0:00

Welcome to the Soul Touched by

0:02

Dogs Podcast, the show for

0:05

dog lovers who see dogs not

0:07

as toys or tools, but wise

0:09

souls worth our respect and

0:11

care. I'm an Herrmann, and

0:13

I'm your host. I talk to poor

0:16

some humans, people who

0:18

do great work for dogs and their people.

0:21

So come and join us for today's conversation.

0:25

Hello, welcome Nicole. I'm super

0:28

excited to have you here.

0:30

Yes, thank you for having me.

0:32

I'm so glad you're doing this and providing

0:34

this platform for all of us and giving

0:37

us a voice and spread the word

0:39

and create more awareness about

0:42

so many topics with

0:44

dogs.

0:46

And it's my most Delightful,

0:49

favorite project. I'm more than, more

0:51

than happy here. It's actually one of those funny

0:53

cases. We could talk in German, right? Yeah,

0:56

yeah. But today we

0:58

won't. So tell

1:01

people where you're based and,

1:03

you know, what's your business with dogs? Yes,

1:05

sure, sure. I mean, I'm sure you hear

1:08

my accent. I'm a native German, but

1:10

I've been living here in the U. S.

1:12

for 20 years now, uh,

1:15

specifically in Atlanta, Georgia,

1:17

in the South. And

1:19

today we have a rainy day and my,

1:22

my Doberman mannequin is in the background.

1:25

That's what I use when I teach classes

1:27

about pet first aid. And

1:30

my classes are equally for dogs

1:32

and cats, actually, for both.

1:34

But, uh, yeah, I, I don't personally

1:36

own cats, uh, so I'm a

1:38

little bit more focused on the dogs, but,

1:41

uh, yeah, I, I'm on my second Doberman,

1:44

by the way, and his name is Frodo.

1:47

He's extraordinary big,

1:50

so I'm sure a lot of, um,

1:52

people that listening, they're familiar with Lord

1:54

of the Rings and the Hobbits, and

1:56

when he came to us with Nine Weeks, he

1:59

had these huge paws. Hairy

2:01

paws and the hobbits have hairy feet

2:04

and big feet so this is where

2:06

the name Frodo came and

2:09

he's a, he's a 50 kilo dog

2:11

or 115 pounds but

2:13

such a gentle soul and I,

2:16

I learned a lot so needless to

2:18

say he has definitely touched my soul

2:20

but there have been also dogs before

2:23

that touched my soul and that lead

2:25

me to what, what I do really. I

2:28

love

2:29

it. I mean, to be honest, and we've

2:31

touched on it before we hit record, it's like before

2:34

I came across you, I don't think

2:36

I'd ever even heard about First

2:38

Aid for Dogs before. So

2:41

how did you stumble across it

2:43

and what made you kind of turn

2:45

this into your, into your

2:46

race? Yes. I mean, initially

2:49

my background is from the trade show

2:51

business. I was 20 years in business,

2:54

always traveling and Basically

2:56

living my life on a fast speed

2:59

lane, uh, and, uh,

3:02

so presenting, um,

3:04

and, uh, organizing events

3:07

was, was in my nature, you know, that's

3:09

where, where my talent was, but I

3:11

got so tired of the corporate world.

3:14

I wanted to do something more meaningful.

3:17

And, um, the first time I researched

3:19

Pet First Aid was actually because

3:22

my husband is a rock climber. So

3:24

we go camping

3:26

in very remote areas in

3:29

North Carolina, for example.

3:31

And I'm not a climber, so I,

3:33

I was like the camp mom staying behind,

3:36

you know, and doing hikes with my Doberman

3:38

back then. And I always

3:40

ask myself, you know, I'm, I'm really

3:43

hours away from any emergency

3:45

clinic or veterinarian, what do

3:47

I do if my dog gets bitten by

3:49

a snake? So this is where I

3:51

started researching, and

3:53

I discovered Pet Tech. And

3:56

Pet Tech, um, is a little bit like

3:58

the American Red Cross for the pets.

4:00

They're based in California. And

4:03

they, they are international, but

4:05

their focus is here in the U. S., uh,

4:08

for now. And, uh, this is how

4:10

I started out, you know, that,

4:12

uh, they certified me as instructor.

4:16

Uh, and so we all keep with the same

4:18

curriculum. So if you're not based in

4:20

Atlanta, you can, uh, go

4:22

on their website, uh, at least

4:24

for the U. S., uh, pettech. net,

4:27

and you can find an instructor in your

4:29

area. But, uh, I also

4:31

have the goal of, uh, creating my own

4:33

YouTube channel very soon. So

4:36

there will be, uh, lots of videos

4:38

there as well, eventually.

4:40

That's fascinating. So,

4:44

I mean, first it's, it's funny where I'm thinking,

4:46

well, oh my God, like I think most people probably

4:48

can't even remember the little bit of first aid we

4:50

did for people. Yes. Like

4:53

I'm going for dogs, so what are typical

4:56

Emergencies that, you

4:58

know, in your class that you'd cover, that somebody

5:00

would learn.

5:01

Oh my gosh, it's a four hour class.

5:04

And it's, uh, really

5:06

very, uh, a lot of content. I

5:08

mean, most people after the class, they

5:10

say, oh my gosh, I didn't know what I didn't know,

5:13

right? Uh, because we, we

5:15

talk about prevention a lot. And

5:17

over the years, I've been teaching now for

5:20

eight years. Over the years, I included

5:22

more and more scary pictures because

5:24

I know that it's, Anke

5:26

Herrmann, Taming

5:29

the Tech

5:31

Monster, Anke

5:33

Herrmann, Taming

5:35

the Tech

5:37

Monster, Anke

5:39

Herrmann, Taming

5:41

the Tech

5:43

Monster, Anke

5:46

Herrmann, Taming

5:48

the Tech

5:50

Monster, Anke

5:52

Herrmann, Taming

5:54

the You

5:57

know, you can't help the pet. So

5:59

that's very important. And,

6:01

um, so we talk about how

6:03

to do a pressure, uh, bandage, for example.

6:06

So it's really hands on. We do different,

6:08

uh, bandaging techniques for the paw,

6:11

for the ear, um,

6:13

uh, and also how to do CPR,

6:16

of course, you know, and rescue breathing.

6:18

I have a doggy mannequin here, uh,

6:21

more than one actually, where we practice,

6:24

you know, and, um, how

6:26

to induce vomiting. Um,

6:29

how to handle choking, for example,

6:31

you know, when they, they really,

6:33

um, uh, have a toy

6:36

in the throat or food or bone,

6:39

um, allergic reactions,

6:41

snake bites, insect bites,

6:44

you know, it's so much, uh,

6:46

content really.

6:47

And

6:50

well, uh, yeah, I mean, it's like, Oh my God, like

6:52

it seems to be low. Boy, we

6:54

all need that, right? Because I think

6:56

it's like the worst thing that could, I

6:58

mean, I don't know, like as a dog lover, it's almost

7:00

like the worst thing you can imagine that something

7:02

happens to your, to your dog. Cause it's like, it's

7:04

always like a person, a

7:07

person can sort of, unless they're unconscious,

7:09

like, but like a person usually can

7:11

kind of say where it hurts. They

7:13

can kind of say, well, look, this is what happened. And

7:16

like, I fell and now my leg hurts. It's like,

7:18

it's like, you know, there's, there's. There's a little

7:21

level of ownership or autonomy

7:23

that you can kind of expect from a person, whereas

7:25

a dog can't tell you, you know, so

7:27

it's like, and you see them suffering and you're like, and

7:30

then

7:31

you kind of feel like you're letting your dog down.

7:33

Yeah, for your pets,

7:35

yes, uh, because most of us

7:37

are, are not familiar with, with

7:39

the vitals, you know, and that's another topic

7:42

we talk about. If you know

7:44

what's normal for your pet, because

7:47

the, the vitals, they vary a lot

7:49

because we have all kinds of breeds

7:51

and sizes, then the difference

7:53

between large dogs and a small

7:56

cat, for example, you know, so what,

7:58

if you know what's normal for

8:00

your pet. then you, you recognize,

8:03

uh, the symptoms much easier

8:05

and faster. And sometimes really,

8:07

uh, time is of the essence where every

8:09

second counts if you have

8:12

an emergency like that. And

8:14

I've had, uh, multiple

8:17

students or friends, you know,

8:19

that literally saved their

8:21

own pet or, um, uh,

8:23

their clients pets. You know, usually

8:26

my classes are half and half, the average

8:28

pet owner. But the other half

8:30

are people that work in the industry

8:33

that work with dogs and cats like

8:36

the dog walkers and, uh,

8:38

the, the, uh, pet hotels

8:41

and, and boarding facilities,

8:43

you know, everybody who is really

8:45

in contact with dogs and cats,

8:47

uh, should, should learn something

8:50

about pet first aid. And I

8:52

think, um, Doing

8:54

it live. I mean, sure, everybody can

8:57

watch a YouTube video, but it's really

8:59

not the same when you do the exercises

9:01

yourself because You create

9:04

muscle memory, and

9:07

if you have done it before and then the

9:09

emergency happens, you react

9:11

faster, you know exactly what to do,

9:13

and you're less likely to panic. And

9:17

that's what it's all about. Yeah. to,

9:19

to really teach people you, you

9:21

can do that, you know, and, and strangely

9:24

enough, over the years, it's really 90

9:26

percent women that attend my classes.

9:28

Isn't that interesting?

9:29

What do you make of that?

9:31

We're more the caretakers, you know,

9:34

um, but also I wanted, and I

9:36

say this in my classes, you know,

9:38

we, we, uh, prepare for

9:40

the worst, but we hope for

9:42

the best. And

9:45

I, for me, every dog is

9:47

a service dog or

9:49

emotional support dog, whether they

9:52

have the official certification

9:54

or not, because we

9:56

know that they, they

9:59

go through all the ups and

10:01

downs in our lives with us. You

10:04

know, they give us unconditional love,

10:06

they're always there, uh,

10:08

for us, and they transform

10:11

our, uh, bad mood, they remind

10:13

us to be in the moment, and

10:15

I think we owe it to them to,

10:18

to learn, uh, a little bit about

10:20

their needs and their bodily functions,

10:23

you know, and, and that,

10:25

that is my goal to prevent and,

10:28

and save lives, and

10:30

coming back to some of my friends and students.

10:34

There was one person in particular where

10:36

we talked about how to do body

10:38

checks, you know, and look for those

10:40

fatty lumps that so many dogs

10:42

have. And she did that and she found

10:45

a lump on the abdomen and she went to the veterinarian

10:48

and the vet said, Oh my gosh,

10:50

it's Great, you came in. It

10:53

was a tumor at the spleen

10:55

that was about to rupture and

10:57

unfortunately it happens quite often.

11:00

So she literally saved her

11:02

dog's life with

11:04

just by doing these body checks

11:07

and there's so much that we can do

11:09

in terms of prevention.

11:12

That makes so much sense. I think like, you know,

11:14

first, like knowing what is even normal,

11:16

so you can detect when something's off, you

11:19

know, and then also where to look for something that

11:21

isn't quite right, you know, yeah, that makes,

11:23

that makes so much sense. So if somebody

11:26

wants to learn more or find the class

11:28

or like what's the best place for them to

11:30

go.

11:32

My website, which is

11:35

dobiemom. com, very,

11:38

very easy to remember, and

11:41

DOBIE spelled D O

11:43

B I E. Some

11:46

of them spell it differently, and

11:49

my next class here in Atlanta,

11:51

if you should be here in the

11:53

Atlanta area, is on April

11:55

the 21st. on a Sunday

11:57

in Dunwoody. Uh, but like I

11:59

said, um, I will soon

12:02

have a YouTube channel with, uh,

12:04

some snippets that you can, um,

12:06

uh, watch and, and read about

12:09

first aid.

12:10

I love it. I love it. Thank you. I mean,

12:12

would you, are you considering like, you know,

12:14

offering online classes? You

12:17

know, where it's like in Zoom, in Zoom, where

12:19

I can get the best of both worlds. I can

12:21

get the direct, you know, where I can

12:23

practice here with my dog and I get, I can

12:25

ask you questions. So I don't have

12:28

to come to Atlanta and I don't, it's the

12:30

between coming to Atlanta and watching

12:32

YouTube

12:32

videos. Yeah. I thought about

12:35

it, you know, but I think YouTube

12:37

is really the platform to reach more

12:39

people and spread the word more, and

12:42

like we, we talked before

12:44

our interview, a lot

12:46

of people, they, they just have

12:49

a little bit time, you know, so

12:51

I would break it up because it's really

12:53

quite comprehensive, the content.

12:57

So break it up in little videos,

13:00

because then you really

13:02

get the content across. There's

13:05

really a lot to learn.

13:08

Well, thank you, but it's so worth it because

13:10

I think, you know, as you said, like you can save

13:13

your dog's life, you know, like that's definitely

13:15

worth investing a little bit of time and

13:17

energy. And so thank you so much for coming

13:19

and pointing, you know, like making us aware

13:22

of it, because I think there's still a long

13:24

way to go before everybody

13:26

kind of knows about it. And

13:28

I know, you know, it's human nature

13:31

that we normally think, oh, This

13:33

always happens to other people,

13:36

but even though that I teach

13:38

this stuff, you know, and I hear

13:40

all the, uh, stories

13:43

from people, from my students,

13:45

uh, that have lost, uh, pets

13:47

already, I have to be careful

13:49

that I'm not getting paranoid, but things

13:51

like that happen to me too, you know,

13:53

like my dog, uh, he wanted

13:56

to jump out of the car and I have

13:58

one of these mini vans where the door

14:00

comes out automatically. And

14:02

his paw got caught in that mechanism,

14:05

you know, and things like that. Or he

14:07

munched down on my thyroid medications.

14:09

I had to induce vomiting, you know, and

14:12

I'm like, okay, here you go. At least

14:14

I know what to do, right? You know what

14:16

to do, right?

14:18

But I imagine you saw some other

14:20

people that don't know how, what to

14:22

do, you know, it,

14:24

It might lose their

14:25

dog over it. Very stressful. Yes.

14:28

And then you deal with the, if you really

14:30

lost a pet, you know, sometimes we do

14:32

have these moments in the class

14:34

where a person starts

14:36

crying because they realize they

14:39

could have done something to save their pet.

14:41

And that's the most heart wrenching

14:44

and difficult stuff, you know, it's, uh,

14:47

but. They're there now,

14:49

you know, so I'm always happy for

14:51

everyone that is open

14:53

and, and, uh, trying to learn

14:55

about Pet First Aid. And

14:57

over the years, um, more and

15:00

more people had more questions about

15:02

nutrition as well. And

15:04

this is how, uh, you know, sometimes

15:06

your, uh, passion just

15:09

develops, you know, and people

15:12

are asking. And so I became certified

15:15

in nutrition, uh, as well,

15:17

uh, and I'm not a medical

15:19

nutritionist in the sense I'm a holistic

15:22

nutritionist. And, uh,

15:24

this class is actually online because

15:26

there's not the same amount of, uh,

15:29

hands on exercises that you

15:31

have to do comparable to the first aid.

15:33

So that one you can actually, uh,

15:36

watch online. It's a three hour,

15:38

very condensed video. I talk about

15:40

all, uh, diets, whether

15:43

it's the dry food, the canned. Uh,

15:45

the Dehydrated, the Gently Cooked,

15:48

the Home Cooked, uh, the Raw

15:50

Foods, you know. I think I want to have you

15:52

back for that one. Like that's, I think that's

15:54

a whole other topic that I think I'd

15:56

love to unpack in a, in a different, in

15:59

a separate, you know, like. Yes, would

16:01

love to. You can come back, like, you know,

16:03

it's my show, I can do whatever the heck I want. So

16:05

I can have you back. Yes. Because that's a whole other

16:08

topic that I'd love to unpack. So,

16:09

yeah, definitely. Because that is

16:11

part of prevention as well.

16:14

You know, and where I'm coming from,

16:17

uh, maybe because I didn't

16:19

grow up, uh, in, in the U. S.,

16:21

I grew up in Germany where we have a very

16:23

different health system or

16:25

medical system for the humans as well as

16:28

for the pets. It's much more about

16:30

prevention and, uh, more

16:32

open to, uh, holistic

16:34

and alternative treatments. This

16:37

is really, uh, what my,

16:40

uh, first aid is also focused

16:42

on the holistic, uh, role, you

16:44

know, what, what can we do? What kind of

16:46

alternatives do we have?

16:48

Like laser treatment, uh,

16:51

for example, or acupuncture

16:53

for pain management and,

16:56

uh, the, the nutrition part as well

16:58

is, uh, we holistic nutritionists,

17:01

we look at it from the cellular level.

17:04

How does, um, how does that work? food

17:07

in your body or in the dog's

17:09

body and how can we create balance

17:12

again and heal and

17:14

prevent.

17:16

Love it. Love it. That's, that's definitely going

17:18

to be the topic for the next one. So

17:21

DobieMum. com. Go

17:24

get in touch with me, Paul. Thank you so much

17:26

for coming. And I can't wait to have you back. Uh

17:29

huh. Love to. Yes. Looking

17:31

forward to it. And thank you again for having

17:33

me.

17:34

My pleasure.

17:36

Thanks so much for listening. If you enjoyed

17:38

the episode, don't forget to subscribe,

17:41

and leave a review so other dog lovers

17:43

can find the show. If you haven't

17:45

already, head over to soul

17:47

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sign up for weekly doggy cuteness

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tips, recommendations, and personal

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stories to warm your dog loving

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heart. And if you know a pawsome

17:59

human you think I should interview, I'd

18:01

love an introduction. Email me

18:03

at Anke. That's A

18:05

N k E at Soul touched

18:07

by dogs.com.