can make, make an episode out of it and that helps even more people. 

[00:40:32] Autumn Carter: And for anybody who might be searching without looking in the description first. Toni is TONI. Yes, not a y. Look for the I. Thank you. Of course. Thank you.

[00:40:41] Thank you so much for being on. Absolutely.

[00:40:44] Thanks for tuning into this week's episode. I am your host, autumn Carter, a certified life coach dedicated to empowering individuals to rediscover their identity, find balance, miss chaos, strengthen relationships, and pursue their dreams. My goal is to help people thrive in [00:41:00] every aspect of their lives. I hope today's discussion inspired you and offered valuable insights.

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[00:41:48] So please spread the word about our podcast and about our newsletter. Thank you for being a part of our podcast community. I look forward to continuing our conversation, sharing stories [00:42:00] and exploring wellness in all of this aspects. Take care until our next episode. You can also work with me one-on-one or on demand through one of my programs by visiting wellness in every season.com/programs.

[00:42:16] One last thing to cover the show legally, I'm a certified life coach giving general advice, so think of this, this more as a self-help book. This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. I am not a licensed therapist, so this podcast shouldn't be taken as a replacement for professional guidance from a doctor or therapist.

[00:42:36] If you want personal one-on-one coaching from a certified life and parenting coach, go to my website, wellness and every season.com. That's where you can get personalized coaching from me for you. See you in next week's episode.