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May 13, 2008 Edition
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A dog’s life now includes lapping up bottle of beer
 
 

by Russell Leadbetter

IT gives a whole new meaning to hair of the dog', but Britain's biggest chain of pet stores has introduced a bottle of beer for DOGS.

The ale is made in a brewery in the normal way and then packaged into a regular-shaped beer bottle complete with a metal crown' cap, just like the human tipple.

The contents have been reformulated to include more vitamins and no alcohol, while retaining the smell and taste of ordinary beer.

Originally launched in Holland under the name Kwispelbier - which means tail-wagging beer' - it has been brought over to the UK by the chain Pets At Home, which has Glasgow stores in Drumchapel and the Forge Retail Park.

It has now been given a simpler, self-explanatory label Dog Beer. The 33cl bottle will retail for £1.99.

Pets At Home said giving a dog a bottle of its own beer would help it bond with an owner who was doing the same. Dogs usually want to eat or drink what their owners are having but, for health reasons, often cannot.

A spokesman said: "While initially people may think of it as a novelty, dog beer makes a delicious treat for a thirsty dog."

It is the latest trend in the £2billion a year pet care market.

Figures indicate there are 27million pets in the UK, spread around 43% of households, with dogs (7.3m) and cats (7.2m) heading the list.

Pets At Home reported pre-tax profits of £30.9m for the 12 months to the end of March, a 55% increase on the previous year.

Chief executive Matt Davies said: "We are a nation of pet lovers. Things have to get very tough indeed before people cut back on what they are buying for their pets."

In 2007 the value of the pet food market was just over £1.7billion, says the Pet Food Manufacturers' Association.

Nearly 8000 people are directly employed in the manufacture of pet food, it added, with male workers outweighing women two to one.

Michael Bellingham, PFMA chief executive, said: "Health and nutrition is a key trend.

"Consumers are increasingly focusing on high quality, premium pet foods for their dogs, cats and other small pets.".

Publication date 09/05/08

Posted by: mulross, Glasgow on 12:32pm Fri 9 May 08
Pets At Home said giving a dog a bottle of its own beer would help it bond with an owner who was doing the same.


Aye right - how have dogs managed to bond with humans for thousands of years prior to this latest marketing ploy?
Posted by: Victor, Milan on 2:26pm Fri 9 May 08
Coming soon to Glasgow nightclubs @ £12 a bottle no doubt .... remember where you read it first.
Posted by: Shifty, Anniesland on 3:50pm Fri 9 May 08
Seems like a good idea to me. Don't fancy a rottweiller on the Stella.
Posted by: weegielady, glasgow on 4:58pm Fri 9 May 08
god am going to have a field day, where do the punchlines start with this headline LOL

Posted by: weegielady, glasgow on 5:00pm Fri 9 May 08
Will there be Whine as well as beer?
Posted by: weegielady, glasgow on 5:00pm Fri 9 May 08
so, who gets the head tonight, you or Fido?
Posted by: weegielady, glasgow on 5:01pm Fri 9 May 08
will they be sharing the same pint tumbler?
Posted by: weegielady, glasgow on 5:02pm Fri 9 May 08
Vets say, the best way to bond with your ****,is let her drink your beer
Posted by: weegielady, glasgow on 5:03pm Fri 9 May 08
b it ch was the word missing from 502pm post
Posted by: weegielady, glasgow on 5:04pm Fri 9 May 08
Will dogs have their own pubs soon?

Posted by: weegielady, glasgow on 5:05pm Fri 9 May 08
In a busy nightclub most men honestly won't tell the difference , his beer goggles make him appear to be drinking beer with a dog anyway
Posted by: weegielady, glasgow on 5:08pm Fri 9 May 08
am going to buy them in for ma self instead of lambrini,lol
Posted by: weegielady, glasgow on 5:11pm Fri 9 May 08
scooby doos been doing this for years with shaggy(bonding I mean LOL) his humanified antics include driving , walking on hindlegs, talking, eating in restaurants, having no genitals, never chasing a female in season, never urinating against lamp posts,and being able to solve mysteries, now they can go for a drink of PROPER beer instead of plain old pink frothy stuff and scooby snacks

Posted by: weegielady, glasgow on 8:05pm Sat 10 May 08
Any dogs concerned about their humans drinking habits can get in touch with AA anonymously
Posted by: weegielady, glasgow on 8:17pm Sat 10 May 08
Vets are seeing an alarming rise in canine asbos and reports are coming in, of packs of dogs, roaming in not very straight lines, peeing against lap posts and shop doorways by otherwise quiet pooches. male dogs seem hell bent on barking after midnight, howling, and growling if any other males appeared on their patch. 99% of these had a few dog beers beforehand.

One dog yesterday appeared in The Kennel Court after failing a Dogaliser breath test whilst in possession of a frisbee. Sentencing is pending further reports from his human handler.

SSPCA is concerned that the dog beer has given rise to violence, Tyson and Gizmo a rottie and a yorkie ,were on snarling terms ,over a Chewstick and Gizmo won, but lost a tooth , Glasgow Council has caught several canines in extreme activities, one shaven poodle on display , two white ugly' pitbull type dogs 'hugged one another when instructed to fight in illegal sports, apparently the drink causes some canines to feel affectionate.

A lot of 'morning after dog treats' were prescribed for shamed bi tches after a few beers were downed and the local hound became a bit of a stud.

we will keep you up to date on beer for dogs, get your paws into more news as it happens
Posted by: roor06, glasgow on 9:24pm Sat 10 May 08
Ma dug prefers a smoke ...
Posted by: weegielady, glasgow on 10:20pm Sat 10 May 08
has anyone seen ma dug? he is mainly black with tan paws and face(arent they all?) and about 23inches heigh, answers to Oi, and he was last seen heading to 'the Arches', he drank aw ma whine, and smoked ma benson and hedges before ringing someone up, and using his best scooby doo voice, says 'raggy? ah ront a tenner bag mate' and he was raging as I overheard him and i said 'was that blood shaggy again, am no happy ..hey...You are drunk, give me the car keys ..'

I am no happy with these bad habits he's picked up, if I wanted all this hassle, id have got a man no a dug!

:-)

cats will want to drink baileys next
Posted by: weegielady, glasgow on 10:35pm Sat 10 May 08
Pets At Home said giving a dog a bottle of its own beer would help it bond with an owner who was doing the same. Dogs usually want to eat or drink what their owners are having but, for health reasons, often cannot.
quote


This is no a problem for me, no health problems, I take ma dug to the Indian eaterie ,last night, we had our usual, sit in meal, as she likes the same sort of things as me. We both had chicken pakora, poppadums and spicy onions, and we had lamb bhoona and fried rice. She was parched so she had some dog beer, I stuck to the red wine.( Last time she had red wine, she puked aw night.) She is very bonded with me, we do share the same food and drink, she regularly eats ma leftovers, and licks plate clean, no one would know it wasn't Fairy I washed ma dishes in. No one bats an eyelid when she sits at the table. She always places the orders for me at the KFC drive thru as well. i really don't see what the big issue is here. She is a great dane.

I really must teach her to use a human lavy, very embarrassing when she plabbed on the restaurant carpet (bhoona !)just as I was about to eat ma pudding(chocolate mousse)

There are just some things we can't train our dogs to do yet!
Posted by: celtic4, United States on 2:28am today
Some people will buy anything, won't they? I think it is ridiculous.
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