ohmidog!

Continuing our review of the use of dogs in advertising, we look today at two ads from the same dog food company – one that’s cool, one that’s creepy.

It generally bothers me to see dogs being manipulated with special effects – in part because they’re special enough already, in part because it is usually done to make them appear more human.

Sometimes it seems we have trouble letting dogs be dogs, and insist on saddling them with the baggage of our own highly dysfunctional species.

The only special effect I find appealing when it comes to dogs in advertisements, or for that matter movies, is slow motion — used magnificently in the Pedigree commercial above.

Compare that to this one for Pedigree’s DentaStix, in which dogs, through special effects, are equipped with human dentures. I cringe every time I see it.

Pedigree has built a Denture Your Dog webpage where you can upload a photo of your dog, equip him or her with human dentures, then type in the words you want your dog to be saying.

Objectionable as we find that, we had to give it a try, so I uploaded an Ace picture and had him say how humiliating the whole thing was, scolding Pedigree in the process for its anthropomorphic — a word neither Ace nor I can say without computer assistance — ad.

I tried to post it to YouTube but couldn’t quite figure it out, being human.

In my view, the first ad is stellar. As for the doggie denture ad campaign I give it a thumbs down, even though it seems to have been highly popular.

The first increases our understanding of dogs, the second obfuscates it (another word I need computer assistance to both say and spell). “Blurs” would have been a better word choice.

The only half-joking point is, until we learn to be more responsible for the words that come out of our own mouths, maybe we shouldn’t be assuming the right to put them – or human dentures — in a dog’s.

All of our “Woof in Advertising” selections can be found archived here.

A former business partner of NFL quarterback Michael Vick is facing charges in Henry County, Georgia, after authorities found kennel dogs living in deplorable conditions and one dead dog stuffed in a plastic trash bag, according to WSBTV in Atlanta.

Art Washington owns Premier K-9 in Ellenwood, which the television station reported is operating on a revoked business license.

Fox 5 in Atlanta reports that Washington was issued 16 citations in connection with the conditions at the kennel, and may face additional charges after further inspection of the facility.

Animal control officials say Washington also was operating without a breeders permit.

Washington told investigators he is selling the business, which raises, sells, trains and imports German shepherds, Rottweilers and Presa Canarios.

Washington has had extensive business ties to Vick, WSBTV reported, including a partnership in a former car rental venture. ESPN Magazine reported the Vick and Washington were also partners in a horse farm at one point.

According to the Premier K9 website, the company has provided dogs to many athletes and celebrities, including the NBA’s Joe Johnson and Ron Mercer, baseball players Rick Ankiel, Kris Benson and Brian Jordan, NFL players Fernando Bryant and Dunta Robinson, and recording star Monica.

Apparently, in 2007, Michael Vick was briefly pictured on the satistifed celebrity customer page, too.

The Premier K9 website describes the company as “responsible, well respected breeders who have established a reputation for meeting and surpassing their customers’ expectations.”

But according to the county’s animal control director, the business may have been abandoning many of its dogs — and calling animal control to pick them up as strays.

Gerri Yoder said the “strays” were of the same breeds the kennel sells — Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers and other purebreds.

“These dogs were extremely fearful or they were extremely aggressive, and in every case they were malnourished to the point of emaciation,” she  told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday.

Yoder said inspectors visiting the kennel found debris and animal waste on the floor, animals with feces matted to their hair, piles of dog hair, overflowing sinks and thick spider webs. “The lack of cleanliness of the kennel was not something that happened over a weekend,” she said. “The conditions at the kennel were a direct result of long-term neglect.”

Washington, in a statement, said he had been out of the country and blamed the conditions on employees. You can see his full statement here.

The Salem Red Sox beat the Winston-Salem Dash 16-10 last night, and Ace didn’t like that at all.

That’s not because he’s a huge Dash fan, but because — I’ve ascertained after our second dog-friendly minor league baseball outing — he prefers shutouts. The crack of bat striking ball, like thunder and fireworks, seems to unnerve him, if only fleetingly.

Still, slugfest that it was, Ace — and scores of other dogs — seemed to enjoy the first pooch-friendly night at Winston-Salem’s  BB&T Park.

In particular, he seemed most impressed with the kiddie pools, which he could both climb into and drink from at the same time, the treats, the attention from other fans, the treats, the canine fellowship, and the treats.

The Dash threw together its first “Pups in the Park” event in the waning days of the season, but pulled it off, it seemed, without a hitch.

To me, it proved again that, when it comes to baseball, the Minor Leagues — where salaries aren’t pumped up, concessions aren’t too inflated and heads aren’t yet swelled — aren’t just the most dog-friendly, but the most fan-friendly, and perhaps there’s a connection between the two.

I did pay $7 for a beer, but there were $1 hot dogs to be had (I just couldn’t find them). Besides, I don’t mind inflated prices if I get to bring my dog along.

Those who brought their dogs were restricted to the lawn in left field. It’s a pretty steep incline, leading a few dogs and humans to slide downwards, or rollover more often than they intended, but most people seemed to find comfortable spots to lay down their blankets.

A beagle named Darwin — rescued after he lost one of his front legs to gunfire — had no problem cozily settling in:

The Forsyth Humane Society — a sponsor and beneficiary of the event — was there with several adoptable dogs and their mobile unit, which Ace found fascinating, either because of its smells or the animals depicted on its sides:

Ace also got a chance to meet the Humane Society mascot, shown to the left.

Some of the proceeds from the event are also going toward the building of a new dog park in Tanglewood.

You can learn more about that project  here.

We got to see a lot of great dogs — including two we’ve run into before, Stringer, a chocolate Lab, and Gatsby, a Great Dane.

We also got to meet Louis, an English bulldog not quite three months old (left), a massive St. Bernard named Cooper, a charming little pug named Meatball, and dozens more.

Every single one was well behaved, acting as if they’d been going to baseball games all their lives.

Some rested quietly, some sought diversion — but then that could be said of the humans, too, depending on how many $7 beers they’d had. 

There was some mild frolicking, but all of it in moderation.

This one decided he wanted the blanket he was sharing with his owners all to himself:

This one was playing tug of war with his leash, until a home run soared overhead, the ball landing not far away:

As for Ace, he couldn’t seem to get comfortable on the hill, until we figured out that if I lay downhill from him, with my head on his belly, he wouldn’t slide, and I would have a pillow, not to mention a somewhat level spot, my belly, on which to rest my $7 beer.

The photo to the left was taken by Lauren Carroll, a photographer, otherwise off-duty, for the Winston-Salem Journal.

The high point of the game came when the Dash got their 12th hit — thereby entitling every fan to redeem their ticket for a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts, ensuring my belly will become even less level.

The highlight for Ace, though, was after the game, when he got to go with his friend Stringer to his favorite bar downtown, Recreation Billiards, a highly dog-friendly establishment.

After getting oodles of attention from customers, he was handed a treat from the bartender, prompting him to stare longingly at her for the next 30 minutes.

Eventually he came out of his trance and joined his friends in the booth, where, though tempted with beer, he abstained.

–
Name: Meatball

Breed: Pug

Age: Turning two this month

Encountered: At a Winston-Salem Dash baseball game

Backstory: Most people get a dog and then come up with a name. Julie Hurd did it the other way around. She came up with a name — Meatball — then started looking for a dog that fit it.

Being a pug, Meatball has that facial expression that seems to be perpetually asking why — in this case, why don’t you give me some of that sandwich, boy?

His puggish perseverance paid off. Meatball got a few bites from his new friend.

To see all our Roadside Encounters, click here.

Any fool knows there are three things you don’t mess with — hairdressers, women from Alaska, and their dogs.

Apparently, word of that hasn’t spread to black bears.

Brooke Collins, A 22-year-old resident of Juneau, said Wednesday she punched a black bear in the face to save her small dog from being carried off and possibly eaten.

It happened Sunday night when the hairdresser saw a bear clutching her dachshund, Fudge, and biting down on the back of the little dog’s neck, according to MSNBC.

“It had her kind of like when they eat salmon,” Collins said Wednesday. “I was freaking out. I was screaming at it. My dog was screaming. I ran up to it … I just punched it right in the snout and it let go.”

Collins, who takes precautions with her dogs given all the bear sightings around Juneau, said Fudge darted out the door before she could stop her.

Fudge was not seriously hurt in the attack, but Collins said she is keeping her inside for now.

(Photo: By Michael Penn / Juneau Empire)

Peanut butter-bacon may not be your flavor of choice for ice cream on a hot summer day; nor, for that matter, tuna-cranberry.

But dogs go for it, and dogs — mostly — are the clientele  that Andreana Droz seeks out, in a bright red cart that can be seen on the sidewalks of Chicago and its suburbs.

Droz is the founder and owner of Arrfscarf, which sells gourmet dog treats from an ice cream cart.

In an interview with AVClub.com, Droz says her business got started by accident. After her dog, Suki, was hit by a car, she started baking dog treats and sharing them with her co-workers. Then after hearing about some doggie “ice cream” products, she started researching them.

“The timing was right, because food trucks were starting to gain popularity in the city, and a little red umbrella cart would set me apart. I developed my own doggy ice cream recipes and hit the streets,” she said. “Street vending is a great way to market your product and meet your pup clients at the same time.”

The ice creams and baked goods she sells, all based on her own recipes, are made at licensed commissary. She loads them into her cart and hits the streets with her cooling concoctions.

“Technically, our ice cream is for human consumption, just made dog-friendly using Greek yogurt or coconut milk with dog-appealing flavors. Only five ingredients go into our ice cream, compared to about 20 in commercial ones.”

The peanut butter bacon ice cream is the No. 1 seller, she says, followed by tuna cranberry.

“Research shows there are certain flavors that arouse a dog’s sense of smell, which is in fact much more keen than his taste. Peanut butter, bacon, and cheese are at the top of the list.”

Droz says some humans enjoy the treats too, which, though fit for human consumption, are aimed at dogs.

“My dad loves the peanut butter bacon ice cream,” she said.

(Photo from AVClub.com)