My mom’s husband, John, told me that he once ate a whole “dog pepperoni” (a Pupperoni? A Snausage? Hopefully not a ‘bully stick”!) because he thought it was jerky. Where are your taste buds?!
I nibbled a bite of the “pizza bites” treats that drive Bruno crazy, and boy do they NOT taste like pizza. Bleccch!
I guess this just fits with the finding that women tend to have more taste buds and better sense of smell than men. (Especially the women in my family- we all have very keen senses.) Possible connection- in primitive societies women are usually the keepers of knowledge about edible and medicinal plants, and smell and taste are of paramount importance in identifying these. (For a cool aside about supertasters, people who have a much keener sense of taste than normal, click here. I am probably a supertaster- I find alcohol intolerably bitter, and have had to train myself to eat grapefruits, swiss cheese, tofu, carbonated drinks, and other stuff normal people don't find bitter. It could be worse, though...my aunt can't even stand rosemary or oregano!)
Dogs have a LOT fewer taste buds than humans- probably because they evolved to eat a less-varied diet than we do, and didn't need to distinguish so many flavors. (Cats have even fewer- their natural diet doesn't include ANY plant matter or carrion). Also, the fact is; that while dogs appreciate our food, what THEY like best is stuff we find yucky. Dogs are not little humans in fur suits!
I must interject that cats do indeed eat vegetable matter and with great gusto. Two sibling cats of mine go NUTS for a saucer of chopped cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumbers, or tomatoes. One other non-related cat also loves these. Is it genetic?
ReplyDeleteOne of the funny things about our dog is that she absolutely goes bonkers over cherries. I don't know if it's the flavor or just the ritual of sharing a treat with the pack, but she seems to love them.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why your cats like veggies so much... It's definitely true that cats have fewer taste buds on their tongues, and no sugar receptors at all (which dogs do have.) Maybe it's the texture?
ReplyDeleteA gas station by me sells these... I guess they're like jerkified hot dogs or something? I don't know, but I took one look at them and thought "DOG TREAT." I can't believe they supposedly sold for human consumption.
ReplyDeleteoh, you mean Slim Jims! :D I think Mythbusters once did a segment on them, whether or not they are actually indestructible.
ReplyDeleteI think dogs would love them, but they are SUPER salty, so maybe not the best thing...