Noelle and the Taste Test

Noelle took the taste test today, to compare the taste of Eukauba Large Breed food to both brand A (her regular food) and brand B (Ziggy's regular food).  Did I mention that Noelle is a bit of a finicky eater?  She's not one to gulp down her food, and prefers to inspect all food closely prior to eating it to ensure it meets her standards.  Please watch this short clip of the beginning of Noelle's taste test to fully understand.

I was worried for awhile that she was never going to pick one!  Fortunately she finally did.  Her first selection was Brand A, which is her usual brand of food. 

Once she had finished all of Brand A, and licked the bowl clean, she proceeded to her second choice. 

And it wasn't until she finished off Brand B, and licked the bowl clean, that she moved on to the last bowl which was the Eukanuba brand.   

I have two theories for this behavior.  The first, and most likely theory, is that she was saving her favorite food for dessert.  We're big fans of dessert in this house, and while we sometimes even have dessert before the main meal (or instead of the main meal), there's a good chance that Noelle was following the classic manner of eating which is to save the best for last.  And then there's the second theory.

This theory states that Noelle, being the brilliant, two-year-old dog that she is, can spell.  And since she likes things to be orderly, she decided to eat her food in alphabetical order.  She ate Brand A then Brand B then Eukanuba - a perfect job of placing them in alphabetical order.  I'm willing to admit this theory is slightly less likely than the dessert theory, but I don't like to rule anything out.

So there you have it.  It's obvious that no matter which theory is correct, Noelle CLEARLY enjoys Eukanuba over the other two brands of food.*

*Being the conscientious blogger that I am, I will only share actual test results for items that I am given to try out in exchange for a review on my blog.  However, I am not above bestowing my own interpretations on any such results.  Pet Companies - feel free to send me your products for review. ;-)

Let the Challenge Begin..

We were invited by DogTime Media to enter the 28-Day Eukanuba Challenge.   This means all three dogs (Remi, Noelle and my foster dog Ziggy) get to eat Eukanuba food for 28 days, and I get to tell you about the experience.  So I decided that the most fun thing to do would be to have a taste test.

I ordered the Eukanuba Adult Large Breed formula for Remi and Noelle, and compared that to Remi and Noelle's current food (let's call that Brand A) and Ziggy's current food (let's call that Brand B).   Remi and Noelle eat a relatively inexpensive brand which has more fillers and probably a higher fat content, which also means although it is not as healthy, it is usually more appetizing to dogs.  As a result, I expected Brand A to be the most popular, and was more interested in whether Brand B (a higher quality food due to Ziggy's allergies) or the Eukanuba would be next most popular.  So let the testing begin.

I like to be scientific, and since I didn't have three matching bowls, and I was late for a fundraising meeting, I decided I would just put a handful of kibble in three separate groups on the floor.  I needed to mop the entryway anyway. So this is how the taste test began:

Remi started out at Brand B, the closest pile of kibble.  He sniffed it, then moved on to the Eukanuba.  He stopped there and started eating the Eukanuba brand kibble as quickly as possible.

At this point, I wanted to be fair to Brand A, so I led him away from the Eukanuba and over to Brand A.  He then started gulping down Brand A as quickly as possible.  No surprise there - Remi loves to eat.

But then, with absolutely no coaching from me (this is a scientific study, remember?), Remi left Brand A before finishing it and headed back to the Eukanuba.

It wasn't until all the Eukanuba food was gone that he headed back to Brand A.

And as for Brand B?  Well, it didn't fare so well in Remi's taste test.  Even when all the other food was gone, he only ate about half of Brand B before leaving the scene.

So at least according to Remi, Eukanuba is a pretty good tasting food!  Come back tomorrow when we'll perform the same taste test with Noelle, the only finicky eater in the house.