What do pet owners do?

We don't currently have a pet, but have had several in the past and one might be in our future. Every day there seems to be a new recall of a different brand of pet food and I shake my head wondering what pet owners can feed their pets. So, what have pet owners done to protect their pets while giving them the nourishment they need every day?

I've been wondering if this would come up.

We have two dogs and a cat, and have been watching the news, carefully. So far, our food has not come up on the list. So, what do we do?

We worry! 

They are family, and not really less than we are. Hoping for the best.

Ray D

Don't ask.   Our cats get real canned tuna twice a day and dry all day.   The bag of the dry stuff has been checked for the Chinese wheat glutins.

Ray D said:

They are family, and not really less than we are.

Click to expand...

Ray, that's the way we've felt about our prior pets. The main reason we don't have one right now is that we (I) don't want to go through the trauma of having to have the pet put down (in our case, due to cancer). It was quite an emotional experience that I don't wish to repeat in the near future.

Chris (my other half) said she could hear me balling my eyes out in the back room while she was in the reception area.

It's a dilemma, to be sure. You buy the fancy, name brands (even prescription brands in some cases) and find out that they're all made by the same dogfood/catfood/glue factory/leather tannery somewhere on Three Mile Island. But is it any different for humans? What about the recent spinach recall, or Ruby Tuesday, or Sizzler - the list goes on and on. How about pharmaceuticals? Same thing. Fortunately, only a very few animals were affected, and I think the manufacturers and re-packagers responded as quickly as they could without trying to cover it up.

This is actually a symptom of a far greater problem and that is Chinese goods in general.  Think about all the dead dogs and cats the next time you are shopping at a Wal-Mart, and pick up a few items and observe the "Made In China" tags.


Korea is another country who's products need to be watched very carfully,  Lucky Goldstar products for example.  One of them dang near set fire to my office, only a quick witted co-worker with a fire extinguisher prevented a multi-million disaster.

We have dogs, the latest being a Chow mix named Happy.   All our dog critters are fed on dry dog food.   We go with the stuff designated as complete on the package.  A USDA regulation has required that a food bearing this designation has to have sustained critters for 5 generation on it and water solely.   Driy dog food because we clean up after our critters and that has demonstrated to our satifaction that dry food processes better in the animal.

Because changing foods can upset an animal we tend to buy the most commonly carried food in our travels with the dawgs.  That has been Purina, but lately we have found Iams to be more widely distributed and have switched to that.  

So far the dry foods have dodged the bullet.

Having lost a dog to kidney disease, I sympathize with the people who have lost their critters. But I think you have to trust your dog's food the same as you trust your own food. Watch the ingredients and pay attention to the news for recalls. You could switch your dogs to the BARF diet but that's probably more dangerous than taking your chances with mass market dog food. Best advice is to talk to your vet and decide what you want to do and how much you want or can afford to spend on the beasties food.

Carl L said:

....lately we have found Iams to be more widely distributed and have switched to that.

Click to expand...

I thought that Iams was one of the "affected" products  ???

So far the dry foods have dodged the bullet.

Click to expand...

Wasn't aware of that from the news we get here.

A good rule of thumb for dry food is look for those that contain meat. Not meat products or meat by products which mean beaks, hooves, feathers, ect. I've found that most of the so called "high quality" pet foods contain those and what I've noticed is that if it's sold at Walmart, ect., it's crap. Which is comical beacuse I eat food sold at Walmart 

But seriously, if they'll put that kind of crap in food, even if it is pet food, then they obviously don't really care about quality and it's not a dig on Walmart, I just mean big chain stores. Personally I feed our dogs Premium Edge which is sold at the local feed store. I'm sure there are other rgood brands.

It seems to happen where ever the product is made even those made in the USA and approved by the powers to be in Washington.  

I do worry that the big cover up regarding the pet food is what other food products are being introduced the the human food chain from the same Grain producers.  Kinda Scary.

Having our dog put down due to lymphoma tore me up.  That was one of the saddest experiences of my life.
:'(

But 4 months later we got a puppy that my niece's boyfriend found in a parking lot.  There were 6 puppies abandoned.  They were about 5 weeks old, mutts, and adorable.  He's a big baby at 3 years old now.  ;D

I feed him Beneful, I don't think it has been recalled (yet).  If it shows up on the list I don't know what I'll do.  I guess I'll feed him meat until the dog foods are cleaned up.

Tom said:

I thought that Iams was one of the "affected" products  ???

Wasn't aware of that from the news we get here.

Click to expand...

From the FDA site:

IAMS DOG

1.      Select Bites 5.3 oz Pouches
.          Puppy with Chicken in Gravy
?          Adult with Beef in Gravy
?          Adult with Beef, Potatoes and Carrots in Gravy
?          Adult with Chicken in Gravy
?          Adult with Turkey in Gravy
?          Adult with Lamb and Wild Rice in Gravy
?          Weight Control with Chicken in Gravy
?          Active Maturity with Beef in Gravy
?          Variety Pack with Beef, Chicken, Lamb & Rice
?          Variety Pack with Beef and Chicken

2.      Small Bites 6 oz Cans
?          Puppy with Beef & Chicken in Gravy
?          Small Dogs with Chicken in Gravy
?          Small Dogs with Beef & Vegetables in Gravy
?          Variety Pack for Small Dogs with Beef & Vegetables and Chicken in Gravy

3.      Chunks 13.2 oz Cans
?          Beef & Vegetables in Gravy
?          Chicken in Gravy
?          Active Maturity with Beef in Gravy
?          Weight Control with Beef in Gravy
?          Puppy with Beef & Chicken in Gravy
?          Variety Pack for with Beef & Vegetables and Chicken in Gravy
?          Multipack with Beef & Vegetables in Gravy
?          Multipack with Beef & Chicken in Gravy
?          Multipack with Chicken in Gravy

In short,  the moist and semi-moist Iams foods.

However, I am keeping an eye on the news.  If the dry foods get implicated, then it is Tito's Tacos for Happy.

One of the safest methods is to make the food you serve your pets. Here is  a link for some recipies. You can find many more on-line. Once you get the hang of what a pet should have you can create your own. http://www.cooksrecipes.com/category/pet-recipes.html 

We watch the news, read the labels on the packages and worry a lot. And now we have just learned that our cat's favorite food (he's a very finicky eater) has been discontinued (unrelated to the poisoning problem) so we will have to find something new that he will eat and won't kill him!

When it comes to where the pet food is made, The problem is that no matter where it's made they manufacturers are trying to save a penny here or there to maximize profit, because after all

Though the love of it roots evil
Still there's those who seem to feel though
'That ALMIGHTY GOD'S A DOLLAR (hold up single while singing this line)
And there's not enough for me

(Give me that old time Religion)


And when you buy stuff that was raised on a prison farm in China where labor is free, it costs less than when you buy it from a commercial farm here in the US where the farmer expects to make a profit.

Even the commercial farms in China the labor rate is not far removed from free by our standards

And I'm including family farms and small farms under the banner of Commercial, any farm which hopes to end the year in the black is included in that term.

Same for manufactured goods, Why pay 15-30 dollars per hour for labor here in the states and more for overtime and get a quality product when you can have it made in China or Korea where 15-30 cents would be considered a king's wage and you don't pay overtime.  Of course you get what you pay for.  And that is why the office where I used to work almost burned down

Carl L said:

 If the dry foods get implicated, then it is Tito's Tacos for Happy.

Click to expand...

Which would make Happy even Happier

Tom said:

The main reason we don't have one right now is that we (I) don't want to go through the trauma of having to have the pet put down (in our case, due to cancer). It was quite an emotional experience that I don't wish to repeat in the near future.

Click to expand...

Wow, can I identify.  Over my adult life, I've had 4 pets, three of which died in my arms.  I'm getting a bit choked up now just thinking about it.  We keep on getting new ones though, and I'm guessing this is why.

The drawbacks of having a pet:
- The destruction of my stuff during the puppy/kitten years.
- Being restricted from how long I can leave the dog alone in the house
- Having to lock all trash cans up before I leave the house (Casey is a dumpster diver)
- The occasional "barf" on the carpet (Why can't they learn to throw up on the linoleum?)
- "Walkies" at night, in the snow, in the rain, in the cold, in the hot, etc.
- Losing them is devastating

The benefits of having a pet:
- In a couple of words, "unconditional love"

I never doubt the unconditional love.  I once passed out on the bathroom floor from a raging fever.  When I came to, my cat was standing over me licking my forehead to cool me.  Another time, when a dog came over to greet my son (Matthew was 2 at the time), Casey our black lab mistook it for an attack and took the much larger dog down by the throat. 

Over the whole life span of the pet, I come out way ahead in the end.  Plus, as crass as this may sound, the best cure for losing a pet is to find a new one to love.  And we never go looking for a new pet - the strays always find us.  Good luck, Tom!

As for the pet food, Casey gets only dried Hills Science Diet.  I've been checking and have yet to see anything on the FDA site for Hills.

-Dave

When we lost our black lab to kidney disease, we were both devastated....talk about bawling your eyes out. Mike wanted to wait before we got another dog but I couldn't stand not having someone who was always excited to see me (yeah, ok, Mike was always glad to see me when I got home from a business trip but he never jumped in circles and did the dance of joy when I'd only been gone for 15 minutes like Rico did). So 2 weeks after Rico went to the Rainbow Bridge, Mike drove 300 miles to Provo Utah to adopt this insane chcolate lab I'd seen online at the Utah Lab Rescue. Is Sam nuts? Yeah. Is it more trouble traveling with him than with no dog? Oh yeah. Are there days he's being a total dork and I want to strangle him? Definitely. Will I get another one when Sam leaves us? Absolutely.

Dave said it.....unconditional love.

Wendy

Thanks for those comments Dave & Wendy. I can certainly associate with most of them. I guess we were lucky that none of our pets did the furniture destruction thing.

I see that 20 brands of dry biscuits have turned up on the recall list this morning.