Lianne Shinton (00:01)

Hey everybody and welcome. I'm Lianne Shinton from Automation Dogs. So happy to have everybody here today. And today I'm interviewing Alexis Christie from Eastern Florida Dog Training. Welcome, Lexi.

Alexis Christie (00:15)

Thanks, Lianne.

Lianne Shinton (00:18)

Awesome to have you here. And I have interviewed Brandon from Eastern Florida Dog Training before. And you are newer to his team. And I think we're gonna dive into a little bit about your background and some of the benefits that you're able to bring to Eastern Florida Dog Training.

Alexis Christie (00:38)

Yeah, yeah. So I'm very blessed. been a part of Eastern Florida now for been mentoring under Brandon directly for a little over a year. finally within these last six months, been taking on my own clients. so been very excited, very eager in that regard. Eastern Florida is really those guys, Brandon Hadwin and Dwayne North have been so incredibly welcoming.

Of me, my family kind of into the whole dog training world as a whole, which has been very exciting, incredibly refreshing. my background, I'm born and raised in Brevard County, right here on the Space Coast. So feels really good. I grew up here. remember listening to the space shuttles go up. NASA has always been close to my heart. I've got family that still works out there to this day.

Growing up in Florida, you know, I think we're all kind of lovers of the outdoors, if you will. we're very lucky here. right now it's pretty hot, but 24-7, 365, we're able to be outside and enjoy that. and then yeah, so kind of new to the dog training world, but really happy to kind of be back, be back home more or less.

Lianne Shinton (01:55)

Awesome. Yeah, we are heading to Florida and I've never been to the space coast. So can you tell me a little bit about that? And you said you had family that that actually works there.

Alexis Christie (02:08)

Yeah, yeah. So I'm very lucky. back close to family, some immediate family. My mom's been working out at the Space Center, gosh, about as long as I've been alive. And my wife's an engineer and she works out there as well. So got a lot of friends and family also that that work out there. So it's it's pretty cool. nothing beats the space shuttle launches, but the rockets and everything, seeing that all the time is is definitely pretty unique and really cool to see living here.

Lianne Shinton (02:38)

I can't wait to see that one day. Now,

Alexis Christie (02:40)

Mm-hmm.

Lianne Shinton (02:41)

as far as the dogs go, I know that you have a veterinary background and dogs and loud noises. Is that a problem

Alexis Christie (02:50)

Yeah.

Lianne Shinton (02:51)

out over there by the space coast?

Alexis Christie (02:55)

It's it's definitely pretty loud. fortunately, it makes for great desensitization work. it kind of just

Lianne Shinton (03:02)

True.

Alexis Christie (03:03)

becomes a a lot less novel to them over time. a lot of the times these big thunderstorms that roll in provide just as much noise distraction. so just something to work through. But every location has its pros and cons. and I would say more often than not, that's definitely a pro.

Lianne Shinton (03:23)

And like desensitization. I like that when thunderstorms are in the middle of the day, so it's not in the middle of the night and a dog is like,

Alexis Christie (03:32)

Yep.

Lianne Shinton (03:32)

you know, scared and I'm like, I'm sleeping. But during the day you get some of those Florida th thunderstorms. What kind of desensitization work could we do to help our dogs?

Alexis Christie (03:45)

Yep, yep. So so per Florida, of course, it'll be raining on one side of the road and and dark black clouds and on the other side it's it's bright and sunny. very Florida esque to do that. but honestly like I've got one right now. She's my my oldest. she's a little Malinois German Shepherd mix and she definitely does not appreciate the thunderstorm. but we've been able to

She's moved around all over with us and been through plenty of weather scenarios. And pardon me if I feel like I'm yelling. It is torrential downpouring right now. So I'm trying to talk over that. But honestly,

Lianne Shinton (04:25)

Barry, Florida.

Alexis Christie (04:26)

I'll kind of jump right into it. So I most of your listeners are probably familiar with the dopamine boss as far as detection work goes. But that's something that I really enjoyed using for my personal dogs, pet dogs.

as far as noise conditioning, fortunately, the the dog that I'm talking about, my personal dog, she's a a big foodie. so dropping some food in there, getting her used to different sounds, different touch points. she also, as a vet tech's dog would be, doesn't like being poked with needles. so she has been in in the past historically a little bit difficult to provide care to in in that

Since so the dote box has provided me a way to kind of refocus her attention and sensitize her to me touching her in different locations. I'll actually even sound kind of silly, but I'll even take like a toothpick to mimic a needle stick. and same thing, you can apply that concept to the thunderstorms. so we just had fourth of July, which usually provides a lot of overwhelming anxiety for.

both owners and their pets. and for the boarding dogs that I had for fourth of July, we did a lot of Doke Fox work where I might place it in front of the wall, bang on the wall, or clap loudly or things like that to kind of prepare them for that. And then now my dog is able to go outside and we play in thunderstorms, like it's not even happening. Obviously safe links providing the lightning gear in Florida, but it it's, you know, as she's gotten older, she's really been able to gain a lot more confidence in that regard.

Lianne Shinton (06:08)

Such a great solution that you can give that specific exercise to the dog and then transfer, I assume, to the owner. Could you elaborate a little bit more on a dopamine box, what that is and how that all works for those that may not know?

Alexis Christie (06:27)

Yeah, so I mean the dough box, most of your listeners are dog trainers, so they'll know it's literally just a box. might be different depending on the size of the dog. I've got a little Yorkie right now, and I quite literally just tilt the box over on its side so she can kind of have access in that way. but like a twelve by twelve square box that's got sides on all four. and you want the dog to kind of stick its head directly down into the box, which

Unfortunately, for a lot of these pet dogs, is a big ask initially. you'd see a lot of these pet dogs come in with a lot of fear, a lot of lack of confidence, if you will. so even just putting the head in the box initially, it's kind of an ordeal for some of these guys. but I've even told owners, there are of course nice expensive ones that you can buy online. I've made my own, and I've even told

one one owner to to use a shoe box right she had a very small dog but she had like a cardboard shoe box same concept a a lot more cost effective for her wallet in that particular situation but really just is very confidence building and i've been fortunately having a lot of success applying that to these guys to desensitize them to me touching their nails right a lot of these dogs that come into the vet clinic

They want that life-saving nail trim, but the owners can't touch their feet at home. So that leaves us as vet texts in a tight spot, right? and like I was saying earlier, my dog really had a huge aversion to being poked with needles. so she's got her head in that box. I'm feeding food to her at the same time, and we do a little poke in that leg or various locations of the body. and found a lot of success there.

Same thing with the pet dogs, very confidence building for them as well, kind of getting these guys used to being touched in those locations that they would if they were going to the vet. So it's been really fun to play with.

Lianne Shinton (08:28)

That's cool. And you mentioned, as you know, that a lot of my audience are dog trainers. this is just such a great exercise to help the veterinary staff, too. So how would we, as a dog trainer or as a pet owner, facilitate, like saying, I'm gonna bring my dopamine box in to the vet hospital to maybe practice?

In that environment, would that be something that someone could do?

Alexis Christie (08:59)

Yeah, and I I'm sorry, Lianne, I'm having a little bit of a hard time just with the the rain that's coming down. but I think you mentioned bringing the dope box itself into something like the vet clinic, which is actually something I've done. you're you've trained dogs. most of these dog trainers know these guys see in pictures, so building up different pictures, obviously. we like to build that outside of the clinic. the clinic unfortunately tends to provide a very overwhelming amount of stress.

you walk in the door, that fierce scent. there's usually a lot going on. but I've got a young Dutch Shepherd who we've been really working through a lot of different reactivity stuff, working through building up his confidence in the vet setting. And I am fortunately blessed enough to have the feast to the clinic and doctors and owners of the practice who were very supportive in me taking these guys, putting them in the clinic.

Obviously, we'd start out after hours. So there was minimal staff to no staff as the the clinic was closing and just kind of building that up at home in a familiar setting, just like we would any other behavior, taking that on the road, putting them in the vet clinic, showing them that same picture, and then working up slowly towards those distractions. Like, see, actually we've been having.

a lot of success with him in the vet clinic without medications, without a muzzle, no reactivity, walking through the clinic and and he's now getting physical exams done by multiple different doctors. So and and that all stemmed from

Lianne Shinton (10:36)

Nice.

Alexis Christie (10:37)

the dope box, finding what motivates him, and kind of starting from the ground up in that regard.

Lianne Shinton (10:44)

Nice. Could you share a little bit about you mentioned the strong fear scent that dogs will pick up when they walk into a veterinary hospital? Could you talk a little bit about that?

Alexis Christie (11:00)

Yeah, so I think we as humans we verbally communicate, we have a spoken language, right? So it's very easy to forget that these dogs, regardless of breed, they see the world through their noses, right? And body language and visual visual cues. and unfortunately, the vet clinic is obviously a very high traffic area for both different humans and animals.

the clinic that we're at now is a small animal in general practice. So cats and dogs. and as you know, with all that different foot traffic, full human and animal leaves a lot of scent behind. And unfortunately, no matter how trained the staff are, how skilled we are at animal handling and doing our our jobs, it tends to be a very stressful. A lot of these animals are injured, are sick.

Our herding, even our you know general wellness visits, those annual appointments with vaccines and exams, it still unfortunately provides that heightened level of stress, which leaves behind that fear scent. and that kind of just builds up. we see a lot of these dogs come in. I have a lot of owners that say their dogs know they're going to vet before they even get in the car, right? so from the the inside of the house.

All the way to the driveway, as soon as I get in that car, they're already stressed out, right? So then by the time unfortunately they get to the vet clinics, it just kind of compiles on on top of each other. And these guys see the world through those noses, and that's the usually the first thing that hits them right in the face as soon as they step foot in the clinic. So it's kind of a constant battle of trying to overcome that to get them through that experience.

Lianne Shinton (12:57)

And I think it's probably makes it a little more peaceful for the techs and the veterinarians when you and the owners are putting in this great work. could you share a little bit about things that maybe dog trainers could do to help? And you've used this word before when we've talked in the past to to kind of bridge any gaps between dog trainers and veterinary. this might, you know, be something.

That dog trainers could help veterinarians get, you know, more positive experiences with the dogs if they're kind of working together.

Alexis Christie (13:37)

Yeah, so I we have some plans drawn out on the the dry erase board for for next year. kind of bridging the gap between veterinary medicine and the world of dog training is is my soon to be baby. It's something that I'm definitely very excited about and passionate about. but in the interim, I find unfortunately now that I've really been able

To see for myself first-handed and have these experiences with with with client dogs outside of the vet clinic. Unfortunately, a lot of these dogs just have never experienced going through achievable amounts of stress just in their day-to-day. so kind of like how I touched on already, they come to the vet clinic and they're already stressed, and then that just kind of compounds on top of each other.

The goal being, you know, vet care, dog behavior training, kind of meshing as one, reinforcing each other instead of kind of being operating in isolation. But a lot of that starts even even just at home, especially like we see a lot of young puppies. fortunately at the clinic that I'm working at, our veterinarians are are very passionate about

Teaching behavior. It's just not always something that you can accomplish in a very short window of an appointment time. But it is something that even the staff who might not have a huge interest in animal behavior, we really are blessed that everybody is very passionate about going over basic handling, basic desensitization. A lot of the times I have conversations with clients outside of the vet clinic where

You don't even I feel like every every everyday, you know, average pet owner thinks, well, I have to do this full big 30 minute to an hour training session and it has to look and I have to have my tree couch on and it has to look professional. And you know, they have this very unrealistic idea of what a training session should look like for the everyday owner, which right, if we're getting ready for the trial field, that's you know something that we have to check off the list, right? But for the everyday pet owner, I I tell them, you know, even five, 10 minutes twice a day.

for some of these guides is is very valuable and and can be enough. I I tell them, you know, if you're just having a lazy Sunday afternoon and you're you're sitting on the couch with your dog, give them a rub down, right? You know, pet them, really pet them, massage them, feel down those legs, start touching in between those toes, get them used to to being touched in those areas. One, giving a rub down in my opinion,

is a bonding experience for owners and the dogs, right? after my training sessions, I sit down on the floor with these guys and we just have a quiet moment and I, you know, give you a little massage and it's a way for us to catch slumps and bumps, right? How many times do we hear these guys come into the vet clinic for an annual exam? And it's like you know, the technicians getting his or her vitals.

And we're like, you know, there's a lump over here on the on the left shoulder. How long has that been there? And the owners have no idea, right? And it doesn't make them bad owners. it just goes to show you you can live your everyday life with this this being, and you're not really touching it and feeling it and and having that kind of relationship with it, right? the I can't stress enough how many times we as technicians are like, gosh, this nail trim's not, you know.

This is going to be pretty interesting because Fido does not like his nails touch and he's 110 pounds and you know the owner doesn't want to put put him on medication, right? So we we kind of unfortunately face those battles of we can't always be veterinary professionals and dog trainers in the same scenario, right? that's unfortunately got a lot of truth to it.

but those are little things. my Dutch Shepherd puppy, for example, when he was a puppy, really great for basic handling, but would not let my veterinarian, who he he's known for his entire life, right? would not let her look in his mouth, right? She he did not and he wasn't being aggressive about it, but he did that little puppy head shake, right? Where they don't want to be manipulated and and and held still. so we actually put it on a cue and now you can say teepees.

And he holds his mouth perfectly still and you can look at every single tooth, right? so

Lianne Shinton (18:22)

Yeah.

Alexis Christie (18:23)

even something as little as that, because those also grow up to be the dogs that nip you in the fingers, whether it's intentional or not, right? It's it's frowned upon. same thing with teeth rushing, right? I'm not saying every dog trainer who has their board and trained dog in has to brush their teeth, right? Like that's not a realistic goal for for my personal dogs and I work in veterinary medicine, right? but

It's just another way, another option that you can work through desensitizing them to touch, right? We I feel like we love, especially as dog trainers, we love to teach dogs new behaviors. We love to see them, you know, cycle them through drift different drive states and teach these new behaviors and do X, Y, and Z and get that perfect Instagram shot. But we sometimes can forget that there's a lot of value in doing absolutely nothing, right? You wanna have a

An on switch and an off switch. And let me tell you that off switch is really valuable in an in clinic setting when I'm trying to just listen to your dog's heart rate and he can't even sit still because he's jumping on me and he's licking me in the face, right? It's it's cute, but it makes our jobs a lot harder in the tech side. And those are all things that yes, dog trainers can teach, but also owners just at home, even if they're not already working with a with a trainer.

Lianne Shinton (19:46)

This is just such great, impactful information for dog trainers. And also, like you said, that pet owners could be doing at home. And then I think you mentioned we talked about bridging the gap from the dog trainer to the veterinary staff. maybe give us some ideas as dog trainers where we could just go into the hospital and say, this is what we do.

with

our clients

Alexis Christie (20:12)

Yep. Mm-hmm.

Lianne Shinton (20:13)

to help you guys to help them and of course to help the dogs.

Alexis Christie (20:19)

Yeah, so that's actually one of my ideas on my white board currently. I've just been provided a unique opportunity. You know, I I see things from all perspective. I've been at Vet Tech now for almost 10 years, very new into the dog training space, but have gained a lot of insight there. And I, you know, as a senior technician, I work a lot on a routine basis with my younger technicians and and staff.

Just on basic handling skills, how to recognize behavior, really empowering them to feel confident and comfortable working with some of these more air quote difficult dogs who might not be your picture perfect, easy exam, if you will. same thing, you know, from the dog trainer's perspective. trying to network with different clinics to potentially provide, obviously, not step on toes, but to potentially provide.

you know like lunch and learn style opportunities to go over all of those you know again basic handling how to read behavior what to do if xy and z is happening how to empower your staff to talk to these owners you know i touched on earlier we get a very short window to pull these guys' ears and say xy and z this is everything that's going on a lot of the times those visits predominantly are are comprised of sick visits so

We're providing medicine and providing care in that way. And training and behavior doesn't always get talked about with each client on a routine basis. But by the same token, we see a lot of annual exam appointments, we see a lot of young puppies, a lot of working dogs, and really just starting to kind of network with different clinics, also providing programs within the business to kind of focus on, you know.

Everybody loves the clean slate puppy, right? that we can just build on. it's not every case scenario, but also making you know, even if it's just our older dogs or routine board and trains, kind of adding in those different scenarios that they would see in a vet clinic, potentially going into the clinic itself with these owners and their pets, kind of walking them through different scenarios.

I've that Dutch Shepherd, the big guy that I I have right now, he's one of our personal dogs. I spend a lot of the time we we play tug, right? Outside of the clinic, right in the parking lot. And he gets a lot of that drive out right there in the parking lot. So he's in that setting. He's he's familiar with it, he's willing to play. And you get a lot of that drive, that anxiety out, just being able to to play in a meaningful way. and then

We go into the clinic and you know, we do what we have to do. He he doesn't have to love it, right? And he doesn't, but he tolerates being handled. he doesn't have these huge blow ups. and we're able to accomplish that and get through that amount of stress and then come out of the other side much more comfortable. I would use loosely, because like I said, he's one that he really would rather not be there.

But I don't have to wrestle the 90-pound Dutch Shepherd for my vet to to listen and and touch and and do those things. And I've had success doing that with other clients' dogs in that setting. So so a lot of little things that kind of add up to a bigger picture there over time.

Lianne Shinton (23:57)

Yeah, and I totally get that. My my girl, she's not a big fan of the veterinary hospital. And luckily, there's a dog pool next door. So we go to the dog pool on a regular basis. And whenever it's time to go to the vet hospital, I make an appointment at the pool either before or after. And I thought, well, I'll make an appointment after the vet hospital. It's like, you did so good. I'm going to reward you with going and playing at the pool. Well

The last time I scheduled her to go to the pool before the hospital, and it was a night and day difference. So got some of the energy out, I think that really helped. So she was a little bit more of like relaxed from just being a bit exhausted. And she had her pool toy still with her. And it just made such a world of difference. But yeah, setting up some kind of plan.

So you can try and help them to overcome these fears can be super advantageous for the veterinary staff, for the owner, and then most importantly, for the dog.

Alexis Christie (25:06)

Yeah. Yeah. And and you know, of course, there's always going to be knock on wood, hopefully not in my immediate future again. those emergency visits, right? the poor Dutch Shepherd that I was just talking about, he actually pulled his Iliosoas and and we had a pretty terrifying event that found us back at the vet clinic unexpectedly, but we still had a really positive outcome.

Because we built that foundation and we really had shown him that picture enough times that even though he was very uncomfortable and painful throughout that exam when when Doc was manipulating him manipulating him in those different pain points, we still had a great outcome, right? but I I can't stress enough. kind of referring back to who said it? I want to say Jack and Chad Mackin.

you've probably heard of it, but their layered stress model. essentially it's kind of comprised of let's see, like you have your base, your base levels of understanding, right, between you and the dog. you add into that equation health status, right? Are they injured? Are they, you know, is their gut?

Right, gut microbiome is a is a big buzzword right now in the vet field. are they on a good diet? do they feel good? Are they hurting? Are they injured? Right. lifestyle. are they living a biologically fulfilled lifestyle for that you know specific breed? Right. is there clarity in your communication and training between the owner and and the animal? Does it have boundaries and rules?

And and then of course like triggers and things like that. But it it is essentially a a whole equation, if you will, that, you know, when you look at a reactive dog, well, is it being reactive because it's just being a pump, right? Like there are those dogs out there that just find it very self-rewarding and they love the sound of their own voice, right? or are you am I seeing this reactivity from you?

Because, you know, you're fresh out your crate. I haven't done any, you know, we haven't done any training. We haven't done any meaningful play. We haven't had an opportunity to get that outlet of drive, right? and I apply that now in in honestly every even the especially with the pet dogs, right? how many times do these owners call us and go, Well, Fido's, you know, reacting at the door or he's reacting to this other dog as we walk down the street, right?

And unfortunately a lot of the times those owners, not to say anything I we have fabulous clients, we're very blessed. but a lot of the time, it doesn't occur to them, they don't know how to play with the dog, right? And I'm not talking playing fetch in the backyard, right? I'm talking meaningful, engaging, tugging, right, or using a whimsy stick, an overgrown cat toy, if you will.

But really having that meaningful play interaction where they're going through and you're you're channeling through those drive states and you're really getting that energy out. But also working through your obedience, right? turning on that switch, bringing them up and drive, sprinkling some obedience and in the, you know, in between that is a fun way for them. You know, they're they don't even know they're sitting in the classroom right to the dog, they're just playing. but it's a really powerful way to

Build engagement, find that motivation for that particular dog, sprinkle some obedience in. So you're getting your training session in, right? and really working them through that. And that all is the baseline of, you know, before they ever see the vet clinic, right? Are we checking all these boxes off? If not, now I'm already adding a very intensely stressful environment to a dog who hasn't had all those needs met, right?

Lianne Shinton (29:07)

Yes, well said, well said. Now tell me a little bit about some of the common, maybe not common, but some of the dangers in your area that pet owners and dog trainers should be aware of. And I'm asking because I heard there was like toads or something where they okay, that's a thing.

Alexis Christie (29:30)

Yeah. So I'm I'm laughing only because yeah, I haven't thought of the toads in a while. fortunately we're not as scary as Australia, right? Not everything here wants to kill you.

Lianne Shinton (29:43)

Ha ha ha.

Alexis Christie (29:45)

but you know, we have toads where the dogs of course love to go over and lick them. and that causes a whole slew of medical issues. usually the cane toads are are the culprit there.

I find you have to be really picky. I don't always advertise, you know, to to to owners and clients like, swimming the dog, this, you any anything that involves water, just because we unfortunately have alligators and crocodiles here, right? we've got a couple spots where we found really great opportunities to swim these guys.

But but yeah, there's there's a lot of stuff here. Honestly, the lightning scares me more than anything. growing up on a horse farm, I've unfortunately been on several different working farms and we've lost a couple over the years to to lightning. So honestly, lightning scares me more than any toad or alligator crocodile ever would. we have sharks too. so lots of things to look out for. and snakes. Don't forget snakes. yeah.

Lianne Shinton (30:45)

I I think the oysters too. I I we

had an unfortunate oyster incident where Flirty was playing and she stepped on some oysters. So

Alexis Christie (30:54)

slicer.

Lianne Shinton (30:55)

we carried her, yeah, carried her around for three months and lots of veterinary care. Yeah.

Alexis Christie (30:59)

gosh. that's terrible.

I can't imagine. That's terrible. Yeah,

Lianne Shinton (31:04)

So

Alexis Christie (31:04)

so but by the same token, not to hate on Florida, fortunately we don't we don't snow. There's no winter here, right? so that's really nice. It's about being aware of your surroundings, right? Yeah.

Lianne Shinton (31:16)

Yes, yes. And

it's good to hear from somebody that's worked in veterinary that can say, well, I I do see this that you might not think about every day, like

the oysters.

Alexis Christie (31:27)

Yeah. Yeah.

Lianne Shinton (31:29)

now as a pet owner or someone that's vacationing there or a dog trainer, can you talk about having information of different vet hospitals that might be open at different times based on

maybe something that's happened on an emergent basis.

Alexis Christie (31:50)

I I think it cut out a little bit, but were you talking about ways to prevent going to the vet clinic? Is that what you said?

Lianne Shinton (31:57)

just having a plan and knowing what hospitals would be open and just maybe having it, you know, on the fridge or something like that. So as a dog trainer, if something happened with one of my clients' dogs or I'm a dog owner and something happens with my dog, just not spending that extra time trying to figure out what hospital I need to go to, what's open.

'Cause sometimes emergency hospitals are twenty four hours and sometimes emergency hospitals are only open at night. And then there's regular primaries. So maybe just talk a little bit about a a a a plan.

Alexis Christie (32:33)

Yeah, yeah. And you're you're exactly right, Leon. so unfortunately it's it's really about I, you know, I I've been trained to be very calm in emergency situations, but not everybody has the ability to do that. And that's usually the last situation you want to find yourself in doing the homework of, my gosh, well, where do I take X, Y, and Z? How where is it located? I don't even have their contact information.

So a lot of that for me is prevention and planning prior to. Nobody wants to experience emergencies, but these guys are living creatures. and if you know anything about horses as well, horses really like to try to find ways to injure themselves. so maybe it's a little bit of that horse background kicking in for me as well. but same thing as as a dog trainer, you know.

We have conversations with these clients prior to bringing these animals to to our location, where it's like you know, what vet clinic do you use? If that clinic's not open and there's an emergency, I'm gonna take it here, having that conversation, making sure that that's an open line of communication with a client prior to that animal ever coming to you. and for me personally, it's always been I have a primary form of contact, right? In in the perfect world, this is who I would call first.

it's usually a general practice clinic. unfortunately they you know, there is quite a price difference between these emergency clinics in and a general practice. but those emergency clinics are there for a reason, right? A lot of them are gonna be open 247. It's you know, finding depending on your location, finding what those closest options are. I'm very blessed. you know, I've

Found myself in situations on a Sunday morning where it's like, hey, Dr. Lindville, I've got to run this guy in. I need to take x-rays, you know. And and I've been very blessed that the owners of the practice that I work at now have been so supportive of me and trusting of me that I've been very fortunate in that regard to kind of use the clinic when I need it. but for the everyday owner, first and foremost, having that contact list of what are your options, what time of day is it, where are you gonna go? and by the same token,

I always advocate for having a med kit in the house. you don't have to practice medicine to have some basic essentials. a lot of the times I feel like the most common thing I hear is a torn nail, right? the nails really love to bleed a lot. and and for some owners who have never seen that amount of blood, that's a quite a terrifying experience. so just

And a lot of these materials you don't even have to order from a vet clinic, right? You can get them off the shelf at CVS or on you can get everything on Amazon, right? but having different gauze pads, Telfa wraps, vet wrap, quick stop, cornstarch, even right, I've told people to just grab off off the the kitchen counter, right? I don't always advise for the everyday owner to wrap.

limbs, right? That comes with complications in and of itself. But if you can at least stop the bleeding, find your way into a hospital, you've been able to essentially manage that situation right away. And now you can go seek professional help. By the same token, my clinic, any clinic really that I've ever had conversations with, you can call me on the phone and and our staff will talk you through that stuff, right? It's not something that you have to do alone.

you can call us and say, Hey, my dog's bleeding from its foot, X, Y, and Z. And we can walk you through over the phone through that experience. But not everybody has to have a stethoscope, right? Not everybody's trained on how to use that. but I do take a lot of time when I'm in clinic showing these owners how to take a basic set of vitals, right? You can still palpate a pulse. We can show them where you can palpate those pulses on a dog.

you can show them how to count respirations, right? you can have them get an over-the-counter either erectile thermometer, they make your thermometers now. you can get a temperature. You can take a look at those gums, make sure they're pink and get a CRT time. I learned this, I it's been ingrained in my head through the horsemen medical world. know your animals you know baseline.

Right. I've got one, my intact male, he runs really hot. so I know if he's got a fever, he's, you know, X, Y, and Z. Right. But I know his baseline, I know his resting heart rate. I know what he looks like when he's overheated, right? Florida, we were talking about this prior to this conversation, how hot it is here, right? Recognizing signs of heat stress. so all of those little things kind of add up, but having a basic med kit.

having that information so you're not Googling panicking where's the closest location to you. But also having a great relationship with your veterinarian is by far the most underrated you know thing of value that I can think of. you know having a standing, you know, I'm not saying you have to go spend money and do all of these things with a veterinarian, but if you're your client there, they're open, you call them and say, hey, X, Y, and Z, we're gonna know what is your dog's normal look like? What's your dog's normal temperament?

You know, are they acting a little bit weird today? Is that something you've noticed? And yeah, that you know, based on the history that we know of this animal, yeah, you're right. Why don't you come bring them in just so we can take a look and make sure nothing abnormal is happening here? so a lot of different things that you can do prior to to any emergency situation even happening.

Lianne Shinton (38:16)

Yeah, some of the big takeaways have a first aid kit and it's okay to call and just kind of have the the tech or yeah, yeah,

Alexis Christie (38:26)

Yes. You don't have to pay to call.

Lianne Shinton (38:30)

have them kind of triage over the phone and let you know if yeah, you need to come in or not. And I think too, from my past experience in working in emergency, if your dog isn't doing that well on maybe like a Thursday, Friday.

If you don't get to be f yeah, you're going

Alexis Christie (38:46)

Come in before Friday.

Lianne Shinton (38:50)

to end up in emergency on Sunday and there could be other emergencies and you sit there five hours and like you said, it's more expensive there. It's not your primary. So yes, think about it as a dog trainer. If I've got a dog in my care and just they're not doing well. I don't know if maybe they ate something before they came in for their boarding or what is going on.

But try to get that checked before the weekend and you're into those emergency hours.

Alexis Christie (39:20)

sure for sure but also I I I will touch on that's just knowing your dog right you know that's just knowing what their normal is and really kind of whether you have one dog or or 10 dogs knowing that individual what's normal what seems a little off same thing from a dog trainer's perspective we spend so much time with these guys even if they're not our personal personal dogs you know these board entrains that come through I'm like

Timber, you're looking a little weird today. Like you're moving a little stuff on that leg, right? Just paying attention to those little like idiosecrancies on on a daily basis is super valuable.

Lianne Shinton (40:00)

Now, about medication, because us as dog trainers sometimes we'll have a dog drop off for boarding or board and train. And maybe they've got to take a flea preventative or a heartworm preventative, or maybe they're on, you know, prednisone or something like that. As a dog trainer and as for pet owners, should they just bring it in in a little ziploc? Should they bring it in in the prescription bottle?

What should those details look like for especially for the dog trainers that are listening?

Alexis Christie (40:34)

Yeah, so very good point. I like everything to be exactly mirrored as if it was sitting on the shelf in your kitchen, right? it's definitely from my vet tech background, everything should really be in that little labeled, beautifully labeled container, right? with what that medication is, what the dosing instructions are, because I promise you you can tell me something, and if I don't write it down in that moment.

I've got 10 dogs in front of me and it's, you know, 9 p.m. at night. I may not remember what you told me, right? but for me personally, and I know at Eastern Florida, we want it we want to have that conversation. and we are having that conversation with the owners prior to them even coming in if they're on, if they have pre-existing cons conditions, right? Especially medical stuff.

We want to know about that so we can potentially maybe tailor the training in a specific way for that particular dog. flea and tick prevention. in Florida, please people, please keep your pets on definitely heartworm prevention, mosquitoes, you know, we live in the land of. but that's something that, you know, if the owner hands hands me over that.

I've got a little calendar with these guys that are here with me. So I'll write that down. I also text the owner on the day that they tell me that it needs to be given. I also send that information to them so they can make sure that they're putting that on their calendars or phones or whatever that looks like. but it's it's just basic, you know, making sure that there's that client communication and that it actually gets done, right? our laundry lists tend to really pile up. you know, we have

Four to six. some some of these guys are doing shorter programs, but that's a long time span of I have to check these certain boxes off, right? And and

Lianne Shinton (42:25)

Yeah.

Alexis Christie (42:26)

sometimes that stuff can get easily forgotten, especially if you got more than one dog in that rotation. So personally I'm very old school. I like a pencil and a calendar that I can write on. really just whatever's gonna be realistic for

for that individual and then having that conversation with the client before that animal even comes to your location.

Lianne Shinton (42:51)

Yeah, I think that's so important having that conversation, just taking a bit of a deep dive, just so you could kind of maybe stay ahead and stay informed. And I really like the idea

Alexis Christie (43:01)

Sure.

Lianne Shinton (43:01)

of like having the pill bottle that has the doctor's info and the exact dosage because I've definitely had like dad's dropping the dog

Alexis Christie (43:07)

Furniture. Yep.

Lianne Shinton (43:10)

off and he's like, I don't know, he gets a pill like every other day. And then it's maybe not true.

Alexis Christie (43:14)

Yeah, classic husband that doesn't know anything that's going on. Yeah.

Lianne Shinton (43:19)

Yep.

And I've definitely had situations where I'm like, I've got to call the doctor. And boom, I've got this pill bottle right here with the doctor's info. So just extra information

Alexis Christie (43:27)

Yep. Yep. So nice.

Lianne Shinton (43:29)

to yes. So now I know that you have kind of started the last time we talked working in some equipment for dogs. Could you share a little bit about what you've got going on there?

Alexis Christie (43:45)

Yeah, so I this I I I honestly don't even have words right away. because I'm just so grateful. We have started our own LLC. it's called the Roman Lead. kind of came out of a necessity in in talking with the guys at Eastern Florida. They needed equipment and unfortunately there was nobody local providing that. It was all like

I'm gonna order this through Etsy or I'm gonna order it through X, Y, and Z website. And then it would take several weeks. You know, there was a huge time delay between I need as a dog trainer, I need this particular piece of equipment. I need it yesterday, right? and that huge lag time between when you could actually receive it. and my very talented wife, being the engineer that she is, was like, you know what? I think I can make that. and we've

Been just incredibly blessed. everything business-wise for us has been word of mouth. Eastern Florida, those guys have been huge supporters of us from day one. And you know, we're able to provide like dominant slip leads. we we're doing leather goods, being the horse snobs that we are, we're very picky about the leather products.

But it's been really exciting getting to do the different leather work, making collars and leashes of varying sizes and styles. We're also we've been dabbling into reward toys. so like the ball, ball on the string, French linen tugs of varying sizes and shapes. we've been really fortunate. We've had a few successful vendor shows already, and have got some exciting things coming up this fall.

And like I said, just everything's been word of mouth. We've been incredibly blessed through this whole process. It started out as as something that kind of just came out of a casual conversation and a need for a particular product. And we just from conception up until now, have been able to make that a a reality. So it's been very exciting.

Lianne Shinton (45:56)

That's cool. And I think I can for those of you watching, I think we can see some of the equipment in the background along with your Roman lead logo there. That's cool. So that's

Alexis Christie (46:05)

Yep. Yep. Yeah, so

Lianne Shinton (46:07)

a a nice bite pillow.

Alexis Christie (46:09)

Yes, so we started making bite pillows. we've been very blessed, some of the decoys local to this area. We've been getting this stuff in their hands and they've been really enjoying it. we've been making different everybody, everybody with a Malinois knows the power of a ball on a piece of string, right? different style Martingale collars, leather collars, training leads. so especially for these Tet Dog owners, just a basic slip lead.

and then we've actually also

Lianne Shinton (46:40)

That's a big

safety. I really like how could you show me that slip lead? It looks like there's a a very obvious safety there.

Alexis Christie (46:51)

Yeah, so the nice

Lianne Shinton (46:52)

And there's two

Alexis Christie (46:52)

thing about these, we so double double stoppers, yep. And we also make like I've got a little four-pound Yorkie in right now. So we also make the micro slips, just obviously on a more minuscule size, but the double stopper, I mean most of these from from medium to large dogs that we work with, the double stoppers are really nice, kind of backup safety, if you will.

that we've had a lot of success with. And the nice thing is, you know, Dwayne, Dwayne North is still working FWC and I've been able to we have been able to get these leashes out. They've been tracking out in the woods with them in in real world scenarios and really being our our product testers, if you will, along with Brandon, we've gotten a lot of this stuff through trial and error, error of these real world situations, whether it's tracking out in the woods.

these big power breeds biting on the toys and just using these leashes on the the training dogs. it's it's been a really truthfully humbling and fun way to kind of figure out and be able to tweak things and have real real world suggestions and and things that work and don't work. And I feel like within these six months we've really been able to dial that in and and have a lot of success there.

Lianne Shinton (48:16)

Yeah, I've not seen Slip Lead. I'm obsessed now with the double safety. the ones we typically use, the safeties or the stoppers, they'll wear down. You know, you're walking the dog in the rain or he goes in the pool and you know it it wears down over time and you know the dog shakes and now the stopper is looser.

Alexis Christie (48:35)

Yep.

Lianne Shinton (48:38)

So how did the double stopper come about?

Alexis Christie (48:43)

it really came from our big 90-pound Dutch Shepherd that I I've mentioned several times through this podcast. He he's really kind of been he is I I my heart dog fortunately is still with me. he is more I'm the spare human. He's he's my wife's working dog. But you know, it he is the reason why we met Brandon and this whole this whole dog training thing kind of got started. We we met Brandon neutrally working with him and

And we have, if anybody knows us personally, we've been on a journey with this dog. and he's taught us a lot and we've overcome overcome a lot with him. But ultimately he's an intact male 90-pound Dutch Shepherd, right? And you know, we've accomplished a lot, but it came out of a necessity of we have to make a product that will hold up, right? because

You got a big dog on the end of the line. And if your equipment fails, now we have a problem, right? Especially getting into the Bite Sport world with him and really just making sure that these products are holding up. and we we had the same issue where that first initial stopper just loosened just a bit and then it loosened just a bit more, right? Exactly like you said. And we were like, well, let's put another one on there. And we've had a lot of success with it. so, so yeah, it's it's

It's just been something that through trial and error we found out what didn't work and that's been working really well for us and it's usually something it's usually honestly a leash that we recommend for a lot of our pet dog clients as well.

Lianne Shinton (50:19)

Yeah, I would think like I helped my friend with her dog training facility, and I'm definitely gonna be telling her about these because you know it's it's so easy to have the dogs come out of their crate or their kennel and just gently slip the the leash on them so you're

Alexis Christie (50:30)

Yes. Yep. Yep.

Lianne Shinton (50:34)

not too confrontational. But then, you know, you you cinch up the safety and like I said, they shake and it loosens. Can

Alexis Christie (50:42)

Perfect.

Lianne Shinton (50:42)

you show me that leash again? I'm I want one. Let's see it.

Alexis Christie (50:45)

Yeah, for sure. I will

definitely you just tell me what colors you want, we'll send you one. But let's see. So it's got that double stopper, the ring. And then we've

Lianne Shinton (50:54)

Perfect, perfect.

Alexis Christie (50:56)

we've had several trainers that don't want the handle. really just depends on on the style that you like. but but yeah, we can the nice thing is they're very easily customizable. length, style, that's all something that, you know, it is just a conversation.

but those have definitely grown to be the most used pieces of equipment that that we've been we've been picking up lately.

Lianne Shinton (51:23)

Awesome. Yeah, and always kind of blows my mind that like all the veterinary hospitals have those cheap very hard on your hand slip lead, z no safety, no stopper. And the dogs are in such a fearful state, it's just a recipe for disaster. I I wish the veterinary hospitals would just even have cheap safety on those slips.

Alexis Christie (51:47)

Honestly, a lot of the times I'll bring that slip leash in with me and I'll just carry it around in my own pocket and and use it. it's so much nicer. and the fact that it doesn't come loose, you know, whether you're working with a fearful dog, an aggressive dog, I feel a lot safer with with that in my hand than the regular ones that don't

Lianne Shinton (52:08)

Yeah.

Alexis Christie (52:08)

have any bottom.

Lianne Shinton (52:11)

yeah. And is Roman

Alexis Christie (52:12)

I just

Lianne Shinton (52:12)

the Dutch Shepherd you keep mentioning about Okay, so that's the n the name of the

Alexis Christie (52:14)

Yes. Yes. He's hard not to mention. He's

he's a very he's a very intense dog.

Lianne Shinton (52:23)

Sounds like it, but he's he's taking you on this journey and yeah, right rightfully earned the name

Alexis Christie (52:29)

Yeah.

Lianne Shinton (52:31)

for for your business. So that is awesome. And do you have a

Alexis Christie (52:33)

Yeah, yeah, he he was definitely

the he was definitely the inspiration behind

Lianne Shinton (52:38)

go ahead.

Alexis Christie (52:38)

that.

Lianne Shinton (52:40)

Yes, rightfully so. Do you have a website for your business?

Alexis Christie (52:46)

So we don't have an actual website. we've been doing everything through Facebook and Instagram, and it's the Roman lead.

Lianne Shinton (52:56)

Okay, the Roman lead. and I can see it there in the background. So we'll we'll add in your socials in the description too. And yeah, that that's that I've never seen that before. And I'm always talking about slip leads and you know it's it's really important that

Alexis Christie (53:14)

Nice, nice.

Lianne Shinton (53:16)

you have a a a

good equipment, especially that stopper. So

Alexis Christie (53:20)

Yeah.

Lianne Shinton (53:21)

yeah, I'm sure lots of dog trainers are gonna be keen on hear learning about those and purchasing them for just in-house, plus to sell to their clients too for safety.

And so Eastern Florida Dog Training, if you could just share, I think the website for that. So if anybody listening would like to check out Dwayne and Brandon and you locally.

Alexis Christie (53:48)

Yeah, yeah. So it's Eastern Florida Dog Training dot com. That's where you can find all of our information. and you know, we kind of go through everything, everything through Brandon right now. but I I truthfully especially like between like everything going on, not to dive down a deep dark hole, but between everything going on in the real world and in the dog training space, I can't speak more highly of those two guys. They're they're so just

It's so refreshing. There, there's no gatekeeping information. It they're so welcoming. and you know, Brandon's always said, I I want to build the business, but do it with family, right? that's something he's always touched on and and is always really passionate about. And it's just really

It's just really nice to be treated like family. and and truly feel that way. so I can't say anything more highly of those two guys. I've been very humbled, and very grateful for this experience. So it's definitely it's definitely been quite the ride so far and I'm I'm very excited.

Lianne Shinton (54:55)

Yes, and they are a fantastic team and you just make such a great addition, especially with your veterinary background. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for sharing today. Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Alexis Christie (55:10)

I think we talked about a lot. like I said, I'm just I'm very humbled and I'm very grateful for this experience. So thank you for for taking the time out of out of your day to to have a chat with me. I really appreciate it.

Lianne Shinton (55:22)

Yeah, really appreciate you and and some of the takeaways, folks got like make sure you have a first aid kit, make sure you know your veterinary hospitals. Don't be afraid to call your veterinary hospitals. Have a slip lead with a double stopper, because that is awesome. Even if you think about like your dog at home and you're like, no, he doesn't run away. Everything's fine, but what if a big crack of thunder, you know, went off at that moment and your equipment failed?

Would he run away? Would it would he be freaked out and run away? Like having such a a solid piece of equipment would be something to think about in those moments.

Alexis Christie (56:01)

For sure, for sure, absolutely.

Lianne Shinton (56:05)

Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Alexis. I greatly appreciate your speaking with us today. And thank you, everybody, for listening. Again, I'm Lianne Shinton from Automation Dogs, and thanks for listening.