Raw Diet for Dogs: The Trainer Who Left PlayStation to Feed Dogs Right

Chris NobleWho's gonna sing first?

Cameron MainWe're gonna do the thing again.

Chris NobleOh, you win.

Cameron MainThis happened nine times in a row. Believe it or not. So David, thank you very much for welcoming us today on your facility. It's been really cool to spend some time with you to see some of the dogs, even some celebrity dogs, even if we can't say some names, but it's been pretty incredible being here. So thank you for having us.

DavidNo, I appreciate the feeling is mutual and I appreciate it and appreciate the opportunities. And I think this alignment can be a great, great partnership moving forward.

Chris NobleI think so, too. Yeah. Before we get started, I'd love it if you could tell us who you are and what RFRD is.

DavidSo my name is David Tran. I'm the co-founder of RFRD. It was a company that was started based on my love for dogs, right? I always tell people all the time, it's kind of a running joke in the family to where it's, I never wanted to grow up to be Dr. Doodle Little, right? I just always was infatuated, like, you know, like I always wanted to be around animals, but just... To take care of them, but never professionally or career minded. And the fact that it kind of came full circle to what we're and what I'm capable of doing now and working with dogs. So this capacity has been nothing but short of amazing. So, you know, um, and then going through, I think the pandemic kind of changed a lot of, um, uh, the thinking uh prior to that I was actually in the corporate world for about 14 years uh working with uh playstation um and so I've always thought like when I had the opportunity to be a part of playstation that that was the company that I was gonna retire with and and you couldn't get me away from it until you fired me or I died with it right that was every kid's dream and I got to live the kids dream um but the pandemic happened 2020 and a lot of that kind of shifted um and that's where I decided to take a leap of faith the opposite direction and uh excuse my language but I decided to pick up poop for the rest of my life full time So that's how, you know, fast forward how I got here. And like, you know, it's the last six years have been an amazing journey. And throughout, we've been able to adapt. It started off with the love for nutrition when it came to my English Bulldog, Chuck. Um you know in college he was the first bulldog that um I've and and I'm gonna get a lot of people that are gonna bat an eye and make some smirks but he was one of the first dogs that I've researched for through a breeder um Because I've always had wanted a bulldog after watching Robin Big on MTV and fell in love with the breed in that sense. And I did my research for a while, worked up and saved enough money thinking that I'm going to make the right decision in purchasing from a great breeder. Unfortunately, I ended up with a dog that was broken. So the first year of Chuck's life was extremely hard. We went through a lot of different elements of what he went through in terms of the first eight weeks when he arrived. He caught pneumonia, which we thought was parvo. So spent thousands of dollars just trying to keep him alive. After that whole ordeal... I thought that I got him the best food that I can possibly get. Back at that time was echinuba, lamb and rice to be exact. And I was like, this is going to be great. And then we started having allergies. And then went back in and out of the vet's office for the first six months. Nothing we tried was ever enough to be able to alleviate the symptoms that he had from the licking paws and the yeasty ears. And so I almost kind of gave up hope because at that time I had to pick up an extra job, had to take out care credit to be able to... Kind of manage his symptoms and keep him happy and healthy. At that point, it just looked to me like he was just completely miserable, right? One day, we went out to Capitola, Santa Cruz. We were at the beach at Seacliff. I came across a doctor named Dr. Green. Um that had a bulldog and he came up to me and we engaged in some conversation and that's when he started talking about raw and more of a holistic approach at that point in time I felt like I tried everything and my girlfriend at the time sorry lee hang but my girlfriend at the time um was looking at me like I'm crazy. Cause she's like, you're just going to get suckered and you're going to pay hundreds and thousand dollars for this consult. And we're probably not going to have anything like, you know, if the vets can't figure her out, what makes you think that he can, but I was at my limits and I decided to give that opportunity. And that's where my whole eyes opened up to nutrition. With us starting raw, Chuck and I, and having him on it, I saw immediate changes within the first month. And that led to the second month. And that led to the third and fourth and fifth month. And by the time he turned a year, a lot of those issues that we were dealing with, with no medication at all... Went away on its own. He ended up living to be about 14 years old, the longest living out of his entire litter. From there, once I made my commitment to raw, I never looked back.

Chris NobleWhat is raw feeding?

DavidRaw feeding is just a healthier way of feeding our dogs to the best of our ability to be able not to resolve a certain issue, but to really just give it more of a chance to be healthier, absorb more, right? I know that raw feeding now, you see it everywhere on the shelves, but 10 years ago, there wasn't a lot of options that were out there and people were scared of it. But like, you know, from scientific notions to personal opinions, for my opinion, raw feeding is just a different option that we can give our dogs if we have the means to, to be able to give them a healthier lifestyle.

Cameron MainAnd I actually remember the very first time that we spoke about raw. You had a very different attitude to the one that many people adopt. And it wasn't saying you must feed raw. Raw is the only diet that can work for you. You straight away said raw works for me and it works for my dog. But that doesn't mean to say that it works for every dog. And I think that's quite a healthy attitude to have. And it's basically trialing an error a little bit and seeing how it can fit into your diet, right?

DavidAbsolutely. And I say that just because we deal with clients from all over, whether it's from training to nutrition aspects to feeding. And my thing is we try the best, just like with human parents, we try the best that we can for our kids. Um, and it's, it would be unwise for me to say that if you can't feed raw, then shame on you, right? That's not the proper attitude because of the fact that some dogs do benefit well on raw. Some dogs don't transition well, and we don't all have the answers to it unless we go about it and try it. Is raw the end all be all for me? That's just a personal opinion that it works for me. And I have the means to be able to give the dogs a lifestyle of being able to do that. But does that mean that somebody that can't financially afford raw take away from the overall health or managing it to the best ability, best to the best of their ability, if they didn't feed raw, there's a lot of other options out there, right? There's a lot of other things that we can include into the diet that can have balance. If we take the time and the approach to it to be able to figure out what the underlying issues are. Is it environmental stressors? Is it behavioral stressors? Is it a lack of nutrients and supplements? Are the dogs not absorbing certain things from certain types of dog food that they wouldn't get from other types of dog food, raw, fresh, or kibble? And that's where it's like, you know, with the openness of that, we're able to learn more about the dog's personal circumstances to be able to translate it on how we can help them. It's almost like, you know... Like, say, for humans, for me, for right now, right, I have arthritis in my joints. I have to stay away from red meat, right? But without having red meat, am I losing the nutrient contents? No. I could get it through vitamin supplements, right? We just have to figure it out. And that's where it's like, you know, I'm not here to say, hey, all raw or nothing. It's more of how can we help your dog? What can we do to make it and inspire you to be able to continue having your best friend with you for the longest possible duration in their lifetime as us? It's a selfish need from our standpoint because their life expectancy is a lot shorter than ours. Yeah.

Cameron MainAnd so you said you started this about 10 years ago now can you tell us a little bit maybe how the landscape has changed since then because there have been a lot of horror stories with this people not doing it properly you have your own raw as well now so maybe you can tell us a bit about how everything has evolved and why you do it right as well

DavidSo when I first started raw, there wasn't a lot of options out there because it wasn't veterinary and science backed, meaning that every time we would go out and feed raw, you take it to your veterinarians and they're making you feel like you're doing everything wrong you're breaking all the laws and you're going to harm your dog and you're going to harm yourself and it's going to do all this other stuff right that is a lot more negative because it wasn't a lack of education it was just this wasn't what we do this is the dog food and this is what you're supposed to feed you shouldn't feed anything else because now you're affecting the whole landscape of the monetary values of everything to where everybody invested in the back end. Right. And that's where it's if you speed forward now, like the more the dogs that have been a part of our lifestyles, the more we treat them more like human beings. And so we want something better. Right. It's almost like you hear it all the time. You wouldn't feed your child and you wouldn't eat chicken nuggets and McDonald's for the rest of your life. You mix that in sometimes you eat healthy when you need to eat healthy sometimes you splurge right and that's how the landscape has changed as more people started owning dogs more knowledge starts to come out more experiences personally when it comes and it is related to health right um starts to affect how we view our pets um and that's where it's like one Going to the vet for most family households is a financial burden because the average ticket, I don't know what it costs anywhere else, but I know here in California, the average ticket of going to the vet is an average of $500. That's just for a checkup and vaccinations, right? You have to do your vaccination sometimes once a year, but now they're having you do it once a year. Almost every six months that's a thousand dollars going to vet care

Cameron MainJust to begin with

DavidJust to begin with and so when you look at that aspect a lot aspect of the financial side of things people start to kind of think outside of the box because they can't afford it What else can I do more holistically? What else can I dab into that's going to be able to give my dogs the opportunity to live longer with less visits to the vet, right? And that's where it's like now, like within the last five years, you see a lot more options when it comes to not just raw food, but fresh food. And when you go to the vets now, they're a lot more open to it because now the monetary value starts to change, right?

Cameron MainI guess you're looking then at something which sort of with a face value looks expensive, but when you actually start viewing the price of these vet visits, it's starting to look more like an investment in your dog's future.

DavidAbsolutely. And you don't have to make it... Inexpensive ordeal or overly complicated. You just have to break it down to what makes the most sense, right? When you go in the do-it-yourself approach, and if you have the time and ability to, you're looking at spending $1.50 almost essentially with the breakdown of the mix that you make, probably $1.50 to $2.50 a pound. Right versus to where the convenience of having it pre-packaged is going to be a lot more expensive but even at the most expensive pre-package it's a lot cheaper than your annual vet visits that could happen

Cameron MainTo give a little bit of perspective like maybe a medium dog like a labrador retriever what kind of price are we looking at for about a month for a raw

DavidSo on average, I know that we always talk, scientifically, we talk about percentages that the dogs need to eat. Every dog is different, right? But on average, you get like a 60-pound dog. We're looking at about two pounds a day. That breaks down to about... 14 to 15 dollars a day of feeding depending on what protein profiles that you kind of add into it versus like from beef to chicken to turkey or the type of quality of meat that you select right obviously free range organic and and all that's going to be a lot more uh costly but you're looking at about 60 pounds two pounds or 60 pound dog two pounds a day um at the end of the month you're looking in between 240 to 320 a month right over the course of the dog's lifetime versus the amount of money that gets compiled up like say you have a dog that's suffering from uh food allergies You're seeking out a dermatologist. You're doing an allergy panel. And you're going in every month for your cytopoint injections, which is about $180, right, depending on the weight of your dog. And then all the antibiotics and the added vet visits every time they have a flare-up. So you can actually be spending close to about, indirectly if you don't think about it, close to $700, $800 a month on vet visits throughout the entire year, right? Because I guarantee you, with a dog that has allergies like myself, I was going into the vet almost every month.

Cameron MainAnd that's crazy because one thing that we never ever do is think, shall we go to the vet? Is it too expensive? We systematically go because we love our dogs and we care. So that price is almost disregarded. However, when we're looking at foods or supplements, that's a price which is a little bit often maybe thought about too much. Whereas these vet visits possibly could be prevented from just taking a more proactive approach.

DavidAbsolutely. We have a lot of clients that board with us that are on Apoquil and some of these other type of medications to help alleviate, and they say it all the time. Like, this is expensive. It costs us about $180 to $200 a month, right? And with that simple change of dietary nutrition, it's one of those where you're going to have to feed your dogs anyways, right? And if you can feed your dogs and keep them healthy, then you don't have to spend those extra... Um you know financials or funding into the vets right like for clients that still feed their dogs a poor diet um an unbalanced diet they're still going to the vets every month with just some slight adjustments and really just figuring out what the missing components are we can save that money to where now you can invest it into the things that you want to do with your dogs right

Cameron MainAnd I think that was probably the first thing that we discussed and potentially why you were so excited about partnering with VitaDog because you really were able to see that this complements the raw diet so well because whatever is maybe missing out of these raw meals, you're able to top up with on VitaDog.

DavidAbsolutely. No. And that's the one thing that I love about the product is that it's all in one, super simple. You make it into a liquid version to where it's almost like a gravy for the dogs. So dogs that hate the supplemental vitamin pills that has a distaste to it, they're the ones that are still being able to have that appetite and go for it. But basically what it is is like even if you do it yourself at home our raw that we provide pre-packaged is very simple right us as human beings we can't help ourselves but to add more things into it and as we're going back to talk about like how raw feeding has changed over the course of the last 10 years It's very influential now, right? We're matching up the raw feeding with what is good for human beings when it comes to raw feeding. So the TikTok videos, the Instagrams make all these bowls like super pretty, right? You got to go out there and get the blueberries and get the eggs and get the raspberries and strawberries and the cauliflower and the broccoli and the carrots. And you got to have a balanced meal every single meal, right? But the thing is, who has the time to be able to go do that? The fact that you're able to mix, shake it, put the liquid supplements in there, add it into the food, and know that your dog has a wholesome, balanced nutrient profile that goes in, then it just makes you feel better that you checked off all your boxes. Right? Versus, oh my gosh, I forgot the fish oil, or oh my gosh, I forgot the omega-3s, or oh my gosh, like, you know, I don't have carrots today and I got to go run out and get carrots. When you could simply have all the natural products all within one blend to add into the food, it makes a world of difference, right? And the beauty is you don't always have to do it and pair it up with raw. And that's why I love VitaDog so much is a lot of our clients that come in our boarding facility and our training, they all eat different things, right? And I'm not one to judge, I'm here to help. And if I could find a product that can aid in their dog's overall well-being, that's something that I'm going to back up 100%.

Chris NobleAnd we know that all diets have a gap in nutrients, right?

DavidAbsolutely. Absolutely. And that's where it's like, you know, our dogs can only absorb so much. And that's where it's like you talk about bringing it all the way back to raw. You talk about like species appropriate and why it's so good and why the poops are so small is because they absorb all the nutrient profiles going in. Right. But if you think about like, you know, when it goes to, for example, when it goes to medicating a dog, um, Daniel and I had a conversation about this not too long ago. Um, when you're given a dog, a sedative, sometimes imagine if a human, a grown human being that is 180 pounds taking three ACE permithazine pills, what would it do to them? Not good, but on the dosage for certain dogs at 60 pounds you're taking three of them to sedate them right so now you start to kind of go back into the nutrient profiles are they really breaking down a lot of things that are going in or is their body understanding that it's just waste so you have to give a lot of it right and sometimes when you're adding your own type of supplements in there are you really adding the right type of supplement that's going to be able to be absorbed into the dog's natural digestive system right to get the most out of their nutrient absorption and the answer is no so you know with the ingredients that you guys have in your guys's product makes all the world of difference right it's a lot easier for the dogs to break down a lot more effective and efficient for the dogs to be able to reabsorb it back into their system to make them overall healthier. So it doesn't really matter what you choose to feed. It's what you add in that's going to make the biggest difference. It's going to help carry it over.

Chris NobleYeah, it's one of the biggest things that we considered when formulating. I mean, there's so much on the market and there's so many different products with a lot of overlap as well. We thought we know you've got everything in here and it's being formulated in a way that increases absorption. So we have the omegas and the oil separate, but we've also got vitamin E in here, which helps the body absorb the omegas better because without the vitamin E, you don't get the maximum efficiency. And a lot of products don't have that.

DavidExactly. So that's where it's like, you know, when it comes to diet, it can get very complicated. But if we get just a little bit more educated and we understand what goes into the dog's diet to help break it down, then it's not as complicated and as scary as everybody thinks that it should be. And that's where it's like, you know, with having products that is going to be able to help the fresh food and the raw food and the kibble to help balance it out to give it the proper nutritional balance for the dogs. It makes it a whole lot easier for the consumers at home or the pet parents at home to be able to. Kind of dive into other avenues of feeding that is not known to them. Right. So

Chris NobleDavid is scary as hell. I mean, you go on one supplement website and there's a hundred products and another one, you've got so many supplements out there with all these products and then you type in raw on Google and you've got why you absolutely must feed drawer, why you should never feed drawer, how dangerous it is or how great it is. Same with kibble, same with fresh. I mean, it's terrifying. That's why we love what you do. You're someone in the community that has this or multiple training facilities and the raw food business on the side. And you're someone that they can go to advice for. And you give a really balanced opinion, which is amazing.

DavidNo I appreciate that no and and like you know through everything one of our core mottos is to be able to address the awkward turtle in the room and be truthful and transparent right we can't help you whether it's through nutrition through dog training through our care services for dogs if we can't be honest with you and sometimes honesty is is a huge awkward turtle in the room because nobody likes to address it because It's one of those to where it's like, you know, it's a big shocker. But once you put it in perspective and we understand that, you know, your feelings may feel a certain way, but our best interest is with your pet, selfishly, just because if you think about it, the longer we have them, the better people we are, right? The 15, 20 minutes out of the day, and sometimes the day is great and sometimes the day is completely, excuse my French, shit, right? We oftentimes don't know how to decompress. What our pets and what my dogs do for me is to be able to wash everything away because for those 15 minutes, nothing else in the world matters besides me petting them. Playing with them, right? It's a true meaning of unconditional love. And if I can selfishly keep them alive for 14, 15, 18 years, that's 18 years that I can just be a better person, right? So, and that's where like, you know, why I have dedicated so much of the time to be able to be more of a, instead of a game changer in a way to where it's like, you have to do this. I want to be a listener so I can really just truly help.

Cameron MainThey do tremendous things for our mental health, really.

DavidOh, yeah, 100%. If you look at how society is now... Imagine if we didn't have that compassion when it comes to our pets and our dogs, right? It'd be in a lot worse state. And you look at the change simply of just being able to spend the 15, 20 minutes with them, just like with the dogs that we've showcased today. Right just them coming up to us kind of just made whatever we're going through for that minute or two of just petting them kind of just falter away like just being in all of that and just thinking just about like wow like what a magnificent like dog or or how can I instead of like you know how can I pay my rent or get this done or get that it's almost like how can I make this dog trust me How can I make this dog, right? All the attention and focus goes to them. And that, at the end of the day, if we can just reach that one little bit of that milestone to get there, each day will get even better, and the dogs are better for it, right? But that's the true... Definition of RFRD is being able to not just build a brand, but build a community that shares the same values, that shares the same type of mission to where it's like, you know, coming together and really like whether you're... Feeding raw or you're not, there's always something there for you. We're here to help advocate for that. You're not alone in what you're going through, whether it's like, you know, when it comes to training methods, right? A lot of people feel off-center to where it's like, well, if I go there, then they're going to force me to do this. Or if I go there, they're going to judge me on doing this. We're here just to help. We're here to listen and we're here to figure out a way for you to enjoy and make the most of your time with your pets.

Cameron MainAnd you said this many times, there's no real like one size fits all for training. And maybe part of it's because it'll help with a raw diet or you'll just maybe feel confident that it's going to be good for every single dog that you recommend it to. But I guess, why do you recommend VitaDog to everyone? Because you wouldn't recommend every training solution to one dog.

DavidVitaDog, I would recommend, and this was what, for me personally, what makes VitaDog very unique. It's a neutral product, right? Meaning that like, yeah, like, you know, I won't recommend and we won't recommend every different type of training method to a lot of different dogs because they have different situations. VitaDog is different in a sense to where whether you're here for training, whether you're here for nutrition, it's a neutral product that can only elevate your dog's health and overall well-being. A healthy dog is a happy dog, right? And that's where it's like sometimes... Dogs behaviorally aren't happy because they're not healthy, right? And sometimes dogs that are not healthy aren't behaviorally sound in terms of, like, making them feel good. Like, we, like, you know, Daniel and I have, and Daniel's my lead trainer and a best friend of mine, and we've been doing this together for... You know five years now um and we have many conversations of like what like constitute good versus bad and versus neutral right and every dog comes from a different family that has a different option a different version of how they love their dogs and the reason why I love vitadog so much is it's not anywhere to where it's like hey I'm going to choose this approach or that approach it doesn't matter what approach you choose I'm here to elevate your dog's lifestyle in many different ways just to have them and guarantee that they get all the proper nutrients that they get, whether you go raw, fresh, kibble, whether it's created from behavior, right, to created through a lot of other different things that can change the psychological aspect of how the dog is. Our true essence is at the end of the day, we just want our dogs happy. And if they're happier, they're healthier, right? In a training instance, we sometimes take behavioral dogs that are reactive or deem reactive. We also work with a lot of outreach and a lot of rescues. And they get overlooked sometimes in the shelters because there's not a good read. They don't have the time and attention to kind of pay attention to what's going on with a dog physically, nutritionally, and mentally, right? And so when we're taking these dogs in and we're reading their profile... These dogs are aggressive or reactive. They have bite cases, but sometimes switching the diets to making them feel better, right? Changes the whole outlook and attitude of a dog. Sometimes we see because we get to know them. We get to be a little bit more physical in a way to where they're a lot more comfortable as touching their ears their paws their hips their chest their backside we see where they're most sensitive at sometimes that sensitivity is leading from some sort of missing ailment somewhere due to supplementation right dogs that are older can't withstand the cold because of their arthritis so they need a little bit more of a um to get them through if we find that right balance it might not be anything related to behavior it had might be more related to health right and that's where your product that comes in to where it's like it doesn't matter when you're taking a training approach you're taking a daycare approach or you're taking a whole health nutritional approach it's a neutral product that can help through and through and that's why we love it so much

Cameron MainAnd sometimes okay you have you come you have dogs that come in and they're they're maybe not on vita dog can you tell um if they're maybe lacking in nutrients or um is there a way that you're able to tell if there's something not right in their diets

DavidAbsolutely. Sometimes the signs are there and the dogs cope. Their eyes are a little bit more gloomy, right? They're more clouded. Their energy levels, right? It's like us, when we eat a lot of food that has a lot of byproducts in there, almost like for me, my sensitivity is MSG. And culturally, that's in a lot of the broth that we use when we're making our soups. Every time I have that and I know that the MSG is in there, my eyes get heavy and I get tired and I don't want to do anything. And all I want to do is take a nap, right? You can tell that right off the bat when the dogs that come in. Um and that's where it's like you know I always like to take the honest approach first to where it's if the dog is coming in for a nutritional consult great that's something that I could talk about a change of diet and change of adding in the supplement and adding everything else in there but our approach is more so let us focus on the things that your dog is here first and then I'll make these side notes and then when the time is right that's when we'll share them with you. And then we'll give our opinions of being able to see what we can do to aid in the response of getting your dog healthier and get your dog more alert and get your dog more energetic, get your dog more engaged, right? And that's where it's like, you know, it makes all the difference in the world. Instead of pushing the product of like, hey, this is what you have to do because you're with me and this is what we're in line to, just like with training, you have to use certain types of tools if you're going to want to train here or else you're going to have to sign a contract saying that everything is void. I don't feel like VitaDog is that type of product. I feel like VitaDog is more of a product to where we can ease in to where it's like, oh, like, you know, your dog is getting... Your dog is overall healthy, but I think I have something that can benefit it as it's growing, as it's getting older. Oh, your dog has a little bit of sensitivity, right? The bowel movements, I don't think it's anything related to behavioral. I think it has something to do with an unbalanced diet. This is something that we think that you should try to add in to help balance it out. And that's where the beauty of the product in itself is being able to offer it at the pace of the pet owners and not really forcing them to really just like, oh, I have to get this or else it's gone away. It's more of this is something that's going to be able to help you through for the rest of your dog's life. Right? Versus, it can fix your dog in two weeks, right? It can take away this pain just like how Advil does. This is something that over the course of time it's going to just make your dog healthier.

Cameron MainIt's a long game, right?

DavidIt's a long game.

Cameron MainAnd we've had so many people tell us, and it's really funny, almost at various certain steps that maybe they'll have itching that stops after a few weeks and then two weeks later they'll see a different improvement. And this is again is just a little bit testament to consistency and what and how important that is with the dog's diet it's not just a click your fingers and everything changes within two or three days this is really a long approach which should be kept for many many years hopefully all of them over that dog's life and hopefully it's a long one

DavidAbsolutely. No, and we see a lot of changes, you know, just going back to raw, it's the same thing. Like a lot of times, like, you know, the fad that gets people into raw, it's not because they believe in the overall value of what raw can do over time. It's more of like, my dog has these issues. I heard that it can fix this, right? And for me, when I talk to clients about VitaDog, I tell them it's not something that's going to fix right that leak that's happening right away but overall over the course of time the consistency of it and the belief in the ingredients and the products that you guys honestly put in to it well eventually over time you'll start to kind of see wow like you know this winter right the dog's a lot more active it's a lot more happier versus last winter when didn't want to really get up much when the temperature dropped by 10 degrees. Or you can sit back in spring and watch your dog run in the backyard and all of a sudden the sun hits the coat a certain way and you're just like... I haven't given her a bath in two months. Look at her coat. It's thriving, right? And that's the beauty of VitaDog. Like you said, it's the long game. And that's something that we, you know, from the first conversation that we had on the FaceTime call... And and my own personal research on it that's what made me fell in love right with a product that I barely even knew that after speaking with you and and understanding the sincerity and and the the organic and the grassroots movement of what you guys are trying to do It inspires me to be able to want to promote a product that's great, you know, that I believe is a lot different than any of the others on the shelves now.

Cameron MainWe really appreciate you saying that and your belief in it, especially because you told us you've been approached by so many other brands who have tried to work with you and you just didn't really believe in their philosophy and what they were pushing.

DavidYeah, no, and it's hard, right? Because the health of our dogs is like, you know, 20 years ago, it may have not mattered as much, but we're talking current day and our dogs are like our children and we want the best for them. And like for me, and I'm sure that each and every single person would agree, we want the best for our kids. And now our kids are our dogs.

Cameron MainEspecially here in the Bay Area. I think there's more. Did I hear that there are more dogs than children now?

DavidThere are more dogs than children. You know, I think I'm the youngest out of my core friend group in terms of like, you know, just my personal core friends group. I think I'm the only one that has a good balance between children and dogs, right? More dogs, less children. But with friends that are a little younger than me and with the team members here, they have more dogs than they would children. And they wouldn't even think about having kids now. They want to have dogs, right? And that's where it's like, you know, for us and the next generation coming out, You know, I always tell people the way I grew up with dogs is so much different than the way my kids are growing up with dogs now, right? There's so much more involved in our lives and in our society, and there's so much more welcomed no matter where we go. And that, like, you know, we talk about universal language. Animals, especially dogs, are just one of them. It's just the way that they emote with us, right? It makes a huge difference.

Chris NobleIt really feels like we're on the cusp of a big change. I mean, we know if we look at 100 or 150 years ago, dogs weren't even pets. And they went through this evolution of moving to the backyard, then maybe to the kitchen, then the house, and then into the owner's bed. But I think we're on the cusp of a new generation of the way that people look at dogs. And I think the rate of people getting dogs is higher than the birth rate, certainly in California. How do you approach that? Because you're quite a big figure in the community. And I guess a lot of people look at you for advice and you really need to be up to speed on everything that's going on. That must be tough.

DavidIt is. You know, a lot of the times if you follow us on social, you'll see that the posts sometimes come in at like 1, 2, 3 o'clock in the morning. That's when the rest of the world sleeps and I get some personal time to be able to, you know, do the things that we need to do to showcase it on socials, right? But when it comes to being able to work with our community's dogs, it's a huge responsibility because they're not just dogs anymore. They're kids. You know, we try to give updates when the dogs are in our care. We try to give updates almost every single day. We try to be able to be as responsive because we know that the dogs can't talk back, right? The only way that they can is if we advocate enough for them, especially with their pet owners being away for so long, is to be able to give that sense of connection, that sense of transparency and communication. And that's what we hold near and dear to us to where we don't always put pressure on when it comes down to training to where, hey, I'm forcing you to do this or I'm forcing you to do that. Our programs are more organically formed for the dogs that we have in front of us. Not because of one dog is reactive or aggressive. They get placed in certain categories. We always like to figure out why and always try to make it make sense for the families that we work with, right? Not every program fits for a lot of the dogs that sometimes come in for these cool marketing aspects of dog training to where it's like, oh, we heard you had a board and train program, for example, that is able to fix a dog in four weeks or 56 days or whatever it may be. Daniel and I are always telling our clients like, you know, there's in training, there's no guarantee. There's only accountability, meaning that we're going to be accountable for the things that we're going to help set and create a foundation for. But you have to bring that accountability that you're going to execute it on the back end. Right. And it's almost the same thing going back to nutrition. And VitaDog, like, we can tell you that this dog, the nutrient and the product is great, but you have to bring the commitment into being able to be consistent with it to be able to see the value of the product, right? And that's where it's like, you know, we don't take it lightly and we try to break the molds of a lot of negative connotation when it comes to boarding and training and everything else. Like, we want to run something that's more transparent so that the community can understand and be on the same page of what that mission truly is. It's just to be able to help, right? We're not like, you know, we tell people all the time that come in with their dogs to where it's like, oh, my quote unquote previous trainer told us that we can't have our dogs on the couch. The thing is, why not? Right. Like some like for people or humans, some households, you're OK to walk in with shoes and some you can't. There's nothing wrong with it. It's just a personal preference if it's not an issue. Right. But our goal in that sense is, do you want your dog on the couch? Yes, let us help you get to that goal versus no, you should never have your dog on the couch. Or the biggest issue when it comes to training any dog, the number one issue that we're always faced with, does my dog have to be in a crate? My short answer is no, it doesn't always have to be in a crate, but there's nothing also wrong with being in a crate, right? And we have to look to the things to where we might not ever come across in terms of being able to see it right there and then, but to set it up for the future successes of our dogs, just like how we set our kids up for success. And that's a huge responsibility and it takes a lot of work. And sometimes I think about more of the dog's wellbeing more than our own, right? Like you can catch me here when I got COVID, you'll catch me here when I can't, I lost my voice and you'll catch me here when I can't get out of bed or have a migraine, I'm still here, right? Just because of the fact that it's a responsibility, right? And and a lot of times it's funny we you know obviously we bore dogs over the holidays um the number one question that we get is oh I hope you guys enjoy your christmas well christmas is where we work right and then a lot of people are shocked to understand that you guys work on christmas and thanksgiving and new year's absolutely we're here with the dogs but believe it or not that's actually the most peaceful day to work why because nobody's asking us for updates and calling for sessions. We get to spend time honestly with the dogs, right? And that makes it all worthwhile.

Chris NobleYou mentioned at the start Chuck and his allergies.

DavidYeah, yeah.

Chris NobleAnd how there was one thing you said that you just saw he was really unhappy. And I feel like the biggest thing I've taken away from spending time with you and Daniel is the dog's happiness comes first. And that's what you build everything around. And I would love to hear more about... That perspective on training, nutrition, boarding and how you, how you came to that and how you keep that culture alive.

DavidSo like, you know, just, just like with, with, um, human beings, right? Like when we look at our kids and I'm sure, uh, like, you know, even with our parents, with us, um, they always considered our happiness, um, dogs can't really talk they can only show you right through their behavior and usually like the perfect story that you always see no matter what hollywood movie you watch is that every single dog in there is happy whether it's walking beside or seeking out a bomb that's happy, right? And that's where it's like, you know, when we're happy as human beings, we're just a lot more easier to be around. We accept a lot more. Even like through happiness, we become a lot more... Social, even if we're not social. Um, and that's where the context is. Like when we look at a dog and we talk about like training or boarding or relationships, um, usually between the trainer and the dog, there's no relationship just because everything is a deadline, right? I've got 12 days or eight sessions to prove that I'm a worthy trainer. Trainer because if I can't prove that to you then you're not gonna believe me and you're never gonna use utilize the services anymore at the end of the day we take our dogs to training for what to try to figure out a way to make them indirectly feel happier because when they feel happier they're not worried about all the scary stuff that's happening on the outside that's worried about being with us No matter where they're at, whether they're at home, right, in the backyard, in the front yard, at a coffee shop, at a park, in an airport, in a hotel room. So when you get a happy dog, there's just a lot more content. Whether it's through nutrition or through training, happiness is a true goal. It's because even if you tell your dogs to go do it, you're going to feel bad as a human being because we're very compassionate creatures. That even if you tell him to sit, if he looks like he's unhappy sitting, we're never going to tell him to sit ever again. Because why? Because he's unhappy. Right. And that's where it's like for us, our goal is how do we make your dog happy to sit so that you can be happy taking it out? So, you know, and that's like as simple as that sounds, it's actually really hard to achieve just because we're indirectly. Creating what we think is happiness unhappy we're making it a lot more complicated than what it really should be like oftentimes like you know when you see people often like from the outside in you watch them at the park and they're in a training session how unhappy does that look very unhappy because the sit becomes sit sit now I'm demanding you to sit oh my god he doesn't want to sit he doesn't listen to me I'm freaking out right Our goal is to be able to be like, oh, you don't got to yell at your dog to sit. Just tell him to sit. If he doesn't do it, just wait for him to do it and then reward him. And then you're going to see that if that makes you happy, you know what your dog is going to do? It's going to sit a lot more. So it's not really that difficult, right? And in happiness, we see a lot more connections. We see a lot more confidence, not just with the dog, but also with the pet parents, meaning that I don't have to stress out every time I take my dog out. At night, or I don't have to stress out if my dog happens to eat an In-N-Out burger or two, right? And that's where it's like, once we start to be able to build on that and really just understand and explain and really imprint the things that we want them to understand and see in a different light where it's not as scary, then... That happiness carries through and through right and that's when you start to kind of see the relationship that a lot of people want when they go and adopt a dog from the shelter or when they go select a dog from a breeder or when they um go and spend time and with a dog that is with a friend right they're just chasing that happiness And when the dog is unhappy, whether you're telling it to sit or down or to stay, if it looks unhappy, you're not going to do it. Right. And so for me with Chuck, when I saw the yeast building in his paws and he was constantly licking and his ears were red and like he was constantly scratching, it didn't give him an opportunity to relax. And because he didn't have an opportunity to relax. He was uncomfortable and when he was uncomfortable he was a lot grumpier right and when he was grumpy then I wouldn't be able to take him out because he was just grumpy he wouldn't get along with a lot of things that he typically would get along with but once we started figuring out what was wrong and the things that needed to change through health and through training and everything else that kind of all interconnected together and once he started becoming happy He wasn't as grumpy. And when he wasn't as grumpy, I was able to take him out and spend the time that I wanted to spend with him the way that I had envisioned, which is everywhere. Right. And that's where it's like, you know, when it comes down to that, whether it's through nutrition or through the way that we train, we want to make sure that the dog is first and foremost happy. Because if the dog is happy, then the parents are happy. That's just like if my kids are happy, then I'm just a happy dad, right? If going to sit through a two-hour play is going to make my daughter a happier person for just those two hours, you know what I'm going to do as a parent? I'm going to sit through that play. Or if my daughter wants to paint my fingernails to make her happy versus me telling her no and making her sad, what do you think most parents are going to do?

Cameron MainIs that what you were doing in the bathroom before this podcast?

DavidTrying to get it off or I get caught. But no, and that's where the parallels are there just because... Going back to what we're saying um we love dogs differently right um they're no longer just pets they're a member of the family and I say that with um 100 confidence because the context I make every time that I talk to somebody about it and they think because every time I speak on it they think I'm just a crazy dog guy right but I go am I really that crazy because what would you do in this scenario You're on the freeway, you see a car accident. Usually we won't pull over unless we really see it happening and we know that nobody else is coming to rescue, but we see it happen. We typically just pick up the phone and dial 911 and we sit in the car and we wait or we drive by, right? And hope that somebody else had taken the opportunity to go help them. But the minute you see a dog running on a freeway, what do you do? You pull over. And without thinking, you're on the freeway. Daniel and I experienced it a handful of times where without thinking, we're in the middle of the freeway stopping traffic, whether we hit or not. Our goal is to get this dog out of the street because it can't defend itself. That's how much society has changed with the love that they have for their animals and their pets, especially their dogs.

Chris NobleIt's a beautiful sentiment as well, forming the entire business around that thought. I mean, how often do you go out in the street and you see people walking a dog and they're stressed, they're not happy. They're pulling the dog and the dog's pulling back and they're shouting and they're desperate almost. They're like begging the dog to just walk alongside them. And the dog doesn't want to be like that either because dogs want to be happy organically. And I really like that you've built the business around that sentiment of dogs' happiness, but also human happiness. I would love to know, have you seen or have you learned anything about happiness from dogs?

DavidUm, you just can't take it for granted and happiness sometimes, um, like, you know, it comes and goes, but it's always there. We just have to be patient enough to be able to take advantage of it when it is there. Um, oftentimes, like, you know, with dogs and life and everything else, we're always trying to rush and race to the finish line. Right we never take the opportunity to really just be present be in the moment with the dogs that we have if you think about it for the people that are pulling and yelling and screaming and you know their dogs are pulling the opposite way at the end of the day you're trying to do is just tell them to sit it shouldn't be that hard right that's where it's like we figure out what the motivators are then in turn like we can make it to where that happiness is controlled to where it's always going to be there right we just have to be patient enough to be able to make sure that we don't take it for granted and that we seize every opportunity when that happiness is there because I guarantee you majority of the time Happiness in dog training is when you get to be able to get your dog to do what it is that you want without telling it to do what it is that you want. Meaning that we're going to have a conversation somewhere and my dog is snoring. We're going to laugh at that. For me, that's happiness. Because now it understands that the value of being out is not to go run and go sniff and go pee on the tree. It's just hanging out with me. Right. And that's where it's like, you know, when it comes down to it, it's just a matter of being able to take advantage of that happiness when it presents itself in a natural state. You know, when we talk about like how we work with dogs and the behavior when they first come in is until instead of telling it what to do, we wait. Until the dog naturally does it. And then we bring our happiness into the dog so the dog can start to be able to honestly think on their own. Oh, if I do this, this is where all of my happiness is coming from. The scratches, the treats, the attention. Right and that's where it's like you know for us we sometimes don't pay attention to that because we take it for granted because we're always trying to rush to the finish line to get that certificate to be able to make the dog be perfect in the matter of days and weeks and however long but we fail to really pay attention to the intricacies of what it means to get to that point and that's where that happiness is all the trials and tribulations that get there to get you to the end road to where it's like you really, and you hear it all the time at the end of the dog's life cycle is when we really appreciate the happiness. But for me, if we take advantage of the happiness towards the end of the dog's lifetime, we just celebrate it versus mourn it. Right. So it's different.

Chris NobleI really like as well, It's almost like you're not selling training. You're selling... More of a holistic lifestyle. You're talking about nutrition and how important that is when it comes to the training, because the training is nothing if the dog's not happy at its core. And you're not talking about a training course, you're talking about building trust with the dog and allowing the dog to learn and understand. And I think this is something so many people get wrong, that it's not each individual thing. Like you say, it's not a certificate on the wall. It's every single part of a holistic lifestyle is important for you and the dog's happiness

DavidAbsolutely now and and that's where it's like you know it took us a while to get to where we are now but that's where it's like you know a lot of times people ask us what makes you guys different than the rest right um It's just the way that we envision things. Like when you think of training, just like personal training, it's a daunting task, right? Like you have to wake up early and you got to get to the gym. But if you make it a lifestyle, you look forward to it, right? That's all we're trying to do. It's like, you know, let's make this a part of your lifestyle. Let's take the frustration out of it. And let's appreciate the opportunities that we have. For this dog being a part of our lives they're meant to be here it's our choice and it's our commitment to be able to advocate and educate everybody else um those lines because for the dogs they can't communicate that right and that's where it's if we're able to bridge that gap then everything is just so much more balanced right and in dog training we always talk about what's your goal our goal is just to make your dog neutral what we were explaining earlier with one of the dogs that I had brought out um And it's not a matter of allowing him to be able just to be happy to go up to anyone. It's a matter of being for him to be able to withstand the social circumstances that he's put in when he's in an uncomfortable situation. And the fact that he's able to trust me through it. Allows me the advocacy to be able to help him through it by explaining to other people and other pet parents of why we need to give him space. And at the end of it, just when I broke him or when I gave him a break, he was happy just to come back to me to where it's like, okay, great. Now I get all the happiness that I was waiting for. And that's where it's like, if you go and appreciate those moments, Spending time with your dog, telling him to sit and down and do all those things no longer becomes training, becomes just part of our lifestyle. It's the same. Momentum that we get instilled in us no matter and I'm sure we're all from different backgrounds and different countries and families But we know that like through society no matter where you're at in the world, right? Us UK Asia You know You go to the airport, what do you do? You wait in line. You go to Starbucks, what do you do? You wait in line. You go to Target, what do you do? You wait in line. You go to the gas station, what do you do? You wait in line. And when there's no line, what do you do? You form a line, whether it's right or wrong. Right those are the things that like doesn't matter what you're suffering from whether you're a human being we try to translate that to being you know dog training right to get them to create that associated behavior so that they understand that no matter where they're at that consistency is always there oh When I'm here, this is just what I do. When I'm over there, this is just what I do. It's the same parallels of us being able to learn how to wait in line, right? And like, you know, if you think about it, waiting in line stems all the way from when we're one, two years old, because our parents did that. And then when we went to school, they taught us that. And then now when nobody else is telling us anything to do, what do we typically do? Wait in line when there's no line right um and that's where it's like you know when we break it down to that sequence all we're trying to do instead of arguing with the dog it's like hey like I want to be with you all the time all you have to do is learn how to wait in line so

Cameron MainActually, this reminds me a little bit of when we first spoke. You talked a little bit about external factors that can be stressors for a dog, whether it's like a little alarm that goes off somewhere or it's maybe deliveries arriving at a certain time. And you actually take all these little factors into account. When it comes to a dog's wellbeing as well. That for me was quite a fascinating observation because most people would not look at these things in terms of a dog's, why is it reacting in a certain way?

DavidYeah no and and like you know when it comes to dog training this is where like I I I I I'm happy to have been able to have met daniel because he thinks on the same way like that's me and we have a lot of um conversations about it all the time and it comes down to like you know when you classify for example like dog training for reactive dogs everybody puts it into a category this dog's reactive so we have to take this method of being able to or this approach to work with it if a dog is aggressive we have to take this certain approach but we never really dive into the factors of why is it reactive why is it aggressive right we're only understanding this is just the method As dog trainers, this is just what we do. This is how we do it. And this is where it goes back into the dietary portion of it to where it's like with vets. This is what you do. And this is how you do it. And this is the only resolve. Your dog has this issue. So we're going to give you this. And if this doesn't work, then we're going to give you this. And if this doesn't work, then we're going to give you this. And if it doesn't work, then we can't help you. You just have to figure it out. Same thing with dog trainers. Again, to address the awkward turtle in the room, this is how we categorize everything. Your dog is reactive, so we're going to do this. If it doesn't do this, I'm going to blame you. If it's not you, then it's the dog. Then the dog can't be helped because now it's genetics, right? Genetics or not, the dog has to be able, because of our commitment to the dog and bringing them into our homes, we have to be the ones to make the best decision for them. Why? Because they're dogs. They're not built to make these decisions. Decisions um but that's where it's like you know when we come back to the context of everything it's just the environmental factors sometimes if we dive into it creates that behavior because sometimes a dog that might be that we think that is reactive to the other dog for example might not be it could be just a related instance to where at that exact perfect time and place a big boom happened And that other dog just happened to be in front of the other dog. Now that scare is the associated. The association is now it's that dog and that dog that looks that color, that size, that energy, that furry. And it locks in. So every time it goes to that same area, it's already kind of preemptively thinking that. Boom is going to occur it's almost like the same instance of us looking at a chalkboard and we majority of us not all of us but a majority of us every time we look at that chalkboard what do we feel we feel the hairs on the back of our neck sticking up because we're anticipating somebody running their fingernails down that chalkboard I can feel it now I can feel you uncomfortable there And so it's the same in associated behavior with dogs, right? To where it's like, once that scary thing happens, they're going to anticipate it happening every single time. We break it down even further, and this is where Daniel brought it to my attention, actually, is the doorbell. Why do every single dog react to the doorbell? Because it's a noise that triggers a reaction, an insecurity. Ding dong, I'm going to go crazy. But it usually works. Why? Because the postal person, the FedEx driver, the UPS driver, rings the doorbell, dog barks, drops the package off, and the guy leaves. So now it's like, oh, I bark and this noise comes. I bark and that scary thing gets out of the way. So I'm just going to do that every single time. Right. And that's where it's like the associated behaviors and being able to help the dog's condition through it and figuring out what the triggers are. Really help elevate how the dogs work through things to be able to be more accepting of them and once they become more accepting that's where the neutrality comes in they become a lot more confident right and when they become a lot more confident just like with people a confident person naturally is a lot more social and that's where like you know bringing the outside environment inside from what daniel and I talked about really references if we can make the dog feel uncomfortable in the most comfortable place which is usually at home, and we can prep him up for that practice makes perfect, and he becomes neutral to these scary things that are outside, inside, then half the battle's already done because it understands what to expect when it goes outside. And that's where in relation of what we do, we always come with that context of let's do a control setting first. Then, once we feel comfortable and we feel like the dog is ready, then we take it to the real world and really proof the dog with it. So far for us, it's worked out, and it's worked out with more of the unique dogs that have those unique behaviors to where sometimes a lot of trainers don't have the patience for. People often forget. We're like you know just because they don't train in the there's always that context of training a facility versus training at home real world training it's all on what we make of it real world training for me requires us to be able to get to know the clients and get to know what they're going through. And Daniel and I say this all the time is I want to make the training more realistic for you. Meaning that if a dog comes in, I don't need to take it to Home Depot to be able to create these distractions for it. Especially if you don't ever spend time in Home Depot, right? I much rather take advantage of the opportunities of understanding where you guys go. Most... Dogs that or most pet parents that have kids they usually spend their time soccer fields tennis courts parks playgrounds right school social events I want to expose the dogs to that because 90 of the time that's what they're going to be used to kids coming over for the pool party right and and having those instances to where the dog is more based off of more realistic home versions of training, whether the dog is training in my home or not. Because I could tell you that even if I train without the facility and I train at my house, my family operates a lot different than your family. So your dog can do well at my home because maybe I run it a little bit more structured. But I can't imagine it doing well in your home if you don't follow the structure. And I'm not going to make you do that. My job is to be able to go in there and figure out how I can replicate my lifestyle to adapt to yours, to make the training more realistic. It's not a matter of taking the dog out of a facility into home. It's really just adapting the training from what we can provide the pet parents, right? To make it more realistic. And that's where it's like, you know, we had a we have a dog in here now. His name is Dexter. She's on a vacation in Nepal. So he's part of our board and train program. And we have these. I wouldn't say unusual requests, but we have these requests to where she doesn't care about the dog sitting or downing or any of those traditional aspects of training. Her goal is, I don't want him to lick at my soul while I'm eating at home. I want him to be able to kind of mind his own business. The other is... I want him to be able to jog with me right um and then the other is I also don't want him to pull me to every single dog that he wants to see in the neighborhood does she care about the sit and the down the place will that resolve a lot of the issues of dexter not staring into joy's soul no so what we've been doing and what daniel graciously has been doing is having a lot of the training sessions involve a lot of eating in front of dexter So I'm sure Daniel's gained a couple pounds and I'm trying to lose a couple pounds. So we collaborate with each other to where I get to go jog with Dexter. And so that's where the reality of training isn't so traditional to where I'm not saying that obedience is not important, but we have to mark the behavior it is that we want the dogs to understand. And that takes it out of the context of the traditional way of training dogs to where we want to try to make it more about the families and less about our intentions and our goals. And that's where the service is a lot different than a lot of the other training facilities and personal trainers that you find out there, right? Versus like trying to follow that caption of like X, Y, and Z to get these dogs to perform in the way that we need them to perform in the trainer's book. Our goal as trainers is to be able to get your dog to perform in your book and your expectations

Cameron MainAnd I think that that custom way that you're able to really fit a dog's training to each person's lifestyle is showing. And we can see that a little bit because of some of the recommendations that you're getting. We've heard through the grapevine that you might have a couple of famous NFL clients or NBA clients and even some sort of more reality or celebrity clients on Instagram and Facebook and things like that.

DavidYeah, no, it's been a unique journey so far. My one thing to tell everybody out there, the one piece of advice is to always pick up every phone call because you don't know who's on the other line. I won't name any names, but this is one that I always tell because I almost screwed it up for myself. Um, so, you know, going back to where, like, you know, when I made the jump from the corporate career to here, um, from PlayStation to doing RFRD full time, uh, even when I was at PlayStation, I didn't have a good work life balance. Um every birthday that now my uh benny my middle child 10 years old but every birthday all the way up until him being five um I missed out on because I was always at work during june playstation and before he got taken away because of the pandemic um had a big gaming convention called e3 huge gaming convention playstation was one of the major sponsors um and like that would take up two weeks of my time being on site prepping teardown and I would miss his birthday and so when I decided to finally have that leap and a large part of it was for more of that work-life balance and being able to be involved with my kids life a lot more um This was the first time that I was ever able to celebrate his birthday. And so that day I had planned a whole day with him. Um but obviously just like with life it doesn't usually go that way um so for the first part of the day I was putting out fires um then we finally got it to a good place and I was about to turn my phone off and I received a phone call um and for whatever reason I thought it was spam because it was from an out-of-state call that I don't ever really ever receive But I was also in a bit of a grumpy mood just because I had this whole day planned with Benson of taking him to Great America. And so, like, you know, even though I picked up the phone, it wasn't very pleasant at first to where it was a little bit more short. And then I took a deep breath and I was like. You know you just gave up 14 years at playstation to do this full time better not mess it up so cool your horses and I'm glad I did because fast forward four and a half years later um without saying any names but he is one of the greatest linebackers of all time currently still playing locally and he seems to have recommended a lot of the other players to come here as well yeah um like you know like through that it's just without like you know weed privacy and like you know and everything else like and this is the one thing that I got from my playstation playstation career is that celebrity status or not, we're all regular people at the end of the day. And I respect that wholeheartedly. And I think because a large piece of that translated into the rest of the team members, they felt very comfortable here. And that's where it's like not a lot of people know that RFID works with a lot of unique clientele. For us, we love to keep it that way just because of the fact that, you know, privacy is a huge thing. And that's where it's like, you know, for that. Our main concern isn't the status quo. It's more the happiness of the dogs that are with us. And because we feel like we put the dog first, they have enough trust in us to be able to recommend within their network, in their circles, the opportunities that we have received, which we are super grateful for. And that's where it's like, you know, for me it's it's just an experience of never never um you know not picking up a call and always taking it with the patience and grace that we should always take things with um It's almost like three years back, and I might get in trouble and might not get in trouble, but I seem like NBA players love more of that social aspect of things. One of our good friends, or one of my good friends, is Ben Simmons. He played on multiple teams. Um, that man's love for dogs is bar none. And that's how, just like how we hopped on a phone call. Um, that's how we got connected. And our synergy was instead of like on at the Ben Simmons, um, that he was, it was more like, Oh, what kind of dogs are you into? And our conversation still carries through. And within that, Ben has brought some of his, um, network as well. Um, I believe it was about like three years ago that we had a phone call from Tyrese Maxey's agent to be able to board his dog while he was at the Drew Tournament here or down in L.A. Same thing with Trey Young from the Atlanta Hawks. We had the opportunity of being able to help watch his dogs during that time. And those are some of the amazing. Um partnerships and and and and unique relationships that we were able to curate just out of the faith of like you know talking dogs right um and the other is uh patrick carroll um big name back in miami um but great guy underneath. Huge dog lover. He has Theo and Winston that recently graduated out of our board and train program. But what we do, and this is how much we value his relationship. I always take a step back and again, Daniel and I and the team always talk about it. The amount of trainers and boarding facilities inside and outside of Miami, Florida, Miami Beach, Florida, to California, I wouldn't be able to tell you. Probably tens of thousands. The fact that he trusts us with his four-legged children means the world to us because he... Unlike any other person, has the opportunity to work with anyone he would like to in this world. And the fact that he chose us is something that is a value and it means the world. It means that we're on the right path of being able to do the things that... We believe in, in the right way, honestly, right? And that's a huge, you know, for him being our client, that's a huge accomplishment because, again, he could select anyone in the world. You know he has a means to um you know daniel on a later episode could probably talk about his experience with uh mr carroll and um some cuban cigars that he brought back with him to california after his one training stay

Chris NobleWhat are the extra challenges that comes with training a dog like mr carroll's because I imagine he can't just take his dog for a normal walk

DavidHe can't, and that's where it's like when we approach it, we have to take the consideration of what the dogs are going to be encompassed to, the environment that they're going to be in, and we have to replicate that to the best of our ability. With some of our more unique clients like Mr. Carroll, there's... Media always paying attention to them. So it's not like we're looking for perfection. We're just looking for happiness, right? And so we can build that communication sense to where the dogs can be more relaxed. They can be happy. It takes a lot less of the scrutiny away of like, oh my gosh, I can't bring my dogs here. Or what happened to these dogs, right? Because they were posted when they're puppies, but you no longer see them. If we do a good enough job, you'll always see them a part of their daily lives. And that's our goal.

Chris NobleI guess they don't have the extra stress of having a bad hair day and ending up in the press. They don't care about this.

DavidNo. And that's where it's like, you know, when we work with all dogs, right? Like we... Make it our priority to make sure that the dogs are well taken care of from beginning to end, not just the training sequence. When the dog stays with us for a longer duration of time, we ask for permission to be able to educate the families on a better nutritional plan. To be able to be connected to the groomers that we use, to be able to be connected to the veterinary practices that we believe in that are willing to work with us with the open-endedness of understanding what we feed our dogs and not isolating us to feeling like we're doing something wrong. It took a long time to create. But over the course of the years, we've been able to partner with a lot of like minded businesses and entrepreneurs that kind of breathe the same type of vision that we breathe. And and that's where it's like it's not one. You know, when the dogs are with us, it's not one company. It's not one resource. It's a whole entire community. Um, and within that community, if we built that sense of trust, then everything gets to be able to be shared across the board a lot more. Right. And it gets to be able to, you get to educate and touch a lot more. Um, and that's like when it comes down to it, that's what generally what RFRD is just truly about is building a better community for our canine counterparts.

Cameron MainWhat is your five-year plan for RFRD or the dream for the next five years?

DavidSo the dream for the next five years is to continue on the pathway of building a better community. For me, personally, I want to be more involved in the outreach process of initiating change in education, not just in nutrition or in training, but also in rescue. I truly like what... Makes me happy is being able to make these connections with families. You know, 12-year-old me, when I was asked to go up for a career day in Mrs. Knopfler's class at El Toro Elementary, she had asked me an honest question. She's like, Mr. Trinh, what would you like to become when you grow up? I didn't really have an answer for her besides saying, oh, I want to be a hero. And everybody laughed, right? They chuckled, and they're like, well, what do you mean? That's not a real thing. It's like Superman, Batman. I was like, no. I don't know what I want to be, but I just want to help people. This is just my way in helping the dogs. Indirectly, we help people. And so I want to continue in the pathway for me personally in outreach and be able to make these meaningful connections, finding the forever homes and really emotionally take away the stressors that people go through every day. But for RFRD, we want to continue to kind of break that glass ceiling. Um and take all the negative instances and stance away from what a boarding and training facility is really all about what training is really all about we sometimes get so caught up in the methods and the tools that we forget the people at the other side like who are the ones taking care of our dogs are they really meaningful or do they really care are they going to be honest with me or are they just selling me a marketing plan or a training program the way that I I want to build RFRD is I don't want you here just for 45 days or 56 days. I want you here for the next 14 years. I want to be a part of your family because when we work with your dogs and when we build that relationship. It's not a relationship that's going to die in 45 days it's something that's going to carry through through the end we feel very connected when people ask me how many dogs do I have I have whatever how many dogs that you see in there 45 56 dogs those are all my dogs at the end of the day Those are the dogs that are going to be able to explain what RFRD really means. Right. And that's where it's like, you know, I always tell our clients that come in for evals. I was like, I don't want you to make that decision of like, oh, I only came here because my friend told me to. I want you to experience it. Because if you give us the opportunity to be able to show you what we're about. Then I promise you, you probably won't go anywhere else because you won't find anything else like it, right? We're a family. And with family, it never ends. With love, it's unconditional. So whether I see you at the end of 45 days until next Christmas, You always have a place here no matter what. And that's where RFRD is going to break that glass ceiling to where there's a place for every single dog. If you're a part of our family, we're with you until the very end. It's not just a quick marketing scheme to where it's like, hey, 45 days and you're done and the rest is all on you. We want to be there for your vacations. We want to be there for your dog birthdays. We want to be there when your dog's... When you get married, right, we want to be able to be the ones walking your dogs down the aisle. We want to be able to help you relocate your dogs. We want to be able to be there when you can't trust anybody else. And we're going to make that priority to make sure that your dog is safe. And that's where, you know, I see RFRD going in the next five years. And with the whole new outlook of the public but private dog park that we envision that we're fostering coming into life, I think it's going to open a lot of doors for a lot of others to be able to understand what RFRD is really about.

Cameron MainWell, I definitely think we can say with your approach to nutrition training and rescues, you're definitely a hero in our eyes. So you can tell your teacher at school that you definitely made it.

DavidNo, I appreciate that. I actually been meaning to email her and get her down here to kind of hang out. It's been a few years since I've seen her. But like those, those are all meaningful things. And that takes me back to, you know, like what I want to do in my lifetime. And sometimes like when it gets hard. I always ask myself like you know and I'm not a very religious person but usually when things get really tough I sit back and and I look to the stars and I always ask like is this when I'm really met is this the pathway I'm really meant to walk down And then every time the greater guy always has an answer. And this is where we're at now. So blessed and grateful for every opportunity. Blessed and grateful for every partnership and every team member that's been able to grow with, you know, past and present and future that's been able to grow with RFRD. Huge shout out to Daniel. I mean, he told you a little bit about how we met. It was almost by chance that I didn't know that he was going to be a good friend of mine. And I didn't know that he was going to be, in my eyes, one of the best trainers out there that has a lot of patience to be able to. Take everything head on right without ever like you know complaining or or pushing the realm to where it's like I don't think we can do it it's always we won't know unless we try and that's been our mantra for the last five years so very grateful for him

Chris NobleDavid, I've learned so much from you and Daniel and the team. And every time we talk, I feel very inspired to continue the mission of helping dogs. And I'm thrilled that we're partnering and just want to say thank you for today.

DavidNo, thank you. And I appreciate the opportunity. So many more lives to change.

Chris NobleAbsolutely.

DavidAwesome. Thank you, guys. Appreciate it.

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