Pet Treat Advisory

[fets]

Hey guys,

I received this from my dog food retailer. I know a lot of you do not feed any of these treats, but passing along the info anyway.

Hi All

Recently we have started to see an upswing in inquires regarding jerky and sweet potato treats and wanted to share the current FDA warnings/information. Although we do not sell the below mentioned brands/products – we thought it was important to inform our customers.

The FDA first issued warnings pertaining to jerky treats (tenders, strips, chips, wraps, twists etc..) in 2007 (approximately 70 complaints). Over the years additional warnings (no recalls) have been issued. Currently over 1,300 complaints have been filed some involving dog deaths.

The brands that have been most cited in the reports are: Waggin’ Train, Canyon Creek Ranch, Milo’s Kitchen, Kingdom Pets (Costco) and Smokehouse.

Other additional brands/products that have also been recently linked include: Beefeaters Sweet Potato Snacks for Dogs, Canyon Creek Ranch Chicken Yam Good Dog Treats, and Dogswell Veggie Life Vitality.

Most of these products are available at most major stores including Costco, Sam’s Club, Walmart, Target, Lowe’s, Petco, Petsmart and grocery stores as well as some local independent pet stores.

All of the above mentioned treats have been associated with a type of kidney failure known as Fanconi Syndrome.

Affected dogs may show any or all of the below signs:

v Decreased Appetite
v Lethargy
v Vomiting/Diarrhea (sometimes with blood)
v Increased drinking and urination
v Blood tests may show increased creatinine and BUN, low potassium, mildly increased liver enzymes and acidosis. Glucose and granular casts may be found in urine.

If you notice the above signs and they persist for more than 24hrs please take your dog to the vet immediately. You and your vet should file a report with the FDA.

Rest assured – all of the treats we sell including jerky/sweet-potato have all been sourced and manufactured in the US.

For additional info on this FDA topic – please visit http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/.../ucm280586.htm

[Jtrout55]

Thanks, I dont use any of those but always good to see/hear about it

[LoveMyJax]

This has been going on for so long and the FDA was not allowed to recently test at the Chinese based Waggin' Train facility. It drives me crazy that Costco sells these things. I try to spread the word, since there has never been an official recall.

[Thoenix]

I keep telling people at work about the number of advisories.

People keep telling me to stop 'scare mongering' and telling me that words like 'toxic' (in reference to pesticides from the sweet potatoes) are just a scare tactic to try and make people buy higher priced treats. No, guys. It's me trying to save you vet bills. *sigh*

[Carrie11]

1,300 doesn't seem like a lot when you think of the huge number of dogs in the world BUT any death related to a dog food/treat scares me.

That is why I feed raw and why I make my dog treats.

[isdapous]

It is so much less expensive to make your own jerky treats using your oven or a dehydrator, and you know what is in there. Our kids adore them and we make them quite often.

I buy hormone free chicken breasts and slice them thinly and simply dehydrate them in my dehydrator. I do the same with flank steak, beef heart and beef liver I get from our local locker plant from grassfed beef. Lots of farmers around here don't use antibiotics or hormones anymore, alothough I can't be certain when I get it from the locker plant.

There are several folks on here that use their oven at 200 or 250 degrees F. Some add garlic powder or brewers yeast for the extra benefits they offer.

[fets]

I just started doing that. Healthy and CHEAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP. I thought dehydrators would be a few hundred bucks, but looking online they are ~$40.

In Fanconi's syndrome proximal tubule reabsorption is hindered (I think of it as leaky kidney). So, glucose, amino acids, uric acid, bicarbonate, and phosphate go into the urine instead of being returned to the blood. Potassium is lost, because the kidney reabsorbs more sodium distally, and does so in exhange for potassium. This causes a hypokalemic (low potassium) metabolic acidosis and bone issues (rickets - kids, osteomalacia - adults). Initially you'll see polydipsia (excessive thirst), polyuria (massive urine output), and dehydration. The phosphate loss causes vitamin D to rip calcium and phosphate out of bones. This can cause easy fractures or bone pain. Growth failure is a major problem.

The death number is not that large, as a lot of dogs recover. However, a large number of sick and hurting dogs is a problem. If this were people, there would have been a recall a long time ago.

[dorian]

One of Mack's favorite treats has been Cadet Duck Breast Strips from Costco. Last week the vet warned me that I should only give him treats that were processed in the USA so I looked at the packaging and could not find where Cadet Duck Breast strips are made. So we have cut Mack off from those until I can learn more about them. Reasearch on the internet has not revealed where they are made. I guess we are better safe than sorry.

He loves Hebrew National Hot Dogs. I'm hoping something blessed by a Rabbi is relatively safe.

[kwhit]

One of the members on my Golden board lost her Yorkie to these treats. She was devastated and has since posted any and all updates on them.

Before I knew about them, I had bought some chicken treats for Chance and Lucy. Lucy wouldn't eat them, but Chance had a couple. He was sick for two days. Thank God Lucy didn't eat them, she's so small I think she would have had a much more severe reaction than Chance did.

I always say something if I happen to see anyone looking at the treats when I shop. I've stopped a number of people from buying them and have complained to the stores that I've seen them in. I wish they would just pull them...

[Sledmamma]

My mixed bred Bassett cross became quite ill after being fed the Waggin' Train chicken strips that I bought at Costco. Luckily, I happened to see a thread on this forum at the same time, stopped feeding them and averted disaster. I did report it to the Costco where I bought them, but they basically implied "prove it"... Sigh**

[Derangedfox]

Oh my goodness. And here I am stocked up on two big bags of Milo's Kitchen sausage jerky treats. My dogs absolutely love them, and the ingredient list is quite short with everything I recognize. I've had so many people tell me they smell incredibly good, and I wont lie, its made me hungry for people jerky a few times.

I always thought they were just the greatest also because I could break them up into tiny pieces to make two or three treats last the whole length of Diesel's ear taping process.

My two dogs come running when they hear that bag crinkle and it's been so useful on occasions that Diesel wanted to stray too far while outside. I guess it's not the best parenting to bribe them to come inside anyway!


~Dana~
Proud momma of Diesel and Eva

[fets]

Oh my goodness. And here I am stocked up on two big bags of Milo's Kitchen sausage jerky treats. My dogs absolutely love them, and the ingredient list is quite short with everything I recognize. I've had so many people tell me they smell incredibly good, and I wont lie, its made me hungry for people jerky a few times.

I always thought they were just the greatest also because I could break them up into tiny pieces to make two or three treats last the whole length of Diesel's ear taping process.

My two dogs come running when they hear that bag crinkle and it's been so useful on occasions that Diesel wanted to stray too far while outside. I guess it's not the best parenting to bribe them to come inside anyway!

I used the Milo's sausage slices to teach Macho to go to his crate. I never gave/bought any of their other treats, or any of the other brands. I initially bought the sausage treats because of the ingredients as well. They are high fat, so he only got one after he went to his crate when I was heading out (prev. he refused, he associated it w/me leaving). After a few days, he started going to his crate in anticipation while I was doing my makeup. They became our crate treat. Then the news on their chicken treats came out. The sausage treats might be fine, and Macho loves them, but I stopped giving them. The company is shady, how can I trust them?

I've also had people tell me they smell really good, and that they'd eat them if they didn't know they were for dogs.

[Odin's Mom]

Try the 4lb roll of Nature's Best or Balance.. (I've ripped off that part of the label and it's been in the freezer for a while). That stuff looks and smells just like the summer sausage you can get at Christmas time in the mall!

We call it "puppy crack". Odin will do anything for it.. including drool on my freshly mopped floor...

My mother in law and sister in law dared me to try it while we were visiting for the weekend.. I didn't manage to do it.

[MaynardsMom]

I didn't know the sweet potato treats were on the list, we give them to the dogs all the time! Well another one for the trash. Thank you for posting the warning!