We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sunny Gandara. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sunny below.
Hi Sunny, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
When my soul dog Nacho passed away suddenly as a result of complications from hemangiosarcoma in late 2023 (an aggressive cancer of the blood) I was devastated. I couldn’t find any joy or purpose in what I was doing at the moment (I was a wine consultant at the time), and this tragedy made me realize my life mission.
I decided to dedicate my life to helping dogs and other pet parents who were in the same situation as I had been in: facing a terrible disease with limited options for a solution or support. Today, veterinarians are extremely overworked (much like in the human health care field) and as a result, the patients suffer. Everyone receives ‘standard of care’ and there is no time to examine each individual’s situation, i.e. diet, exercise, lifestyle, etc. That’s where holistic health comes in. I found a Holistic Pet Health Coach certification by Dr. Ruth Roberts online and immediately signed up. There, I learned about Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, using holistic modalities such as herbs, mushrooms, acupunture and most importantly, I learned how to cook for dogs. In today’s world, all dogs are eating highly processed food (read: kibble) that is very high in carbs, low in nutrients and filled with additives, synthetic vitamins, chemicals and other undesirable ingredients. I liken it to Doritos, so imagine if you were to eat that twice a day for the rest of your life. This is why so many dogs develop cancer and other autoimmune diseases: nutrition is what we need to address, first and foremost.
With all this newfound information and education, I founded Nacho Average Dog Health Coach in 2024, which is an online consulting service for pet parents who want support around more natural alternatives for their dogs. I specialize in canine cancer prevention and support utilizing mushrooms, plants and herbs in addition to whole, fresh foods as my #1 tool.
I’m a professionally trained Chef and holistic health coach for humans, and also a food blogger and digital content creator for my brand Arctic Grub on the side, so I’ve always been super interested in cooking and nutrition. This led me to the idea of expanding on Nacho Average Dog Health Coach to include workshops, cooking classes and courses that will teach the health benefits of fresh, whole food for dogs, and how to put together wholesome meals that contain all the necessary nutrients that dogs need. No supplements in the world can help your dog if the nutrition isn’t right, and this is what I talk about in all my classes. I also teach about the benefits of feeding seasonal foods for optimal nutrition (and flavor) as well as adapting foods to the dog’s energetics, following the concept in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, Energetics is about energy flow and balance within the body and how it affects health and disease. Food, herbs and other lifestyle factors will be adapted to the individual dog’s energetics, whether a dog is “hot” or “cold”, etc.
During my talks with clients, many pet parents expressed they knew that kibble isn’t the best for their dog but on the other hand, voiced concern and anxiety about cooking for their dog – either because they were afraid they’re not going to be complete meals or that it’s too time-consuming. In my business, I show pet parents that it’s more than doable to cook your own food, and it’s not as time-consuming or expensive as most people think it is. The pet food industry has convinced us that the only complete nutrition comes from dead food in the form of processed kibble in bags that don’t expire for decades… and that we should never feed dogs human food or table scraps. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Dogs need variety, and they also love tasty food.
I started putting on small classes online and was positively surprised at why some people joined the class and were interested in the topic. Most of my clients and customers are what I call 2.0 pet parents- they love their dogs like their own children and want the best for them. Many people pay a lot of money for pre=packaged raw food or cooked food, but as one woman shared, many times these small companies run out of stock and she wanted to learn how to cook in case she found herself in a situation where she didn’t have food for her dogs.
I believe I am solving a problem many pet parents have: the concern of what’s really in their dog’s food (much like we are concerned with the origins of the food we eat). By learning to cook for their dogs, they can feel confident that their dogs are getting the best nutrition and the dogs love the fresh food, too!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I have about 20+ years of experience in the food and wine industry as a chef, food blogger and wine consultant. I’ve always been an animal lover and felt most at ease around animals. When my dog Nacho passed away from hemangiosarcoma suddenly, my whole world changed. I lost all desire for what I was currently doing and I started thinking about how I could work with animals full time. Since I am already a professional chef and holistic health coach for humans, when I came across an ad online for a Holistic Pet Health Coach certification, I knew that was the Universe’s way of telling me this was my path.
After I graduated from the Holistic Pet Health Coaching (HPHC) program, I also got certified as a professional canine nutritionist and an Animal Reiki practitioner, to add to my services at my newly founded company, Nacho Average Dog Health Coach, named after my soul dog Nacho.
As a holistic pet health coach, I support pet parents who want something different or something complimentary to standard veterinary care. I am not a vet, and always will work in tandem with pet parents’ veterinarians. However, I see your furry companion not as a collection of symptoms to be treated but as a whole, vibrant being with unique needs, personality, and life force. It’s a very individualized service where I offer consultations and packages tailored to each dog and their ailments and needs.
My specialty is in canine cancer and I work with large and giant breeds, particularly mastiffs and bully breeds. 1 out of 4 dogs will get cancer in their lifetime and 1 out of 2 dogs over the age of 10. Needless to say, this is a huge problem. Many pet parents are not interested in treating their dogs with chemotherapy, which is why they come to me for alternative options. We start with diet and nutritional alternatives, then look at lifestyle and how gentle supplements such as herbs and mushrooms can help strengthen the immune system. I also do a lot of energy work to supplement the protocols with modalities like Reiki, acupressure, crystals and sound healing.
A holistic approach doesn’t mean rejecting conventional medicine—it means embracing all tools available while honoring the body’s innate wisdom. I might help pet parents understand when a pharmaceutical intervention is necessary and when gentler approaches might work. I’ll help them navigate tough decisions with clarity and confidence, armed with knowledge from multiple healing traditions.
In the journey of pet parenthood, a holistic pet health coach becomes your ally, educator, and sometimes, your emotional support.
In addition to 1:1 consultations, I also offer group coaching programs, online classes and workshops, and I also have published several e-books that are all available in my online store.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Since my business is online, growing my email list has been my #1 priority because it’s an opportunity to land directly in people’s inbox, versus focusing all in on social media, with its fickle algorithms and where people are just drowning in content. I provide a lot of free content so people can get a taste for how I can help and to establish the like/trust factor.
I also throw individual classes on single topics that pet parents have expressed interest in, such as natural allergy treatments, herbal anxiety protocols, cooking classes, and energy healing workshops. These classes are significantly less of an investment than a consultation package, posing less of a risk for a new client and helping establish a close connection, which many times leads to 1:1 work and selling higher-end personalized services.
Networking is also important, regardless of whether you have an online or brick-and-mortar business, so attending conferences, expos, and educational events are great places to meet people and tell them about what you do. The more people know you, the more people think of you if they come across someone who might want your services. I also have a referral program where people can earn a commission when they send me clients.
Lastly, I have approached holistic veterinary offices about collaborating and recently went into a partnership with a fantastic local veterinarian where I’ll be their in-house holistic pet health coach once a week. This is a great way to get to know my local community of pet parents, as many of my clients are located all over the United States.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Thinking that just because I think something is valuable and ‘vital’ for a client, might not be what they want or are looking for.
Initially, when I was coming up with the concept for my business, the nerdy chef in me wanted to create complicated, high-end gourmet meals for dogs, but I quickly realized most people were looking for simple, doable recipes (and many were hesitant to even consider cooking for their dogs!) and their cooking capabilities were much lower than I imagined.
While people thought the gourmet concept was fun, unique and interesting – nobody hit that ‘purchase’ button. Surveying your audience is a must, and speaking in their language will get their attention. A great idea doesn’t sell- but an idea turned into an actionable plan that is formulated and presented in a way that makes people think “Yes, I can do that!” and have them go “Yes, I need that!”, does.
This doesn’t mean you have to change the goal of your business, but you might have to change <i>how</i> you get to that goal. Be flexible, listen to your client and remember: It’s not about you!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nachoaveragedoghealthcoach.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/nachoaveragedoghealthcoach
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/nachoaveragedoghealthcoach
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/sunnygandara
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sunnygandara
Image Credits
All photos are mine (Sunny Gandara).