Take notice regarding buying bones for your beloved dog!
The Dog Food Advisor service released this news yesterday:
The United States Food and Drug Administration has issued an important warning regarding store-bought bone treats for dogs.
The associated treats have already caused numerous illnesses and even death in at least 15 dogs.
To learn which products are affected, please visit the following link:
FDA Warning: Store-Bought Bone Treats Could Kill Your Dog
Please be sure to share the news of this important recall event with other pet owners.
Mike Sagman, Editor
The Dog Food Advisor
If you go to that link you will read the following.
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FDA Warning: Store-Bought ‘Bone Treats’ Could Kill Your Dog
November 28, 2017 — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning regarding the purchase and use of store-bought “bone treats”. The FDA claims the danger goes beyond the risk of regular bones.
What’s a ‘Bone Treat’?
The FDA reports it has received about 68 reports of pet illnesses related to “bone treats”.
Bone treats differ from regular uncooked butcher-type bones because they’re processed and packaged for sale as “dog treats”.
Which Products?
A variety of commercially-available bone treats for dogs were listed in the reports including items described as:
- “Ham Bones”
- “Pork Femur Bones”
- “Rib Bones”
- “Smokey Knuckle Bones”
No specific brands are mentioned in the FDA bulletin.
The processed products may be dried through a smoking process or by baking. They may also contain other ingredients such as:
- Preservatives
- Seasonings
- Smoke flavorings
According to Dr. Carmela Stamper, a veterinarian in the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the FDA…
“Giving your dog a bone treat might lead to an unexpected trip to your veterinarian, a possible emergency surgery, or even death for your pet.”
So, if you’re planning to give your dog a stocking full of bone treats this holiday season, you may want to reconsider.
Illnesses Reported
Illnesses reported to FDA by owners and veterinarians in dogs that have eaten bone treats have included:
- Gastrointestinal obstruction (blockage in the digestive tract)
- Choking
- Cuts and wounds in the mouth or on the tonsils
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Bleeding from the rectum
- Death
According to FDA, approximately 15 dogs have reportedly died after eating a bone treat.
How Widespread Is the Problem?
To date, reports submitted by pet owners and veterinarians have included about 90 dogs. Some reports included more than one dog.
In addition, FDA has received 7 reports of product problemssuch as…
- Moldy-appearing bones
- Treats splintering when chewed by the pet
How to Keep Your Dog Safe
FDA has included the following tips to help keep your dog safe:
- Chicken bones and other bones from the kitchen table can cause injury when chewed by pets, too. So be careful to keep platters out of reach when you’re cooking or the family is eating.
- Be careful what you put in the trash can. Dogs are notorious for helping themselves to the turkey carcass or steak bones disposed of there.
- Talk with your veterinarian about other toys or treats that are most appropriate for your dog. There are many available products made with different materials for dogs to chew on.
What to Do?
Dr. Stamper adds the following advice…
“We recommend supervising your dog with any chew toy or treat, especially one she hasn’t had before. And if she ‘just isn’t acting right,’ call your veterinarian right away!”
U.S. citizens can report complaints about FDA-regulated pet food products by calling the consumer complaint coordinator in your area.
Or go to http://www.fda.gov/petfoodcomplaints.
Canadians can report any health or safety incidents related to the use of this product by filling out the Consumer Product Incident Report Form.
Get Dog Food Recall Alerts by Email
Get free dog food recall alerts sent to you by email. Subscribe to The Dog Food Advisor’s emergency recall notification system.
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Please share this with other dog owners and carers who might not have seen the original announcement.
We must do everything we can to keep our dogs from harm!
We never gave any of our dogs the processed bones or the real ones, Paul. Rather cautious. Great post!
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I try and share every dog food recall notice I receive from that service. Not too many recently, thank goodness!
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Really an important post Paul, thank you for sharing.
Many years ago, I was taught not to give dogs or cats any kind of bones from pork or birds. These can shatter in their throat or stomach and even smoked meat are strong for their stomachs, just like it can be for ours.
Bones from a lamb leg, the big bones, calf or cow are the most secure, as we can give them. If cold winters, they can have some raw, even if I prefer to give them the bones after preparing our food and leave some meat left too.
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Thanks Irene. Hope everyone gets to read your advice.
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We learn new all our life, Paul.
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Do I see the philosopher in you, Irene, showing out! 😊
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Maybe Paul 🙂
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Well I like what I see!
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Thanks for sharing, Paul! Much appreciated.
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My pleasure, Tony.
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Good advice Paul, especially as people look for treats to put in pet Christmas stockings. I actually think, besides most of the obvious dangers, people can no longer know where these sorts of treats are sourced, or the conditions of manufacture. A lot of stuff that is unfit for human consumption ends up in pet products. Since most of them smell absolutely disgusting…it should be the first clue that it is not OK for your best pal.
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Yes, it’s something that agitates us a great deal. The issue of what gets into pet food! Lovely to hear from you, Colette.
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I finally was convinced. Dogs bones were tossed before any problems happened. Guess I was lucky. Thanks for the good post.
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Delighted to hear that! Anyway, a very warm welcome to this place. Thanks for calling by and hope to see you again.
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