Posted on 09/16/2007 7:40:07 AM PDT by JACKRUSSELL
(FORT LAUDERDALE) -- The nation's leading veterinarian association has posted a warning to pet owners that Chinese-made jerky treats might be making animals sick.
The American Veterinary Medical Association, which represents 75,000 vets,issued the statement last week after a member reported numerous unusual cases of dogs suffering from a rare kidney ailment, after consuming the treats. Most of the products were chicken-flavored.......
......Dr. Richard Goldstein, associate professor of veterinary medicine at Cornell University and part of the team assisting the FDA in its investigation, said most of the affected dogs are small breeds that had developed renal problems. Symptoms include vomiting, lethargy and lack of appetite.
"If people have a dog that has exhibited these symptoms in the past few months and they were [being fed] treats, they should take the dog to their vet and make the vet aware of the treat history," he said.
Herndon did not say how many jerky-treat complaints the FDA has logged. But San Filippo said the FDA told the association it had received about 100 calls. None of the cases have been fatal, and Goldstein said dogs usually can recover if the condition is caught early.
China is a primary source of chicken-jerky-style treats, as dark meat is more popular there than white for human consumption.
Unlike the Menu Foods recall, where the products were made in U.S. and Canadian factories using tainted wheat gluten from Chinese suppliers, most jerky treats are made in China and carry that designation on their product labels.
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
Dang, I work with a company that imports those.
Why would anyone still be feeding their pet(s) anything that carries a “Made in China” label? It boggles the mind.
What happened to Mom4kittys?
www.betterpets.com
thank you for posting this—i have 2 dogs.
I wonder when the Jerky Boys will be calling these guys.
Our mini schnauzer had to have the stuff from a green chewy treat surgically removed from his intestines because it wouldn't digest. Any amount of that fake nutrient laced Chinese crap would kill him, I'm sure.
Our vet recommended only lamb and rice based food (Purina One isn't overly expensive), and said he would enjoy fruits and vegetables for treats. Sure enough, he eagerly takes fruits and veggies. Bananas get him really excited. He will get a small crunchy dog biscuit now and then.
When he gets jerky (and he loves it), it is jerky made for human consumption, and only a very small amount. Sometimes we'll keep him busy by tearing a jerky piece into tiny bits and scattering it around the room.
Oh, no... I have to find that tape and see if I played it so many times it wore out!
Oh no! And I just bought a great big package of chicken jerky treats!!! (and ALL the doggie treats said ‘Made In China’ so if you don’t buy anything at all, what do you give your doggies as treats? Mine ain’t gonna’ eat bananas, that’s fer dang sure).
Thanks for posting this!
My dogs like raw baby carrots. And I cook up a goop w/ the chicken skin leftover from making broth along with ground turkey, brown rice, oatmeal & carrots. Shape into individual portions & freeze it on a cookie sheet.
My dogs are not vegetable eaters at all. But I’ll try the baby carrots. Just bought a fresh package for my own salads. Your ‘goop’ (doggie gorp! LOL) is an awful lot of fiber. No diarrhea problems? Our one dog consistently has a problem with that. Thanks for the tips!
I can vouch for the liver treat recipe, it's exactly the same as the one our agility trainer calls "I'll Do ANYthing For These Liver Treats".
It was then I figured the problem was he couldn't breathe. I picked him up and tried to do a Heimlich like on a human but that didn't work. So I picked him up in a standing position and held him between my knees and squeezed his ribs as fast and hard as I could. That worked, and he made the most horrible screaming sound I ever heard, then I set him up on his feet and he was a little wobbly but getting along. Touching his ribs and chest area didn't seem to bother him so I don't think anything got broken, but it was about 24 hours before he was back to normal.
So Spike no longer gets raw carrots. He likes them so much he eats them too fast. But he still enjoys cooked carrots.
I used to let my dog have human turkey jerky, too. He loved it. In fact, he always preferred human food to dog food. He was very smart.
For treats, I give my cat a dog the occassional bit of cheese, popcorn, or peanut and thats it!
I still worry about their pet food being contaminated and I’m not about to extend that worry to their treats.
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