The debut of Animal House
We made it! It's Friday, and that means the debut of Animal House, a weekly feature where we celebrate the silly side of our pets, examine the offbeat, share news of the weird from the animal world.
To put it in pet terms: If we were a dog, this would be the equivalent of a good belly rub: as a cat, we'd be getting scratched in that sweet spot right between our ears and whiskers.
We begin by discussing bad breath in dogs (and cats), and what can be done about it.
DogToids and CatToids. Yes, you heard it here first (well, maybe you did). Bamboo, a designer of pet care products, is introducing pet breath mints. The dog version has parsley and LIVER flavor. Liver? Liver?? Hmmmm. For cats, there's parsley, taurine (an amino acid) and SALMON. Another hmmmmm.
Naughty Elizabeth suggested I take the top off the tins and put them on the counter in the office where we have snacks. We'll eat almost anything: Day-old doughnuts, macaroni salad that's been out for hours, somebody else's sandwich.
But instead I'd like to give them to you. Here's how it will work.
1. Comment below, and the first 20 commenters will have their names put in a bag.
2. Elizabeth or Kate or Tim or whoever I can find in the office in a couple hours will select one name out of the bag. That person will be the winner of these fabulous prizes.
3. Wait, there's more. The winner will also get a bonus gift to be revealed later today. (Am I starting to sound like Billy Mays here?)
Don't delay. Operators are standing by. Let the comments begin. They can be about anything - from your pet's breath to your office's oddball food habits. Anything goes (so long as it's not profane or unpublishable); it's Animal House Friday.
Photo by Reality Check Sarah
Comments
Oooh! Me! Me! My dog has dumpster breath and the mint bones we buy for him freshen it for maybe a nano second. I'll try anything!
Posted by: Audrey | February 27, 2009 10:43 AM
The mints are funny. My brothers yellow lab has the worst breathe strench, so we got her a mint flavored ball hoping it would do the trick. Nope. maybe the mints will work
Posted by: Jason | February 27, 2009 10:58 AM
We are working on brushing our cats' teeth, but breath mints would be much easier.
Posted by: EL | February 27, 2009 11:36 AM
Oh my goodness, I may just have to go get these doggy breath mints for my Beagles, Scout and Brogan. They're breath can be like...whoa.
A funny tidbit about my dogs that might make you chuckle is:
Scout refuses to understand that she can not go into the trashcan in our kitchen. She has learned how to lift the lid up with her nose so that we can't hear her sniffing for some goodies. And what's even more silly, is that she can lower the trashcan lid back on without the slightest sound.
Brogan, absolutely has to be in the perfect position in order to go to sleep. I've clocked it once, after almost 4 minutes of turning, stopping, turning again and turning some more, he finally found the perfect spot to go to sleep. It was exhausting for my husband and I to watch.
Great feature, looking forward to more and I hope I win!
BeagleMom, Thanks for these great stories. I love how wily Scout is about his foraging. And I can relate to Brogan's struggles. MC
Posted by: BeagleMom | February 27, 2009 11:36 AM
I know some cats with some wicked bad breath.
Posted by: Casper | February 27, 2009 11:44 AM
I love my dog, but his breath is always awful!!
Posted by: Julie | February 27, 2009 11:55 AM
I'm mainly curious about how you're supposed to get the pet to suck on a mint. Gulp - and it's gone is how it would go in my house. Whoever wins these, please report back.
Posted by: KristinB | February 27, 2009 12:21 PM
I own a bookstore and I train dogs. I'd love to start carrying your products in my shop. In the mean time my older dog and cat could use a bad breath check!
Posted by: Sharon Dlubala | February 27, 2009 12:22 PM
i have four cats. two of them are down right awful. we nicknamed seth "death breath". but he is the best cat and i love him despite it.
death breath - what a hoot! MC
Posted by: lockchic | February 27, 2009 12:24 PM
I used to have aGerman Shepherd - glorious dog and love of my life - with THE WORST breath imaginable! Those "green" treats? Not a dent in the monster breath.
Posted by: Eve | February 27, 2009 12:31 PM
I like the idea of leaving them out for your coworkers. :)
Posted by: Daryl | February 27, 2009 12:34 PM
yum yum yum! stinky breath be gone!
Posted by: nic | February 27, 2009 1:00 PM
KristinB - Very good point! Also the visual of a dog or cat sucking on a mint made me chuckle.
Posted by: Trixie | February 27, 2009 1:27 PM
Great - liver and salmon flavored breath mints for pets. I wouldn't even date someone with breath like that, more or less want to be licked! Can I vote for, say, strawberry or peppermint??
Posted by: Corbin | February 27, 2009 2:52 PM
I think some coworkers and cats in my life would benefit!
Posted by: Jami | February 27, 2009 2:57 PM
I'm just commenting to win the prize. I apparently have a use for it today, thanks to Elizabeth's twisted sense of humor.
Posted by: Bucky | February 27, 2009 3:06 PM
Lilo takes after her dad...her breath smells like mothballs. Ewwww.
Posted by: April | February 27, 2009 3:27 PM
I've got a few stinky breath critters that REALLY need these...pick me!
Posted by: Jennifer | February 27, 2009 4:22 PM
Usually fresh and peppy, my dawg's breath is, for some reason or another, simply HORR-END-OUS!! He could certainly benefit from sampling a few DOG-TOIDS!!
Posted by: Anonymous | February 27, 2009 4:25 PM
I wonder if they'll make mints for the other end too . . . Let's just say my dog certainly knows how to light up a room.
Posted by: Mike | February 27, 2009 4:35 PM
Looks like you have your 20 comments. That's okay. My kittens have sweet kitty breath.
^^ ^^
Posted by: Dahlink | February 27, 2009 4:42 PM
Dahlink - ^^ ^^, too cute! Good to see some of the Sandboxers here.
Posted by: Trixie | February 28, 2009 2:27 PM
Great to see you, too, Trixie!
Posted by: Dahlink | February 28, 2009 5:24 PM
Wow, those breath mints! Hope I can have one, but too late.
Posted by: Dental Gainesville | August 28, 2009 4:54 AM
Cool! that would be perfect for my dogs!
Posted by: Dentists Plano | September 8, 2009 4:33 AM