Eating dog food is the sort of cruel punishment you heard about by way of playground rumour. Like “Bad Santa Claus” or falling irretrievably down the toilet, it doesn’t seem like the sort of thing that would actually happen in real life.

However, two brave souls are currently knee-deep in a gastronomical experiment in which they eat 1.4 kilos of dog food every day. Julian Smallshaw and Stephen Angel from London, UK are eating a mixture of dog food including beef, chicken, lamb and turkey varieties.

They both work for Butternut Box - the pet food company providing the canine cuisine. While the food is “human grade” and “taste tested by humans”, they make no bones about the severity of the challenge. “The thought of a mealtime makes me feel sick”, stated Julian.

The boys are raising money for charity and for every additional £100 ($130) they raise, Julian and Stephen will have to endure an extra day of their doggie diet. While they will already have 100 per cent of their caloric needs catered for, they are permitted to get creative in the kitchen and add whatever they wish to their daily dose of dog food.

However, with a deerhound-size serving to begin with, it tends to only make the challenge more difficult. “We started out simply heating the meal and adding gravy," Julian explained to VT, "but that got old fast. After about three days in, we really needed to get creative. This included a (German) shepherds pie, chilli con carne, and even some tortellini. Now we're pretty settled in our routine - one pouch covered in gravy for lunch and something a bit more special for dinner."

However, it's not as weird as it sounds, apparently: "Most of us have tried the dog food at some point. It's a 60/40 mix of meat and vegetables and in small quantities tastes much like normal minced meat and veg."

The pair are raising money for Action for Children - a charity which helps vulnerable and neglected children and their families. It supports children in a range of circumstances including those in need due to disability, in foster care or going through the adoption process. "We work to make sure every child and young person has the love, support and opportunity they need to reach their potential,” Action for Children state on their website.

"A team of five of us will be venturing out on 5 October," Julian explains, "as part of a sleep out called Byte Nite for Action for Children. However we felt like we could do more and decided to come up with several fundraising incentives; naturally eating Butternut Box came up as an idea, but it was only to two of us that were stupid enough to commit to it."

"We believe the cause is more than worthy of our suffering. Action for children helps thousands of children who have not been as lucky in life as us. It's always important to give back."

In most cases, eating this much dog food would be dangerous however, the boys should be OK. The pouches consist of 60 per cent single protein source meat and 40 per cent mixed vegetables including lentils, carrots, peas, broccoli.

So whether you’re feeling mean-spirited and want them to suffer or kind-spirited and want to donate to an incredible charity, this is the cause for you. The entire campaign is raising money on JustGiving and you can keep up with their progress on Instagram.

Eating dog food is the sort of cruel punishment you heard about by way of playground rumour. Like “Bad Santa Claus” or falling irretrievably down the toilet, it doesn’t seem like the sort of thing that would actually happen in real life.

However, two brave souls are currently knee-deep in a gastronomical experiment in which they eat 1.4 kilos of dog food every day. Julian Smallshaw and Stephen Angel from London, UK are eating a mixture of dog food including beef, chicken, lamb and turkey varieties.

They both work for Butternut Box - the pet food company providing the canine cuisine. While the food is “human grade” and “taste tested by humans”, they make no bones about the severity of the challenge. “The thought of a mealtime makes me feel sick”, stated Julian.

The boys are raising money for charity and for every additional £100 ($130) they raise, Julian and Stephen will have to endure an extra day of their doggie diet. While they will already have 100 per cent of their caloric needs catered for, they are permitted to get creative in the kitchen and add whatever they wish to their daily dose of dog food.

However, with a deerhound-size serving to begin with, it tends to only make the challenge more difficult. “We started out simply heating the meal and adding gravy," Julian explained to VT, "but that got old fast. After about three days in, we really needed to get creative. This included a (German) shepherds pie, chilli con carne, and even some tortellini. Now we're pretty settled in our routine - one pouch covered in gravy for lunch and something a bit more special for dinner."

However, it's not as weird as it sounds, apparently: "Most of us have tried the dog food at some point. It's a 60/40 mix of meat and vegetables and in small quantities tastes much like normal minced meat and veg."

The pair are raising money for Action for Children - a charity which helps vulnerable and neglected children and their families. It supports children in a range of circumstances including those in need due to disability, in foster care or going through the adoption process. "We work to make sure every child and young person has the love, support and opportunity they need to reach their potential,” Action for Children state on their website.

"A team of five of us will be venturing out on 5 October," Julian explains, "as part of a sleep out called Byte Nite for Action for Children. However we felt like we could do more and decided to come up with several fundraising incentives; naturally eating Butternut Box came up as an idea, but it was only to two of us that were stupid enough to commit to it."

"We believe the cause is more than worthy of our suffering. Action for children helps thousands of children who have not been as lucky in life as us. It's always important to give back."

In most cases, eating this much dog food would be dangerous however, the boys should be OK. The pouches consist of 60 per cent single protein source meat and 40 per cent mixed vegetables including lentils, carrots, peas, broccoli.

So whether you’re feeling mean-spirited and want them to suffer or kind-spirited and want to donate to an incredible charity, this is the cause for you. The entire campaign is raising money on JustGiving and you can keep up with their progress on Instagram.