I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here saw it’s first eating bushtucker trial on Monday night, with Emmerdale’s Danny Miller chowing down on cow teat, pig brain, goat testes and bulls penis. Meanwhile, red camps Snoochie Shy almost enjoyed her lamb foot and cow snout, but wasn’t as keen on the fermented duck egg, raw fish eye, vomit fruit or blended pigs uterus.
And now, your dog can try out their own bushtucker trial with the new Friends and Canine’s box featuring some of their more unusual treats and chews. Some of the contents might sound (or look) gross to owners, but they tend to be high in protein and offer some amazing health benefits. We ordered their medium-large box for £22.95, which included 10 different bizarre dog chews, including beef testes, pizzle and hairy beef scalp.
Business owner Sarah Latham – who has six dogs of her own – said: “I set up my own natural dog treat company when I couldn’t find a good range of natural treats and chews for my naturally, fresh fed dogs. And although I do realise that many of the treats I stock are that bit cringe and can be a shock for some people, dogs simply can’t get enough of some of my more unusual natural treats!
“I like to think of it as minimum waste, as we are eating the rest of the animal, so why waste parts that are perfectly edible, dogs absolutely love them! Sure, they might seem like something served up in a bid to win stars for camp, but you’ll soon discover that our waggy tailed pals just can’t get enough of them.”
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The 41-year-old nutritionist is a big fan of the show, and thought the selection box of treats would be a great way to showcase some peculiar, yet healthy treats, which your dogs can enjoy while the show is on for the next few weeks.
What’s in the Friends and Canines Bushtucker trial box?,
There’s a really great selection of meaty treats inside this box that wouldn’t look out of place in the I’m A Celeb Dreaded Diner. Much like how Danny Miller was forced to eat a goat testicle on the show, the Friends and Canines box contains dried bulls testes. There are eight in the box, which is really great because this would last Phoebe and Frank four nights!
The Emmerdale actor also had to taste a bull’s penis – and your dogs probably already eaten one. Bully sticks, or ‘pizzle’ sticks are in fact dried bull’s penis – and it’s one of our favourite long lasting chews at House of Scamps. The pizzle sticks are around six inches long and honestly look as though they’d have taken Phoebe and Frank six or seven minutes. However, the 100% beef chew is very muscular, and actually, last around 40-45 minutes, so we always bag these boredom busters when we need to keep the dogs busy for a longer period of time.
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Some of the treats are much easier to identify than others like the small pig snout – a 100% pork treat that’s been gently air dried to create a low fat, chewy treat. The dried puffed lung, however, was a little trickier to work out, but by process of elimination, we managed to work it out. The beef lung treats are a low fat, low odour treat, and are really lightweight. It can be fed as a reward to keep them good during the tense moments, or Ant and Dec’s jokes, or cut up into bits to do some training during the ad breaks.
Another beef-based treat in the bushtucker trial box is the dried liver, which is packed full of vitamin A, amino acids, iron as well as omega 3 and 6. Then there’s the hairy beef scalp – a natural de-wormer – which is affectionately known as a moo toupe. The long-lasting chew doesn’t contain any bone, but it’s very chewy and the fur brushes through the digestive system which can help move along anything that shouldn’t be there.
Radi0 1 Extra DJ Snoochie Shy had to eat a fish eye in her bushtucker challenge, washed down with blended pigs uterus. Instead, your dog can enjoy a fish mega bar, which is made from 100% fish skins. Phoebe and Frank go barking mad for fishy treats, and even have fish flakes sprinkled on their breakfast for extra omega 3. The bar has been naturally dried and rolled together to create a long-lasting treat that’s 100% natural and great for promoting healthy joints, coats, skin, heart and eyes. The omega 3 from the responsibly sourced fish also aids in brain development, helping focus, memory and behaviour.
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The bushtucker trial box also contains the longest trachea I’ve ever seen. Also referred to as a moo tube, the beef trachea is around 40cm, whereas most we’ve seen or bought have been around 15cm, so this is huge in comparison. The chew is high in both chondroitin and glucosamine, which is brilliant for joints, and also acts as a doggy toothbrush to help clean teeth. Sarah even recommends stuffing it with something like wet foot or pate to make it extra tasty.
In a bag, you also get a selection of dried chicken hearts, which make for a very high-value training treat or tasty reward. As it’s a single protein, it’s easier to digest, and is also grain, gluten and sugar free. And finally, there’s the cricket and sweet potato treats, which are usually £4. Created using only sustainable ingredients, these are a really nutritious treat for your dogs that are also high in fibre, and great for dogs who suffer with other protein allergies.
We were really impressed with the contents of the box, and found it to be really good value for money as singulars of the treats alone added up to more than the cost of the box. There were multiple of some products too – great for sharing between our two American bulldog crosses. The scamps soon cottoned on when I’m A Celeb was starting as we reached for the treat box, and would enjoy one of the natural treats or chews while the show was on. It’s a great way to discover some more unusual chews on the market, and we’d definitely pick up one of their other selection boxes in the future too. One things for sure – if Phoebe and Frank were put on a foodie bushtucker trial, the whole camp would definitely be eating that night.