April 21st, 2011
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Although many pet products are manufactured overseas, there are some places where pet food safety oversight is dangerously lax. See this archived USA Today article for a reminder. For many reasons, beginning with low cost, most chicken chews and treats are made with imported poultry. As an example, the chicken jerky chews sold by a high-end membership club, uses the word American in the brand name although the products are made in China. Many careful pet owners prefer to feed their dogs products of the USA as they feel that there is an added level of oversight. A newer company, True Chews dog chews offers U.S. chicken, pork, and beef products without fillers or additives. This domestic company advertises their products as 100 percent natural.
D.P Hesano is a co-founder of the all-natural dog supply company FidoDogTreats.com |
I do no feed my two anything that is not made in the USA. If I am not sure it is made in the USA I will not buy it. My pups do not get any of the chicken treats because they are all made in China.
Some of those people in China are absolutely crazy. Not too long ago they even poisoned their own children when they re-processed milk.
I buy all dog food from our Vet. The dog food is manufactured in Alberta, Canada and is certified by our Vet to be pure and not manufactured from products imported from China.
We also do not buy any dog toys unless it is made in the USA.
Just because the product is made in the US does not mean that it mmay be free of contaminants. If you read the article, certain ingredients may be imported. The final product is assembled in the US so the manufacturer can say it was ‘Made in America.’ Manufacturers HAVE to make sure their ingredients are not contaminated.
When you buy dog food, read the label carefully. Whether the food is “Made in Canada” or “Made in the USA”, even the premium dog food companies use marketing terms such as “Natural”, “Balanced”, “Super Premium”, to steer the consumers mind away from suspicion. They are words that instantly give the consumer a feeling of confidence and peace. Ingredients listed should say:
a) a meat – ending with the word “meal” not “by-products”
b) a starch – ground wheat, ground rice, dried potato, etc.
c) a list of vitamins.
Clevethedog is right about contaminants. Any of the products could be sprayed with insecticides or injected with hormones. Don’t look at the bag with the beautiful colours and fancy words, look at the ingredients list only. It will tell you everything.
I have bought pressed rawhides from other countries in the past and will never ever do it again.
One of the pressed rawhides from the Phillipines had a BIG RUSTY NAIL embedded in it. I didn’t even know it was there until the dog chewed half way thru the bone.
I contacted the distributor about it and was totally blown off by them. Now I only do rolled rawhides made in the USA for my dogs. I have malamutes and they can go thru one of those rolled rawhides in 30 minutes.
Why are manufacturers or processors of dog/cat food in any country so dishonest ?
I do understand that profit and making a buck keeps them in business but what corporate idiot ( those guys in suit and ties ) believes it’s OK to slowly kill our pets.
I honestly feel that our vets do not take this problem seriously and do not put pressure on the manufacturers and processors of pet food to produce a healthy and safe pet food.
Great article and warning. I am so glad to see this being brought to the consumers attention.
As a trainer we hear all types of awful stories..some with dogs with intestinal impactions…some passing away from not breathing when chewies lodge in the throat to just the typical person complaining that those darn chewies ruined their carpets!
We do not encourage this…so you know…dogs will end up with chewing habits …it is a vicious cycle. Our dogs get a good deal of exercise so we don’t use chewing as a way to tire our dogs. If you want clean teeth just brush them…skip buying all those expensive and dangerous products that claim to clean their teeth.
If you decide to have chewies in the enviroment please teach your dog an exchange…giving up articles without an aggressive attitude is life saving..for the dog and human.
Stay away from the bags of chewies that tell the owner to “wash hands after handling”…are you kidding me!
Don’t buy it..just put it back on the shelf!
It is very confusing to the consumer when they walk into the dog department store..it looks like a toy store for children. When my parents had dogs(in the 50′s)
they would never think of offering stuffed toys…this is just a large target market strategy
Save your money!
We started making our own Chicken Jerky after we ran across the FDA warning of 2008 about Chinese chicken treats making dogs sick or killing them. It turned into a cottage business and we now sell our TriPom Chews in 20 stores in the New England area. Our products are the only Maine Made, American Made, chicken jerky produced from whole, restaurant-quality chicken breasts containing NO Additives and NO Preservatives. We had to make them super wholesome as our 3 Pomeranians (our babies) taste test almost every batch.
There is a NEW article on MSNBC which reports that the FDA is now saying that 353 dogs have gotten sick or died from eating Chinese chicken treats this year. The link is: http://on.msnbc.com/vKKHKK
Personally, I think the number of dogs sick this year is well over one thousand from the number of websites I’ve visited where I have seen dogs that are ill or that have died being discussed. I am almost certain it is something the Chinese are feeding the poultry used for their treats.
Did you know, according to Wikipedia and a New York Times article, that the Chinese fed Melamine to livestock? Melamine, as you may know, was the non-listed ingredient responsible for the pet food recall a few years ago. If you haven’t, you should search for “Melamine” on Wikipedia and read the article.
Melamine is a principal ingredient in making Formica countertops and causes kidney failure if eaten. The Chinese were also caught putting Melamine into kids’ milk and infant formula.
The only truly safe treat is one that you make yourself or that you buy from a company you trust. We make and sell our own chicken jerky, TriPom Chews, and only buy from other “Mom & Pop” sized treat makers that we have met or spoke with.