Dog Skin Allergies and a Service Dog's Comeback: One Daily Routine

Chris NobleHans, thank you so much for joining us.

HansYeah, thanks for having me. This is awesome. It's nice to see you again. Yeah, you guys as well.

Chris NobleGood to be in sunny LA.

HansYep, sunny LA right by the airport, as you can see.

Chris NobleAs we can hear. And we've got Lulu here as well.

HansYeah, Lulu's always down for fun. She thinks today is all about her, which it is. Yeah she's happy

Chris NobleIt always is

HansYep

Chris NobleWe first met you just before we launched the company

HansYep

Chris NobleAnd we we loved how how much you were into your health and fitness and how much you cared for lulu as well when it came to her health and how much you prioritized her over everything but tell us a bit more about how you look after yourself

HansYeah, so it kind of goes twofold. So I have a bunch of health struggles that I've been dealing with for about eight years now. And so when I got Lulu a couple of years ago, we had an amazing first week together. And then our first weekend, we were in the emergency room and Lulu was plagued with so many different health issues. So knowing what that's like personally, like I've invested so much energy into making sure that she's well taken care of, which is why we're such fans of VitaDog because she needs these... Ingredients in these vitamins because her diet is so minimal as is as is mine so for me it's not even a question of if I want to prioritize my health I have to because of the health struggles that I face and so same with lulu like I want to make sure that she lives a long healthy life and I don't want her health struggles to diminish her livelihood or enjoying life and same for me you know like I it might be a little bit harder with what I'm dealing with but I make sure to prioritize my well-being and enjoying life and not taking a single day for granted I have to say she is looking absolutely amazing. Yeah, she looks amazing. You'd have no idea that she has food allergies as well as environmental allergies. Her coat, we get complimented daily on her coat, which is such a testament to like how we're taking care of her because for the first year of her life, she lost almost all the hair on her face, around her eyes. She was bleeding every day. So to come from that to now being outstanding health and looking as fabulous as she does is awesome.

Cameron MainHow have you seen Lulu, I guess, develop and be so energetic since using VitaDog?

HansWell, the energy part, she's always had that. But as I've seen her develop since using VitaDog, I just think she's just healthier. I can just tell her coat looks better. Her stools are firmer. I think it's a great way to start the day. I serve it to her with breakfast every morning. And there was a time period where she would only eat breakfast a couple of days a week. It's because she's on a hydrolyzed protein diet. So literally all she eats is hydrolyzed protein. She doesn't get any special treats, any special food. So now I mix her VitaDog. I put it on her food in the morning and she's like excited to eat breakfast and it like kickstarts our day. So yeah, I have nothing but great things to say about VitaDog. I think every dog owner should be using VitaDog.

Cameron MainAnd do you start your morning ritual, I guess, together, right? You take your supplements and she does as well. It's kind of nice.

HansShe's seen me take supplements for so long. And, you know, we just started introducing VitaDog a couple of months ago. So now it's like we're on the same. She's like, oh, cool. I get my vitamins now too. I mean, like I said, she thinks the world revolves around her anyways. Every time we get a package, nine out of 10 times they're for her anyways. So if I open a package, she thinks it's hers. If I open vitamins, she thinks it's hers. So now she knows like VitaDog is all hers. Crazy dog.

Cameron MainYou struggled a lot with health issues and I know that you had certainly a lot of recovery after what happened in Vegas with you. How has Lulu been just an amazing important character in your life after all that?

HansSo important. And just to piggyback to kind of introduce what we're talking about. So I guess it was over eight years ago now. I was at Route 91, which was the mass shooting in Las Vegas, which obviously was a horrible incident. And my heart still breaks every day for the 58 people that did not survive. And fortunately, most of the people I know that were shot, they did survive, most of them. But just a tragic incident. To begin with but being there and experiencing that my body went into full fight or flight and when you go into fight or flight the first thing that kind of stops because your body needs all the energy it can produce is your GI system and so I started feeling really sick that night the next day the next week the next month after dozens of tests, so many different doctors. It turns out because of the trauma from that night, I ended up getting a couple of conditions. So I have SIBO, I have SIFO, and I also have mast cell activation syndrome, all a bunch of different health stuff going on. And so on top of that, like my mental health started to struggle as well. And it's really hard because I've always been such a positive person to begin with. And people have always kind of looked to me for optimism and positivity and, you know, being able to survive something like that. It's like, you feel like you get a second chance at life. And so you don't want to take any day for granted. And that's all great. And that is how I feel a lot of the time. There's the other side of it where you might have survivor's guilt or you might just have really tough days. So having Lulu has been so helpful. Like not only is she my pet, she's my service dog. She's gone to festivals with me. I have to get blood taken at least once a month to track everything. We just went two days ago. She's sitting there by my side with her paw on my lap as I'm giving blood. So she's been instrumental in kind of my journey moving on past that. And I'm super thankful for her.

Cameron MainThat's absolutely amazing. We still think that you're absolutely just as inspirational today.

HansI appreciate it. I'm just trying to get by day by day, if I'm being honest, but I appreciate that.

Cameron MainNo, you guys are absolutely unbelievable. And you are so positive every time we see you. And that's one of the things that we love so much about you guys and why we're so connected to you with our brand.

HansYeah I really appreciate that I feel like it's my duty to be positive like I said I have so much to be thankful and grateful for and like life could always be better but life could also always be worth worse and that's why I try to lead with kindness and do whatever I can so for example yesterday was thanksgiving so I went at five in the morning and went and helped volunteer for a few hours handing out meals and socks and shoes for the homeless just volunteering has always been a big part of my life and being philanthropic and so trying to spread positivity and kindness but also being able to say to my following and to my loved ones like it's okay to not be okay like I used to always think I had to be like 100 100 of the time and I've learned that that's just not how life is like we go through peaks and valleys and sometimes we're happier than other times and sometimes we have to push a little bit harder but again I don't know but I would be where I am as happy as I am today without Lulu. Like even if she's a pain in the butt, sometimes she's brought my joy so much, like she's brought so much joy to my life and her happiness is truly contagious. And like seeing how she makes dozens of people smile every single day, like that also makes me happy, you know?

Chris NobleSounds like you've, I mean, you've obviously learned a lot in life and you've had a lot of life experiences. What kind of things has Lulu taught you since she came into your life?

HansWe'll start with patience she's taught me patience because as amazing of a dog as she is as happy and sweet as she is she's super high energy and so having a super high energy puppy that was also sick all the time I'm talking about vomiting bloody diarrhea like 10 to 15 times a day and I just it was just so much so she taught me patience and she's also taught me that like even when you're struggling or when you're not at your best you can still be happy and like just live life to the to your full ability I guess I would say because even when she was so sick like you could tell she was sick she was still so sweet and so happy and she didn't let it like bring her down so that might be kind of a funny parallel because dogs are different than people but like I kind of internalized that I was like look I wake up every day with a headache and with a swollen stomach and feeling nauseous, but like I still get to live in beautiful Los Angeles. I still get to go play volleyball. I get to hike with my dog, like all these amazing things. So I'm able to like find that inner peace and like truly enjoy things where for a time, especially before having her, I don't know that I was able to fully enjoy things as much as I am now and like just be fully present.

Cameron MainVitaDog for you is obviously very important because of health. I mean, when it comes to nutrition, when it comes to Lulu, what do you recommend to, I guess, dog owners all over the world? What can they do better? How would you tell them to live their best life with their dog?

HansWell it's easy get vitadog I feel like it's that simple I mean for me personally again I know lulu's an outlier because she's not eating like fruits and vegetables as treats and she's not getting all of these other foods that a lot of dogs can have because she is so food sensitive hence why she's on the hydrolyzed protein so vitadog is able to provide her like the supplements and the vitamins that she otherwise wouldn't be getting You guys know better than me. I'm not an expert at this, but I imagine even dogs that are getting treats and snacks, a lot of times it's like pup cups or like sugary things that aren't the best. And then even the dog owners that are able to give their dogs like blueberries and things, I'm sure that's helpful, but I don't know that that's as much of like what is packed and by the dog. So I feel like this is like the full package, right?

Cameron MainI guess the big problem with it is with all the different kinds of food, whether you're buying farmer's dog or raw or even sort of kibble, you're facing a lot of gaps. It doesn't matter what diet it is. So what this is doing is you're able to fill the gaps with VitaDog.

HansYep. That makes perfect sense. Yeah. We're super thankful for it. I tell all my friends who have dogs, you need to get VitaDog. And a few of them have tried it and their dogs ate it right up just like Lulu does. I always joke that it's like her special peanut butter because it kind of has that peanut butter smell. But yeah, I think it's amazing. You love VitaDog, huh? Come say hi. Come hang out with me.

Cameron MainWhat does it mean for you to partner with VitaDog?

HansIt means a lot. I mean, so us being influencers, we get offers to partner all the time. And while we wish, well, part of us wishes we could partner with every brand, like we're super selective in who we partner with because it needs to make sense for us. But again, why we're so happy to be partners of VitaDog is because this is exactly what Lulu needs. Even though I have her on her hydrolyzed protein diet, I get her groomed once a month. I take such good care of her. I do like everything that I can. I control the controllables. As I say, that's like a big motto on my life and her life. Like I can only do so much. And VitaDog is filling that gap that I feel like she was lacking in her nutrition. So I feel like with VitaDog, that just keeps her that much healthier and stronger and more energetic. So yeah, we're so happy to be partners with you guys. We love VitaDog, huh bro?

Cameron MainYou're very keen when it comes to nutrition about being proactive rather than reactive. You like to plan ahead and try and, I guess, stop things before problems actually start.

HansLulu just wants to know what does keen mean? Just kidding. Yeah. We, I feel like we, I have to be proactive, especially with all the struggles that I face as well as she does. I know a lot of people are reactive and I wish I could be more reactive, but when you have three serious health conditions and you have a dog that has two serious health conditions, like you can't really rely on being reactive. You have to be as proactive as possible. And even so it's a lot, you know?

Chris NobleAnd you've got quite a big platform. And I feel like when I view your content, I see a lot of, I guess, positivity. You're outdoors all the time. You're very active. What kind of message are you trying to give?

HansSo I'm glad that you said that because, yes, my platform is like... Screams positivity most of the time, but it's all very organic and true to who myself and Lulu is. I don't ever want people to think we're like faking anything. So I have been vocal on my Instagram, for example, like when I'm going through a tough time and Movember is a company that I work for. I'm currently actually on medical disability because of all my health issues. But Movember is the world's number one leading charity for men's health. So we focus on mental health and suicide prevention, as well as prostate cancer and testicular cancer. I've been a volunteer for Movember for over five years and then I joined them full time. I took a massive pay cut, left a very lucrative tech sales career where I was not happy. I was making rich people so much richer and the environment just wasn't great. And I took a huge pay cut to go to a nonprofit and I felt so good about the work I was doing. Again, I still love Movember. Unfortunately, I'm on a pause right now just because my health issues have kind of taken a toll. But what I'm getting at is I also think it's important to share our struggles so that people know they're not alone. I get dozens of DMs from people saying like, I love your positive message. Like because of you, it's inspired me to do this, that, and the other. And like, while that's incredible and like, it really warms my heart. I also get messages from people like, thank you so much for being vulnerable, especially as a man. I feel like a lot of times men feel like we have to put on a brave front and not be vulnerable. But whenever I'm going through something, I make sure to share it. Like even yesterday, like last night, I decided to skip Thanksgiving with my family just because I didn't want to. It was at a family friend's house. I didn't want to deal with talking about how I can't eat any of the food and all my health issues. But I volunteered all morning, like serving food to homeless. And so it's kind of a heavy day yesterday. And so I went to bed kind of with a heavy heart. But it reminded me, like I said earlier, like. Life could always be better, but it can always be worse. And you don't know what anybody's going through. So that's why I think it's so important to leave, to lead with kindness and positivity and optimism, but at the same time, not being like optimistic, like so optimistic that it's not true and genuine. So it's like, I talked about it earlier in this podcast. It's important to highlight the peaks and the valleys. Like life is all about the ups and downs. And some days I'm having great days and other days sometimes my flare-ups affect me so much not only physically but mentally and I don't even want to get out of bed but because I have lulu I have her there smiling at me every morning I have to take her for a walk I have to take her out to play so like lulu encourages me to live the act active healthy lifestyle that I want to live because it wasn't for her I think some days I just might not even leave the house like that's how hard it can be just because of how I feel physically but I can't do that because I have a super active dog I have to take care of

Chris NobleAwesome, dude. I was just going to say next year I want a stronger mustache game.

HansI know. Well, this year I didn't do the mustache because, again, kind of being on a pause, I kind of took this year off of it. But, yeah, every other November. So, yeah, next November we'll be back. I actually grow quite a quite an impressive mustache. The only funny thing is it's a little bit like blonde, but it's like super. Yeah, I'll show you pictures. But yeah,

Cameron MainWe got to see this.

HansWe'll revisit. We'll do another podcast next November. Maybe we can highlight and talk about November a little bit more. Maybe even do like we can even do a fundraising team with VitaDog maybe.

Cameron MainAbsolutely.

HansI always do. I didn't do one this year because I said I'm on pause. But last year I did a big volleyball event around it. So, yeah, I'm a super big supporter, whether I'm working for the company or just volunteering.

Cameron MainSo before we leave you, is there anything else that you'd like to share with your followers and with the people out there?

HansI mean, I think I would just like to say, like, thank you so much for following along Lulu's and mine journey. I mean, you never know what you're going to get. It might be a shirtless thirst trap of me in the gym, or it might be Lulu swimming in a pool. It might be us hiking. It might be her eating by the dog. Like, we just try to share our life and be very organic and real and just like a guy and his dog. Doing the best we can to live a great, healthy, fun, active, adventurous life. So I just want to say thank you for those that do support us. You know, like our following has grown organically over time and it's cool to know that people are interested in what we're doing and that we're helping to inspire people. But I don't really look at it as like the masses, like a hundred thousand or this or that. Like if there's one or two people that truly are impacted positively from us and what we're doing and what we're sharing, then that makes it all worth it to me. And then I get to meet amazing brands like VitaDog and which is an added bonus. So yeah, I guess I would just like to say thank you and keep following along for more silly, fun adventures.

Cameron MainAmazing. LA loves you. VitaDog loves you.

HansWe love you guys

Cameron MainThank you so much for joining us today. It's been amazing. Awesome. Thank you guys.

Transcript edited lightly for readability. Timestamps and captions will follow with the video release.