Chinese jerky for your dogs?

[QRTRHRS]

I suspect that a good many well meaning pet owners are giving these treats to placate their own guilt for simply not having the time to spend quality time with their pet.

A daily walk and some frisbie throwing along with a quality regimented diet and "Fido" will do just fine.

Still, I do feel badly for these pets and their owners to have paid a hefty price when all was said and done.

 

[farmgirl19]

Yes, the treats from China have been a problem for many years. What is amazing though, is how much stuff is from China. The vitamins and minerals added to the foods are from China, even if the food is claimed to be made in USA. If they began with quality ingredients, and didn't process the nutrition out if the ingredients, they wouldn't have to try to add it back in, (like with out wheat flour, etc.).

Almost all vitamins and minerals come from China, no matter if it is added to your pet's food, or a vitamin or mineral supplement you get from the shelkf at Walmart.

 

[TomSeller]

Almost all vitamins and minerals come from China, no matter if it is added to your pet's food, or a vitamin or mineral supplement you get from the shelf at Walmart.

All the more reason not to shop at Walmart. Please don't tell me even the health food stores sell vitamins from China.

 

[farmgirl19]

TomSeller;

I am not sure if they do or not, but it is very likely, since very few vitamin and/or mineral supplements are made or sourced in the USA. The exception that I am aware of and is all USA grown, and is whole food supplements, is Standard Process. They grow their own organic foods to use in their supplements.

As far as info on pet food, Truth about Pet Food has some good info. They have posted about the illnesses related to jerky treats for years, and also get recall information out quicker than many other sites.

 

[dave1949]

I suspect that a good many well meaning pet owners are giving these treats to placate their own guilt for simply not having the time to spend quality time with their pet.

A daily walk and some frisbie throwing along with a quality regimented diet and "Fido" will do just fine.

Still, I do feel badly for these pets and their owners to have paid a hefty price when all was said and done.

Ever notice how pet foods, and treats in particular, are marketed to human tastes? I suspect you are right in many cases, exercise or not, people want to feel like they make their pets happy.

I never (not allowed :laughing give our dogs treats. Sharon uses them sparingly for training rewards.

 

[sixdogs]

Ever notice how pet foods, and treats in particular, are marketed to human tastes? I suspect you are right in many cases, exercise or not, people want to feel like they make their pets happy.

I never (not allowed :laughing give our dogs treats. Sharon uses them sparingly for training rewards.

We give our dogs vegetables for treats, especially in the summer, but they often get Milk Bones as well. I would buy something better if I could figure out what was good/not good. Occasionally, wife will bake treats for them and, while she and others have eaten them I have passed on the taste test so far. All good stuff, just the dogs give me an odd look when I think about it.

On good/safe dog food, anyone have any sites or thoughts on how to determine dog food quality?

 

[farmgirl19]

We give our dogs vegetables for treats, especially in the summer, but they often get Milk Bones as well. I would buy something better if I could figure out what was good/not good. Occasionally, wife will bake treats for them and, while she and others have eaten them I have passed on the taste test so far. All good stuff, just the dogs give me an odd look when I think about it.

On good/safe dog food, anyone have any sites or thoughts on how to determine dog food quality?

The Truth about Pet Food site has info, and the link to "Petsumer Reports". They are probably your best bet for the info, as they have asked for pledges from the pet food companies, concerning country of origin of ingredients, as well as grades of food used, and post the responses they get. Some can be very enlightening.

As far as buying treats, I think the only treats that might be safe to feed are PureBites. The beef liver variety is 100%, USA grown, freeze dried, beef liver. NO other ingredients. Pricy, but not when you consider it is healthy, and not full of fillers.

Milk Bones are made with flour, and most of the wheat is GMO, so double "whammy". I don't think dogs are wheat eaters, in nature, and with most grains now GMO, I just don't allow mine to have grains, that are not organic.

 

[dave1949]

No Milk Bones here either, as FG noted they are full of wheat gluten. We avoid grains like corn and wheat in the dog food.

Sharon's homemade dog food contains veggies like butternut squash, peas, carrots, pumpkin, green beans and spinach, which we buy frozen mostly. Her current alternative to that is a dehydrated food, Big Dog Natural. Big Dog Natural

Raw chicken legs, chicken gizzards, chicken or beef liver gets added to the food bowl along with the other ingredients.

 

[sixdogs]

OK, I've got a boatload of dogs and would like to find a commercial, over the counter dog food that works. Someone told me about a dog food made in Ohio according to strict standards. But, I don't know who that is and don't know how to verify the claims. Any ideas?

 

[dave1949]

OK, I've got a boatload of dogs and would like to find a commercial, over the counter dog food that works. Someone told me about a dog food made in Ohio according to strict standards. But, I don't know who that is and don't know how to verify the claims. Any ideas?

Here is another source of pet food reviews: You need to sign up, but the monthly journal is good info.
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/la...gFood&st=PPC&gclid=CLPBq8D5tLoCFYSd4Aod5xQA0A



I don't think there are any OTC dog foods that haven't been recalled for one thing or another.

Maybe these folks would be worth checking out if you are anywhere near Lisbon, OH.
Welcome to Ohio Pet Foods

The recalls for salmonella in dog food are a little misleading I think. Don't they say that just about any fresh chicken you buy at the grocery is almost certain to have some level of salmonella present? If I bought ten fresh fryers and tossed them in the woods, I don't expect to find dead coyotes. Dogs deal with salmonella better than humans as long as the contamination colony size level is not too large.

We've been feeding our dogs raw chicken parts for years and have never had issues. Our vet says he lost one Labrador to salmonella poisoning, but Labs will choke down anything. :laughing: I will say the chicken from our Hannaford grocery is not the freshest, so we avoid that and get chicken directly from a meat distributor--which is cheaper anyways. Sharon ran low on chicken once so I picked up a couple packages at the store, the dogs refused to eat it.

 

[sixdogs]

This is in Ohio and the fellow was giving out free samples a couple months back. It's Dr. Gary's Best Breed dog food. The dogs loved it but they will eat nearly anything. Anyone hear of this?

Best Breed | All Natural | Holistic | Dog Food

Best Breed Dog Food | Review and Rating

 

[farmgirl19]

"Natural" and "Holistic" are terms that are not regulated, therefore mean nothing, when it comes to pet foods. Using the term "natural" makes one feel good, but my horses' manure is all natural, but isn't something I want to eat, nor feed my dogs. (Nevermind that most dogs think it is a delicacy!)

I think the first thing is to avoid grains, in pet foods, because it is unlikely the companies are spending the money for non-GMO, organic grains. And, while canids in the wild get some grain, when they consume their prey, it is usually the lowest dog on the totem pole that gets the intestines and grains of the prey. Even if a dog eats an entire rabbit, they are still only getting a small percentage of grain.

As far as things like Salmonella, I have seen many more reports in the news of humans being hospitalized and being in organ failure due to handling dry, processed dog kibble, than I have seen of humans handling raw meats. 19 cases were critical, and possibly going to need transplants, reported earlier this year. I wouldn't let fear of bacteria stop me from feeding raw food to a pet.

And yes, many of the foods, including "holistic" brands have had recalls. If they are sourcing their vitamins and minerals from China, it is only a matter of time before massive numbers of pets are injured and killed, just as with the issues from 2007. FDA won't confirm it, but there is some fairly strong reasons to believe the jerky recalls are due to drug levels found in those treats, and it is a drug, allowed in China, but banned in the USA, or banned at the higher levels, or having a long withdrawal period before slaughter, that was not adhered to, being of Chinese import.

On a side note, permission has been granted to allow poultry to be imported into the USA from China, for human consumption. There is no telling what sort of issues are looming on the horizon for our food supplies.

 

[2458n]

I am careful not to feed the treats from China to my dog. Yet I eat the heck out of Mandarin oranges. All the cans say made in China.

 

[rekees4300]

As far as buying treats, I think the only treats that might be safe to feed are PureBites. The beef liver variety is 100%, USA grown, freeze dried, beef liver. NO other ingredients. Pricy, but not when you consider it is healthy, and not full of fillers.

Thanks for the heads up re PureBites. Never heard of it until your post. Ordered 16 oz. of the liver from Amazon. :licking:

 

[daugen]

Thanks for the heads up re PureBites. Never heard of it until your post. Ordered 16 oz. of the liver from Amazon. :licking:

just remember to use the mouthwash afterwards oh lip licker :licking:

 

[rekees4300]

:thumbsup: and some Pepto-Bismol