Professor Andrew Knight is a vet and researcher whose work on plant-based pet diets has been in the headlines. He joins Dr Guy to talk about what the science shows.

Andrew explains how years of seeing itchy, overweight and unwell dogs in clinical practice led him to research. He covers what studies have found about health, weight and lifespan on plant-based diets, why pet food has a bigger environmental footprint than most people realise, and how to choose a meat-free diet safely.

He also looks at the future of pet food, from cultivated meat to protein grown from microbes, and tells the story of a dog park taste test that ended with a Labrador "shark attack". Then Andrew and Dr Guy do something neither of them has done on camera before: they eat the kibble.

In this episode:

• From small animal vet to veterinary professor
• The everyday health problems vets see, and the possible role of diet
• Why there's no simple allergy test, and how to run a diet trial
• Learning to "speak cat" and "speak dog"
• Pet food's environmental footprint
• Climate change, and why it's closer than we think
• What studies show about health, weight and lifespan on plant-based diets
• How to choose a nutritionally complete meat-free diet
• Is it affordable once you factor in vet bills?
• Cultivated meat and microbial protein explained
• Do dogs actually enjoy meat-free food?
• The taste test

Chapters:

• 01:26 Welcome
• 04:29 Diet and the health problems vets see
• 09:25 Allergy tests and diet trials
• 17:25 How pet food affects the planet
• 25:43 Can dogs live longer on plant-based diets?
• 31:39 Choosing a meat-free diet safely
• 36:08 Is it affordable?
• 41:56 Cultivated meat and microbial protein
• 49:56 The taste test
• 57:48 Rapid fire

Links:

• Learn more about Omni: https://omni.pet/
• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedogdrpodcast/
• Follow Professor Andrew Knight: https://www.andrewknight.info/

Broadcaster, content creator and disability activist Lucy Edwards joins Dr Guy for an emotional and joyful conversation about life with a guide dog.

Lucy lost her sight completely at 17 because of a rare genetic condition. She talks about how social media, and her first guide dog Olga, helped her rebuild her confidence and her identity. She explains how guide dogs are bred and trained, what changes when the harness goes on, and how it felt when Olga retired.

She also compares Olga with her current guide dog, Miss Molly, and the two very different training methods they learned. She shares the discrimination guide dog owners still face, and explains exactly what to do (and not do) when you meet a working dog. Then she turns the tables and asks Dr Guy about arthritis and joint care.

In this episode:

• Losing her sight as a teenager, and finding herself again online
• How Blind Girl Does Her Own Makeup was born
• Meeting Olga on Valentine's Day 2014, "the best day of my life"
• How guide dogs go from puppy to qualified partner
• Harness on, harness off: work mode and pet mode
• The medical and social models of disability
• Saying goodbye to Olga's working life
• Old-school training versus positive reinforcement
• How Lucy and Miss Molly navigate kerbs, crossings and stairs
• Refusals from taxis and restaurants
• Guide dog etiquette: the dos and don'ts
• Lucy asks the vet: arthritis signs and joint supplements

Chapters:

• 01:30 Welcome, and Lucy's story
• 06:42 How social media helped
• 13:39 Meeting Olga
• 16:51 How guide dogs are bred and trained
• 21:42 Harness on: work mode vs pet mode
• 32:20 When Olga retired
• 39:59 Olga vs Molly, and old vs new training
• 52:37 Refusals and discrimination
• 54:12 Guide dog dos and don'ts
• 57:01 Lucy asks the vet: arthritis

Links:

• Learn more about Omni: https://omni.pet/
• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedogdrpodcast/
• Follow Lucy Edwards https://www.instagram.com/lucyedwardsofficial/?hl=en

Actor, director, producer and yoga teacher Sadie Frost joins Dr Guy, along with Cherry, the first dog to make it into the podcast studio. Sadie has never eaten meat in her life. She talks about her lifelong love of animals, from rescuing puppies and pigeons as a child to executive producing Rescue, a documentary about the animals left behind on the front line in Ukraine.

She shares the frightening day Cherry collapsed and needed emergency spinal surgery, and the year of car anxiety that followed. She also explains why she weighs up pet insurance against putting money aside, and how she fed her pets meat as a vegetarian before discovering Omni.

Sadie also explains why yoga and Cherry are her "medication", and what Cherry would do if she were human. She gives a firm answer on dressing dogs up.

In this episode:

• Life as a lifelong vegetarian, and "you do the best you can"
• From Murphy the black Labrador to Old English Sheepdogs and Cherry the dachshund
• How Cherry helps Sadie manage anxiety and asthma
• Cherry's emergency back surgery, and the risks for small breeds
• Pet insurance versus a rainy-day fund
• Rescue: filming abandoned animals on the front line in Ukraine
• Feeding pets meat-free after years of struggling with it
• Bad breath, brushing and easy ways to help with dental care
• Why dogs pick favourites, sulk and pick up on our moods
• Calming diffusers and supplements for anxious dogs
• Yoga as Sadie's superpower, and her free community classes

Chapters:

• 00:00 Cold open
• 00:50 Welcome: actor, director and activist
• 03:09 Sadie's dog journey, and meet Cherry
• 06:36 Highs and lows: Cherry's back surgery
• 12:57 Rescue: animals in the Ukraine war zone
• 15:45 Feeding pets as a vegetarian
• 18:32 Bad breath and dental care
• 26:53 Anxiety and calming diffusers
• 29:27 Quick-fire
• 35:10 Yoga as a superpower

Links:

• Learn more about Omni: https://omni.pet/
• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedogdrpodcast/
• Follow Sadie Frost: https://www.instagram.com/sadielizafrost/?hl=en

Canine behaviourist Nico Joiner joins Dr Guy for the first ever episode of The Dog Doctor. They take a practical, myth-busting look at separation anxiety: why it happens, how to spot it early and what actually helps.

Nico describes a dog's ability to cope with stress as a battery that needs charging, and explains why the classic "leave them for a minute, then two" method can backfire, and why a good enrichment toy should feel like a crossword, not Whac-A-Mole.

The conversation also covers why telling a dog off for chewing makes things worse, how stress at the vet is "a different earthquake with the same epicentre", and why health problems are often hiding behind behaviour problems. Along the way you'll meet Nico's own dogs, Halloumi and Eggs.

In this episode:

• What causes separation anxiety, and why it often appears when life changes
• The "lovey-dovey" behaviours that can be early warning signs
• The battery of coping with stress, and how to keep it charged
• Building independence and frustration tolerance while you're still at home
• Finding the right reward: crossword, not Whac-A-Mole
• What severe separation anxiety looks like, and why it's a welfare issue
• What to do (and not do) when you come home to damage
• Why ex-racing greyhounds can suit people who work full-time
• Vet visits, fireworks and being left alone: the same root cause
• When to see a vet and when to see a behaviourist
• Calming diffusers, supplements and the link between diet and behaviour
• True or false: crates, tired dogs, spite and leaving the radio on

Links:

• Learn more about Omni: https://omni.pet/
• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedogdrpodcast/
• Follow Nico Joiner / Joint Effort: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nico-joiner-b02616375/

Dr Michael Lazaris is a vet, co-owner of an independent practice in Clapham, South London, and has a big following on Instagram. He joins Dr Guy for a candid conversation about what really goes on behind the scenes of veterinary care.

Michael grew up in Cape Town with around 50 pets, including wild snakes in his mum's glass cabinet. He explains why vets earn less than people think, why some popular breeds are bred into health problems, and what's changing as corporate groups and private equity buy up practices.

He also gives practical advice on itchy dogs, supplements, faecal transplants and dental disease. He talks about what he's learned building a big following online and the latest thinking on when (and whether) to neuter.

In this episode:

• From 50 childhood pets to Edinburgh vet school
• Vet internships, and the reality of vet pay
• Why vet care costs what it does
• Flat faces, long backs and folded ears: the health cost of breed trends
• Starting an independent practice with no outside investment
• Independent versus corporate and private equity-owned clinics
• Overweight dogs, and swapping treats for kibble on walks
• Signs of food allergies, and why blood tests rarely give a clear answer
• Treatments for itchy dogs, and getting to the root cause
• Supplements, probiotics, kefir and faecal transplants
• Dental disease, groomer descaling and a 30-second tooth-brushing tip
• The new thinking on neutering

Chapters:

• 00:42 Welcome
• 01:26 From Cape Town to vet school
• 10:44 Health problems bred into popular breeds
• 17:12 Opening an independent practice
• 26:42 Overweight dogs and healthier treats
• 30:10 Spotting food allergies
• 47:03 Dental disease
• 59:53 Building an Instagram following
• 1:07:48 The latest advice on neutering
• 1:15:21 Rapid fire

Links:

• Learn more about Omni: https://omni.pet/
• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedogdrpodcast/
• Follow Dr Michael Lazaris: https://www.instagram.com/drlazaris_vet/?hl=en

Deborah bought her first pony with £50 she earned herself, aged 11. Her parents' rule was "you want it, you look after it," and she's lived by it ever since. She explains why she calls herself a "pragmatic vegan" and why a dog's health always comes before her own principles. She also says the biggest part of her due diligence on Omni was simply watching whether her own dogs enjoyed the food and did well on it.

She also tells the behind-the-scenes Den story that never made it to air, explains how she chooses a vet, and admits her four dogs embarrass her all the time.

In this episode:

• Growing up with Bitsa, her first rescue dog, and learning early that animals are a responsibility
• Being a sustainable dog guardian, and the choice between feeding dogs well and feeding them sustainably
• Why health comes first: "I need to see it through the eyes of the dog"
• How the science of nutrition is changing, and why dogs need protein but not necessarily meat
• Novel proteins, food sensitivities and Deborah's experience with two cats that had IBD
• Sweet lupin beans, which Guy calls "the good version of soya"
• Keeping her pets private and the "no filming at home" promise she made to her husband Paul
• "Eat less, but eat better": her view on meat, animal welfare and affordability
• What it's like on the Dragons' side of the Den, and the moment she decided to invest
• Why consistency and thoroughness matter most when she chooses a vet
• Rapid fire: horse or dog, founder or idea, activism or business

Links:
Learn more about Omni: https://omni.pet/

• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedogdrpodcast/
• Follow Deborah Meaden: https://www.deborahmeaden.com/

The Dog Doctor is a new podcast from Omni, hosted by vet and Omni co-founder Dr Guy Sandelowsky. Each episode, Dr Guy sits down with a guest to cut through the myths and talk about what really matters for our dogs: health, behaviour, nutrition, and why so many of us call our dog our lifesaver.

This season:
• Canine behaviourist Nico Joiner on separation anxiety
• Deborah Meaden on dogs, diet and life in the Dragons’ Den
• Sadie Frost on rescue, yoga and her dachshund Cherry
• Vet Dr Michael Lazarus on life behind the vet’s counter
• Professor Andrew Knight on the science of plant-based dog food
• Lucy Edwards on life, love and guide dogs

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