# Unsafe dog treats



## taxlady (Apr 24, 2012)

One of my Facebook friends shared this: Vitals - 3 big brands may be tied to chicken jerky illness in dogs, FDA records show

Maybe we should have a topic for pet foods?


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## blissful (Apr 24, 2012)

taxlady said:


> One of my Facebook friends shared this: Vitals - 3 big brands may be tied to chicken jerky illness in dogs, FDA records show
> 
> Maybe we should have a topic for pet foods?



Yes! Even though I don't have any pets right now, we've had bunches of them over the years, as few as 1 to as many at 7 at any one time. Shouldn't pet foods be as SAFE and GOOD FOR YOU as human food?


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## jennyema (Apr 24, 2012)

CHICKEN JERKY IS A BIG NO-NO FOR POOCHES

Its almost always made in China


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## blissful (Apr 24, 2012)

jennyema said:


> CHICKEN JERKY IS A BIG NO-NO FOR POOCHES
> 
> Its almost always made in China



Why are there toxins in the products?
The article didn't say why.
Is it because the chickens speak chinese causing them to absorb toxins faster than American chickens?
Is it the perception that chinese chickens aren't as good as American chickens?
Do our chickens in America/Canada eat feed from China?
Do Chinese chickens eat feed from America?
Does the chicken come from China and we put toxins in it when it gets to us in the American packaging?
Is the chicken actually from America and then shipped to China for low cost processing, then shipped back here for consumption?
Is the shipping process exposing the jerky to toxins? 

All kidding aside. 

Pet food should be as safe as human food.


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## blissful (Apr 24, 2012)

If you're having a bad day, then this dog video is for you. 



		
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## GLC (Apr 24, 2012)

In the interest of not making the mistake of thinking you've made everything alright by avoiding one or two brands, note that there is very little known. Which means it may or may not be Chinese dog jerky treats making them sick. If it is, remember that these sorts of things originating in China are unlikely to be limited to particular brands. You have to look at packaging and make inquiries when selecting treats. You're looking for POSITIVE statements, not just the absence of suspicious origins. A lot like orange juice where the concentrates are frequently from China and contaminated with agricultural chemicals and possibly routed through other countries to cover the tracks. You have to look for statements that all the materials are domestic. 

And nothing in the story suggests that anyone has looked into all of the dogs' food, as well as treats. And it's just possible that the problems have nothing to do with any dog food or dog treats. No contaminate has been found. While if the stories from some of the dog owners are accurate, there's reason to suspect the jerky treats, it's all vague enough to rightly serve merely as a general warning that companies often use questionable materials in pet food. People are just terrible liars when there's money to be made or when they want to imagine they did nothing wrong. Nor do we know much about how these treats were stored or what conditions they were exposed to. 

I really question why anyone would buy and feed jerky to a dog as a regular treat. The appeal of jerky is strictly to the human. The dog doesn't care. And you know that, being jerky for dogs that has to sit on shelves for a long time, there's no telling what's used to preserve it. And another implicated treat, Yam Good, is supposedly yam wrapped in chicken. Not the dog REALLY doesn't care. I wouldn't eat their jerky treats or their weird yam wraps, and I wouldn't give them to my dog. (I wouldn't give him jerky made for humans, either, not as a regular thing.) 

There are plenty of righteous dog treats available. (Possibly not at WalMart.) Blue Buffalo, for example. (Sadly, BB was victimized by one of the email hoaxes about this issue that falsely named the most conscientious U.S. makers as being suspect.) BB even has jerky types, if you just can't stand to have you poor dog miss out. The meat is all U.S.-raised. The rest of the ingredients aren't anything that will harbor anything bad. 

Food is a bigger problem, mostly trying to stay with useful ingredients. Some are very expensive. But with regular pet foods, it's more often the case that it's made in the U.S., not just well made. The suspect treats are wholly made in China, and no telling what else is made in those plants. With pet food, at least look to see if meats are the first ingredient listed and cord doesn't appear.


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## Katie H (Apr 24, 2012)

We love our doggie and have discovered that our Harley would crawl over broken glass to enjoy Blue Dog Bakery Treats.  These are "all natural" and she loves them.  They're not expensive and what's the problem?


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## Chef Munky (Apr 24, 2012)

Did anyone else catch the FDA's Spokesman inviting people to submit complaints and samples to prove their point?

Alrightyyyy what kind of samples? Taken a puppy in lately for a worm check? It's not pretty.


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## CWS4322 (Apr 24, 2012)

A few years ago, I did a 2-day seminar on reading pet food labels and understanding what cats and dogs need, how they get it, etc.  The history of pet food in North America is interesting--it started after WWII in cereal factories--the sweepings off the floor. I think it would be an interesting thread. The colorings were added in the early '60s, right about the same time that colorings were added to cereal made to appeal to children. Pet foods are a huge business and the marketing is very interesting when you break it down to what appeals to people, what our emotional responses are to our pets, etc. Bring it on!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Apr 24, 2012)

Patron and the other facility pups only get homemade treats from my kitchen or the homemade I can get from "Fetch Dog."  I think I bake more for the dogs in my life than I do for myself.  Patron also gets Cheerios as his treats, since they are small and he gets treats for being good all day long.  We found out the visitors offering Cheerios are barked at less.

The cats, on the other hand, only get whatever it is that Latté will eat, she is very picky.  I did get lucky and find another wet food she will eat.  I've tried the "natural" foods and she won't touch them.  So they get Purina Pro Plan wet and Purina One Dry.


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## Dawgluver (Apr 24, 2012)

Cheerios soothe the savage beast.  Patron, are you still misbehaving?

Years ago, I helped a bunch of our SpEd kids make and cook natural dog biscuits in the microwave (don't remember the recipe offhand) and we took a field trip to the local Humane Society to deliver them.   A good time was had by all!


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## Cindercat (Jun 12, 2012)

Dawgluver said:
			
		

> Cheerios soothe the savage beast.  Patron, are you still misbehaving?
> 
> Years ago, I helped a bunch of our SpEd kids make and cook natural dog biscuits in the microwave (don't remember the recipe offhand) and we took a field trip to the local Humane Society to deliver them.   A good time was had by all!



Cool! I hadn't thought of dog treats. I'm always looking for community involvement activities.  This has the bonus of cooking involved too. I'll have to do a search for a good, but simple recipe.  Thanks for the idea!!


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## Dawgluver (Jun 12, 2012)

Cindercat said:
			
		

> Cool! I hadn't thought of dog treats. I'm always looking for community involvement activities.  This has the bonus of cooking involved too. I'll have to do a search for a good, but simple recipe.  Thanks for the idea!!



Thanks!  As I recall, there was chicken boullion and corn meal, along with other stuff.  We used a bone-shaped cookie cutter.   There are also recipes you can bake in the regular oven.

I took the behavior disordered kids to the HS, they got to see a nice presentation, and we got to visit with the critters.


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## Cindercat (Jun 12, 2012)

We have 2 animal control kennels and a food pantry that would love pet treats. I think this will definitely be one of our projects.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jun 12, 2012)

Cindercat said:


> We have 2 animal control kennels and a food pantry that would love pet treats. I think this will definitely be one of our projects.



If you say, "Pretty Please" I will PM you my humongous list of doggie treat recipes.


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## Dawgluver (Jun 12, 2012)

Cindercat said:
			
		

> We have 2 animal control kennels and a food pantry that would love pet treats. I think this will definitely be one of our projects.



The treats are such fun to make, and so appreciated!  PF, we need a thread!

Some of my kids also put out boxes at school to collect supplies of dog and cat food, kitty litter, blankets, treats, etc. to donate.  The Humane Society is really underutilized as far as a field trip destination.  Call in advance, they will love to have you.  Bet your Level 3 kids would have a blast!  You might want to make sure the facility is wheelchair accessible if need be.


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