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In The
News
Updated
11/26/2007
Pet Food Recall Brands Now
Searchable Online
The FDA has an online list of brands recalled,
and you can search for pet food recall brands and products
here. You can search by: Brand Name (Example:
Americas Choice, Authority), UPC Code (Example: 54807-59114), Product
Description (Example: SL Beef/Gravy 24x5.5oz), Container (Example: Pouch), Any
combination of: container, brand name, description, size (Example: Pouch Menu
Beef/Gravy 24x5.5oz)
Pet Food Recall Continues to
Expand, FDA Adds Ingredients to Its Import Surveillance List
After five more companies issued pet food
recalls last week and the government expanded its list of imported ingredients
that must be screened for toxins, veterinarians are calling on industry sources
for updated news about ingredient safety.
Melamine and melamine metabolites, such as
cyanuric acid hydrolase, found in pet foods have been traced to animal feed lots
in eight states and 6,000 hogs have been quarantined or are "on hold," according
to government officials. The chemicals, added to pet food that did not make the
cut for packaging, were then sold to salvage lots, said government officials who
are investigating the distribution trail.
They also reported that the sale of
ingredients transpired before the chemicals were found in pet foods. Within the
pet food realm, Chenango Valley Pet Foods , a
manufacturer for Doctors Foster & Smith and SmarkPak
brands, announced a recall of two products marketed under the Doctors Foster &
Smith brand on April 26, 2007, and SmartPak recalled its low-calorie LiveSmart
brand dog food product on April 19, 2007. The last two announcements bring the
total pet food companies that received contaminated rice gluten from
Wilbur-Ellis to five. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials have reported
that Wilbur-Ellis sourced the ingredient from China. The contaminated lot was
the first shipment of rice gluten that Chenango Valley Foods purchased from
Wilbur-Ellis, said Dennis Bobita, Chenango Valley Foods' vice president. Bobita
said the precautionary recall was initiated when Wilbur-Ellis advised companies
to withdraw any products made with the tainted shipment of rice gluten.
Industry-wide, the recall affects one percent of commercial pet food sold,
according to the Pet Food Institute.
Melamine and melamine metabolites, described
by FDA officials as "waste products from chemical manufacturing" have been found
in rice and wheat gluten ingredients imported from China and used in pet foods.
At this time, government officials say melamine, which is used in fertilizers
and plastics, may have been added to gluten to boost protein levels. Officials
believe the combination of melamine and metabolites may be causing pet
fatalities. Officials have confirmed that it was added to farm animal feed, but
do not know how it will affect human health.
FDA officials received an invitation from the
Chinese government to inspect two of the country's production facilities that
produced tainted wheat and rice glutens and said they hope the recall will
prompt pet food manufacturers to be more careful when selecting sources for food
ingredients. Meanwhile, politicians are scrutinizing the FDA's surveillance of
food safety and the agency's response to the recall.
Claudia Kirk, DVM, PhD, DACVN, was invited to
testify at the senate oversight hearing for the FDA
on April 12, 2007. A clinical nutritionist who spent nine years in the pet food
industry, Kirk feared that the hearing would be something of a witch hunt but
said she was relieved by the tone and intent of participants, who asked
thoughtful questions. "There was a genuine interest in improving the process and
preventing these things from occurring in the future," Kirk related.
After fielding calls from worried pet owners
at the University of Tennessee, Kirk believes that commercial pet food is still
the safest bet for pet owners - a sentiment that has been echoed by the FDA, the
Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and many veterinarians.
Read full article
Hartz Pulls Flea, Tick Products
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that
Hartz Mountain Corp. will re-label and ultimately cancel the production of four
flea and tick products that "may be associated with a range of adverse
reactions," including the death of kittens and cats. The agreement states
that Hartz will re-label four products with warnings for "the most vulnerable
animals," including cats and kittens that weigh less than six pounds. The
company will stop production of the products by Sept. 30, 2005, according to the
EPA.
Thinking About Getting A Dog? Consider An Adult Purebred
Thinking about getting a dog? Keep in mind that while
new puppies are cute and cuddly, they require an extraordinary
amount of care and attention as they acclimate to new surroundings. That's why
the ideal canine companion for many dog lovers may
be an older dog.
Prospective dog owners looking for older dogs typically
visit animal shelters. Shelters can be great places to find a pet, but
many people do not know that they can "rescue" a dog, while still
enjoying the many benefits of owning a purebred. The
benefits include the ability to choose the desired appearance, disposition, size
and instincts-knowing the dog will
possess those defined characteristics.
The American Kennel Club's Web site, www.akc.org,
can be a great place to begin the search for a purebred pet. All national breed
clubs, which are members of the AKC, offer contact
information and can put you in touch with rescue groups in your area.
The volunteers who run these rescue groups spend
countless hours taking in stray, abandoned, relinquished and/or impounded
purebreds because they care deeply about their breed.
As experts in matters concerning their breed-including
the breed's strengths and weaknesses, health issues, best training methods,
grooming how-to's, and temperament-they are well equipped not only to provide
temporary "foster care" but also to assess which new home will ensure
the best match between dog and owner.
Experts at the AKC urge you to ask yourself if you want
a lap dog or one that can accompany you on jogs in the park. Do
you have time to care for a dog with a full bushy coat or prefer one with a coat
that is short and smooth? Do you have a fenced in backyard or will you be able
to provide your dog with appropriate exercise to keep it healthy and fit? The
more you know, the happier you and your new pet will be.
If you are interested in giving a rescued purebred dog
a second chance for a safe and happy life, visit
www.akc.org to find an AKC breed club for more
information about purebred rescue.
STUDY FINDS THAT DOGS CAN
HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT
LAS VEGAS -
People looking for a way to lose weight may want to trade in pills for a pooch.
A first-of-its-kind experiment to put people and their pets on a diet and
exercise program found that both lost weight and kept it off, though dogs did
better than their owners and didn’t drive them crazy begging for food.
With two-thirds of Americans and one-fourth of pets overweight or obese,
there’s huge potential for this novel buddy system, experts say.
“If you’re
looking for motivation and social support to lose weight, you probably don’t
have to look any further than the pet in your own home,” said Dr. Robert
Kushner of Northwestern Medical School in Chicago, who led the study.
It was funded by Hill’s Pet Nutrition, which makes Science Diet and a
prescription diet dog food. Results were reported this week at the national
obesity conference.
Despite its
cuteness factor, the research actually was a big hairy deal, said Kushner, who
has done obesity studies for 20 years and designed this one after Hill’s asked
if he thought pets could help people lose weight and vice versa.
He and Kimberly Rudloff, a Chicago veterinarian, enrolled three groups:
56 people, 53 dogs, and 36 dogs and their owners.
The dogs ranged from pudgy poodles to husky Huskies. Some breeds, such as
Labrador retrievers, cocker spaniels, Shetland sheepdogs, Basset hounds and
beagles are prone to obesity, and the study included many of these.
People
attended weekly counseling sessions at Northwestern on diet and exercise, and
were encouraged to walk at least 20 minutes and limit calories to 1,400 a day.
Dogs were fed the prescription diet, and target weights were set according to a
“doggie BMI” or body-mass index taking into account the animal’s breed and
age. All were followed for one
year. The dog owners did slightly
better than the dieters who walked and dieted alone. Overall, people lost an
average of 11 pounds, or 5 percent of their body weight, in the first four
months and kept it off for the next eight. The most anyone lost was 51 pounds.
But the diet was less onerous and more fun for the dog-walkers.
The
weight-loss for the dogs was even more effective. They lost an average of 12
pounds — 15 percent of their initial weight. One dog actually lost 35 pounds.
Of course, that’s easier to do when someone controls your food dish.
But the dogs didn’t seem to mind as judged by something any dog owner can
understand:
“Begging
behavior did not go up,” said Dennis Jewell, a Hill’s animal nutritionist
who did the dog diet part of the study. Owners
said their dogs had more pep and were anxious to go outside for walks and play.
Kathleen O’Dekirk, a 51-year-old Chicago lawyer, said that certainly was
true for her paunchy Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Winston, who lost seven
pounds during the study. “He
bounds up the stairs three and four at a time whereas before he used to just
crawl up,” she said. She lost 13
pounds, and it encouraged her so much that she joined a fitness class and now
does more strenuous exercise than she’d ever done before.
“I had never been on a diet,” she said. “I dropped two pant
sizes.”
Kushner
said the enjoyment factor is what sets this weight-loss plan apart from others,
which usually inspire universal dread. “These
people across the board had fun doing it,” he said. “Just leashing up your
dog and going for a walk, along with the proper diet, is a fun way to not only
take weight off but keep it off.”
Wall Street Journal Reports on Online Veterinary Pharmacy Purchases
A Nov. 11, 2004, article in
the Wall
Street Journal touched on some important issues surrounding the
use of online pharmacies for veterinary drugs, but Donald Klingborg, DVM,
associate dean at University of California Davis, worries that the reporter
missed two of the most important points, including the importance of drug
selection and the misperception that veterinarians gouge their clients on
prescription prices.
“The big point that I
wanted to make is that pharmacies are a loss leader for almost all
practitioners, and that it’s a service or benefit to clients,” said
Klingborg, who was interviewed and quoted in the story.
“The biggest concern for
veterinarians is the health of the pet and making sure the [pet gets] the
right medications,” said Klingborg, who explained that some online
veterinary pharmacies switch drugs when filling prescriptions, despite
veterinarians’ recommendations for a particular brand.
The Wall
Street Journal noted that “some veterinary clinics – depending often
on what
U.S.
region you live in – may charge less for drugs than online pharmacies.”
How to Prepare for Baby's
Arrival, By Amy Zintl--How to get your pet ready 
An infant brings many changes to a
household, and it's best for your pet if you can make many of these changes
during your pregnancy. Cats and dogs are sensitive to routines, and by making
changes now, you minimize the chances of your pet resenting the baby when she
arrives.
-
Assume you
will have less time for your pet after baby's born, and decrease the number of
hours you spend with your dog or cat in the weeks before you're due.
-
Consider
whether your pet's walking, exercise, or feeding schedules will change, and
adjust them now.
-
Evaluate your
dog's obedience training. If he doesn't respond to commands such as "Sit,"
"Stay," "Heel," and "No," can't walk obediently on a leash, has a jumping
problem, or exhibits any aggressive behavior, seek professional help.
-
If you have a
cat, make sure her claws are trimmed regularly.
-
If your pet
has had little or no contact with children, let him meet other kids such as
nieces and nephews. Children can seem very strange creatures to animals. They
are loud and fast, erratic and unpredictable -- characteristics that can
startle or frighten a cat or dog.
-
As you
prepare your home for your newborn -- setting up the crib and stocking up on
baby powder, lotion, and diapers -- allow your pet to see and smell these so
he will get used to their presence.
-
Don't allow
your pet to climb onto baby's furniture or blankets. Cats, especially, like
curling up in the crib or bassinet. If your cat does this, remove her and keep
the door to the nursery closed from now on.
-
Get a sealed
container for soiled diapers. Cats and dogs are very attracted to odors. They
just love dirty diapers and will drag them around the house.
-
Create a
place for the pet that will be off-limits to the baby as well. Pets, too, will
have times when they just need to get away from baby or her cries.
From American Baby.
 Yes, Dogs Really Do Resemble
Their Owners
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Strangers given separate
photos of dogs and their owners are often able to pair them,
suggesting that people often do resemble their canine companions, according to
new study findings.
However, in the report, observers could only match
dogs to owners when the dogs were purebred, and they were no better at pairing
the photos if owners had had their dogs for a long time.
These findings suggest that people tend to choose
dogs that will resemble them, and the resemblance does not develop over the
course of the relationship, study author Michael M. Roy told Reuters Health.
"When someone buys a purebred pup, they can be
fairly certain what the dog will look like when it matures," he said. "Also, it
is likely that people who buy purebreds have spent more time deliberating about
what type of dog best suits them."
On a larger scale, these findings reinforce the
concept that like likes like, he added.
"When we seek a companion, whether it is human or
not, we are looking for someone or something similar to ourselves. It is more
that birds of a feather flock together than that opposites attract," Roy
explained.
Previous research has hinted that people like dogs
that resemble them. In one report, for instance, investigators found that women
with long hair tend to prefer dogs with floppy ears to those with pricked ears.
To investigate further, Roy and his co-author
Nicholas J. S. Christenfeld of the University of California at San Diego
separately photographed 45 dogs and their owners. Twenty-five of the dogs were
purebred.
The investigators then asked 28 people to look at
photos of an owner and two dogs, one of which belonged to the owner, and try to
match the owner to his/her real dog.
Roy and Christenfeld found that a majority of
strangers paired 16 out of 25 purebred dogs with their owners, but matched only
7 out of 20 non-purebred dogs, the authors report in the journal Psychological
Science.
Roy explained that people may choose dogs that look
like them as a way to make sure the animal will be compatible with their
lifestyle.
"A pet is a big choice, an addition to the family,"
he said. "You want something that will fit with your personality and lifestyle.
If you are very active and outgoing, you want a dog that is active and outgoing.
It may be that there are visual clues that reflect this in both dog and owner."
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