Are Dogs “Sweeter” than Cats
March 19, 2010
Dear Diary,
Last fall I was asked to review some dog treats by a premium dog food site. (My thoughts at the time are listed in archived entries from Oct and Nov.) Wow! What an opportunity!! Well, I’ve tried many now and want to share some of my findings. (I have nothing to gain by sharing these thoughts – other than I got to try the treats.)
Mom and I considered a lot of factors in rating the treats: if it was made in the USA, from “whole” foods, with organic ingredients, nothing artificial – sweeteners, colors, preservatives. Then we considered factors like, if it was easy for Mom to break it up and give it to me in small bites (which she likes to do as training rewards). Then she would lay two or three out for me to try. I got to vote by which ones I would choose to eat first (Mom knows that I usually got to my right first, so she tried to mix things up). I also voted by either gobbling the treat right down or picking it up then dropping it and thinking before I ate it.
The Right Paw Wins Again
One thing that surprised Mom at first was how much I liked the blueberry treat (Bite O’ Blue Wild Blueberry). I would pick one up and then combine it with another treat and eat them together. We gave this treat the second highest ranking. Blueberries are supposed to be really good for people – and dogs, too. Mom then realized that she shouldn’t have been surprised. She had taken her collie Hope with her one time when she was picking wild berries, only to discover that Hope was eating then out of the pail when Mom’s back was turned. I guess Hope didn’t get to go along picking berries after after that. (Remember that not all people foods are good for us dogs. Always check the list before you feed us something.)
Yesterday, Mom read some information about what dogs taste. I guess they’ve done studies at places like Cornell and Tufts and have determined that dogs have only 1706 taste buds, while humans have 9000 and cats have 473. Dogs have “type D” taste buds that respond to fruity-sweet compounds, while cats don’t. That explains why I like both meaty and sweet treats while Fluffy and Reilly aren’t so excited by sweet foods. Fluffy proved that last night. He gets to lick Dad’s plate after dinner. (Not fair! I get in BIG trouble for doing that!) Anyway, he licked the part where the hamburger had been but wasn’t interested at all in the fruit ambrosia. Cats are more truly carnivores than dogs. I wonder – do they eat meat because that’s what they can taste or do they not have sweet taste buds because they aren’t going to use them anyway. In either case, I’m glad I can taste sweet.That makes me “sweeter” than the cats. Right?!
Signed, Tucker (owner of this Dog Diary)
If you enjoyed this dog blog, check out The Sensible Dog
or follow my dog tweets on Twitter as sensibledog.
PS More reviews in the days to follow.
Thats really interesting about the taste buds. That explains why my cat is so finicky. I have two little dogs who love blueberries also. I will only feed all natural dog treats to them. Who would have guess my dog has a sweet tooth
Very cute dog
a really nice blog from you. anticipating to have some more interesting issues from you.
Dog Muscles Supplements
I don’t think dogs are cuter then cats because dogs and cats both are cute and sweet, not a good question to ask…
I don’t really think that dogs are sweeter in personality. The information here really is about the differences in what cats and dogs can taste. The question was meant as a joke (that’s why there were quotes around “sweeter”). Sorry you didn’t think it was funny. Also remember, this is told from a dog’s point of view. While Tucker does love his own kitties and is very kind to other cats – well, I do suspect that he thinks he is pretty “sweet”.
February 2011. I just found my new “favorite biscuit”. The Vermont Maple Bone from Vermont Gourmet Dog Treats
(http://vtgourmetdogtreats.com/).
And Mom knows the owner of the company!
YES!
A friend of mine just happend to give http://www.k9cuisine.com/ a test a couple of weeks ago and had nothing but positive things to say about them. Since we raise dogs we may have to give them a try sometime soon.