Il Gelato, which we like, has introduced a new dog ice cream. We like dogs, so we thought we’d try it out.
First off, the price is grievously offensive. Rs. 280 for an 80gm tub. As a comparison, 1,000 grams of Elephant House ice cream costs Rs. 220. Seriously, this ice cream costs 15 times more than the human kind. But do dogs like it better?
No. Not our dogs at least. Mercutio is picky and Latte will eat anything, and they did eat it. Merc, however, spit it out a few times and Latte just ignored it. The flavors are also not especially dog friendly. There’s one called a Veggie Breath Freshener, comprised of green beans, broccoli and whatnot. In what universe dogs eat and enjoy vegetables I do not know, but they didn’t like this ice cream. The other one we tried was melon. Again, how this appeals to dogs is beyond me.
If they really wanted to be innovative they could have tried Indi’s Slippers or Stranger’s Butt flavors, but as it is we think the choices are a bit uninspired. More seriously, some sort of meaty or salty flavors might have some appeal and make dog ice cream somehow more adapted than the human kind.
As it, it just tastes like someone put a bunch of vegetables in the blender, put it in a freezer, then ladled it into tiny cups to sell at outrageous prices. We (the humans) tried the flavors as well and they are unspeakably foul. Dog food is not tasty either (have also tried), but it at least has meat, something they like. Why dogs would like foul tasting, cold fruit and vegetables is beyond me.
And they don’t. Our dogs at least didn’t like these Icy Treats as all. As humans we were also horrified that such tiny portions cost Rs. 280, though it’s not like we wanted more. We gave the dogs regular ice cream which costs literally 15 times less (if I may repeat this disturbing fact). One could say it’s not healthy, but it’s a scoop of ice cream and if you have a blender, freezer and leftovers you can make equivalent dreck at home.
Il Gelato’s Icy Tails ice cream. Four paws down.
If you feel like spending on your pets we recommend spending time with them, they’ll appreciate it the most. If you’d like to spend money, there are working charities like Adopt A Dog Sri Lanka that make a huge difference.
Also, we don’t recommend giving your dog ice cream, ever. This was just a one-off as a test.
