Category: Business

The Seafire Spitfire and dogs!

Ray offers us a guest post.

As can happen from time to time, I was contacted by Ray Dunthorne in England. He very kindly said that he had been following Learning from Dogs for a while and also was aware of my previous interest in flying.

So I emailed Ray saying that I would love to publish his account as a guest post and lo and behold in came the following story.

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The Story of Lulu

Ah hello again, I’ll try ever so hard not to give you my full life story, but just stuff you might find interesting and relevant, but can’t promise to get the balance right! 

Willows Activity Farm St Albans 

My adult dog journey began with Lulu, 15 years ago, but the seed was sown some 5 years earlier at a city farm. We’d gone with the then middle-born five-year-old for his birthday party. The shepherd who did herding demonstrations was over from New Zealand and had two dogs who’d just had a litter of puppies, which we were shown. We’d never heard of the New Zealand Huntaway, it was described as a combination of German Shepherd, Border Collie and Labrador, with a few other breeds thrown in for good measure. 

They’d been consistently bred in, yes, you guessed it, New Zealand for over 100 years, specifically to help move large herds of sheep or cattle over long distances. The agile New Zealand Huntaway became known for its ability to move across packed, penned herds by leaping from the back of one sheep to another. Its loud LOUD bark was also required, as if not busy barking to get cattle or sheep moving, the Huntaway would be sent after a sheep or lamb that had strayed out of sight, hold it down (I don’t know how) and BARK so the shepherd could locate the unruly pair. 

Little thought was given to the New Zealand Huntaway for a few years, when – on the other side of divorce – my then ex-wife and I decided to get a dog to raise collaboratively, to keep the disparate family united in some way. Divorce-wise, it wasn’t so amicable initially, as these things usually aren’t, but soon settled down with the three growing boys being the priority. 

Lime End Farm, Sussex

Of course we couldn’t agree on the type of dog. I’d always wanted a German Shepherd, madame a Border Collie and a Labrador was a popular choice with Stanley, Arthur and Sidney (the aforementioned three boys). I bet you can tell where this is going. Yes, I remembered the New Zealand Huntaway. In 2006, it was a lot harder to find a litter in the UK than it is now, but I did. Down on a farm in Sussex. Lulu’s mum and dad were also over from New Zealand with a shepherd, this one herding cattle at Lime End Dairy Farm. 

Lime End is in Herstmonceux, East Sussex, which is as Olde English countryside as it sounds, with a castle and an annual Medieval festival to complete the picture.

As soon as we arrived in the classic farm yard, all the puppies bumbled out to say hello, emerging three at a time from under an old caravan where they’d been sheltering from the sun. Their dad, Lord Toro was tied to a nearby barn, doing some general barking ‘he’s frightened of the puppies’ the lady told us. The nine puppies all toppled about us for a few minutes, then all rushed off to find dinner. All except one.

Eight week old Lulu came back with me, Sidney and Helen, my new girlfriend at the time, who I’d charmingly had to borrow the £300 needed to secure Lulu from. It was a four or five hour round trip for the three of us, four including Lulu. A bonding opportunity all round.

I always remember that – to add to the idyllic Sussex farm scene, as if it wasn’t enough like a scene from a film Hugh Grant drives a Mini in – just as we were leaving, an old barn door got pushed open from the inside and a litter of Border Collie puppies and their mum and dad ran out, to say hello to the remaining Huntaways and good bye to us.

Best Laid Plans

The wisdom of bringing that hard-working herding dog into two separate St Albans houses didn’t cross my mind. It probably should have, especially as my ‘house’ was a rented Maisonette, no dogs aloud. The theory was Lulu would be at the children’s house in the week, mine along with the children at the weekends. It didn’t turn out like that.

After a few months both me and my ex-wife got short contracts that meant heading off to work in an office for the day. Far from ideal, but no money at that point meant no choice. At least it was only temporary. Lulu would have been about six months old by then and absolutely should not have been left alone FOR A SECOND.

The office was just 15 minutes away (PC World, Maylands, Hemel Hempstead). I did manage to pop back at lunchtime most days and a child would pop round a few hours later after school. New Zealand Huntaways are like any puppy only more so. They need a lot of exercise and mental stimulation, or else you will pay.

A novice dog guardian then, I learned everything the hard way. Before her first birthday, Lulu had removed the floor covering in the kitchen and the lounge. She’d moved a large old cathode ray TV across the room, knocked bookshelves over and generally done over £1,000 of damage. I know it was that much because I got a bill from the landlord. I paid. 

What dogs do

I will cut to the end here. That was in the first year of Lulu’s life.

The contract I mentioned was my first proper BIG company for the digital stuff I was doing, without it I wouldn’t have been able to have the career I’ve had, which started late as I accidentally tried to be a musician for ten years. Not too successfully. That doesn’t matter though.

The 14 years has gone by and even Sidney, who was about five years old when he came with us to East Sussex to meet Lulu, has gone off to university, the older two long-since moved away, to Nottingham and London respectively, leaving me, Lulu and my Helen, that new girlfriend who’d come to Sussex with us on that early date, who moved in a year or so later and is still here. 

What Lulu did was tie us all together. Yes, she was a nightmare initially. Yes, she would run away, out of sight chasing imaginary deer, for 30 or 40 minutes at a time. Yes, she’d bark at everything, constantly herding the children when they were small, stopping them from fighting among each other as they got bigger, becoming more and more generally in control and charming with each year. Almost without us noticing. All of a sudden, she was one of us. Not a pet, not a ‘furry friend’, not even a dog really.

She could sense when someone was ill or in distress and would attend accordingly. She loved small children and even when in a fierce mood, if a small child the same size as her approached, she would sit down and raise her head waiting for a pair of tiny arms to be thrown around her. It had all just got normal for us. Pretty much every time when we were out with her, she’d do something that would further add to our respect for her understanding of what’s going on. She WAS one of us. 

Lulu loved an air show, going to several with us over the years. Here she is at Eastbourne air show, enjoying the Lancaster Bomber and a Spitfire from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. 

Now it’s all gone

It’s only when Lulu was finally gone I noticed everything else that’s passed too. All that time, pretty much my entire career, moving from acrimoniously divorced to getting along just fine and concentrating on giving the three boys as good a start as we could manage.  The three boys no longer the children they were when Lulu was working out her role in the family, now all long-since scarpered and working harder than I ever have. 

My career is pretty much done too. I’m finding it harder to get new contracts or jobs in digital. ‘What are you doing working in digital? I thought that was a young man’s game’ one marketing director interviewing me for a dull digital role I didn’t want tactfully said, almost ten years ago too. I won’t say where, for reasons of professional discretion (David Lloyd Leisure, Hatfield, Monday 4th March 2013)

When I was working from home and madame, who I now call Mrs Tagmaster, was coming home from London, me and Lulu would go and pick her up. I trained Lulu to sit in the middle of the station and wait for Mrs Tagmaster for as long as 10 minutes, which meant several packed commuter trains unloaded past her. I’d hide out of sight, watching to see how many pats on the head she got. Usually several.

Lulu’s Legacy is Ten Year Tags

Phew, we’re getting up to date at last. Lulu lost dog name tags like it was something she was born to do. Sometimes in a few months, sometimes in a few days. We got through dozens. I’m a bit slow on the uptake, it took me a while to work out the dog name tags on the market just might not be up to the job.

It took about a year of fact-finding, market assessment and trying to work out how to make a better dog name tag before I was ready to start planning the equipment we needed. Having wasted months liaising with companies in China to get the tags made in volume, I gave up on that idea to both keep our carbon footprint down AND have more control over any supply chain and not have to worry about any one critical supplier. 

With over 9 million dogs in the UK alone, there’s a good sized market. Research quickly revealed this ubiquitous, low price point product has largely been ignored, especially digitally. Consequently many competitors are getting away with minimal product quality and poor customer experience (I’ll come back to this).  This surprised me, as not many products pretty much anyone can manufacture are actually required by law in the UK courtesy of a stupidly out of date Dog Tag Law. 

I pretty much, at least subliminally, thank Lulu for every tag I press out and when it’s a busy day that started at 6 am and is only drawing to a close with a 6pm trip to the sorting office with a sack of 50 or more orders, I’m ever so grateful to Lulu, as without her showing us the flaws in all those substandard products over the years, patiently waiting until Raymond here got the hint, we probably wouldn’t be coping at all right now. Lulu is still looking after us.

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Thank you, Ray.

This is such a delightful story. So much so that I am going to post another story for Saturday. Namely, a short article, broadly written by Ray, and featuring the Spitfire.

Ray’s company Ten Year Tags is linked to Ray’s website.

Freshpet Dog Food Recall

Another alert from the Dog Food Advisor

It is shared with you all exactly as it came in to me.

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Freshpet Dog Food Recall

June 13, 2021 — Freshpet Inc. of Secaucus, New Jersey, is recalling a single lot of Freshpet Dog Food due to potential contamination with Salmonella bacteria. 

What’s Recalled?

The following defective dog food is being recalled:

  • Freshpet Select Small Dog Bite Size Beef and Egg Recipe
  • Package size: 1 pound bags
  • Sell by date: 10/30/2021

Sell by date, along with UPC code and lot code, can be found on the bottom and back of each bag. Product images are posted below.

No other Freshpet products or lot codes are impacted by this recall.

What Caused the Recall?

Workers at Freshpet discovered a single lot of dog food that was contaminated with Salmonella bacteria… and had designated it for destruction.

However, the contaminated product was accidentally shipped to retailers in limited geographic markets between June 7 to June 10, 2021.

Where Was the Product Sold?

The recalled products may have been sold at: Publix in Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia. It was also distributed at limited Target locations in Arizona and Southern California.

Most of the product was intercepted at retailer distribution warehouses and not delivered to retail stores.

According to the company, “Freshpet has received no reports of illness, injury, or adverse reaction to date, and has issued this recall because of our deep commitment to the safety of our pet parents and their dogs.”

About Salmonella

Salmonella can affect animals eating the product and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products.

Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. 

Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. 

Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Dogs with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. 

Some dogs will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. 

Infected but otherwise healthy dogs can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. 

If your dog has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

What to Do?

If pet parents have products matching the description above, they should stop feeding it to their dogs and dispose of it immediately.

Consumers are asked to call the company if you have any of the recalled product in your possession. 

You may also use the following link to request a refund: https://freshpet.co/ssdb21.

Pet parents who have questions or would like to report adverse reactions should call 1-866-789-3737, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 9 pm ET and Saturday through Sunday, 9 am to 1 pm ET… or visit www.freshpet.com.

U.S. citizens can report complaints about FDA-regulated pet food products by calling the consumer complaint coordinator in your area.

Or go to the FDA’s “Report a Pet Food Complaint” page.

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 Lifesaving 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.

There’s no cost. No spam ever. Cancel any time.

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Once again, please share this as widely as you can.

Our lovely dogs don’t deserve this!

The Old and the New

This caught my eye!

Humans are great inventors! Indeed, a better way to describe H. sapiens ever since we separated from the chimpanzees, some 5 or 6 million years ago, is to describe us as explorers both outwards and inwards constantly in search for new worlds and new insights into meaning.

Thus this naturally caught me eye as Doug Thron uses a modern device, a drone, to search for animals in distress, a very ancient behaviour!

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Drone Pilot Rescues Animals After Natural Disasters

Doug Thron goes to devastated areas to save pets and wildlife.

By Mary Jo DiLonardo

Mary Jo DiLonardo

Published June 9, 2021.

Doug Thron with Duke, a dog he rescued after California wildfires.”Doug to the Rescue”

For nearly three decades, seaplane and drone pilot Doug Thron has been a professional photographer and cinematographer, primarily for nature shows and magazines. A few years ago he was using his drone to film the devastation left behind after wildfires in California when he teamed up with rescuers to help find lost pets and reunite them with their owners.

A long-time animal lover and environmentalist, Thron realized he could combine those passions, using his aerial skills. He now travels wherever there is need, using his drone to help communities dealing with the destruction after natural disasters.

Thron is featured in a six-part documentary series “Doug to the Rescue”streaming on CuriosityStream beginning June 10.

He talked to Treehugger about his first animal rescues, his drones, and some of the challenges he’s faced.

Treehugger: Which came first: the animal rescue work or the drone?

Dough Thron: I was using drones for filming for TV shows, commercials, and real estate clients before doing the animal rescue work. 

Were you involved in animal rescue and realized that your drone work could come in handy? 

Definitely. I was doing animal rescue work after the wildfires in Paradise, California. I was working with an expert cat rescuer named Shannon Jay, and I saw him using an infrared scope at night to help find the cats. We talked about how incredible it would be to put one on a drone and when the opportunity came up about 10 months later in the Bahamas after the category 5 Hurricane Dorian, that’s what I did and it worked incredibly.

I had raised orphaned baby animals as a kid and worked with animals such as possums, raccoons, squirrels, beavers, and even mountain lions. I’ve been using drones since 2013 for cinematography, so I’ve used them for quite a while before I got involved in the actual rescuing of animals with drones.

Duke in the Bahamas.Doug Thron / “Doug to the Rescue”

What was your first big rescue using a drone?

My first big rescue using a drone was in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian. I was there helping to deliver aid and film the destruction when I spotted a dog roaming around the mountains of debris. He obviously hadn’t had any water or much food for days. He was really apprehensive at first, but warmed up over the course of the day, as I just sat with him. Dog food and water helped! The next day, some animal rescuers came with me to get him. He’s such an incredible dog, and meant so much to me, so I adopted him and named him Duke after a sign I’d seen where I found him.

Where are some of the places you’ve gone to help stranded animals? 

The Bahamas, Australia, Oregon, California, and Louisiana.

Thron with a rescued koala.”Doug to the Rescue”

What were some of the most challenging circumstances?

In Australia, it was challenging because the hurt koalas were deep in burnt out forests, often with a dense canopy. It was so hot out you had to fly strictly at night with spotlights and infrared and fly the drone pretty far and often drop it down through the trees to see the animals, which takes a lot of skill. Koalas are also very aggressive and strong, and not always thrilled when you go to grab them out of a tree to rescue them. On almost all these rescues, Australia and everywhere else, it’s countless long hours of work—generally about 20 hours a day—which can certainly wear you down day after day.

What is it like when you spot an animal in an area of devastation where there is no other sign of life? 

It’s great to be able to rescue these animals so much more efficiently and faster and, in many cases, find animals that never would have been found.  It’s different everywhere I go—finding animals when there aren’t any others alive nearby is always really hard. But in places like Louisiana, where I was searching in so many neighborhoods, it gives you a feeling of hope when you find a cat or dog, knowing it was someone’s pet. 

In other places, like Australia, I’d be covering dozens of miles a night, sometimes and only finding an occasional animal. It’s really sad because you realize how many thousands of animals didn’t make it. It’s also really hard to see how fires and other natural disasters as a result of climate change are taking out the last patches of unentered habitat and endangered animals.

A dog rescued in Louisiana.”Doug to the Rescue”

How heart-wrenching can it be?

It can be really heart-wrenching to find animals that are severely wounded, but it’s wonderful to be able to save them. 

How euphoric is it when you make a great save?

It’s awesome to be able to save people’s cats and dogs because frequently, that might be the only thing they have left after a fire or hurricane. Obviously, for the animal’s sake, it’s so incredible because without the infrared drone, in many cases, the animal would have never been found and would have died, sometimes a slow and painful death.

Thron with his drone.”Doug to the Rescue”

What is your drone like?

The Matrice 210 V2 are the drones I use with an infrared camera, spotlight, and 180x zoom lens. The combination of using those three attachments for animal rescue has never been done before.

How much time do you spend doing animal rescue work? What else do you do?

The rescue work is pretty continuous for 9 to 10 months during the fire and hurricane seasons. After that, there are occasional lost pets to be found.

What else do you want to accomplish?

I hope to make using infrared drones for animal rescue as popular as helicopters are for rescuing people after a natural disaster. So many more animals can be saved when you can find them so much faster and find ones that never would have been found on foot because there is just too much area to cover.

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This account makes me want to choke up. Doug is clearly used to being a professional photographer and, also, works with others in the field of animal rescue. But this story is about Doug and he is engaged with animal rescue with his heart as well as his head!

Doug has been reported widely I am delighted to say and there’s a YouTube video that you can watch.

It doesn’t get any better than that!

The Elephant in the Room

This is one of the most important posts since I started blogging!

I was born in 1944 and that makes me 76. I am reasonably engaged in the issues facing us but, in a sense, protected from the realities of the modern world because I have a loving wife, two loving young people, as in my son Alex and my daughter Maija, and a special grandson, Morten.

We are also very lucky in that my wife, Jean, and I are both retired and we live on 13 rural acres in a beautiful part of Southern Oregon and enjoy immensely our six dogs, two horses, two parakeets and feeding the wild birds and deer.

But it can’t stay that way because of the encroaching elephant in the room.

I am speaking of climate change that if not dealt with in the near future, say in the next 10 years, will lead to an unimaginable state of affairs.

Now one could argue that you come to Learning from Dogs to get away from climate change and the like. But this is too important and, also, involves all of us including our gorgeous dogs.

First, I want to include an extract from a recent Scientists Warning newsletter (and please read this extract carefully).

Recently, one article on the climate emergency above all others has cut through – with over ONE MILLION views, “Climate scientists: concept of net zero is a dangerous trap”  published in The Conversation is being talked about by many thousands, and led Greta Thunberg to tweet:  “This is one of the most important and informative texts I have ever read on the climate- and ecological crises.” 
So why is this article so very important?

In our latest interview, I talk with two of the authors – Dr.  James Dyke, global systems scientist at the University of Exeter and Dr. Wolfgang Knorr, climate scientist at Lund University. And the conversation does not make for comfortable viewing.  We discuss what led James, Wolfgang and Professor Bob Watson to write an article that they have described as being one of the hardest they have ever written. The article is *not* an attack on net zero, nor does it advocate a fatalistic position. Instead, as you will hear, the interview reveals the heartfelt concerns of two scientists who are profoundly worried about the failure of a climate policy system that suppresses the  voice of science and is fundamentally flawed. A climate policy system that year after year has failed.

But  it is not just the climate policy system that has failed. Academia has failed too, and continues to fail Greta and young people like her. And this *must* stop. Young people have become the adults in the room. We cannot place this burden on their shoulders. They have shown their courage and bravery. Now it’s time for academia to step up to the challenge and to critically examine why we are failing. 

Secondly, I want to share that interview with you. This is a 36-minute interview. Please, please watch it. If it is not a convenient time just now then bookmark the post and watch it when you can sit down and be fully engaged. You will understand then and agree with me that this is one of the most important videos ever!

Lastly, I would like you to read the article published in The Conversation. I have included a link to it but I am also going to republish it on Friday.

Because we have to listen to the scientists without delay and press for change now.

Thank goodness for our younger generation. Because these young people are coming together to fight for change. May they have universal encouragement from those of us who will never see our younger days again!

men's white and blue gingham dress shirt
Photograph by Zach Lucero

Time to end puppy mills

I am republishing a recent email that came to me.

Puppy Mills are disgraceful. Worse than that they are a scar on the face of mankind.

Yesterday I received an email that came in from the Humane Society Legislative Fund. I am sure many of you also received it.

I am going to republish it. Please help if you can.

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Tell the USDA to protect puppies

Dogs suffer horribly in puppy mills. What’s worse is that over the last four years, The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is charged with monitoring, citing and revoking licenses of these breeding facilities if they sell to pet stores, brokers or online, stopped taking their job of puppy mill enforcement seriously and the agency did not take all the necessary steps to make sure that standards of care are improved to ensure that puppy mill facilities meet the basic needs of happy and healthy dogs.

Enforcement has plummeted at USDA since 2017 and citations for violations are down more than 65%. But we have a new Administration leading the United States Department of Agriculture, one that has already promised that they are going to take animal care seriously. Now is our chance to send a message loud and clear: you must protect dogs and puppies and take puppy mill enforcement seriously, and you must ensure that standards of care are improved in puppy mills to meet the needs of the thousands of dogs living in those facilities.

TAKE ACTION
Please send a brief, polite message to the USDA using the form provided.

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The form is available here!

I am going to leave you with a photograph, one of many I am afraid. This one was taken from the Animal Rescue Corps.

Very sad!

Yet another dog food advisory

This came out yesterday and is republished below.

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Dear Fellow Dog Lover,

Zuke’s has asked pet food retailers to remove some of its most popular dog treats from retail stores due to “a potential quality issue”.

For full details, please visit the following link: Popular Dog Treats Removed from Retail Stores

Best Dog Food for May 2021


The Dog Food Advisor has recently updated the following best dog food pages:

  • Best Dry Dog Foods
  • Best Puppy Foods
  • Best Large Breed Puppy Foods
  • Best Dog Foods for Small Dogs
  • Best Dog Food for Allergies
  • Best Grain-Free Dog Foods
  • Best Dog Foods Made with Grain
  • Best Budget-Friendly Dog Foods
  • Best Dog Food for Shih Tzus, Labs and 8 Other Breeds
  • Best Senior Dog Foods

See our Best Dog Foods for May 2021 

Please be sure to share this news with other dog and cat owners. 

Mike Sagman, Editor
The Dog Food AdvisorSaving Good Dogs From Bad Dog Food

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Hope it finds some people who needed to be informed!

Another dog food recall

Here are the details (and it is a big one):

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Dear Fellow Dog Lover,

Midwestern Pet Foods is recalling multiple brands of dog and cat food due to possible contamination with Salmonella bacteria.  For full details, please visit the following link: Midwestern Pet Foods Recalls Multiple Dog and Cat Food Brands

(And if you go to that link …)

Midwestern Pet Foods Recalls Multiple Dog and Cat Food Brands

March 27, 2021 — Midwestern Pet Foods of Evansville, Indiana is recalling multiple brands of dog and cat food because they have the potential to be contaminated with disease-causing Salmonella bacteria.

What’s Recalled?

Recalled products include specific lots of CanineX, Earthborn Holistic, Venture, Unrefined, Sportmix Wholesomes, Pro Pac, Pro Pac Ultimates, Sportstrail, Sportmix and Meridian produced at its production facility in Monmouth, Illinois.

Recalled Dog and Cat Food with Lot Numbers

About Salmonella

Salmonella can affect animals eating the products and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products.

Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. 

Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. 

Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting.

Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. 

Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. 

If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian. 

No human or pet illnesses have been reported to date.

Where Were the Products Sold?

Products were distributed to retail store nationwide and to online retailers.

Lot code information may be found on the back of the bags with the following format:
“EXP AUG/02/22/M1/L#”

This recall covers only certain products manufactured at Midwestern Pet Foods Monmouth, Illinois facility. 

The unique Monmouth Facility identifier is located in the date code as an “M”.

What Caused the Recall?

The recall was as the result of a routine sampling program by the company which revealed that the finished products may contain the bacteria.

What to Do?

Retailers and distributors should immediately pull recalled lots from their inventory and shelves. 

Do not sell or donate the recalled products. 

Retailers are encouraged to contact consumers that have purchased the recalled products if the means to do so exists.

Do not feed the recalled products to pets or any other animals. 

Destroy the food in a way that children, pets and wildlife cannot access them.

Wash and sanitize pet food bowls, cups and storage containers. 

Always ensure you wash and sanitize your hands after handling recalled food or any utensils that come in contact with recalled food.

For more information, contact Midwestern Pet Foods Consumer Affairs at info@midwesternpetfoods.com. Or call 800-474-4163, ext 455, from 8 AM to 5 PM CT, Monday through Friday.

This voluntary recall is being conducted in cooperation with the US Food and Drug Administration. All other Midwestern Pet Foods products are unaffected by this recall.

U.S. citizens can report complaints about FDA-regulated pet food products by calling the consumer complaint coordinator in your area.

Or go to the FDA’s “Report a Pet Food Complaint” page.

Canadians can report any health or safety incidents related to the use of this product by filling out the Consumer Product Incident Report Form.

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Phew!

Nothing to add save please share this!

The Dog Food Advisor.

A good summary of all that matters.

The Dog and Cat Food update was announced two days ago.

In the covering email they said:

Dear Fellow Dog Lover,

You’re getting this email because you signed up on our website and asked to be notified. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please click the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of this message.

Bravo Packing of Carney’s Point, NJ, is expanding its recall to now include multiple dog and cat food products due to possible contamination with Salmonella and Listeria bacteria.

For full details, please visit the following link: Bravo Packing Expands Dog and Cat Food Recall

Best Dog Food for March 2021

The Dog Food Advisor has recently updated the following best dog food pages:

  • Best Dry Dog Foods
  • Best Puppy Foods
  • Best Large Breed Puppy Foods
  • Best Dog Foods for Small Dogs
  • Best Dog Food for Allergies
  • Best Grain-Free Dog Foods
  • Best Dog Foods Made with Grain
  • Best Budget-Friendly Dog Foods
  • Best Dog Food for Specific Breeds
  • Best Senior Dog Foods

Click here to see our Best Dog Foods for March 2021

Please be sure to share this news with other dog and cat owners.

Mike Sagman, Editor
The Dog Food Advisor
Saving Good Dogs From Bad Dog Food

Now onto the Bravo Packing recall.

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Bravo Packing Expands Dog and Cat Food Recall

March 16, 2021 — Bravo Packing, Inc., of Carneys Point, New Jersey, is expandingits previously announced voluntary recall of two pet food products to now include all pet food and bones in all package sizes… because they may be contaminated with disease-causing bacteria.

During an FDA inspection, samples collected tested positive for Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes and resulted in a recall due to the potential health risks to humans and pets.

See The Dog Food Advisor’s previous announcement here.

What’s Recalled?

Bravo Packing, Inc. is expanding the recall due to potential cross contamination of the following dog and cat food products.

Label Images of Recalled Products

The following label images are included in the FDA bulletin. No other photographs were provided by the company.

About Salmonella

Salmonella can cause illness in pets eating the products, as well as people who handle contaminated pet food products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products, infected pets, or any surfaces exposed to these products.

People infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping, and fever.

Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis (an infection of the heart muscle), arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms.

People who have these symptoms after having contact with the products identified in this recall or with a pet that has eaten these products should contact their healthcare providers.

A pet with a Salmonella infection may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting.

Some pets will have decreased appetite, fever, and abdominal pain.

If your pet has consumed the recalled products and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

Pets exposed to contaminated food can be infected without showing symptoms.

Infected pets, including those without symptoms, can also shed Salmonella through their feces and saliva, spreading pathogens into the home environment and to humans and other animals nearby.

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, Listeria monocytogenes infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

No human or animal illnesses related to the identified products have been reported to date.

Where Were the Products Sold?

Bravo Packing Inc. generally works with distributors that fill orders to retail storesand to consumers directly nationwide.

What to Do?

Consumers with any of the affected products should handle them with caution, discard products in a secure container, and wash hands and surfaces properly.

Consumers with questions should contact Bravo Packing, Inc. at 856-299-1044 (Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, ET).

U.S. citizens can report complaints about FDA-regulated pet food products by calling the consumer complaint coordinator in your area.

Or go to the FDA’s “Report a Pet Food Complaint” page.

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 Lifesaving 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.
There’s no cost. No spam ever. Cancel any time.

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As always, please share this around as much as you can.

Because even just one dog owner being informed of this Dog Food Recall makes it all worthwhile.

Yet another recall, and some good news!

Hats off to Malwarebytes.com!

Those of you that read yesterday’s post will know that I was having malware problems.

I have McAfee Total Protection and yesterday first thing I started a full scan using McAfee. After many hours it still had not removed the malware.

I again called Apple and they recommended me using the Malwarebytes software. I installed that software and it worked! So I very happily struck up a paying relationship with Malwarebytes!

Now to today’s dog food recall!

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Bravo Packing Recalls Performance Dog Pet Food

March 3, 2021 — Bravo Packing, Inc. of Carneys Point, NJ, is recalling all Ground Beef and Performance Dog, a frozen raw pet food because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.

What’s Recalled?

Performance Dog and Ground Beef both come frozen in 2-pound and 5-pound plastic sleeves with the following labels (provided by the company).

About Salmonella and Listeria

Salmonella can cause illness in animals eating the products, as well as people who handle contaminated pet products… especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products, infected animals or any surfaces exposed to these products.

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, server headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria monocytogenes infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever.

Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis (an infection of the heart muscle), arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation and urinary tract symptoms.

People who have these symptoms after having contact with this product or an animal that has eaten this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting.

Some pets will have decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain.

Pets exposed to contaminated food can be infected without showing symptoms.

If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

Infected animals including those without symptoms, can also shed Salmonella through their feces and saliva, spreading pathogens into the home environment and to humans and other animals in the household.

No human or animal illnesses have been reported to date.

About This Recall

Bravo Packing, Inc. is voluntarily recalling the products after samples of Performance Dog and a sample of Ground Beef were collected during an FDA inspection, tested positive for Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.

Where Were the Products Sold?

Performance Dog generally works with the distributor located in Brooklyn, New York, that fills orders to brick-and-mortar retail stores or to consumers directly nationwide.

What to Do?

If you have an Ground Beef or Performance Dog, please throw it away. (My emphasis. PH)

Consumers with questions should contact Bravo Packing, Inc. at 856-299-1044 (Monday – Friday, 9:00AM-2:00PM, EST).

U.S. citizens can report complaints about FDA-regulated pet food products by calling the consumer complaint coordinator in your area.

Or go to the FDA’s “Report a Pet Food Complaint” page.

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 Lifesaving 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.

There’s no cost. No spam ever. Cancel any time.

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As per usual, please share this recall as widely as possible.

Thank you!

SpiritDog Training.

I have relaxed my rule about posts from commercial concerns.

For the first time since July, 2009, I am presenting a guest post from a commercial business. This is how it evolved.

On the 11th February this year I received the following email:

Hi Paul,

Anne here from SpiritDog Training!

I came across Learning From Dogs while researching supplementary dog training materials and I am impressed with the articles you shared on your website.

I noticed that you are accepting guest contributions on your blog and I was wondering if our team can contribute an article for your site?

Our founder, Steffi Trott, has been featured in major publications such as Reader’s Digest, FitBark, Romper and Rachel Ray In Season so you can be assured that the content will be of high-quality.

I’ve prepared some topics here which I’m sure your readers would enjoy:

1.  How Much Exercise is Too Much?
2.  How To Teach Your Dog To Bark On Command
3.  Which Doodle is The Best Fit For Busy Families?
4.  Dog parks: Yay or nay?
5.  Fetch or keep-away? How to teach your dog to return his ball every time
6.  Nail trim horror? How to get your dog used to doggy pedicures

Please let me know if you are interested in any of these.

Looking forward to hearing from you, Paul!

Kind Regards,
Anne

I was minded to accept the invitation. I have received no income and I am not endorsing SpiritDog Training. But I thought that on balance this post should be allowed.

First, some words from Steffi Trott:

I am Steffi Trott, the dog trainer at SpiritDog Training (and hopeless dog enthusiast!). I am an energizer bunny who loves everything related to animals, the outdoors and – of course – training. I have four dogs of my own that I – of course – train every day and that participate in competitive agility as well.

I am always committed to finding the right approach for every dog and owner team – taking into consideration the individual disposition and natural strengths and weaknesses of everyone involved.

I have been teaching dog training to thousands of clients both locally and through online lessons since 2013.

I train with clients all over New Mexico and travel to teach seminars – which has taken me as far as Germany!

I studied dog training with European trainers such as multi-worldchampions in agility and European Open winners Silvia Trkman, Polona Bonac, Martina Klimesova and Anna Hinze as well as US trainers like Kim Terrill and Daisy Peel.

I have a lot of personal interest in dog cognition and behavior and keep up to date with all scientific publications on the matter.

Dog training is a very new field and just over the past couple decades trainers have gained an understanding of how much we can influence a dog’s behavior with positive, game-based methods. I firmly believe that every dog trainer needs to strive to perfect their own training skills and never stop learning and exploring.

Let me join you in finding the best possible approach for your dog!

So to the guest post submitted by Anne Handshack, the marketing associate, on behalf of Steffi.

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Adult dogs and playing – rethinking our expectations

By: Steffi Trott

In my work as a dog trainer, I frequently encounter the expectation that adult dogs should enjoy “playing” with other dogs. In many cases this is a misguided idea. It can cause owners to push their dogs into situations in which they are uncomfortable and may even show reactivity. Today we will look at how adult dogs interact and whether or not “playing” is a common behavior for them.

Puppies love to play

Everyone knows that puppies love to play. You can pretty much put any two puppies of any two breeds into the same space and they will run and wrestle with each other within minutes. This intense desire to play starts as soon as puppies can move around – as early as 3 or 4 weeks of age. Puppies retain the play drive until they are somewhere between 6 and 24 months old. In general, working or guard dog breeds stop to play with any other dog earlier, while companion dogs and many Doodles continue playing for longer. Some dogs completely stop any play – others get more selective in when, with whom and how they play.

Interaction yes, play no

Most friendly and socialized dogs do not dislike other dogs once they stop actively playing. They simply don’t want to race, tug and wrestle anymore. A well-mannered and social adult dog will still greet other dogs, sniff them and wander around and mark bushes with them. If your dog e.g. was friends with the neighbor’s puppy, chances are that they will both stop the wild playing at roughly the same time and switch to more laid-back interactions.

Once a dog reaches this specific point in his life at which he stops to constantly seek out play with other dogs, we need to rethink the social situations which we put him in. Have you been taking your dog to a busy park regularly? Chances are there were many other, young and playful dogs there. If they bother your dog with incessant playbowing, barking and running up to him, he may not enjoy these outings anymore and you may want to change your walking routines.

Ideally you should find canine friends for your adult dog that have the same energy level and are looking for the same interactions.

Time to quit daycare?

My clients frequently come to me with the same concern: Their puppy used to do great at his doggy daycare, but around the first birthday he stops interacting and playing as much with the dogs there. Their report cards say that the dog spent time sniffing around by himself or perhaps even got a bit snarly with the other dogs. Of course, owners are worried – is their dog regressing in his social skills?

Not at all. Again – daycares are mainly filled with young, boisterous, energetic puppies who want to play all day long. As dogs grow up, most of them reach a point at which that just does not sound like fun anymore. This is completely normal and not a reason for concern. Again, it is important to take your dog’s cues into consideration when deciding on activities for him. For a lot of adult dogs, daycare just is not so fun anymore. They might need to quit going there as the energy level is too high and they do not participate in wild play.

How much play is appropriate?

Even if you have an adult dog who does still occasionally play with other dogs, you need to monitor his play behavior. Dogs should ideally always be supervised when playing together so that owners can intervene if issues arise. 

It might be that your adult dog enjoys a bit of play, but eventually wants to just sniff by himself and be left alone. If the other dog now keeps on pestering your dog the situation might escalate. You need to always be the dog’s advocate. If your dog doesn’t want to keep playing, help him to make that happen!

Play drives can vary

While puppies always want to play with any other dog; the same adult dog might have varying interests in playing based on the day. It could depend on:

  • What he has done so far on a given day – if he has only relaxed he may be more open to playing than if he has gone on a long hike or trained a bunch
  • If “something better” is around – many adult dogs would prefer e.g. playing frisbee over playing with another dog, but if the owner puts away any toys the dog may choose to then play
  • The environment of their interaction – in a new place many adult dogs want to first sniff and explore, whereas they may be more open to playing in a known and somewhat “boring” place such as their own yard
  • Their play partner – adult dogs generally prefer to play with dogs they know rather than “doggy strangers”

The Bottom Line

Puppies love to play with any other dogs. Once they reach adulthood, it can be difficult for owners to recognize the signs that they are not so interested in this anymore. The change can be sudden or gradual. 

It is important to never push adult dogs into playful interactions. Your dog will decide himself if or when he wants to play, and you should be mindful of his preferences. Perhaps he only wants to play with a certain other dog or only for a short time. Or maybe he does not want to play at all!

You need to always be his advocate and make sure that he can be comfortable in interactions with other dog.

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If any of the readers of today’s article have views as to whether or not this guest post should have been allowed then please I would love to hear from you.