Dogs get a taste for deer milk ‘bambi-cinos’ as owners celebrate International Love Your Pet Day

Pup-cups, or puppaccinos, have become a staple at many pet-friendly cafes.

Whether it’s fluffy frothed cow milk or the Starbucks speciality of whipped cream in a cup, fur babies can’t get seem to get enough.

But there’s a new drink on offer that’s captured the attention of dogs and owners alike.

Introducing deer milk lattes, or “bambi-cinos”.

The dog-friendly latte is made with Nutrideer’s pet powder deer milk supplement.

Dogs got to try bambi-cinos in Ponsonby to mark International Love Your Pet Day. Photo / Ben Dickens

Founder Rebecca Davidson, who grew up on a deer farm in the South Island, tells Focus the milky drink not only tastes great, but offers huge health benefits for our furry friends.

“It’s very high in protein, higher than sheep and goat milk, which are supposedly the premium milks,” Davidson says. “It’s very high in a lipid profile too.”

“It’s rich in omega-3, omega-6 and phospholipids, which all have amazing health benefits.

”We’ve added mānuka honey powder, green-lipped mussels, marine collagen, flax seed, all these other amazing New Zealand ingredients - and [it’s] human-grade, so you can even put it in your own smoothie.”

Davidson says the milk is thick and creamy in taste.

“We did taste test it ourselves for palatability, and obviously, we called upon lots of friends and family’s pets and dogs to do the taste testing,” she says.

“We had very good results. I’m yet to find a dog that turned their nose up at our product.”

Ponsonby local dogs were offered the chance to experience the drink this morning, with free bambi-cinos on offer outside pet-friendly Bambina Cafe to celebrate International Love Your Pet Day.

The Bambi-cinos are made with Nutrideer's pet supplement, which contains deer milk. Photo / Ben Dickens

The puppaccino craze first took off in 2019 when videos of dogs consuming the creamy treat hit social media.

The term, however, dates back to 2008, when it was first coined by pet rescue advocate Rocky Kanaka, who started serving little cups of whipped cream to the dogs that visited his store.

It’s hoped bambi-cinos take off in the same way.

“People just love their pets, and they’re putting more importance on pets sometimes than their own children or themselves,” Davidson laughs.

“Global trends show that pet ownership now is just absolutely skyrocketing, so it’s a really interesting and exciting industry to be in.”