🚨According to a new study in Japan, dogs can detect untruthful humans.

That’s not only fear they smell, it’s also your bull💩t.

THIS WEEK'S TOPICS:

• 🌈 Which dogs live the longest?

• 🍦 Ice cream shop just for dogs

• 💎 Is Kickstarter a goldmine for the next big dog product?

🌈 WHICH DOGS LIVE THE LONGEST?

Every dog owner loathes the day your best friend crosses the rainbow bridge. Not that it’s new information, but some breeds are genetically predisposed to having a shorter time with us on earth.

A new study sheds light on the longevity of our beloved pups, revealing a stark disparity in life expectancy across different breeds.

This research, encompassing nearly 600,000 dogs in the UK spanning 155 breeds, has unveiled that large breeds and those with flattened faces tend to have shorter lifespans compared to their smaller, elongated-snout counterparts.

Additionally, the study, published in Scientific Reports, notes a slight edge in longevity for female dogs over males.

Top 5 Longest Living Breeds

1. Lancashire Heeler - 15.4yrs

2. Tibetan Spaniel - 15.2yrs

3. Bolognese - 14.9yrs

4. Shiba Inu - 14.6yrs

5. Papillon - 14.5yrs

Bottom 5 Longest Living Breeds

1. Caucasian Shepherd Dog - 5.4yrs

2. Presa Canario - 7.7yrs

3. Cane Corso - 8.1yrs

4. Mastiff - 9yrs

5. Saint Bernard - 9.3yrs

The implications of these findings are profound, not only for pet owners but also for entrepreneurs and innovators in the dog space.

This research opens up a plethora of opportunities to enhance canine well-being and extend the lives of our four-legged friends.

The identification of breeds at higher risk of early death invites a deeper exploration into the causes, whether genetic predispositions, lifestyle, or environmental factors, thereby paving the way for targeted interventions.

For instance, nutritional supplements, such as Snubbies which is solely focused on creating products for brachycephalic dogs (Bulldogs, Pugs, Mastiff, Shar-pei, etc).

There could also be customized exercise programs, or innovative health monitoring technologies could be developed to address the unique vulnerabilities of breeds with shorter projected lifespans.

The pet insurance industry might see a shift towards more nuanced policies that take into account breed-specific health risks and life expectancies.

The burgeoning field of canine genomics and personalized pet care also stands to benefit from these insights.

Companies focusing on genetic testing and personalized medicine for dogs can leverage this data to offer breed-specific health optimization strategies, thereby contributing to longer, healthier lives for pets.

🍦 ICE CREAM SHOP JUST FOR DOGS

Yep, there are now dog ice cream parlors.

We recently sniffed out Salty Paws, who lays claim to the first dog ice cream shop in the country.

That's right, this isn't an ice cream shop that also serves dogs, this is an ice cream shop that is JUST for dogs.

And what sort of goodies do they offer up for pups? Their menu has flavors such as:

• 🥜 Peanut butter

• 🧀 Cheddar cheese

• 🎃 Pumpkin

• 🫐 Blueberry

• 🥓 Bacon

• 🍁 Maple bacon

• ➕ and plenty more

They also serve cakes, cannolis, donuts, and other fun treats.

Although dogs can eat human ice cream, it’s generally recommended only in moderation.

Since many dogs are lactose intolerant, dairy can cause less than ideal symptoms like diarrhea, according to the American Kennel Club, which adds that too much milk can cause problems even in dogs who are otherwise lactose tolerant.

Because of that, all the ice cream at Salty Paws is lactose free, and designed specifically for dogs, using alternatives like goats milk as the base, and a much lower sugar content than the hooman equivalent.

Salty Paws was started by Suzanne Tretowicz in 2018, and after it was a quick hit she started franchising and is at 10+ locations now.

Along with being a fun destination to take your dog for a treat, they've seen a lot of demand for their birthday parties and social events.

Before their Philadelphia location opened, they held a private part for Drake, a golden retriever with over 500k instagram followers and 1 million on TikTok.

They even have an ice cream truck and in certain locations are available on DoorDash for when someone has been a good boy or girl at home!

Yes, we think this type of business is more for people than really for the dogs, but who cares!

It's fun and there is obviously demand for it as they've opened up multiple locations.

Sometimes it's ok to do something fun for the whole family, so the next time we see a Salty Paws, we are getting a double scoop of peanut butter topped with turkey.

 💎 IS KICKSTARTER A GOLDMINE FOR THE NEXT BIG DOG PRODUCT?

Has inspiration ever struck you with a product idea someone should invent for your dog?

It's definitely happened to us before, though we are guessing most of you are like us, and you continue along with your day no differently.

Well there are some owners out there who can't get an idea out of their head and decide to do something about it.

Today we will be going over some of those brave entrepreneurs who are out there trying to make their dream a reality.

To do that, we headed over to Kickstarter, which is a crowdfunding platform that aims to bring creative projects to life by allowing people to raise money for their ideas or prototypes.

One example of Kickstarter success, would be the card game Exploding Kittens, which raised over $8 million to bring the game to the mainstream.

Pupsule

First up we have Pupsule, the hands free dog doody solution.

Pupsule was created by an owner who was tired of that feeling of a plastic bag against poop, feeling that nasty smell hit your nose, and having to deal with carrying around the bag until you find a trash can.

As you can see, the device combines a scooper claw with a small storage unit to easily pick up and conceal the business. It works with standard bags and helps lock in the smell after a successful snag.

To date, Pupsule was able to raise $126k and successfully launched their product on their website and Amazon.

Our verdict? 

This is a cool product, and we can see why it will be a hit!

Clawgs

Now, we go from feces to footwear (sorry, couldn't resist), with the fantastically named Clawgs.

Dogs' paws are tougher than people's feet, but they are not indestructible.

They can feel pain and suffer injuries, and Clawgs was created to help protect pup's paws from abrasive surfaces, hot surfaces, sharp surfaces, and for grip on slick surfaces.

But different from traditional dog booties, Clawgs allows your dog to walk naturally by giving room for their claws.

To date, Clawgs has raised $112k and is in the 3rd version of it's product, with it's next shipment coming in the end of March.

Our verdict?

It depends. We love the idea of the product, but we'd want to see more feedback from others that have had success, because we expect our pups will just do that funny high step we've all seen when they get them on the first time.

Pet Vid

Lastly, we look at a project that hasn't launched yet, called Pet Vid.

Pet Vid bills itself as the world's only simple, inexpensive, pet video camera helmet.

There isn't a ton of info on the post, but it seems to be a helmet camera for your pet to wear so you can record from their point of view.

Our Verdict?

We'll pass on this one.

Nothing against it, but we probably won't be strapping a helmet on to our dog to get some footage from there perspective.

Maybe this has some good applications for rescue dogs or stunt dogs, but we don't see ourselves using it.

DOGGYDEX™

Winner 🏆: DOGGYDEX

Proudly introducing the DoggyDex™, an index comprised of 10 publicly traded companies whose primary focus is the dog/pet industry.

List of tickers used can be found at the very bottom of the newsletter.

The yellow line-plot in the chart represents these companies above (DoggyDex™) and their combined performance against both the S&P 500 and Bitcoin on a weekly basis.

Pawformance is measured by % gains & losses.

• ❎ What would a Pitbull + Cocker Spaniel look like?: Check out this sweet girl who has a pittie face and body but the wavy flow of a Spaniel.

• 😭 Jon Stewart breaks down talking about his dog on live tv: Jon Stewart shares a teary-eyed history of how his pittie came into his life and that he recently lost him.

• 🦌 Black lab saves baby deer from drowning: This Black Lab swam over to a fawn that had fallen into a river and brought her safely back to land.

DOGGY B-DAY

• $CHWY - Chewy: E-commerce platform for pet supplies

• $IDXX - Idexx Labs: Vet point of care instruments and vet software

• $FRPT - Fresh Pet: Pet food company

• $PETQ - PetIQ: Pet health products and medicines

• $PETS - PetMeds: Online pet pharmacy

• $ZTS - Zoetis: World's largest producer of meds and vaccines for pets and livestock

• $TRUP - Trupanion: Pet insurance company

• $WOOF - Petco Health & Wellness co.: Pet health & wellness company

• $BARK - BarkBox: Subscription service providing dog products, services, and experiences

• $PET - Wag! Group Co.: Tech platform that allows pet owners to connect with industry professionals for services such as, walking, training, etc.