ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 7, 1996 TAG: 9602070011
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: C-8 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Marketplace
SOURCE: MEGANS SCHNABEL
You bought Fido a turkey-flavored bone for Thanksgiving, a stocking stuffed with rawhide chews for Christmas, a rhinestone-studded collar for his birthday.
And now it's Valentine's Day, and you're plumb out of ideas.
Well, the old Cupid Day standbys - perfume and candy - might be a good place to start.
Eau de doggie
We all know that pets and their people start to look like each other after a while. But when was the last time you wanted to smell like your dog?
Well, you can always let your dog smell like you. A number of pet supply companies have come out with doggie versions of human fragrances, including takeoffs of Giorgio, Polo, Opium and Chanel. The fragrances aren't oil-based, so they won't irritate your pooch's skin.
Bottles (some pumps, some sprays) sell for $5 to $8 at most pet stores. At that price, you can buy one for Fluffy and one for your human love.
You might want to pour it into another container, though. The pet fragrances may smell a lot like their human counterparts, but the packaging is decidedly ... doggie.
"Well, most of the cans have pictures of little froofy dogs on them," said Denise Spangler, who works at Pet City in Roanoke.
In other words, this isn't something you'd want to spray on your ol' blue tick coon hound. Not unless you want him laughed out of the hunting pack.
"They're a little too perfumey for my taste," said Dave Herndon, operations manager of Warehouse for Pets in Roanoke. "But maybe if you had a poodle or some other fancy dog .... "
After-dinner mints
Instead of buying that special pooch a heart-shaped box of chocolates, how about pet breath mints?
Perfect for the dog whose breath could peel the paint off your walls, these bite-sized tablets were introduced just over a year ago and now are standard merchandise in many pet stores. A tube of mints retails for around $5. Dosage is one tablet a day for dogs over 20 pounds, half a tablet for smaller dogs.
The mints contain two mild abrasives commonly found in human toothpaste, as well as mint to mask bad breath and a combination of sunflower oil, parsley seed oil and chlorophyll to treat the source of the odor in the digestive system.
And to make sure your dog will eat them, the mints also contain beef liver powder. Better than a coconut cream-filled chocolate any day.
A little warmth
If you want to splurge a little, how how about a pet-sized electric blanket?
Many pet stores sell heated pads and beds for dogs and cats. They feature chew-proof cords, and they're perfect for pets who sleep in the garage or in a chilly back room. You also can buy heated bowls that keep your pet's water from freezing.
They aren't cheap. Expect to spend up to $80 for a large pad, $60 for a small pad or a bed. Heated bowls run $20 to $30.
Self-help
And for the pet who already has everything (including fleas and a bad attitude): homeopathic treatment systems that use plant extracts and other natural ingredients to treat both physical and emotional ailments including bad breath, aloofness, arthritis, low self-esteem and fleas.
Homeopathy is based on the idea that "like cures like," and involves a patient being treated with extremely small quantities of drugs that are themselves capable of producing symptoms of a particular disease. Homeopathy has been used to treat human illnesses for centuries. Now several companies - including Ellon USA, a manufacturer of homeopathic weight-loss and other products for humans - have formulated similar regimens for pets.
These treatments are available by mail-order and at some pharmacies and health food stores, including the Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op.
"Homeopathic treatments have been around for pets for a while," says Nancy Markhoff, manager of the co-op. "But the number of products has increased greatly."
Among the biggest sellers at the co-op are yeast tablets, she says, which are used as a flea repellant. They've been available for at least 20 years, she says.
As with any alternative medical treatments, homeopathy - for both animals and humans - elicits mixed reactions. Some veterinarians extol homeopathic medicine as a natural alternative to synthetic drugs, while others say there's no scientific proof that chicory or holly can make your dog any easier to live with.
"We've always had plant medicines," says Jim Bowen, director of veterinary outreach and extended education at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech. "A lot of what we do is based on finding plants that have chemical and pharmacological properties, so you can't dismiss it totally."
The problem, he says, is that many claims about homeopathic cures are supported only by anecdotal evidence, not rigorous scientific testing. And even natural substances that may be helpful often are sold in such diluted mixtures that they have no effect, he says.
"We're quite willing to accept anything, as long as it's given a critical trial," he said.
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Breath-eez ad. color.by CNB