Comments on: What You Need to Know About Chinese Chicken Pet Treats

By: Roza Iovtcheva

Roza Iovtcheva — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 05:32:04 +0000

My dog started to have diarrhea about 10 days after I got him. I switched several vets, because nobody could find the reason. I still do not know what was wrong, but I remember giving him chicken jerky made in China (wich he loved). I cannot be sure tere the reason, but remember stop giving him the treats after I read pets are having different health problems. I started to give him raw food and dry(Flint river ranch). Now he is OK, still eating raw and dry -Orijen.

By: Ken

Ken — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:27:01 +0000

I don’t trust any pet or human food product coming out of China. The US needs to ban importing any food products for pets or humans from China. The high performace ceramics company I work for buys raw materials from China. We have to test everything because they can not be trusted to ship a quality product. Often our test results indicate the material is of lesser quality than their certificate of analysis does.

I make my own jerky by boiling several soup chickens. Strip the meat from the bones and mix it with a little of the fat from the top of the water. You want to mash the meat into a paste then spread it about a 1/4 inch thick on cookie sheets or aluminum foil. Cut meat paste into strips. A pizza cutter works great for this. Dry the meat paste in your oven at 175 – 200 deg. until it feels dry to the touch and somewhat pliable. Leave the door open a little to allow the moisture to escape. Chill the jerky in the refrigerator then divide the strips up into several days worth of treats and package in zip lock bags, Keep a package in the refrigerator and freeze the rest for later. You can use ground chicken but it’s cheaper to use whole chickens. Also It’s safer to cook the chicken rather than dehydrating raw chicken.
It might cost a little more and takes some prep time but the peace of mind is worth it.

By: Ava

Ava — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:02:50 +0000

Thank you so much for the information but it is too late for therapy dog, my best friend of 12 yrs, a beautiful red cockapoo. He died on Jan 2, 2013. I have 6 other dogs but he was the only one who got the treats. I took him to the vet and it was misdiagnosed until it was too late and his kidneys failed.

By: Candis

Candis — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 04:13:56 +0000

How sad. Sorry for your loss, Terri.
From a concerned anonymous person. What a heartbreak. Best wishes and hugs!

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 00:55:53 +0000

You have my condolences . . we lost our beloved Lasa Apso, Max, on Nov.14 . . not from jerky though, he went into liver failure . It’s a gut wrenching loss, like losing a kid. My heart goes out to you!

By: Only Natural Pet Store

Only Natural Pet Store — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 00:39:24 +0000

Thank you for your comment. We appreciate how important this issue is and would like to take a moment to respond to your post. Only Natural Pet maintains very high standards with respect to the products we sell. Related to our decision to continue to offer Dogswell treats, please consider the following points:

1. Dogswell has a long history of making natural jerky products and we have sold them since we started
2. Their treats are made in audited and certified facilities and regularly tested for quality assurance
3. Their products are not part of the FDA investigation and recalls
4. More information can be found at http://www.dogswell.com/qualityassurance
5. We tell people to avoid food products made in China because most companies do not have the level of quality assurance programs that Dogswell does. That does not mean that there are no safe food products made in China. We still believe Dogswell is one of the exceptions, but are continually monitoring the situation.

We hope that addresses your concerns. Thank you for being committed to the healthful care of your pets.

By: carol harrison

carol harrison — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 00:08:02 +0000

My Yorkie got very sick with an intestinal problem, vomiting pools of blood and bloody diarrhea at the same time. Vet said it was probably somehting she ate. Then I saw an alert she had posted on the bulletin board in her lobby about the chicken jerkys from China. That was what she had eaten. She almost died and over $500 later she came thru it, thank God. I will never give her anything that is not made in the USA again.

By: Curtisy Briggs

Curtisy Briggs — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:59:43 +0000

I see that Only Natural Pet is still selling the Dogswell line of meat strips treats (Happy Hips and other varieties). All of these are made in China, and the company used to have that information plainly printed on the front of the bag. Now they have hidden the information in small type and sandwiched it among other small type on the bottom of the bag, and if you did not know it was there, you would not see it. I am disappointed that Only Natural Pet is among the many retail outlets who won’t stop selling these treats made in China because they are so profitable. One of my dogs developed serious inflammatory bowel disease while eating these treats routinely, and he got well when I stopped feeding them to any of my dogs. You should also know that, according to what the company told my local pet store, all the supplements like vitamin E are sprayed on the hot meat, which would render them ineffective (or, in the case of vitamin E, rancid). I hope that Only Natural Pet will stop selling this line of treats, or if you are not going to stop, then please inform your customers that these meat strip treats are made in China.

By: Terri. Wegneri t

Terri. Wegneri t — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:24:59 +0000

Thank you so much for this important information. However it is to late for my baby of 13 years he just died of kidney failure. Jan 25, 2013. Thank you

By: Nancy Calvin

Nancy Calvin — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:13:32 +0000

My Yorkie got very sick with pancreatitis and a blood clot in his spleen.I never attributed it to the jerky treats.I heard the rumors,but didnt think my dogs were effected.Thanks for this solid info.My dog is fine,by the way, after treatment.