Micaela Ullman Performance Pet Nutrition Evidence-Based Pet Nutrition Made Simple

Pet food advice is everywhere and a lot of it conflicts. If you have ever stood in an aisle (or scrolled online) wondering who to trust, this conversation is for you. We sit down with Micaela Ullman Performance Pet Nutrition to talk about what evidence-based pet nutrition actually looks like when you’re feeding a real dog or cat in a real home. 

Michaela explains why she built Performance Pet Nutrition after seeing a major gap between what pet owners want to understand and the confusing guidance they often receive. We dig into the most common pet food myths, including the belief that expensive food is automatically better and the assumption that an ingredient list tells the whole story. She also breaks down why one-size-fits-all feeding advice can miss the mark, and how individualized nutrition support can help with picky eaters, weight management, digestion, skin health, and healthy aging. 

We also get personal about how her own childhood dog’s allergy struggles sparked a career in animal health, plus what life looks like when your “off time” includes a Great Dane puppy, miniature horses, chickens, and family time. The biggest takeaway: nutrition is not just about food, it’s about quality of life and every meal is a chance to support your pet’s long-term health. If you find this helpful, subscribe, share it with a fellow pet owner, and leave a review so more neighbors can find the show.

Transcript

Welcome To Good Neighbor Podcast

SPEAKER_01 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Joe Longo.

SPEAKER_02 0:12

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast Live. Are you in need of some pet nutrition help or guidance? Well, we've got a treat for you today. And today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Michaela Ull Ullman? Am I saying that right? Yes, you are. All right, Michaela Ullman of Performance Pet Nutrition. Michaela, thank you so much for joining us today. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 0:39

I'm doing great. Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_02 0:41

Yeah, we're so happy we can we can connect. We're excited to learn all about your

Why Performance Pet Nutrition Exists

SPEAKER_02 0:46

business. Can you tell us about performance pet nutrition?

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Yeah, so I created performance pet nutrition because I saw a huge gap between what pet owners wanted to know about nutrition and the guidance that they were receiving. Pet owners are bombarded with a lot of information from a lot of different sources, whether that's social media, advertisements, pet food companies, breeders, trainers, friends, you name it. Everybody has an opinion and it can be very confusing. So my goal is to provide evidence-based nutrition education and individualized support so pet owners can feel confident about the choices that they're making for their pets. So whether somebody has a new puppy, a senior dog, picky eater, an overweight pet, or simply just wants to understand their pet's food better, I can help to create a plan that works best for their pet and their lifestyle.

A Childhood Dog Sparks The Mission

SPEAKER_02 1:39

That's awesome. How how did you get into this kind of business?

SPEAKER_00 1:45

Yeah, so I want to say that my journey into pet nutrition really started with my own childhood dog, Dixie. Um, Dixie was an allergy mess. She was constantly itchy, uncomfortable, and struggling with a lot of symptoms that really affected her day-to-day life. So, like most pet owners, I just wanted to help my dog feel better. Trying to find answers for Dixie kind of sparked my interest in animal health and ultimately led me to become a veterinary technician. And during my years in veterinary medicine, I had the opportunity to work with countless pets and their owners, and I realized quickly how important nutrition is to overall health. And what really fascinated me is that nutrition is one of the things that we do for our pets every single day. And it impacts so many things from growth and development to weight management, digestion, skin health, healthy aging. And over time, that passion grew into performance pet nutrition, where now I help pet owners navigate the often overwhelming world of pet nutrition and make informed decisions that support their pets uh overall wellness and long-term health.

SPEAKER_02 2:55

That's awesome. And I'm I'm a pet owner, dog and cat.

Picky Pets And Real-Life Feeding Problems

SPEAKER_02 3:00

And it's so interesting because my that I mean, they both eat, obviously. But my dog is just like, yeah, this is cool. But the the cat, you know, used to eat one kind of food, and then we couldn't get it because we were ordering it online because it was the fancy stuff. So we went to a local pet stuff, pet store, got some different fancy stuff, and he's like addicted to that stuff and refuses to go back. So it was like, man, are you a picky little of picky little cat? I'm I'm curious, what are some of the misconceptions in this industry?

Common Pet Food Myths Debunked

SPEAKER_00 3:36

Um, yeah, I would say some of the common myths. Um, one of them is that very expensive food is automatically better. Uh, that is a very common misconception. That is not necessarily true. Um, another thing is that the ingredient label on a pet food bag tells you everything that you need to know. Um, there's a lot more to nutrition and a lot more to, you know, where companies source their foods and it's a very complex topic. Um, and then I would also say that a one-size-fits-all uh like look at nutrition is also a myth. Nutrition is extremely individualized.

SPEAKER_02 4:18

That totally makes sense, just like us, right? Different, different for all of us, and our pets deserve deserve the best.

How Michaela Reaches Pet Owners

SPEAKER_02 4:27

So we all know that marketing is at the heart of every business. How uh I mean, obviously your market is pets, but how are you connecting to the pet owners? Who is that target that that you're connecting with and how are you attracting them into your business?

SPEAKER_00 4:42

Yeah, so we are on um all the socials, so Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. So you can go on there and see some of our educational videos as well as connect with us there. Um, I've also been connecting and I'm in the works with some local um pet food businesses in order to kind of put our name out there, um, as well as veterinary clinics. I have some amazing veterinary professionals who are behind me and what I do and I work with them as well. And it's just been an amazing, amazing journey so far.

SPEAKER_02 5:13

That's wonderful. Have you ever thought about having a podcast and sharing your knowledge behind a microphone like this?

SPEAKER_00 5:20

I have I can't say that I've thought about it extensively, but the thought may have crossed my mind.

SPEAKER_02 5:26

That's great. That's great. So outside of

Life Outside Work With Animals

SPEAKER_02 5:30

work, and I'm sure your work is fun because you guys are working with animals. What are you doing for fun?

SPEAKER_00 5:35

Um, so I have quite a few animals of my own. Um, I have a six-month-old great Dane. I have two miniature horses, chickens, so they keep me very busy in addition to spending time with my family. Um, my wonderful husband, Matthew, and our one-year-old daughter. Every my home life keeps me very, very occupied.

SPEAKER_02 5:55

And I'm sure with uh a puppy that's a giant also is keeping you very, very occupied as well. Um, it's so great. I I just smile when you said uh a puppy great dame because I can picture how beautifully clumsy he must be.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Yes, she is um over 60 pounds and she's only halfway, she's only about halfway to where she should be. Uh big girl.

SPEAKER_02 6:24

That's amazing.

The Big Takeaway On Nutrition

SPEAKER_02 6:25

So if you can tell our customers one thing that you would like them to remember about performance pet nutrition, what would that be?

SPEAKER_00 6:33

Yeah, so I'd say that if there's one thing I would want listeners to remember, it's that nutrition is not just about food, it's about quality of life. And every meal is an opportunity to support our pet health, and that small, consistent choices can make a tremendous difference over the course of a lifetime.

SPEAKER_02 6:52

That's great. And how can

How To Connect And Nominate Businesses

SPEAKER_02 6:54

our listeners learn more about you and your company?

SPEAKER_00 6:56

Yeah, so they can check us out at any of our social media pages. It's just performance pet nutrition. And there's also links to our website and our bios, and we'd love to hear from some of you guys.

SPEAKER_02 7:09

Wonderful. Well, Michaela, thank you so much for taking the time to tell us about you and performance pet nutrition from all of us at the Good Neighbor Podcast. We wish you all of the success moving forward.

SPEAKER_00 7:20

Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01 7:23

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GMPNPA.com. That's gmp a dot com. Recall.