Dog biscuit facts for kids
A dog biscuit is a hard, crunchy treat made for dogs. It's a bit like a snack food for humans, but it's specially made for our furry friends! These biscuits are usually very dry and hard. This special texture helps clean a dog's teeth as they chew, which is great for their oral health. You might often see them shaped like a bone.
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History of Dog Biscuits
People have been giving special food to dogs for a very long time. Even in ancient Roman times, there was something called "dog's bread," which was often made from bran. It wasn't considered very good bread, even back then!
Later on, in England during the 1800s, the idea of a specific "dog biscuit" started to become popular. People began to mix different ingredients like oat-meal, potatoes, and carrots to make these treats. By the mid-1800s, some factories were even making huge amounts of dog biscuits every week!
Over time, dog biscuits started to include meat products. This made them even more like a complete food for dogs. For example, in 1871, an advertisement for "SLATER'S MEAT BISCUIT FOR DOGS" said it contained vegetable substances and about 25% prepared meat. It claimed to give dogs energy and keep them in good shape.
Spratt's Dog Biscuits and Milk-Bones
Many people say the modern dog biscuit industry really began with a man named James Spratt. He was an electrician from America who visited England. Legend says he saw dogs eating leftover "hardtack," which were tough biscuits carried on ships. This gave him an idea!
In 1860, Spratt created "Spratt's Patent Meat Fibrine Dog Cakes." These were a mix of wheat, beetroot, vegetables, and beef blood. His dog cakes became very popular and he sold a lot of them in America.
However, another person named F. H. Bennett came up with a clever idea in 1907. His dog biscuits weren't selling as well as Spratt's. So, he decided to make his biscuits in the shape of a bone! His "Maltoid Milk-Bones" were a huge hit. For about 15 years, Milk-Bones were the most popular commercial dog food in America. Later, in 1931, the company that made Milk-Bones was bought by the National Biscuit Company, which is now known as Nabisco.
World's Largest Dog Biscuit
Did you know there's a record for the world's largest dog biscuit? It weighed an amazing 279.87 kilograms (that's about 617 pounds)! This giant biscuit was made by Hampshire Pet Products in Joplin, Missouri, USA. It was baked to be 2,000 times bigger than an average dog biscuit!
Images for kids
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1867 advertisement for Spratts dog food
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1876 advertisement for Spratt's Patent Meat Fibrine Dog Cakes
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Dog waiting for Milk Bone treat
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Maltoid milk-bone treat
