Having recently discovered a quite wonderful pet shop close to where I live, I've been branching out and expanding my horizons food wise. Yes I still like my ultra non allergenic rice based dry food mixed with tip top meaty stuff, (I have sensitive skin), but sometimes you need something dirty...
Pets Own is in Prestwich and is run by a friendly human called Christian, and not only does he have the best shop ever, (for dogs that is), he knows all of our names too. In the face of more 'corporate' pet product suppliers, Pets Own remains very independent which means that Christian can offer a fantastic range of products, often locally sourced, and some surprise things too... Here he is behind his counter of delights.
As you can see, that counter is a dog's dream, with all manner of smelly, tasty, chewey things to get our jaws around. The thing is, my human doesn't eat meat, which makes picking treats out for me a tricky business. When we go in to buy my pet food, I like a good sniff around, and Christian always gives visiting pets a nice surprise from the counter, but as soon as my owner sees something that looks animal like, he gets all veggie on me and pulls a face. So I asked Christian to select a few really disgusting items from his counter to let me try. Boy was I ready!
In at number 4 - Lamb Spaghetti
Made up of bit's of lamb sinew and other tasty morsals from baby sheep, these thin strips make an ideal quick treat for my owners to bribe me with. And although I'll obey and sit down for one, it lasts for mere seconds, after which I do whatever the hell I like again. Surprisingly for a dog snack, the label states that they're gluten free. Great!
At 3 - meat pizza
This solid wedge of offal, bone and minced whatever is a slab of chewy deliciousness with a smell as rank as anything windy that is likely to emerge from me a mere minutes after eating it. But it keeps me busy for a while as I crumble it to pieces.. Makes quite a mess but it's relatively substantial.
Number 2 - the lamb's trotter
Yes, you're all familiar with the trotter of a pig, but let me tell you, nothing beats the end of a lamb's leg when it comes to foot-based meaty treats. I mean, a baby like this one keeps me happy for hours, and I have very strong jaws. It's perfect when they want me to keep out of their hair for a while.
Number 1 - it's the bull's pizzle
I don't know about you, but at the end of a hard day, when you're really ready to relax, put your paws up and indulge yourself with something truly wonderful, there's very little better than the dried penis of a bull. No, really, it's quite something. I can chew on a beauty like this for hours. Does that sound rude?
Sadly Christian was out of dried slices of bull testicle when I visited, so I'll be going back this weekend to stock up... Dog owners who want their canines to love them forever should follow suit.
Pets Own, 19 Longfield Centre, Prestwich
See more about independent Salford from Time Out.