• BubbleMonkey@slrpnk.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    66
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    6 months ago

    You can just gnaw on dog treats if you want. Like nobody is stopping you. My parents tried and failed many many years ago, but the sandy texture of the treats they bought was a major turnoff for me, so no need fam. If dentabones or whatever had been a thing back then I might have a different story…

    Fun fact; most pet foods and treats are tested at some stage by humans for flavor, because animals can’t really give proper critique. So someone, somewhere, has probably already eaten them.

    • Turbofish@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      41
      ·
      6 months ago

      I’m a very small sample size being one guy who works in a dog food factory. But we absolutely do not test our products on humans. All our meat products are marked not for human consumption.

      The seasonings and what have you are often tested by the npd crowd but I can’t imagine a scenario where anyone would actually try the finished product.

      • BubbleMonkey@slrpnk.net
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        21
        ·
        6 months ago

        The seasonings and what have you are often tested by the npd crowd

        This is the “at some stage” portion, I assume (tho I don’t understand the lingo you are using tbh)

        Dry foods are bland and flavorless kibbles without the flavor coating, often using the same meal for multiple lines, so you just test the coating. But other products don’t have that luxury, like wet foods and treats that have soft core or whatever.

        Obviously nobody is consuming it as a diet, but they do test it :)

        https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/food-facts/food-careers/food-taster3.htm

        https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephenlaconte/i-just-found-out-that-dog-food-gets-taste-tested-by-humans

        https://www.merieuxnutrisciences.com/na/sensory-and-consumer-testing-of-pet-food/

        • Turbofish@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          6 months ago

          New product design.

          What testing is done is that core temps are monitored, moisture levels checked and there’s micro testing for bacteria and what not. Its all also run through metal detectors at multiple stages throughout the process.

          This should theoretically be safe for human consumption but all of the unprocessed meat is marked as cat 3 and isn’t fit for humans. A company would be opening themselves to liability if they were to make people test it.

      • Maalus@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        6 months ago

        In many places catfood and such is mandatory to be safe for human consumption.

            • flicker@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              4
              ·
              6 months ago

              I dunno what to tell you. It’s been a thing since I worked a retail job as a kid and was warned to advise management if someone was buying “a lot” of cat food and seemed poorer than average. Found an article. It’s one of those things where there were PDAs about it in the 80s, there’s articles of it happening during the pandemic, but I’m not finding any scholarly articles.

              Probably hard to get someone to admit to.

            • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              3
              ·
              6 months ago

              “real” food is cheaper, but also has to be cooked and can’t sit on a shelf for 15 years and still be edible.

              This is why stuff like spam continues to be sold, it’s cheap and easy and lasts forever.

              • Aux@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                4
                arrow-down
                3
                ·
                6 months ago

                When someone talks about cat food the real alternative is food like SPAM. And SPAM IS cheaper than cat food. Buying cat food to eat is an expensive enterprise, thus the original point is false.

      • BubbleMonkey@slrpnk.net
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        9
        ·
        6 months ago

        I haven’t tried those but the generic ones that were bbq flavor back in the 90s were made from flour and water and probably nothing else, and crumbled on bite into nasty wheat sand.

  • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    48
    ·
    6 months ago

    i really wish they made those chewing sticks for humans, chewing on a rubbery stick sounds amazing to my autistic mind

    like that would instantly take me from middling tooth health to best teeth in the game, i’d be chewing those shits day in day out to the point that the dentist has to tell me to cut it down, not to mention how great it would be for jaw strength!

      • ChexMax@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        6 months ago

        Please be conscientious if you choose to use a coping method like this. Some estimates put misophonia as prevalent as affecting 1 in 5 people. Your chewing on something to calm yourself down may be setting off full fight or flight in the person next to you.

    • Etterra@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      12
      ·
      6 months ago

      Yeah but the US dental association forced them to stop saying that it’s as good as flossing. It’s still good, just not that good.

        • SuperIce@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          5
          ·
          6 months ago

          If it has Xylitol, it’s actually pretty good because it kills the bacteria that cause cavities.

        • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          6 months ago

          i don’t think i’ve ever seen (non-candy) gum that has sugar in it

          then again wrigley has an almost total monopoly on non-candy gum…

  • BluesF@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    35
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    6 months ago

    Probably because dogs only live like 10-15 years. Their little gnashers don’t have to last quite so long… Then again they also like to chew up wood n shit so I suppose they go through a lot.

  • Ephera@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    15
    ·
    6 months ago

    There’s these toothpaste tablets/pills, which you put into your mouth, bite on them and then they turn into toothpaste for brushing.

    When I first saw those, I also thought, they’d somehow clean your teeth without brushing. Like, maybe they’re one of those fizzy tablets, which I believe exist for cleaning fake dentures. Or when I then read that you bite on them, I thought, maybe they’re like special chewing gum. But yeah, it’s just toothpaste without the water.

    • explodicle@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      6 months ago

      Once I chewed a vitamin C tablet that looked like a TUMS. It was not like a TUMS. It was intended to dissolve in a glass of water.

      It started fizzling and bubbling in my mouth, activated by the moisture that was there. I started intensely foaming at the mouth and almost threw up.

      Good times, 10/10

      • NaoPb@eviltoast.org
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        6 months ago

        And then you got to stay at home because you seemed sick. Nice one Ferris Bueller.

    • acetanilide@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      6 months ago

      Yeah, I was trying to find something that didn’t need water for when I’m away from a sink. Saw those tablets and thought they’d be great! Luckily I read the description.

      I guess I’ll have to stick with the wisp things.