Gut Health Heroes: How Bernie's Best is Transforming Dog Wellness from the Inside Out

[00:16] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Hey, I'm Dr. Ruth Roberts. Welcome back for another episode of Healing Tails. And today's episode is Gut Health Heroes, how Bernie's Best is transforming dog wellness from the inside out. So with me today is Emily from Bernie's Best, and she is part of the incredible team behind this amazing company. Bernie's Best is the brand behind Gut Health Supplement that's been a game changer for so many dogs dealing with everyday digestive struggles. Their mission is truly near and dear to my heart, helping pets thrive by focusing on gut health, which we know is the cornerstone of overall wellness. So Emily, welcome to the show. I'm so thrilled to have you here.

[01:07] Emily: Thank you. Thanks so much for that introduction. I really appreciate it. I've been looking forward to this talk.

[01:12] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Awesome, cool. So can you start by sharing the story behind Bernie's Best? What inspired the creation of the company and its focus on gut health?

[01:22] Emily: Yes, I would love to. So Bernie's Best officially came into being in 2018, but it started a little bit before that. Some people who have an entrepreneurial mindset think, oh, I wanna go start a business. I like dogs, so I should start a dog business. This was very much not that. It was started by dog lovers, but it was started by real pet parents who found a combination of things that were working for their dog. And when they looked around and looked at the store shelves and searched the internet, they weren't finding a similar thing that other pet parents had good access to as well. So it really started with one dog's digestive journey, which I know resonates with a lot of your listeners as well, and finding different things that worked like probiotics and fiber, and then trying to make that available to other pet parents in need. So that flagship product was called Bernie's Perfect Poop.

[02:21] Emily: It's kind of in the name. You can tell that Bernie started out with less than perfect poops, but that was the first product. And the line has since expanded for different things to kind of help Bernie as he aged. And we saw a kind of a gap that could be filled with some different supplements on the shelves. So that was really the origin of Bernie's Best. And then I joined the team in 2022. When I saw the job application right at the top, it said, health starts in the gut. And that just had me hook, line and sinker and ready to jump on board. So I've been with Bernie's for three years now and health really does start in the gut.

[03:00] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Amen to that. So let's talk about why that's so critical. I mean, because everybody's saying, "Oh, gut health, gut health, gut health." But why is it truly the most important thing?

[03:11] Emily: Yeah, I think the gut is so important because it connects to everything. And the more that we're learning about individual body systems, the more we're realizing that it's hard to look at things in a vacuum. And that just because you're looking at neurotransmitters in the brain, that there's also a big influence coming from the gut and vice versa. And things like so much of the immune system is hosted in the gut. So there's kind of two aspects to that. There's the functioning of gut health. And then there's what we're putting into the gut to keep it functioning well. And the types of foods and nutrition that we're using to fuel the whole body.

[04:06] Emily: But really it's more foundational. We really are what we eat. And I think sometimes our pets even show us that more clearly than we see it in ourselves.

[04:15] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Right on. So why do you think that so many pets are struggling with not having the perfect poop in the first place?

[04:24] Emily: Yeah, I think it's that same thing. With modern lifestyles in general, they have a lot of stressors that maybe in most natural human and dog forms we weren't encountering.

[04:37] Emily: So that's things like highly processed diets, exposure to environmental stressors, whether that's chemicals or even things like noise pollution, emotional stressors, anxieties from separation. There's all different sorts of things that play into being a dog. And I think for ourselves too, we know it to be true in our own bodies that when your gut isn't feeling well, if you have a tummy ache, it can really kind of throw off the rest of your day. And even if we're not thinking really deeply about the actual mechanisms of why that, you know it to be true. And you can tell.

[06:08] Dr. Ruth Roberts: And that makes total sense, right? Because we know if we start putting the body back together and looking at it in a holistic mechanism, we know 90% of the neurotransmitters are made of the gut. 70% or 75% of immune function is within the gut. And if the gut's not happy, then we know that the vagus nerve is going to be all whacked out. And that will keep our pets and us back in that sympathetic fight or flight state. If your gut doesn't feel good, then just your whole demeanor goes off.

[06:42] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Yeah, I think that's just so critical.

[06:46] Dr. Ruth Roberts: So you all chose some interesting ingredients, though, or the founder chose some interesting ingredients for Bernie's perfect poop. So let's talk a little bit about what makes it unique compared to some of the other supplements on the market.

[07:00] Emily: For sure. Something that I like to say is there's a lot of ways that it's unique, but there's also a lot of ways that it's really simple. And that's one of the things where when we talk about-- it's a four-in-one formula, and I can talk a little bit about each of the four things. But again, these are things that we would hope that our dogs would be getting as parts of their diet.

[07:27] Emily: But unfortunately, just based on lifestyle circumstances, if your dog gets antibiotics, if they have a monthly flea and tick topical or heartworm protocol, they're kind of introduced to all sorts of things that can throw that natural microbiome off balance in the gut. So probiotics is one of the four things. And then along with that, the second thing is prebiotics.

[07:52] Emily: I think your listeners are probably pretty familiar with gut health, but probiotics are the beneficial bacteria that live in the GI tract and help make digestion happen, breaking down the food into the components that can be absorbed into the bloodstream. And there's thousands and thousands of species.

[08:13] Emily: So ours has two species, but just introducing some more beneficial bacteria can help-- when there's an imbalance of bacteria, it can help crowd out and rebalance. And then the prebiotics are almost food for the probiotics. That's a little bit of an oversimplification of it, but they help make sure that the probiotics have what they do. The two strains that we have are bacillus strains. And the reason that we chose those is because they're really hardy, making it through the stomach acid and being introduced to the later parts of the GI tract.

[10:03] Emily: Fiber, if you look at your dog's food bag, most of them will say that they have a certain amount of fiber. You'll see you can get a hint from the ingredients where that it's coming from. A lot of times it's beet pulp or cellulose.

[10:18] Emily: And what I say to that is not all fiber is created equally. And I don't mean to say just, oh, one ingredient is better than another. But when you say the word fiber, you can be talking about a lot of things. So a really key thing that I think sets Bernie's perfect poop apart is it has soluble and insoluble fiber, meaning that the soluble fiber can almost form like a sort of gel.

[11:25] Emily: And I really just wonder if a lot of modern dogs aren't getting the right kind of fiber in their diet. And that addition alone can really help kind of keep things regular. Because perfect poop doesn't necessarily signal perfect digestion. But it's definitely a clue.

[11:42] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Right on. And actually, that's what they're finding on the human side. So Tim Spector, who's done a terrific amount of research both in the UK and the US, his conclusion is it doesn't matter if you're vegan, vegetarian, keto, carnivore, whatever. Really, the thing that seems to be the marker for health is if you're eating at least 30 grams of fiber every day. And I really believe that's the same with our dogs. That's a whole debate between raw, cooked, what have you. But that's part of why I created the original Crock-Pot diet to have a lot of vegetables in it. Because what I saw was that it smoothed out so many digestive issues and just really made all the things that were not going well, the skin, the itches, all of that, the cognitive problems, the behavioral problems improve. So that's part of why I really love what you all are doing with this ingredient selection. Because as you said, with kibble, not much fiber in there. And cellulose is basically a wood product. And it is fiber. But as you said, it's not the same as, say, a vegetable that's going to include soluble and insoluble fiber. So that's amazing.

[13:03] Emily: Well, and that's a great point, too, that you bring up. Because when I started working at this company, I already fed my dogs a raw diet. And I had been in the natural pet world. And so to be honest with you, I wasn't sure if I was going to use Bernie's Perfect Poop when I started. Because I already felt that my dogs had pretty perfect poops. And something that you'll hear in the raw or home-cooked community, especially from people who have had their dogs on kibble and then switched to fresh foods, one of the things they love to talk about is that the stool volume is smaller. And that you can tell as opposed to having this large, stinky, starchy mess in your yard. It's a pretty notable difference. And it does make you feel like your dog is getting more out of the food that you're putting in. But what I'll say is that I don't think that my dogs were getting enough fiber on their raw diet alone. Because there were things that, just kind of smaller signs, even though, overall, they seemed to be thriving. Less anal scooting, less grass eating, even though they still like to graze on some fresh grass in the spring.

[14:20] Emily: But I will say, I agree that even among really good, high-quality diets, which a lot of people don't even have access to, they could be using some more fiber in there. So that's one of the things where, yes, Bernie's Perfect Poop, I think it's revolutionary.

[14:38] Emily: It's really unique as far as supplements go. But it's not-- I wish it didn't have to be.

[14:45] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Agreed. And that's the thing I think we should back up and say that. And thank you for pointing that out. I mean, we both believe that some sort of fresh food is the way to go for pets. But it's not affordable and doable for everyone. Right. So if you're working three jobs, trying to keep it all together, and you're trying to feed your kids and your pet, and kibble is the way you got to go, that's the way you got to go. But that's the beautiful thing, is that this is a solution to help you help your dog have a much better gut health. So I think that this is part of what I love, what you're doing with your company. And there's a lot of folks out there in the natural pet world that would go, oh, what the heck, this ingredient, and that ingredient. And I'm sorry, but this is going to work for so many animals and improve what they're doing, how they're feeling, how their health is. That's part of why I wanted you to come on this program. Because we got to help folks wherever they are and give them cost effective solutions to really amp up their pet's health. So thanks for bringing that topic up.

[15:55] Emily: Yes, absolutely. I mean, I think that's another thing, too.

[16:01] Emily: It was formulated with a lot of intention in the ingredients, but it was also formulated for dogs to like it, which is tricky. Because when dogs have digestive challenges, a lot of times they stop trusting food as much. They might be really picky. It can be hard or overwhelming. And again, just the time and the access. If you have to give your dog a pill every day and plan on that to get the probiotics in, if you're trying to give them a fresh source of fiber from sprouts or something that you're growing in your garden or something from your own table, it really depends on the day. But knowing that you have something that you can rely on that's a meal topper, no matter what kind of meal that your dog eats, and feel that you're doing a little something to boost their diet, I think helps a lot of people.

[17:45] Emily: It really does help bridge those gaps for a lot of people.

[17:49] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Amazing.

[17:50] Dr. Ruth Roberts: So I mean, so basically that sort of answers the next question. It's like, who is this product for? Which dogs is this product for? So it sounds like maybe dogs are eating less of a Kiball-based diet. And we need to just amp up ingredients to help support their gut to help them stay healthy. But then also for dogs that are experiencing gut health issues. And like you said,

[18:18] Dr. Ruth Roberts: The poop may be perfect. But if the dog, to me, if the dog is itching, that means that there's a gut problem to start with. Absolutely.

[18:26] Emily: Yes. I think when we talk about how someone might know that they should be looking for a digestive supplement in general, whether that's Bernie's Perfect Poop or otherwise, the Perfect Poop is in the name. Because a lot of people have to interact with the poop every day. They have to pick it up. They have to keep things clean. And it becomes even more urgent when your dog is waking you up multiple times a night to go or something like that. So that's one of the first signs.

[19:18] Emily: And I think that's always worth a closer look. So we have to be careful as people who make supplements and talk about what dogs it's for and what promises that we can make about it. But that's another thing about our company that I love is our customer service. If you use it for a month or two and you still have more questions than answers, then we want to be able to give you a refund and allow you to move on and take that knowledge and discuss with your vet, well, here were the ingredients. Here are some of the things that I saw or didn't see. And do you think that that's a bigger clue in my pet's care picture? So it really goes beyond perfect food.

[19:58] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Right on, and that is brilliant.

[20:02] Dr. Ruth Roberts: And I think what you said is something that most pet parents miss, like they'll start down a protocol for gut health or supplement or what have you and just use it for the rest of the dog's life, even though they haven't really seen any changes and looking, especially GI related ones. So the belching, the gas, the loose stool, periodic mucus, that kind of stuff. So I think that's critical too, that you pet parents out there, if you've been doing something for four months and nothing has changed, it's time to try something else. And that's where you can take that information, talk to your veterinarian, talk to your holistic pet health coach and say, well, I did this, this and this. And this is what happened, which was basically next to nothing, what can I try next to really help my dog feel better? Right.

[20:57] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Amazing.

[20:59] Dr. Ruth Roberts: So because this is a relatively high fiber product, how would it be best for a pet parent to start experimenting with Bernie's Perfect Poop?

[21:12] Emily: That's a great question. It is a really simple meal topper. So it comes in, it's kind of like a crumbly texture and the serving sizes are in tablespoons. But because you are introducing fiber and probiotics together, we recommend a gradual introduction. And it does say that on the bag so that when you're looking at the serving size and instructions, we recommend increasing it over a few days or up to like a week.

[22:08] Emily: And so just knowing that when you're adding things like that to your dog's diet, that there can be some side effects in the first couple of weeks, but the side effects can also be clues because one thing that I see a lot, this is just kind of anecdotally speaking with customers who have started the product.

[22:27] Emily: Sometimes I'll ask them after you started it, does your dog seem like they're eating grass more? And they'll say, oh, you know what? I didn't even think to mention that when we go outside, they are eating more grass. And I'll say, oh, well, that's a sign that maybe you could increase the serving size sooner rather than later, because they're kind of going out and seeking that fiber on their own too.

[23:38] Dr. Ruth Roberts: And that totally makes sense. I mean, there is nothing more uncomfortable than eating a boatload of fiber if you're not accustomed to it. So if you've had that experience, it's not so much that it's a side effect, but it's what the fiber is supposed to do in terms of encouraging more diverse microbiome and all of the benefits that comes with that.

[24:01] Dr. Ruth Roberts: So are there other lifestyle factors like diet or exercise that might complement the benefits of supplements like the Bernie's Perfect Poop?

[24:12] Emily: Yeah, absolutely, of course. I mean, I think one of the things that's really cool about a digestive supplement or just a well-functioning digestive tract in general is that any other supplements that you give should have a better effect and be more meaningful in the amounts that they're intended to be given in.

[24:44] Emily: I think in general, stress reduction, and that looks different for every dog. So it really depends on the dog.

[24:53] Emily: But any way that you can see how your dog loves to be a dog and let them be a dog that way, I think, goes a long way. So when you talk about things like just exercise, does that mean that every dog wants to go on a run with you? I know I'm preaching to the choir here. And it depends. Is your dog a Malinois that wants to do that high activity? Or does your dog want to sniff around? Is your dog a social butterfly? Is your dog more of a homebody that just wants extra one-on-one time with you with no devices?

[25:27] Emily: There's all sorts of things like that that play into what I like to call thriving, not just surviving. And really, adding more meaningful moments to our dog's lives and our lives is like a win-win. Because even the healthiest dog, if you're not getting to spend time with them, or even, I should say, if our dogs live forever but they're not feeling their best and we're not enjoying our time together, then what are we doing?

[26:00] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Right on. Right on. That's what it's all about is health span and instead of lifespan.

[26:07] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Absolutely.

[26:09] Dr. Ruth Roberts: I think we're having this crisis moment is as good a word as I can think of where we realize that our lives are so much on the treadmill. And then we look over at our friends and they're waiting for us to get off the treadmill and come hang out with them. Yes. Well said. Cool. So one of the other things I like about Bernie's Best is that you all have a very strong commitment to transparency and quality. So why are those values so deep in the ethos of the company?

[26:46] Emily: The pet supplement space is really crowded. And I started talking about some businesses, I think, just starting out with this entrepreneurial mindset. They see that there's pet parents with money in their pockets and they're trying to figure out how to capture that interest. And that attitude to me doesn't lean into good products and innovation.

[27:10] Emily: So I think one of the things- and I found this the most in answering customer questions for Bernie's because if they reach out and say, I've tried this, this, and this supplement, or I found that this one was helping but only if I combined it with this. And I'm going through doing a little detective work on my own looking at those ingredients and trying to figure out, well, should they be combining this joint supplement with another joint supplement? And I found that even with my professional background and years of experience in this, that it is challenging to understand what you're buying when you're looking at a label. And it's really challenging to compare similar products, whether that's ingredients or amounts of them or just lingo that looks good on a label.

[28:00] Emily: An example that I keep coming up against really frequently is in the Omega products.

[28:07] Emily: People say, my vet recommended that my dog should be on an Omega supplement for skin and coat or for joint health or because they just had surgery. My vet recommended a certain milligrams of EPA and DHA that they should get per day. But then when they go on the internet and try to find a compatible product, it's really difficult to figure out what you're getting.

[28:30] Emily: And that some companies will say that the total amount of Omega-3s is higher than another company's. But if its total amount of Omega-3s, but it doesn't have enough EPA and DHA versus plant sources with ALA and I know I'm being a little bit scientific and I might be going over some people's heads, but that's my point- is that I would like people to be able to trust more what they see on a label, but it is really confusing.

[29:00] Emily: So I think that aspect of just in terms of transparency, I mean, when you look at our Omega supplement, it's really clear how much Omega-3s your dog is getting in EPA and DHA, how many milligrams, why that's the serving size. Because with some Omega-3s I'm seeing, they say, give your dog three chews if your dog is 50 pounds. But then when you add up the amount of Omega-3s, I don't really see where they got that serving size because it's not consistent with what a vet would recommend for an actual therapeutic amount.

[30:04] Emily: I would just like to kind of clear the air and make things simpler for people to understand and understand how to help themselves and their pets.

[30:13] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Well said. You picked the perfect example. The Omega-3 fatty acid products are one of the most confusing supplements to kind of work your way through because some have all of this flaxseed oil and hemp seed oil, et cetera, et cetera, that makes the numbers look great, but it's not absorbable, or they're hiding, concealing, how much of each of those things is present. So well said. We need, I think we almost need to create a course to teach pet parents how to read supplement labels so they'll be better educated to make more impactful choices.

[30:53] Dr. Ruth Roberts: So as we're kind of coming towards the end of our time, are there any new products or initiatives on the horizon for Bernie's best that you'd like to talk about?

[31:04] Emily: Well, there's a few things. So we have a couple of new products coming out. We have an Omega oil. Right now we have some Omega chews, but the thing about Omega oil versus Omega chews is Omega's are oils.

[31:32] Emily: So we like having, we do know that we have the highest Omega content in chews out there from the other brands that we've seen, but again, one of the things is that's convenience.

[33:08] Emily: I am still finding the words to describe it to people like you because it's a new thing to talk about. I haven't really found a lot of things like it on the internet. It's something sort of like Wikipedia where it has a database of different health conditions. It has a database of different ingredients. It has a database of different research articles. And then when you're on the pages, you see the interlocking other pages.

[33:59] Dr. Ruth Roberts: That is amazing, Emily.

[34:02] Dr. Ruth Roberts: So where can listeners find more out about Bernie's Best and find your products?

[34:10] Emily: Yeah, absolutely. So they can find us at bernies.com. That's our website. It's super simple on social media. If you search Bernie’s Best, you can find us that way. And we're available in lots of places.

[34:26] Emily: We're available on Amazon and Chewy for easy access for people. And again, on our website is the best place. You can see when we're running some promotions and things like that. And you can also find us at the upcoming conference that Dr. Ruth is sponsoring this fall. I would love to see you there.

[34:48] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Right on. And that will get to meet in person at Whole Pet Con. Super exciting Kansas city, September 13th at the Overland Park Convention Center.

[34:58] Dr. Ruth Roberts: So Emily, thank you so much for joining us today in sharing the incredible work that Bernie’s Best is doing to support pet health from the inside out. And for those of you listening, if you're ready to take your pet's wellness to the next level, I would really strongly recommend that you check out Bernie’s Perfect Poop and the other products because they really can be a game changer. It's a simple first step for sure. So head over to bernies.com. And as always, we're here to help you and your pets live the healthiest, happiest lives. So until next time, take care and get ready for another fun episode of "Healing Tails."

[35:37] Dr. Ruth Roberts: Thanks for listening to Healing Tails where pet parents become healers, one tail wag at a time. Want more tools and support? Head to DrRuthRoberts.com. Until next time, trust your gut, question the noise, and keep showing up for your pet.