The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : The latest products for your pets

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 20, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - News Analysis

The latest products for your pets

Justine Hankins

Now there's nail varnish, glasses and even mobile phones for your pooch.

WE SPEND billions of every year on our pets. All this expenditure is bound to attract bright-eyed designers and bushy-tailed entrepreneurs eager to get their mitts on our money. But you have to wonder whether some of these patent-pushing innovators have overestimated the pet owner's thirst for novelty.

Take Pawlish, for example. This nail varnish for dogs comes in a variety of shades including Doghouse Blues and Poodle Pink. Very droll — but who, apart from Sharon Osbourne, would buy this stuff?

Then there is PetsCell, a mobile phone designed to "connect every member of your family — even your pet." This gadget is attached to your dog's collar so you can have a quick chat whenever you are pining for Rex or Rover.

The trouble is, dogs generally have a poor grasp of telephony. I should imagine that the sound of a disembodied voice coming from their collar would send a dog into distraction, if not to the canine psychiatrist's couch.

I have a suspicion that some products find their way on to the assembly line simply on the strength of a good name. Doggles is one example.

These goggles for dogs come in a range of colours and designs and can even be fitted with custom-made prescription lenses for dogs with poor eyesight. Handy for when your dog needs to locate a telephone number stored in its mobile.

Doggles could also be of benefit to dogs that enjoy reading. If your dog still has trouble deciphering the written word, you could always invest in Tales For Dogs, a series of books that are meant to be read aloud to your favourite pooch.

The author, Flora Kennedy, tells us in the introduction that, "You'll find settling down together to read a Tales For Dogs story is rewarding for you and your dog."

Don't scoff till you have tried it, I thought. So, after removing potential witnesses from the scene, I read Glam Dog — "The tale of a glamorous dog who lost her sparkle and gained everything" — out loud to my hounds. No, the dogs did not pay any attention, and yes, I did feel extremely stupid.

Whatever next? Some design students this year hope it will be chews.

Meanwhile, I intend to squander my pet budget on a design classic — the tennis ball. —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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