Pig Ear/Cow Hoof Recall CONT'D

Read here for the update, recall has been expanded

First Time Raw

I filmed Maisy's very first time eating a whole raw meal (medallions don't count!).

My best and most trusted advice is to give the dog a Raw Meaty Bone that is bigger than its head. It requires them to work at it (and not gulp) and will be a very fulfilling meal experience for them.

This held true for Maisy. She went from gulping kibble and swallowing medallions whole to carefully chewing and crunching her entire half chicken. Good girl!

Ostrich Medley

A super cool fellow raw feeder sent me these. They are perfect! The dogs love um!

Aunt Jeni's Ostrich Medley. I'll let Best Bully Sticks say in their words, because every word is true:

This Ostrich Medley contains dehydrated ostrich liver, ostrich heart, ostrich lung, and ostrich trachea. It comes in a 10 ounce re-sealable container and is made in our own backyard, the USA! These treats are single protein sources, and contain no additives or preservatives. They are also great for raw feeders because most of the treats are organ meat!

Mmmmm.

Pig Ear/Cow Hoof Recall

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is issuing this health alert to warn consumers not to use Pig Ears and Beef Hooves pet treats manufactured by Pet Carousel because the products may be contaminated with Salmonella. The products were distributed nationwide in both bulk and retail packaging for sale in pet food and retail chain stores. Pet Carousel is based in Sanger, Calif.

The affected pig ear products were packaged under the brand names Doggie Delight and Pet Carousel. The affected beef hooves were packaged under the brand names Choo Hooves, Dentley’s, Doggie Delight, and Pet Carousel. All sizes and all lots of these products made by Pet Carousel are included in this alert. During September 2009, the FDA conducted routine testing of pig ears made by Pet Carousel.
The test results detected a positive reading for Salmonella. This prompted an FDA inspection of Pet Carousel’s manufacturing facilities. During the inspection, the agency collected additional pet treat samples. Further analysis found Salmonella present in beef hooves, pig ears and in the manufacturing environment.

Salmonella can affect both humans and animals. People handling dry pet food and/or pet treats can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the treats or any surfaces exposed to these products. Consumers should dispose of these products in a safe manner by securing them in a covered trash receptacle.

Healthy people infected with Salmonella may experience some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Although rare, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments including arterial infections, endocarditis (inflammation of the lining of the heart), arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their health care provider immediately.

Pets with Salmonella infections may become lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Some pets may only experience a decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected, but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed any of the affected products or is experiencing any of these symptoms, contact your veterinarian immediately.

The FDA will continue to investigate this matter to determine the source of the Salmonella contamination and offer updates as appropriate.

Consumers can report complaints about FDA-regulated pet food and pet treat products by calling the consumer complaint coordinator in their area. You can locate the nearest consumer complaint coordinator at:
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/ReportaProblem/ConsumerComplaintCoordinators/default.htm

Nature's Calming Agents

Herbs

Chamomile is a very helpful herb for easing anxiety. You can simply make a tea by steeping a chamomile teabag in hot water for a few minutes and adding the brew to his food.

St John's Wort is another popular herbal remedy for anxiety and stress since it relieves troublesome symptoms without sedation.

Nutrition

B-complex vitamins are very helpful for stress. Vitamin B12 and Folic acid are especially helpful. The amino acid phenylalanine is also used for anxiety; it helps to form a state of natural relaxation and has a positive effect on mood and behavior. In Traditional Chinese medicine, fear may stem from hereditary weakness involving the kidney or heart. Barley and Oats nourish these organs and the nervous system. Adding 1 teaspoon to ½ cup of these thoroughly cooked grains to the diet may help calm an anxious pet.

Flower Essences

Honeysuckle is useful for more straightforward cases of separation anxiety.

Gorse is useful for despair and grief, especially when an owner has passed away
Rock Rose helps to calm terror that manifests as trembling, cowering and panting as though the world might end.
Mimulus helps with fears of everyday life — strange places, the dark, and strangers or crowds for example.
Larch helps to cultivate bravery and courage along with emotional security.
Walnut helps to build up a sense of security and emotional independence.
Chestnut Bud can help as a preventive for a young dog, so that he can learn form his experiences and process new information to assist him in becoming an emotionally stable young dog.

You can add 3 drops of any or all of these flower essences to you pet's water bowl. Some people also apply flower essence to their pet?s paws or ears.

Homeopathy

Arsenicum Album is a very useful homeopathic remedy for fear and anxiety that are caused by a deep-seated insecurity — those pets who are constant worriers.

Aconite especially good for animals who bite when they are frightened, especially when going to the veterinarian. Use 1-3 pellets (depending upon the animals size) 30 minutes before a vet visit to calm the animal.
Gelsemium is good for the animal who becomes weak, shaking with fear in the rear legs. Use 1 dose.


For more information, check out The Honest Kitchen & Bach's Flower Remedies which includes RESCUE REMEDY FOR PETS

The Honest Kitchen ROCKS

DEFENDING OUR STANCE

We’re sometimes asked why we are so strongly opposed to the farming of puppies, breeding on a mass scale and raising of puppies to be sold in retail outlets. We have refused to allow Honest Kitchen products to be sold in stores that sell puppies and kittens for the past seven years and remain committed to this. Some stores and distributors have taken exception to our decision and we wanted to take a moment to explain our position.
We believe that puppy mills do not constitute responsible breeders, since puppy-mill pets are not sufficiently socialized to normal every day situations, causing them to suffer various social problems and making them difficult house pets – which in turn makes them even more at risk of ending their days in a shelter. There are about 100,000 to 200,000 dogs inside puppy mills at any given time in the United States In addition, puppy mills do not offer lifetime support to puppy owners and do not agree to take back any puppy they have raised, for the duration of its entire life, as a responsible breeder does. Further, when puppies are sold in retail outlets, there is insufficient vetting of new homes to ensure that owners are sufficiently educated on how to care for their new animal, have the means to care for their new family member and properly understand the lifetime responsibility they are undertaking.
The mass scale breeding of puppies on farms, transportation across the country and re-sale in shops is the single biggest cause of massive over-population of companion animals in the United States and has caused puppies to be considered as commodities or possessions rather than members of the family. According to The Humane Society of the United States, exhaustive documentation on the problems surrounding puppy mills include the following: “over-breeding, inbreeding, minimal veterinary care, poor quality of food and shelter, lack of human socialization, overcrowded cages and the killing of unwanted animals. Many puppy-mill dogs are also born with genetic diseases, the symptoms of which, may not surface for several years into the animal’s life.
The greatest victims in the puppy mill problem are the breeding parents, because they will live their life in a cage and it generally ends fairly brutally. A number of national media outlets including American Dog Magazine, Best Friends Magazine and National Geographic’s Cesar Millan, as well as NY based radio personality and author Tracie Hotchner, are highlighting the horrors or mass scale puppy breeding and helping to inform the public, as well as showcasing success stories or businesses that are removing themselves from the trade.
If you’d like get some information on what constitutes a responsible breeder, the The Whole Dog Journal has an outstanding article. To learn more about our policies, or better still learn about where to adopt a shelter pet, please ask. We’d be delighted to help.

Can Raw Help Her?

Update: I truly believed feed Maisy this way helped. It at least eliminated her constant hunger/hungry behavior, and helped her take food from hands without biting them. She did however continue to show troubling behaviors within the home structure with our other dogs and inevitably we made the difficult decision to bring her back to the no kill shelter.

Our newest dog Maisy has some pretty severe resource guarding tendencies.

Would a raw diet help the resource guarding? Or make it worse?

I don't know yet. But I'm going to try it.
She is some sort of terrier though. The last terrier I tried to acclimate to raw nearly took my fingers off and inhaled a drumstick right out of my hand (remember, Jana?!)

I also think, with the added moisture and balanced natural bioavailibility/distribution of nutrients (especially protein) may even calm her down temperamentally over a few weeks time.

My belief is that it has to do with how she is fed. Large meals. Meals enough to fill her stomach. Challenging RMBs. An ideal RMB is the size of the dog's head or larger. I'm going to start with half a chicken.

Small meals (what humans tend to consider "normal meals") directly feed into the resource guarding. A dog who never feels full can feel it needs to do anything to secure its next meal. The dog constantly feels hungry, and that feels like starving. This is something I CAN control.

Mogens Eliasen said it best, "Few dog owners want to starve their dog or to keep it constantly hungry. Nevertheless, this is what most people end up doing when they feed their dog multiple daily meals, assuming that this is just as good for a dog as it is for a human.

"An adult dog needs an amount of food in average per day that is about 2-3% of its body weight. Considering that it takes 6-8% to fill the stomach, there is just no way the average dog will ever get to experience the satisfying fulfillment of having a full stomach…"
Why your dogs needs to fill its stomach on a regular basis

So. We'll see if raw can help save her.

Does anyone have advice to behaviorally make a feisty terrier who INHALES her food accustomed to eating RMB's from my hand?