The Good: Good for dog's dental health, Good ingredients
The Bad: Least economical pack, My dog prefers every other flavors to it, Doesn't freshen breath
The Basics: A very disappointing flavor of Booda Bone, the Spearmint does not freshen Dog's breath and my dog is pretty much indifferent to it!
My wife says I have unrealistic expectations about many things I encounter in this life. I think I have standards. After all, I want products that make a claim to live up to that claim. I want purpose in my life and for those things that are in my life as well. So, while something may not claim to do something, if there is an implication that it does it, I think it is absolutely fair to enter those expectations into one's evaluation of the product. I mention this at the outset of my review of Booda Bones little Spearmint bones because I think if you're going to make a mint-flavored product for dogs there is the implication that it is going to do something to help freshen Dog's breath. This, however, is not the case. Spearmint Booda Bones do nothing to freshen breath beyond what ordinary bone treats to do help clean matter off teeth and help keep the mouth and teeth smelling fair as a result.
But when I picked up the Spearmint Booda Bones, I figured that if a company is going to flavor a dog treat with mint, they might as well make it such that it freshens breath. My geriatric cocker spaniel, Mitzie, has never shown any inclination toward mint flavored treats (and I have a ton of mint chocolate things around the house!), so I did not feel my assumption was too far out of whack. The thing is, just as Mitzie has never seemed eager for anything mint, she did not go for the Spearmint Booda Bone with any enthusiasm either. In fact, even more than the Yogurt flavor Booda Bone, Mitzie seems to have an antipathy toward the Spearmint flavor. Combined with not freshening her breath in any noticeable way more than the other flavor Booda Bones, this made it easy for me to not recommend this flavor!
Mitzie ate this bone lackadaisically, without any specific passion for the Spearmint Booda Bone. This is quite a contrast for her because she'll pull Greenies out for her herself (it's actually quite impressive) and she loves other flavors of Booda Bones, like the Chicken Booda Bone (reviewed here!), so when she only casually chomped on the Spearmint each time I gave her one, this was a bit of a surprise to me. Even without any other competition, she slowly makes her way through the little Spearmint flavored Booda Bone.
Booda Bones, I learned in my tenure working at the same pet store as my partner, come in a wide variety of sizes for dogs and the little bones are intended for dogs less than 15 lbs. in size, so our old cocker spaniel still applies, but just barely (especially since the holiday season began!). The Booda Bones are advertised as having dental benefits and given how Mitzie has a few each week and has very healthy teeth, this could well be part of her dental health regimen. Given that Mitzie continues to choose these treats, just not this specific flavor of them, I have to assume they taste good as well. If any of them might taste bad, I'd guess it is the Spearmint because of how little enthusiasm she shows toward them and the metallic smell they have when I pull them out of the package for her.
The Booda Bones Spearmint flavor treat comes individually as a wrapped bone-shaped treat three inches long by 7/8" wide (3/8" thick). This is the smallest quantity one might buy them in and there are multipacks. For my tastes and budgets, the single Booda Bone treat seems a bit expensive at about a dollar a treat. Even with my employee discount, it seems like the individually-wrapped treat is environmentally and economically not much of a value. There are multipacks of the Spearmint flavor on the market, as well as a multipack which has both spearmint and peppermint in it!
The dark green bone is designed to help fight plaque and tartar build-up by having a texture to it. The bone has bumps and the bumps agitate the build-up on teeth whenever a dog bites into them. Because the bone is too big to simply be swallowed, the Booda Bones effectively brushes the dog's teeth and tongue using friction whenever the dog bites into it to split it and swallows it, dragging the bolus across their tongue. This has had wonderful results with Mitzie, though because she has eaten so many Booda Bones of late, she hasn't had much in the way of build-up or even generally bad breath.
One of the other key selling points of the Spearmint flavor Booda Bones treats is that it is wheat-free. Apparently, wheat is used in a lot of dog products and it is not great for their digestion. For those looking out for their dog's diet, the Spearmint flavored Booda Bones treat is made up primarily of modified food starch, water and glycerin, though it is flavored with the "natural flavor" of spearmint. This is intended entirely as a treat, not a meal substitute or replacement. Mitzie has put on a little weight since she moved here from Michigan with my partner, but lately, we've reduced her diet some and are still able to reward her for good behavior with a Booda Bone every other day (on opposite days, she gets her Greenies treat, which she loves).
These treats are not bad for dogs and the package says that if there are any messes from the dog they clean up easily, but Mitzie not only ate the Spearmint flavored treats, when given no other options, she kept them down without any problems. Still, this is basically candy for dogs and the Spearmint flavor offers little to dogs that is either beneficial or a detraction. This treat has at least 1% crude protein and crude fat and no more than 6% crude fiber and 14% moisture, so those looking out for their dog's specific dietary needs, that might help.
Because Mitzie is more indifferent to this flavor and it did nothing for her breath after having one of her rare soft dog food meals, it became very easy not to recommend Spearmint Booda Bones!
For other dog treats, please check out my reviews of:
Redbarn Bacon N' Cheese Filled Bone
Science Diet Immunity Support Wafers
Senior Greenies
4/10
For other pet product reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
No comments:
Post a Comment