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Alan
prepares Penny for some doggie oral hygiene.
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While
American dog owners certainly pamper their pets, there is
one aspect of doggy healthcare that's often overlooked: oral
hygiene. In nature, wolves and coyotes keep their teeth sharp
and clean thanks to the tearing and chewing associated with
a wild diet. But dining on canned meat and dry kibble can
lead to a phenomenon all too familiar to domestic dog owners
- "doggy breath."
In
"The Bite Stuff," Alan visits a commercial pet food laboratory
where scientists like Dan
Richardson have developed a kibble that doubles as an
edible toothbrush, by scraping food and plaque off dogs' teeth.
Conventional dry dog food comes in tiny pieces, so dogs can
swallow it without any chewing at all. But scientists at Hill's
have designed a bigger, chewier kibble that forces dogs to
sink their teeth into each piece, allowing the food to wipe
each tooth clean.
In
one of his most daring acts yet on SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS,
Alan joins an intrepid panel of judges to rate the food's
effectiveness. To do so, they head right to the source, getting
up close to their canine subjects and rating each dog's breath
on a scale from 0: no detectable smell, to 9: "knock 'em dead."
Alan grades Blackjack, who's been eating regular food, a six.
But the dog who's been munching the hi-tech kibbles? Success!
Alan gives that pooch a one.
For
more on this topic, see the web feature:
What
the Nose Knows
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