Best Bets For Pets

Listen to Episode #338 Now:

Kirsten Brand & PAWNIX – Noise Cancelling Headphones for Dogs on Shark Tank

Transcript:

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Announcer: This is Pet Life Radio.

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Announcer: Let's Talk Pets.

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Michelle Fern: Hey, everyone.

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Michelle Fern: Welcome to Best Bets for Pets.

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Michelle Fern: I'm your show host, Michelle Fern.

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Michelle Fern: So if you have dogs, you've probably experienced this.

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Michelle Fern: You know when it's July 4th, or it's New Year's Eve, and the noise just gets to them, or thunder?

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Michelle Fern: Oh my gosh, one of my dogs used to hide in the shower and shake the entire time.

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Michelle Fern: And July 4th, one of my favorite holidays, never was ever one of my dog's favorite.

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Michelle Fern: While my guest today has a solution that is really different from anything out there, and I cannot wait to introduce you to her.

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Michelle Fern: I'll be right back.

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Announcer: You know the expression, cats have nine lives.

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Announcer: Well, what if you can give them one more?

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Announcer: The Give Them Ten movement is on a mission to help give cats an extra life.

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Announcer: How?

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Announcer: With spay and neuter.

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Announcer: Spaying or neutering your cat helps them live a longer, healthier life.

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Announcer: And it helps control free roaming cat populations too.

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Announcer: See you next time.

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Announcer: Take care and meet Scooter, the neutered cat, at givethemten.org.

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Announcer: That's givethemten.org.

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Announcer: Let's talk pets on petliferadio.com.

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Michelle Fern: Welcome back, everyone.

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Michelle Fern: I'd like to welcome Kirsten Brand.

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Michelle Fern: She is the founder of Pawnix.

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Michelle Fern: Welcome, Kirsten.

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Kirsten Brand: Thank you for having me.

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Michelle Fern: I'm so happy to have you.

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Michelle Fern: Can you give us a little background on yourself?

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Kirsten Brand: Sure.

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Kirsten Brand: I am an engineer, packaging engineer for most of my life.

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Kirsten Brand: So I've done a lot of new product launches with different materials that your products come in from packaging, some new product launches for dog and cat food.

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Kirsten Brand: So I've always kind of been in the pet-related space somehow, and loved it because I worked for a company where I could take my dog to work.

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Kirsten Brand: So I learned a lot through actually taking her to work.

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Kirsten Brand: So my own dog, in why we invented Pawnix, she's scared of thunderstorms and fireworks, just like many of the dogs out there.

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Kirsten Brand: And she was also traveling with me to make these dog and cat food treats.

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Kirsten Brand: And so she'd be on a plane with me, and just the overhead slamming was getting to her as well, just any kind of loud noise as she was getting older.

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Kirsten Brand: And so one day I put my own human headset on her, and she calmed right down.

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Kirsten Brand: And I was like, wow, I can do this.

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Kirsten Brand: But this is super awkward, holding this human headset on her little head.

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Kirsten Brand: So I was like, how do I basically take the plastic off and make it something that's just for them and comfortable for them?

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Michelle Fern: Okay, talk a little bit about Pawnix, which is what you created.

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Michelle Fern: They're noise canceling headphones that help calm your dog during periods of when they might be anxious, like loud noises, which is mostly what it is.

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Michelle Fern: That's what mostly brings up their anxiety.

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Michelle Fern: There's other stuff on the market.

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Michelle Fern: I was reading about your product.

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Michelle Fern: I know you've tried them.

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Michelle Fern: I tried them, the shirts, the oils and nothing worked.

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Kirsten Brand: Yeah, exactly.

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Kirsten Brand: That's where I was.

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Michelle Fern: So can you give our audience, our listening audience, this is a challenge, but a good description of what Pawnix is?

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Kirsten Brand: Sure.

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Kirsten Brand: Pawnix is a noise canceling solution for dogs.

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Kirsten Brand: So what it does, it has the only electronic in the market that takes the noise in and basically makes the anti-noise for your dog, so that it doesn't hear the loud noises as much.

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Kirsten Brand: And it also has the ability so that you can play music or white noise for them to help calm them down.

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Kirsten Brand: And these are placed in like a helmet basically around their head to help it stay on.

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Kirsten Brand: Like you said, there's plenty of things out there on the market.

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Kirsten Brand: We don't disparage them.

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Kirsten Brand: They just didn't work for our dog.

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Kirsten Brand: They work for a lot of dogs out there.

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Kirsten Brand: And we also recommend them like in conjunction with each other when your dog has been struggling with this for a long time.

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Kirsten Brand: Because over time they release a lot of cortisol in their system and their fight or flight just becomes stronger and stronger.

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Kirsten Brand: And it takes a lot to counter condition them out.

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Kirsten Brand: So when we have really bad cases, of course we want everybody to try Pawnix.

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Kirsten Brand: But we also say, hey, if you have a Thunder shirt, you might as well wear that too, because it's different compression points.

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Kirsten Brand: And we haven't personally tried any of the aromas out there, but we've had a lot of customers say that in combination it helps.

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Michelle Fern: I tried one for my cats and it was okay.

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Michelle Fern: For my dogs, it didn't work.

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Kirsten Brand: And all dogs are different, right?

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Kirsten Brand: Like some dogs have the problem at all.

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Kirsten Brand: Some dogs, like just the vest is a solution.

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Kirsten Brand: Some dogs need every single solution out there just because they've been scared for so long.

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Michelle Fern: Right.

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Michelle Fern: Now, does Pawnix also work in the car for dogs that are anxious in the car?

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Kirsten Brand: My other dog, Teddy, he is not so much afraid of the loud noises.

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Kirsten Brand: When he sees his sister Emma put hers on for thunderstorms or fireworks, he's like, I want mine, I want mine.

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Kirsten Brand: But he's a boy that gets very anxious in the car and gets car sick very easily.

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Kirsten Brand: And I noticed on a couple road trips, if I just put his own Pawnix on him, he chilled out and just went to bed and there was no longer like, you know, the big drool that comes with the anxiety or any throw up.

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Kirsten Brand: So it's been a good solution for us to also use it for that.

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Kirsten Brand: And we've also taken it into our veterinary appointments to help calm him down and kind of just be in his little own space by himself.

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Kirsten Brand: And it really seems to work for him for different anxiety situations that may not just be related to loud noises.

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Michelle Fern: Okay.

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Michelle Fern: And to dive deeper into how it works.

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Michelle Fern: So you know what it reminded me of?

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Michelle Fern: This shows how old school I am.

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Michelle Fern: You know the jug head kind of hat?

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Kirsten Brand: Oh, yeah.

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Kirsten Brand: Yes.

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Kirsten Brand: Yeah.

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Kirsten Brand: With the ear flaps.

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Kirsten Brand: Yeah.

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Michelle Fern: Yeah.

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Michelle Fern: So it kind of looks like that, which is adorable on your dogs.

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Michelle Fern: And it has, you know, like you said, there's earphones inside.

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Michelle Fern: You can charge it.

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Michelle Fern: Of course, not when your dog is, you know, not on your dog, charge it separately.

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Michelle Fern: And you can play white noise.

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Michelle Fern: You can play other types of music as well to calm your dog.

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Kirsten Brand: There's a lot of great studies out there that repeatedly show that classical music and reggae, because of the slow beats per minute, have a very calming effect on shelter dogs.

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Kirsten Brand: And so I recommend that to our pet parents.

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Kirsten Brand: And they've agreed with me that their dogs tend to have certain favorite artists that they get drawn to.

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Kirsten Brand: And whether that's because you play it in your house a lot, or it's a slow beats per minute, they really get soothed and kind of just take it into a nap time.

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Kirsten Brand: We also have some other features that aren't as obvious.

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Kirsten Brand: It does wrap around their whole head.

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Kirsten Brand: And they do have pressure points like in their cheeks, and of course, like in their forehead.

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Kirsten Brand: So you'll notice when you're rubbing your own dog, that they kind of relax when you hit those spots.

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Kirsten Brand: And so we're adding a little pressure to help induce those acupressure points to help calm them as well.

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Michelle Fern: OK, thanks.

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Michelle Fern: We're going to talk more about Pawnix, but you were on Shark Tank and had an exciting experience.

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Kirsten Brand: I was.

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Michelle Fern: Yes, I watched it.

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Michelle Fern: Can you tell us about your experience?

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Kirsten Brand: Sure.

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Kirsten Brand: The whole team that produces it is just a fantastic team.

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Kirsten Brand: And no matter how scared you are or how you don't want to go on TV, they really take all the scary work out of it until you hit those doors, those doors that open right before you walk down the hallway.

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Kirsten Brand: It just kind of resets you.

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Kirsten Brand: And I was there standing and holding Emma.

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Kirsten Brand: And all I remember, which didn't air, but it's kind of funny, was the doors hadn't opened yet.

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Kirsten Brand: And I just said, you know, Jesus, take the wheel.

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Kirsten Brand: And I thought it was internal.

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Kirsten Brand: And afterwards, the producers were like, that was so cute.

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Kirsten Brand: We don't know if we'll air.

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Kirsten Brand: It's so cute.

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Kirsten Brand: And I was like, oh my God, I said that out loud.

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Kirsten Brand: Like you just kind of like, you know what you're doing, but you don't because it's such a huge set.

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Kirsten Brand: And it's they have a vibe about it, right?

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Kirsten Brand: To kind of like pump you up, but also have you a little intimidated of the sharks to make some good TV.

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Kirsten Brand: But we got out there and the sharks were wonderful.

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Kirsten Brand: You don't get to see exactly like how nice they are because sometimes you know that it's supposed to be sharks.

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Kirsten Brand: So a little bit of me was thrown back by that about just how nice they were over the period of time that we were out there.

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Kirsten Brand: I have a lot of fan mail and customers that say the sharks didn't get it right.

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Kirsten Brand: And they all understand this challenge that we have with dogs that are so scared of loud noises.

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Kirsten Brand: So we love every time it re-airs, we get a lot of fan mail, whether it be on social media or direct e-mails.

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Kirsten Brand: So it's really great that not only are we helping dogs, but we also provide a little entertainment factor for people that kind of know of the situation, but maybe not have a dog that has this, or maybe they're going to adopt a dog in a couple of years, right, and maybe have that situation.

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Kirsten Brand: So they'll have us in the back of the head.

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Kirsten Brand: So it was a real fun time, may not look like it for everybody all the time on the show, but Emma and I had a really good time.

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Michelle Fern: That's exactly what I wrote in my notes.

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Michelle Fern: Do you think the sharks just did not get it?

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Michelle Fern: Because you presented fantastic.

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Kirsten Brand: Well, thank you.

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Michelle Fern: Mark Cuban gave you kudos, great.

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Michelle Fern: But all the sharks were just, at the end of it, you didn't walk away with any deal with them, although I think you were so successful in presenting Pawnix.

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Michelle Fern: They all said, just get a foam thing and put it on your dog's head.

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Michelle Fern: And I'm thinking, you guys are smart, educated people.

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Michelle Fern: How do you not get this?

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Michelle Fern: This is more than that.

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Kirsten Brand: Yeah.

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Kirsten Brand: I mean, at the time, there weren't that many versions of something that was just like a hat for your dog, right?

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Kirsten Brand: So there also wasn't anything in the dog space, except for like invisible fences that was at the price point that we're at, that's $199.

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Kirsten Brand: And that's solely because of the electronic that's in there and everything that we did to put into the electronic that's specifically for the dog.

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Kirsten Brand: They didn't get it, right?

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Kirsten Brand: And they're used to operating at a much lower price point, at much higher, like very high volumes, so that they can spin things really quick and get the margin that way.

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Kirsten Brand: So I just wasn't a good product for any of their portfolios.

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Kirsten Brand: And I can totally understand that.

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Kirsten Brand: I just wish I had like a really die hard pet shark on the panel that day, but I didn't.

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Michelle Fern: Right, because you have the price point out there.

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Michelle Fern: And for $199, think about the one time your dog escapes, because that happens so much around July 4th and New Year's, and times when there's loud noises and dogs are nervous, your dog escapes and gets hurt.

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Michelle Fern: How much is that vet bill?

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Kirsten Brand: It's a lot more.

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Michelle Fern: Way more.

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Kirsten Brand: The uptick is like six times the volume goes into the shelters at that period of time, and it's no longer just 4th of July, right?

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Kirsten Brand: It's now your neighbors are setting off fireworks for like a month straight.

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Michelle Fern: Right.

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Michelle Fern: And if you live in a place where there's, where I am in South Florida, where there's rain and thunderstorms and all that craziness, you know, you look at the cause benefit, and there's just a huge value in Pwnix.

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Michelle Fern: Okay, we're going to take a short break, and we'll come back and talk more about how Pwnix works.

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Michelle Fern: And it's super easy, even if everyone listening, if you're thinking, technology can't handle it.

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Michelle Fern: Yeah, you can.

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Michelle Fern: I'll be right back after this message.

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Announcer: Let's talk pets.

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Announcer: Let's talk pets.

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Announcer: On PetLife Radio.

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Announcer: PetLifeRadio.

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Announcer: petliferadio.com.

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Michelle Fern: Welcome back, everyone.

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Michelle Fern: We're talking to Kirsten Brand, the founder of Pawnix.

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Michelle Fern: So, Kirsten, how does Pawnix work?

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Michelle Fern: So we talked about the electronics.

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Michelle Fern: There's in the actual Pawnix little like cap, there's our headset, rather, what would you call it, a hat?

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Michelle Fern: A doggy?

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Kirsten Brand: Yeah, we call it a hat, a helmet.

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Kirsten Brand: I mean, it's sometimes a red bee helmet, but it's super cute on your dog, so.

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Michelle Fern: It's really cute.

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Michelle Fern: And there's little headphones inside and it's chargeable.

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Michelle Fern: So how exactly do you set it up and change music and all of that?

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Michelle Fern: Because some people out there, and I know because I receive the emails, are like technology is not for me and it's not only people that are really old.

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Michelle Fern: I get it from all walks of age.

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Michelle Fern: So how easy is it to set up?

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Kirsten Brand: It's pretty easy.

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Kirsten Brand: So when you get it, we recommend that you do a little treat training to introduce your dog to it.

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Kirsten Brand: Let them smell it, kind of offer a treat at the same time.

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Kirsten Brand: So they see it as a positive and not just always associate it with a loud noise and a negative.

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Kirsten Brand: Because if you introduce it with positive reinforcement, they'll end up asking for it over time.

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Kirsten Brand: Like they will know that a thunderstorm is coming long before you do and they will go and basically say, hey, something's wrong.

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Kirsten Brand: I want my Pawnix.

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Kirsten Brand: Like give it to me.

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Kirsten Brand: So you can put it on their head after a bit of treat training.

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Kirsten Brand: We suggest that right before loud noises.

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Kirsten Brand: And then it's simple because there's a little button to press and lights will come on to tell you how much charging it has.

00:14:41.405 --> 00:14:46.305
Kirsten Brand: And then there's one blinking light that says that you can pair it with something with Bluetooth.

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Kirsten Brand: So that could be your iPhone or a tablet or a pad or something that's a smart device where you can play music.

00:14:52.705 --> 00:14:55.965
Kirsten Brand: But you don't need to actually play the music for it to work.

00:14:55.965 --> 00:15:00.605
Kirsten Brand: So we had it so that the active noise canceling is always on.

00:15:00.605 --> 00:15:07.825
Kirsten Brand: And so if you don't feel like pairing it or the Bluetooth step is a little challenging, we also have directions for that on our site.

00:15:07.825 --> 00:15:17.585
Kirsten Brand: But it's that easy that basically it's on and then you can put it on your dog's head and kind of hang out with them, get them out of shaking in the bathroom, get them back to cuddling on the couch with you.

00:15:17.585 --> 00:15:26.685
Kirsten Brand: Some people use it and like turn it on and take their dog for walks because you know, there's nothing worse than after fireworks than trying to get your dog to go to the bathroom.

00:15:26.685 --> 00:15:28.365
Kirsten Brand: So they find comfort there.

00:15:28.365 --> 00:15:49.325
Kirsten Brand: How the electronic actually works is that there's a couple of microphones in it that pick up on the loud noise, and they go and they basically through the software program, make the exact opposite of the noise so that the wavelengths, sorry for too much physics, but the wavelengths will knock each other down as it goes into your dog's ear.

00:15:49.325 --> 00:15:53.245
Kirsten Brand: And so that's the main benefit of this noise canceling.

00:15:53.245 --> 00:16:01.845
Kirsten Brand: Everything else is a nice to have to help calm your dog down and change their reaction over time to the loud noises.

00:16:02.125 --> 00:16:03.825
Michelle Fern: It's an incredible product.

00:16:03.825 --> 00:16:06.445
Michelle Fern: Do you foresee something for cats?

00:16:06.445 --> 00:16:12.905
Michelle Fern: I know it's like mission impossible to get any clothing on cats, but my doggies are now in doggy heaven.

00:16:12.905 --> 00:16:14.605
Michelle Fern: So now I have cats.

00:16:14.605 --> 00:16:20.245
Michelle Fern: My tester though, Tilly, is neurotic and she did really great with her Pawnix.

00:16:20.245 --> 00:16:25.325
Michelle Fern: But I was wondering, I almost wanted to try to put it on one of my cats and I thought it might freak him out.

00:16:25.705 --> 00:16:37.565
Kirsten Brand: The only thing is that with the cat's head, since they're so small like the little dogs, is that sometimes it becomes a weight issue because of the current size of the electronic.

00:16:37.565 --> 00:16:43.665
Kirsten Brand: So sometimes, like I have had a couple cats and they just go into like the little petrified stance, right?

00:16:43.665 --> 00:16:49.905
Kirsten Brand: Where they're more like, oh, this feels different more so than having it on their head.

00:16:49.905 --> 00:16:56.985
Kirsten Brand: So when we can figure out how to get a speaker to be small enough for a cat, then we totally will do it.

00:16:56.985 --> 00:17:03.505
Kirsten Brand: But right now, we have challenges like everybody else did in the chip market and we're focusing on the core.

00:17:03.505 --> 00:17:08.445
Kirsten Brand: And then when we can have research and development time to figure out how to make it smaller, we totally will.

00:17:08.445 --> 00:17:11.385
Kirsten Brand: We didn't want to go the air bud route, right?

00:17:11.385 --> 00:17:13.925
Kirsten Brand: Of like putting something in your animal's ear.

00:17:13.925 --> 00:17:17.365
Kirsten Brand: Because I personally don't know how far it can go in or not.

00:17:17.365 --> 00:17:20.805
Kirsten Brand: And I wouldn't want people to be damaging their pet's ears.

00:17:21.245 --> 00:17:27.745
Kirsten Brand: So that's why we went with the kind of lays into the ear or is over the top of the ear.

00:17:27.745 --> 00:17:31.445
Kirsten Brand: So that there was no worry of how far do I insert this?

00:17:31.445 --> 00:17:35.245
Michelle Fern: I think that was a smart move because their ears are sensitive.

00:17:35.245 --> 00:17:40.885
Michelle Fern: And for dogs, for cats, I have two cats with ear hematomas, which is supposed to be a rare thing.

00:17:40.885 --> 00:17:43.785
Michelle Fern: So why did two thirds of my felines have it?

00:17:43.785 --> 00:17:44.845
Michelle Fern: I don't know.

00:17:44.845 --> 00:17:49.965
Michelle Fern: But I know about their ears even more than I want to as a pet parent because of that.

00:17:50.465 --> 00:17:53.145
Michelle Fern: And I think it's smarter to lay it over.

00:17:53.145 --> 00:17:54.485
Michelle Fern: What about sizes?

00:17:54.485 --> 00:17:57.645
Michelle Fern: You mentioned, you know, it's a little hard for smaller dogs.

00:17:57.645 --> 00:18:02.425
Michelle Fern: So what is the range of canines that the Pawnix fits?

00:18:02.425 --> 00:18:14.405
Kirsten Brand: So the smallest, we basically say, if your dog's head is eight inches in diameter in the vertical, so like around the top of their head through their chin, then the extra small is pretty good.

00:18:14.405 --> 00:18:22.125
Kirsten Brand: And then we have sizes all the way up to our friendly Great Danes and Pyrenees and big guys and an extra large.

00:18:22.125 --> 00:18:24.805
Michelle Fern: Does the Pawnix stay on pretty well?

00:18:24.805 --> 00:18:26.005
Michelle Fern: Do dogs keep it on?

00:18:26.005 --> 00:18:33.205
Michelle Fern: I know we talked about in the first half of tree training, but once it's on and they get used to it, do they keep it on for the most part?

00:18:33.205 --> 00:18:34.705
Kirsten Brand: Yeah, for the most part, they keep it on.

00:18:34.705 --> 00:18:39.005
Kirsten Brand: A lot of dogs just end up chilling out, relaxing and kind of go to sleep.

00:18:39.005 --> 00:18:41.565
Kirsten Brand: The more active dogs can be a little challenging.

00:18:41.565 --> 00:18:45.385
Kirsten Brand: So we have some Velcro loops around that can go around their collar.

00:18:45.385 --> 00:18:52.185
Kirsten Brand: We added a bungee since launch so it can act like a hoodie and kind of tighten around their face to help hold it on.

00:18:52.185 --> 00:19:01.525
Kirsten Brand: So we've done a lot of comfort engineering, I'll call it, from feedback from our customers over the past four years.

00:19:01.525 --> 00:19:05.785
Kirsten Brand: And I think we're at a good spot of more about relaxation.

00:19:05.785 --> 00:19:17.345
Kirsten Brand: We're working on some versions that may be for more active dogs and dogs that are in airplanes and more for protection of hearing than dogs actually being scared.

00:19:17.965 --> 00:19:24.105
Kirsten Brand: And so those may be a little more streamlined and a little more helmet-y and a little bit more compressing to help fit.

00:19:24.105 --> 00:19:35.425
Kirsten Brand: So stay tuned for those because we're still in the research and development and phase of that, but we are working on new versions and the current version stays on pretty well as long as you kind of have a chill dog.

00:19:35.425 --> 00:19:40.285
Kirsten Brand: If you have a super active, ramunctious dog, then they may not want to keep it on their head.

00:19:40.285 --> 00:19:53.525
Kirsten Brand: And we just urge you to, you know, kind of try some more treat training to see if they'll stay calm and introduce it kind of more at nap time and times where they're not as ramunctious.

00:19:53.525 --> 00:19:58.525
Michelle Fern: And that's pretty much true for just about anything you're introducing, you know.

00:19:58.525 --> 00:20:07.145
Michelle Fern: Take them to the dog park or run around first, wait till they're chill, you know, because when dogs are high strong, it's hard to introduce them to anything new.

00:20:07.145 --> 00:20:08.625
Michelle Fern: What about puppies?

00:20:08.625 --> 00:20:14.845
Kirsten Brand: We've done a couple puppies, and generally, the biggest concern is, what if my dog grows out of it?

00:20:14.845 --> 00:20:17.125
Kirsten Brand: And we're pretty generous to work with sizing.

00:20:17.125 --> 00:20:24.605
Kirsten Brand: Like if we get the sizing wrong on the first time, we offer a free swap out of sizing of the outer headset.

00:20:24.605 --> 00:20:26.165
Kirsten Brand: And same with puppies, right?

00:20:26.165 --> 00:20:34.825
Kirsten Brand: Like you don't know how fast they're going to grow out, especially if you're not exactly sure what kind of breed they are, and how big they'll be, especially if you get a rescue puppy.

00:20:34.825 --> 00:20:48.125
Kirsten Brand: So we suggest getting the size they are right now, and then come next season if it's spring, summer, firework specific, then we'll work with you to just swap out the, for the new size.

00:20:48.125 --> 00:20:50.405
Michelle Fern: It's perfectly safe for puppy's ears.

00:20:50.405 --> 00:20:50.905
Kirsten Brand: Yes.

00:20:50.905 --> 00:21:02.405
Kirsten Brand: We have a limiter on it that right now is 55 decibels, because we wanted to make sure that we weren't introducing any new hearing damage or anything for any of the dogs of any age.

00:21:02.405 --> 00:21:03.085
Michelle Fern: Okay.

00:21:03.085 --> 00:21:05.345
Michelle Fern: So what about keeping it clean?

00:21:05.345 --> 00:21:07.005
Michelle Fern: Are there issues with that?

00:21:08.345 --> 00:21:09.605
Announcer: Or does it hold up pretty well?

00:21:09.605 --> 00:21:16.465
Kirsten Brand: It's wicking fabric, so they can get it dirty, they can have fur all over it.

00:21:16.465 --> 00:21:18.865
Kirsten Brand: And the electronic is removable.

00:21:18.865 --> 00:21:27.585
Kirsten Brand: It's actually in little pockets when you flip the thing inside out so that you can actually pop it in the wash and put it in the dryer on a low temperature heat.

00:21:27.585 --> 00:21:30.665
Michelle Fern: And we didn't mention this, but it comes in really cute colors.

00:21:30.705 --> 00:21:32.225
Michelle Fern: So you sent me pink, thank you.

00:21:32.225 --> 00:21:37.325
Michelle Fern: Tilly's a female and she's, I think, part pit bull, so it looks really adorable.

00:21:38.365 --> 00:21:45.005
Michelle Fern: She's a very friendly dog, a little bit kind of strong puppy, and she has this cute little pink pawnix on.

00:21:45.005 --> 00:21:48.905
Michelle Fern: So I already spelled it and said pink, but it comes in some other colors as well.

00:21:48.905 --> 00:21:49.405
Kirsten Brand: Yes.

00:21:49.405 --> 00:21:55.185
Kirsten Brand: So our most popular is a gray, which is like a Heather gray, so it's not a solid gray.

00:21:55.185 --> 00:21:58.105
Kirsten Brand: And then we have a lighter pink.

00:21:58.105 --> 00:21:59.565
Kirsten Brand: Yeah, it's more like a hot pink.

00:21:59.705 --> 00:22:07.565
Kirsten Brand: And then a lighter blue, I'd say kind of more on the Caribbean tropical side than, you know, a Navy or anything.

00:22:07.565 --> 00:22:10.625
Kirsten Brand: So can go, those two colors can go year round.

00:22:10.625 --> 00:22:17.405
Kirsten Brand: And then we have a red because, you know, sometimes the boys don't want to have a softer blue.

00:22:17.405 --> 00:22:20.065
Kirsten Brand: And sometimes they'd like a different option than the gray.

00:22:20.065 --> 00:22:24.525
Kirsten Brand: So, you know, red is a very good strong color for boys and girls.

00:22:24.525 --> 00:22:28.385
Kirsten Brand: So we have four colors to choose from and the five sizes.

00:22:29.005 --> 00:22:30.125
Michelle Fern: Okay, thanks.

00:22:30.125 --> 00:22:33.165
Michelle Fern: I know that you've gotten some great reviews.

00:22:33.165 --> 00:22:35.605
Michelle Fern: Can you have a customer story you can share?

00:22:35.605 --> 00:22:36.365
Kirsten Brand: Sure.

00:22:36.385 --> 00:22:39.705
Kirsten Brand: One of my favorites is Charles.

00:22:39.705 --> 00:22:42.145
Kirsten Brand: He was one of our first customers.

00:22:42.145 --> 00:22:43.825
Kirsten Brand: He's a very large dog.

00:22:43.825 --> 00:22:49.065
Kirsten Brand: So we actually had to make the extra larges specific for him.

00:22:49.065 --> 00:22:51.025
Kirsten Brand: And his ears are very wide.

00:22:51.025 --> 00:22:55.605
Kirsten Brand: So we went ahead and made an extra wide, long eared version for him.

00:22:56.405 --> 00:22:58.325
Kirsten Brand: And his mom is so great.

00:22:58.325 --> 00:23:00.345
Kirsten Brand: She sends his feedback all the time.

00:23:00.345 --> 00:23:04.465
Kirsten Brand: First, Charles didn't like wearing something on his head, and then he got used to it.

00:23:04.465 --> 00:23:06.165
Kirsten Brand: And then he would ask for it.

00:23:06.165 --> 00:23:09.585
Kirsten Brand: And the summer season, he was wearing it all the time.

00:23:09.585 --> 00:23:13.805
Kirsten Brand: And then his mom actually forgot where she put it in the house and couldn't find it.

00:23:13.805 --> 00:23:27.725
Kirsten Brand: And so since she posts so much on social media about how great it is for Charles and how he also kind of tunes out his other dog siblings when he's in it, that we were happy to replace it because she never ended up finding it.

00:23:27.725 --> 00:23:42.325
Kirsten Brand: But we just love that over the past four years that Charles has found so much relief in it that we were happy to replace it because we really just, our mission is just to relieve stress and anxiety from pets and pet parents.

00:23:42.325 --> 00:23:46.745
Kirsten Brand: So not only did it help Charles, it helped his mom, Pam, and the whole family.

00:23:46.745 --> 00:23:50.465
Kirsten Brand: So we're super happy that we could continue to help.

00:23:50.465 --> 00:23:52.185
Kirsten Brand: And that's one of our favorite stories.

00:23:52.705 --> 00:23:53.445
Michelle Fern: I love it.

00:23:53.445 --> 00:23:57.085
Michelle Fern: It brought up a question, if you don't mind answering.

00:23:57.085 --> 00:23:58.585
Michelle Fern: Is Pawnix also good?

00:23:58.585 --> 00:24:01.985
Michelle Fern: You said that when Charles was wearing it, he would chill out from his other siblings.

00:24:01.985 --> 00:24:14.205
Michelle Fern: If the dog is just a little anxious, like when you adopt a new dog and bring it into your home, and especially if there's other dogs there, your dog can be anxious and some dogs just roll that way.

00:24:14.205 --> 00:24:16.105
Michelle Fern: They're just anxious dogs.

00:24:16.105 --> 00:24:23.325
Michelle Fern: Can it help just with that as well as the other triggers, like loud noise and thunder and so forth?

00:24:23.325 --> 00:24:24.525
Kirsten Brand: Yes, I think so.

00:24:24.525 --> 00:24:37.145
Kirsten Brand: Of course, I'm not in the anxious dog's head, but what I've seen and what I've heard from customers is that it's helping in a multitude of situations that we didn't set out to market for.

00:24:37.145 --> 00:24:44.105
Kirsten Brand: So we say it's great for the major things, the thunderstorms, the fireworks.

00:24:44.105 --> 00:24:50.785
Kirsten Brand: We also have videos of our own dogs and customers in cars and helping them in airplanes.

00:24:50.785 --> 00:24:56.065
Kirsten Brand: Those are kind of the obvious, but what we weren't thinking about also is like, oh, what have I called it?

00:24:56.065 --> 00:24:57.905
Kirsten Brand: A power tool season, right?

00:24:57.905 --> 00:25:04.825
Kirsten Brand: Like you may have things going on in your house where you're getting a little remodeling done or maybe something's loud outside.

00:25:04.825 --> 00:25:13.325
Kirsten Brand: And dogs have benefited from that, especially when you're in the city and you're living in an apartment and no control over like jackhammering going on outside.

00:25:13.325 --> 00:25:22.185
Kirsten Brand: So there's been a lot of customers giving feedback of all sorts of situations that they've found their dog finding comfort that we didn't think to market to.

00:25:22.185 --> 00:25:23.905
Michelle Fern: That's so interesting.

00:25:23.905 --> 00:25:27.865
Michelle Fern: Kirsten, Pawnix also does some giving back.

00:25:27.865 --> 00:25:30.445
Michelle Fern: Can you share that with us?

00:25:30.445 --> 00:25:41.285
Kirsten Brand: We not only physically help out at shelters, but when you buy a Pawnix, there's a portion of the proceeds that goes back to two of our favorite charities.

00:25:41.305 --> 00:25:55.625
Kirsten Brand: One is the Old Muzzle Sanctuary, which is basically this 501C3 that goes and rescues older dogs that aren't being adopted out of shelters because of how old they are.

00:25:55.625 --> 00:26:00.525
Kirsten Brand: And seeing that we have our own old dog that really is next to our hearts.

00:26:00.525 --> 00:26:17.065
Kirsten Brand: And then where we are in Michigan, right next to Detroit, there's a really great rescue called Rebel Dogs, and we donate to them as well because these ladies that run this organization, they will go out when it is negative 10 degrees out and be saving dogs.

00:26:17.065 --> 00:26:18.945
Kirsten Brand: They will go out in the pouring rain.

00:26:18.945 --> 00:26:22.705
Kirsten Brand: They open their houses and rooms when the shelter is overflowing.

00:26:22.705 --> 00:26:30.305
Kirsten Brand: And it's just such a great organization, especially when we live in a town that is having food scarcities and things.

00:26:30.305 --> 00:26:34.405
Kirsten Brand: And just going out and being able to take care of these dogs is so important.

00:26:34.405 --> 00:26:41.165
Kirsten Brand: And then also when people hit us up for their own charity events, we are super happy to help out.

00:26:41.665 --> 00:26:49.385
Kirsten Brand: Because not everybody knows about us, and then it's really great when somebody at a charity event is like, oh, well, there's a bunch of collars or stuff like that.

00:26:49.385 --> 00:26:53.365
Kirsten Brand: And then they stumble upon something like Pawnix that can really help their dog.

00:26:53.365 --> 00:27:06.505
Kirsten Brand: It's a great benefit, not only going back to the charity that is getting the money for their own use, but then whoever receives the Pawnix does so and has a benefit for their own dog.

00:27:06.505 --> 00:27:07.745
Michelle Fern: That's wonderful.

00:27:07.745 --> 00:27:09.445
Michelle Fern: Where can people find Pawnix?

00:27:09.785 --> 00:27:10.065
Kirsten Brand: Sure.

00:27:10.065 --> 00:27:12.765
Kirsten Brand: You can find it at pawnix.com.

00:27:12.765 --> 00:27:14.065
Kirsten Brand: That's pawnix.com.

00:27:16.405 --> 00:27:21.605
Kirsten Brand: And we're on all the social medias as Pawnix A-N-C.

00:27:21.605 --> 00:27:22.025
Michelle Fern: Okay.

00:27:22.025 --> 00:27:22.385
Michelle Fern: Thanks.

00:27:22.385 --> 00:27:30.105
Michelle Fern: And you also have on your website, you have frequently asked questions, you have sizes, colors, pictures, all of that.

00:27:30.105 --> 00:27:30.665
Kirsten Brand: Yes.

00:27:30.665 --> 00:27:32.425
Michelle Fern: So they can find everything out.

00:27:32.425 --> 00:27:36.325
Michelle Fern: I can't wait to see what you're coming out with next.

00:27:36.325 --> 00:27:38.945
Michelle Fern: Thank you so much for coming on Best Bets for Pets.

00:27:39.105 --> 00:27:40.605
Kirsten Brand: Thank you for having us.

00:27:40.605 --> 00:27:42.745
Michelle Fern: I hope you all enjoyed this show.

00:27:42.745 --> 00:27:45.265
Michelle Fern: I tried Pawnix on Tilly.

00:27:45.265 --> 00:27:51.465
Michelle Fern: She is my dog tester, and she's a little high strung, and I was so impressed with Pawnix.

00:27:51.465 --> 00:27:54.845
Michelle Fern: She took to it quickly and mellowed out.

00:27:54.845 --> 00:27:59.425
Michelle Fern: Normally, she just goes nutso with loud noises and bangs.

00:27:59.425 --> 00:28:00.445
Michelle Fern: I was thrilled.

00:28:00.445 --> 00:28:03.045
Michelle Fern: So check it out, pawnix.com.

00:28:03.045 --> 00:28:06.125
Michelle Fern: Thank you, Tilly, for being my Pawnix tester.

00:28:06.125 --> 00:28:12.105
Michelle Fern: Thank you to my guest, Kirsten Brand, for coming on Best Bets for Pets and telling us all about Pawnix.

00:28:12.105 --> 00:28:17.305
Michelle Fern: Thanks to everybody that's been listening to Best Bets for Pets for 14 years.

00:28:17.305 --> 00:28:20.125
Michelle Fern: I so appreciate your listenership.

00:28:20.125 --> 00:28:24.985
Michelle Fern: And of course, the show would not be the same without the magic of Mark Winter, my producer.

00:28:24.985 --> 00:28:28.425
Michelle Fern: Thank you, Mark, for making me and my guests sound amazing.

00:28:28.425 --> 00:28:33.225
Michelle Fern: Now remember, you never know what we're going to have next on Best Bets for Pets.

00:28:33.285 --> 00:28:39.185
Announcer: Let's Talk Pets, every week, on demand, only on petliferadio.com.

 

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