Treat Tuesday: Kong Proactive Care Rawhide

This Kong Proactive Care Knotted Bone appears to be a slightly expensive regular rawhide bone. This is yet another licensed Kong-brand product that is not actually made by the Kong Company. The actual company behind it is Jakks Pacific, purveyors of kinda cheap dog and kid stuff. The packaging says it contains a patent protected bio-available form of Vitamin C. The actual ingredients are rawhide, Lactoferrine, Lisozyme, and L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate. That last one is Vitamin C. I had to look up the others.

Lactoferrin is a protein found in various mammalian secretions, milk seems to have the most. The protein has antimicrobial properties, and it has been clinically proven to improve oral health when used topically. This is definitely a good thing to use on a rawhide chew, but they've spelled it 'Lactoferrine' with an 'e' on the end which is throwing me off a bit. I've only found this spelling on ingredients lists, and I currently believe it to be a misspelling of Lactoferrin and not a sneaky way of making us all think it's got that in there.

"Lisozyme" is hopefully another funky misspelling, because Lysozyme is an enzyme present in saliva and various other things including egg whites. Its antibacterial properties were discovered by Alexander Fleming, the same guy that discovered penicillin. Lysozyme has shown antibacterial properties, so it is often included in human mouthwashes and products for dry mouths. This is also something that make sense to put on a rawhide chew.

I'm still not totally sure why they chose to advertise this bone as having Vitamin C, because I can't find compelling evidence that it does anything for healthy dogs on quality diets. Looks like it's just the generic "boosts the immune system!" claim.

One their website, Jakks Pacific claims that Kong rawhides are made in the USA. However, the package for this one says "Made in Mexico from U.S. beef hides." As the USA is the primary supplier of beef hide for the entire planet, even rawhides from China are usually made from USA beef hide. Not impressed. Not at all. Sisci isn't terribly impressed either, she usually gets to work on rawhides chews right away, and all she's done with this one is carry it around a bit.

April Loot Pets by Loot Crate: Quest

Our Loot Pets subscriptions box from Loot Crate arrived yesterday, just in time for Brisbane's birthday! The theme this month is "Quest", and there was something in there for everyone! For me, the most exciting thing is that they changed the fit of the dog shirts so Ru can now wear them. So Happy! This is the first month that LootPets boxes also include a matching human shirt. Normally I avoid being all matchy matchy, but Ru exists largely for comedic purposes so the matching shirts work out.

But seriously, when was the last time you saw a scratch and sniff sticker?

As soon as I opened the box, I knew this was going to be a good crate. The box was lined with bacon paper, sealed with a bacon scratch and sniff sticker. I sniffed it. It didn't smell like anything. I scratched it. It smelled like bacon.

There was no Loot Pets Magazine this month. Instead, we were introduced to the products via a sheet of trading cards. These were cool enough to send me into a fit of hand-flapping glee. For a moment I even considered whether I should separate the cards or not, as it might decrease their value years down the line. Then I told my vintage toy collector brain to shut up. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm hoping the cards are a permanent change.

This month's shield-shaped charm features a 20-sided dice. I can't decide whether this one or the Alien vs Predator is my favorite. Maybe Brisbane will wear the D20 charm and Sisci will wear the Alien charm. Maybe they'll only wear them on special occasions. Do dogs have special occasions?

We got a bag of beef jerky Questrips, which is a delightful portmanteau word. If you don't know what a portmanteau word is then I am clearly a bigger nerd than you. These are semi-soft, and made of pretty much just beef, perfect for Brisbane! The card and actual package both say they are from Loot Pet Labs, but I suspect they were made by the Loving Pets company. A quick trip through their treat selections reveals some very familiar snacks, including sweet potato crisps, some puffed chips, bone-shaped chicken jerky, and some chimichanga-shaped dental treats.

This month's toy is a strip of crinkly, squeaky, floppy bacon. It's big, it's stuffingless, and Sisci thinks it's pretty awesome. She's a fan of crinkly toys, unlike the boys. The bacon toy is made by Jakks Pacific, who made the plush cheeseburger we got in our July Pet Gift Box. I guess they make a lot of food-themed toys.

In lieu of Loot Pets Magazine, this month we got a Battlepug graphic novel. In case you can't tell from the picture, this is a novel about a fearless barbarian who rides a horse-sized pug. Yes, really. It's a real graphic novel too, with binding and art and a copyright page and everything. And a burly dude riding a giant pug. I don't know if I'm going to be able to read this with all these tears of mirth streaming from my eyes. A giant pug. I just pick it up and start laughing. Check out more at Battlepug.com because this is actually a thing.

Lastly, we received a pair of matching Adventure Tim shirts that fit perfectly. I wasn't sure which size to order for myself because unisex t-shirts tend to either be too short or too wide, but the XS fits me perfectly. The small dog shirt now fits Ru perfectly, too! All of his previous shirts have been far too wide in the neck and body, as if they were made to fit a pug or a French bulldog. I need to break out the sewing machine and take them in a bit so he can wear them. In the meantime, we have Adventure Time shirts. Not that I'm

Matchy matchy.

particularly a fan of Adventure Time, but I don't dislike it either. I just haven't experienced much because I don't have time to shoehorn another obsessive fandom into my life.