Dogs and humans eating together? Yummy!
By Jon Fernquest |
Innovative new business idea: Dogs and humans eating together. When you go out to dinner with your family, bring the dog.
Dogs may never acquire table manners, but they will always appreciate a nice piece of meat or a tasty dog biscuit.
When dog food entrepreneur Nitta Prabhasabhakdi took a trip to Japan recently she discovered bakeries breaking new ground in human-dog friendship:
"I went to one bakery and I was so impressed - owners and their dogs can have lunch or dinner together. There were menus for both owners and dogs."
Dog hotels, dog buses, dog-friendly stores and taxis, that's what we need.
For starters Nitta has concocted healthy recipes for dogs. Look at the the photos on this page. Tails express dog emotions, so she named her dog biscuits after them:
Using the brand name "Happy Tail", her canine cuisine has kept countless tails wagging, and the freshly baked treats are set to win many a dog's heart in future."Whenever my dogs see me carrying a tray of toothsome canine cookies they wag their tails happily and endlessly, hence the name of my home-made dog treats," said Nitta, smiling.
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Now business is brisk and her dog biscuits are selling like hot cakes. During a canine cooking class organised at Emporium last month, many dog lovers were tempted to have a taste of her Happy Tail products, even though they are meant for four-legged consumers. Her biscuits also enticed children to take a bite, and they kept coming back to her booth, asking for more."It was so funny when children surrounded the booth and tasted my biscuits, even though they knew that they were dog biscuits. But there's nothing to worry about since my products are made from safe ingredients," said Nitta, the designer-cum-doggie chef.
Nitta's fascination with dog food began when her dog got sick and she had to do some research:
"Nitta recalled that it all started when her dog developed an allergy to chicken, a main ingredient in many dog treats. She still wanted to treat her dog on special occasions, and in a bid to make some treats for her dog herself, Nitta researched canine nutrition by approaching several dog nutritionists. She also reads foreign textbooks on the subject and any canine cookery books she could find."
She names a lot of her new dog food recipes after her dogs: Kenta's Favourite, Cheese Lover, My Divine Honey, Susie's Yummy Tuna and Chicken Thigh. Some of these recipes even sound like food a humans like myself would enjoy eating:
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"Kenta's Favourite is made of chopped liver mixed with oats and can help keep your dog strong and healthy. It is high in fibre, which makes it good for the digestive system. Cheese Lover is a combination of Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses and Nitta's dogs jump up and down when she makes it, begging for a taste of heaven. My Divine Honey is a creamy honey, oat and peanut butter biscuit, with honey cream cheese stuffing. Nitta's dogs will do anything for just one bite of this creamy delight. Susie's Yummy Tuna features tuna mixed with yoghurt and meat pellets in fun, eye-catching shapes. Her Banana Cup Cakes also attract the dogs and, like Kenta's favourite, are high in fibre. Chicken Thigh is her latest recipe. It is made from ground whole wheat mixed with fat-free powdered milk, and the dogs love it."Apart from these yummy dishes and treats, canine cakes are also a big hit. Nitta often gets calls from pet owners who want to a order birthday cake for their dog. All her cakes are decorated with sugar-free cream cheese to look good, but at the same time are good for the dog's health.
She'll have to find some way of distributing her products in the provinces in. My eight dogs would really enjoy her products in Chiang Rai.
Tourists also often express frustration at not being able to find hotels to stay at with their dog. So there are lots of good business ideas for pets. Better start brainstorming quick. (Source: Bangkok Post, 25-11-07, temp-link)
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go out to dinner - make a special trip to eat dinner in a restaurant
acquire - get
table manners - eating with other people in a polite way
a dog biscuit -
entrepreneur - a small business person (new risky business)
breaking new ground - doing something new that others have not done yet
dog-friendly stores -
concocted - created something special
brand name - special product name
canine - dog
cuisine - a kind of food (Thai cuisine, French cuisine)
treats - special things to eat (usually sweet)
toothsome - delicious (probably, haven't seen this word before)
wag their tails - when a happy dog moves their tail around
demonstration - showing people how to do something
business is brisk - selling a lot
selling like hot cakes - selling a lot
enticed - attracted, interest people so they come and look
a booth - a small table and area for showing products at a show
ingredients - the things that are used to make something
x cum y - partly x and partly y
fascination with - very interested in
recalled - remembered
treat (verb) - give something special
special occasions - a special time, like a birthday, a wedding anniversary
nutrition - the study of healthy food
fibre - rough food like wheat, bran, and other grains
stuffing - things put inside
pellets - little round balls (typical pet food)
eye-catching - makes you want to look at it
yummy - delicious, tastes good
