Flavored Water For Dogs

Cool bottled water in three delicious flavours – beef, chicken and bacon. Not tempted? Your dog will be.

An Australian man has taken pooch-pampering to the next level with the launch of Aqua Dog. With one canine for every five Australians, the country has one of the world’s highest dog ownership rates and a pet food industry worth A$1.2 billion a year. For Andrew Larkey, that made the country the perfect place to market bottled water for dogs.

“Most people think: ‘How ridiculous.’ The irony is that this is 100% serious,” Larkey says. “It’s like a sports drink for dogs.”

He came up with the idea while working as the new products manager for an international beverage company. On his trips to the supermarket two things, he says, became clear. The fastest growing markets were bottled water for humans and high-value pet treats. Larkey simply wanted to marry the two.

When the multinational didn’t believe in the idea, Larkey left his job and went in alone.

Selling for nearly A$3 (about R15) per bottle, the canine drink is more expensive than mineral water for humans. But in a nation of dog lovers, it is flying off the shelves.

Over a thousand 600ml bottles are sold a week and Larkey says he is struggling to keep up with demand. He’s also launched Aqua Dog in the US, Taiwan and Singapore.

Larkey said: “It’s packed with electrolytes and vitamins.”

One happy customer is Jacqui Lambrick, the proud owner of seven Great Danes, who gives each of her “girls” a bottle a day. Lambrick started them on Aqua Dog when one of her pets fell ill. “She wouldn’t eat or drink anything. But she drank the dog water – and would have nothing else after that,” she says. – Sapa-AFP

If any Dogsters have tried Aqua Dog Water, bark in and tell us about it!