Another canine quality-of-life improvement

[Nords]

Th, you know you've been waiting for this:

New cookies let dogs share with owners

'Lick 'n Crunch' good for canines and humans alike

Joseph Masone took a frilly looking, cream-filled sandwich cookie from the supermarket's sample tray, nodded thanks to the servers, and went to take a bite. Then he saw the box's label: Sandwich Cookie Treat For Dogs. Masone, 83, put the cookie down.

On the other side of the table, loyal Three Dog Bakery workers quickly began making their case -- their product is so fetching that humans also will lap it up.

Three Dogs Bakery managers were in Manhattan grocery stores this week to promote their new sandwich cookie that looks like an Oreo cookie, but is made with carob instead of chocolate, which is bad for dogs. Like all the company's products, the treats, called "Lick 'n Crunch," are made entirely with human quality ingredients.

Masone was skeptical at first, but he bit the cookie, mulled it over, and declared he liked it.

The Three Dog Bakery workers brought a few treats outside to give to Tommy, Masone's poodle, and he seemed to enjoy it even more than his owner.

Masone said he was sold.

"Me and Tommy will eat them together," he said, with a box of cookies under his arm.


Three Dogs Bakery sells biscuits, cookies, cakes, and meals, and while the company boasts that the food is good enough for humans to eat, it's intended for dogs.

"We're not trying to market to humans," said CEO Robert Islinger. "We're trying to explain that there's pet food and there's a new category called food for pets. So many Americans feel their pet is a member of their family, and that's who's our customer."

Kansas City-based Three Dog Bakery hopes its unconventional model can grab a chunk of the $14.5 billion Americans spent on pet food in 2005.

And the executives say they can vouch for their products because they've eaten them.

"We eat every treat before we give it to a dog," said Islinger. "I've eaten most everything." The Three Dogs cookies are more expensive than traditional dog treats. Food Emporium sells a box of the Lick 'n Crunch for $5.99, while Iams dog biscuits sell for $2.99.

If the shoppers at a Food Emporium grocery store Wednesday were any indication, the company might stand a chance.

"I know it sounds crazy, but if there's nothing in the house, there's a cookie you can share," said Sue-Anne Greenfield, who has two poodles at home.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I did see it. Three dog bakery used to have their own show on the food tv network, but it didnt last long.

Unfortunately my dogs dont like carob, and I'm not a huge fan of liver cookies

I tried making them some different biscuits but they're stuck on one particular brand they like.

Which by the way taste vaguely like an unsalted wheat thin with a mild meaty aftertaste and a somewhat oily mouth feel.

[VoyT]

I've always wondered just how many of those bakery treats actually go to the dogs

[BUM]

Dog died last year. I do miss her. We are not getting another. No we're not. Nope. Really. Not gonna do it. No way. No can do. Sorry. This time I really mean it. Pretty sure.

BUM

[MRGALT2U]

We almost lost a dog or 2 last night. Something got them started in the middle of the night and they wouldn't shut up. Guess they don't know my gun cabinet is only 10 feet from my bed

JG

[unclemick]

Don't own a dog - however Stepdaughter in spare room arrived with a bum leg and a Golden(DAWG). When the next camp over lets Cody, Mutsy, and Bandit out to play - guess who sits on the front porch until DAWG and who know who comes out to throw the old ball around.

Wavy bacon treats and unseasoned meat cooked for him and certain bones for treats. People food is seasoned and separate.

[MRGALT2U]

Where we live it would appear to be required to own at least one dog. People upstream and down both have 2 big dogs each, and neighbors across the street ditto.
We have 4. It takes the new city folks a while up loosen up and let their dogs wander a bit. I expect some of them are used to manicured lawns and following Rover around picking up doo-doo in a plastic bag. Out here they can dig and poop where they please (the dogs, not the people ) I never followed a dog around with a plastic bag in my life and I am not
starting now. I was discussing some troubles I had with a former neighbor (doggie paranoia) the other day.
He said to me, "Who wouldn't like a dog?" True!

JG

[Nords]

Quote:

He said to me, "Who wouldn't like a dog?" *True! JG

Apparently you're not living with unsocialized pit bulls.

One of the few Hawaii fashions I'm not fond of...

[Helen]

This topic is getting close to one of the tougher issues I have with retirement. *We have three dogs - 2 Great Danes and a border collie mix. *We love the company of animals and there is the added benefit of feeling safer with them. *However, I want to travel overseas for extended periods of time when I retire. * It is going to be really, really hard not to replace the dogs when we lose them. *We may adopt an older Dane in the next few years, but with only 8 years to go we can't adopt anymore young pups.

Anyone else in this situation ?

-helen

[MRGALT2U]

Hello Helen! After health insurance, the dog problem was
another major surprise. We don't really want to travel
overseas, but we would like to spend a big part of the winter in our Texas condo. We have four dogs
(average age around 5). We can't take them with us
and it will cost a fortune to board them for several months. Also, we will miss them of course. We
certainly aren't worried about replacing them. My main
worry is that they will outlive me

JG

[kayelem]

Dog-sitting is a major expense item (cat, too...but cat is ok for 4 days on own which makes long weekends ok).

We have a very trusted house sitter that takes our pets to her home, and lives just around the corner. But she is $20 a day and just raised her rates to $25/day.

Since I love dogs so much I am thinking of this as my ER "career". She has 2 dogs of her own, and the boarding dogs are "interviewed" to make sure they get along with her pets first. Otherwise they are rejected...and she has more business than she can handle. Maybe I need to move this to the "easy money with no work" area.

This is in a metro area, but still is a good deal compared to the vet. Plus my dog looks forward to the visits, when she pull up in the driveway to pick him up, he is ready to GO. Takes away the guilt on my part... This is the dog that when I would take him to a boarding facility would lay down and have to be dragged away. Talk about a bad beginning to vacation.

But this kind of expense will be tough to bear in ER.....

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Dog sitters: grandma and grandpa.

Been a long time since I had to hire a pet sitter...it was $10 a day to bring in the mail, water the plants, feed the critters, and if necessary, put the trash out or take it back in...

[MRGALT2U]

The best deal I have found out here in the "boonies"
for boarding is $25.00 a night for the 4 of them.
We need at least 3 sep. kennels/runs as the black lab hogs the food and the 3 Jack Russels (all males) will fight if
left together. Thus we are looking at almost the price
of a cheap motel just to board the dogs. A problem, but I am still negotiating. No relatives nearby to dogsit,
and I wouldn't leave anyone in the house for 3 months.
Anyway, I am looking at over $2000 out of pocket while we are gone,
and am not a happy camper.

JG

[bruce1]

I have lucked out in the dog sitting department! I have three neighbors/relatives that are not afraid of the St. Bernard wuss but are more than willing to board or dog sit him in return for me doing the same for theirs. People are afraid of him due to his size or maybe it is fear of drowning in dog slobber...

[BUM]

Helen,

Ditto here same problem. When the dog died last year it was a relief when it came time to hit the road. We (still) have a few cats but they can take care of themselves to an extent IF we can sucker someone into coming over once a day or so to see that they are cared for.

Last week I asked DW when we could head out to the beach. She said no can do....nobody to watch the cats till next month. Nice man smiles and says "OK". Inside man says, "Lock and load".

[yelnad]

My dad is retired (he went at 55) and he comes down to our house and "grandpup" sits when we travel or else we take the dogs to his house. They love grandpa. I won't leave them in a kennel. The one is too high strung.

[MRGALT2U]

"High strung" is a typical Jack Russell trait. Once we
let a kennel talk us into leaving all 3 in one new and
improved extra large run. When we came back a week later, the kennel floor looked like a slaughterhouse.
We were pretty sure one must be dead. Wasn't, but
we did have to take him to the vet. Bottom line, we never leave all three alone together anymore, which
really runs up the boarding bills. They are quite loveable
with people, but if they get into a real tussle, you can hardly pry them apart. Last time I broke a pretty
good mop handle (househusband)

JG

[Sheryl]

Helen,
I've been stewing over the same problem. I probably won't have it (dog or problem) too much longer. I only have one dog, and he'll be 12 next month, so even though he's very healthy, jogs with us and acts like a pup sometimes, I can't believe he'll be around more than a couple years.


When I travel now I leave him in a kennel that he's very familiar with and seems to actually enjoy (they let him chase their cats). But I never go for more than two weeks. I'd like to start taking longer trips but I worry about leaving him that long. So I keep saying I won't get another (Right BUM?) OTOH I just can't imagine everyday life without a dog. I have a parrot but that's just not the same.

[sgeeeee]

We've had bad luck with kennels in the past. Today we pay the neighbor girl to come over and feed the dog in the back yard. Bubba the black lab loves the back yard and has a dog house on our well shaded patio. We used to pay what a kennal would cost us, but the girl's parents asked us to cut if in half because they didn't want her to have that much money. So now we give half to her and half to the parents to put in her college fund.

We take Bubba to visit Grandpa too. It's a long trip (2500 miles) but we only make it a couple of times per year. Both of them seem to enjoy it.

If we didn't have a neighbor we could trust, I think we would still hire a dogsitter rather than put Bubba in a kennel. They typically cost a little more than a kennel, but if you have 2 or 3 dogs they can be less expensive. Out here, you can find dogsitter advertisements at any dog park or pet store. They will visit your house twice a day and feed and play with your animals for a very reasonable fee. It's usually not too hard to get one that is bonded with good references.

The cats are inside animals. They free feed and seem to be okay entertaining themselves for up to about 10 days at least. We have to leave a lot of litter pans out, though.

[unclemick]

We never had bad luck with the kennel - always used the same one - but noticed the dog would pout for an amount of time equal to our vacation time when we got back. Finding a good sitter out in the boonies was difficult.

In our RV days - took the dog with us and he loved it.