The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned against giving bone treats to pets after receiving multiple reports of illnesses related to bone “treats”. According to Carmela Stamper, a veterinarian in the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) at the FDA, “Giving your dog a bone treat might lead to an unexpected trip to your veterinarian, a possible emergency surgery, or even death for your pet.”
Many pet treats selling in the market both in the US and India are made in China so some of these adverse reports may just as well apply to India which unfortunately, does not have a similar robust mechanism for reporting of adverse food or drug reactions in pets.
FDA regulates the quality of cat food, dog food, or box of dog treats. Regulation of pet food is similar to that for other animal foods. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) requires that all animal foods, like human foods, be safe to eat, produced under sanitary conditions, contain no harmful substances, and be truthfully labeled. FDA has received about 68 reports of pet illnesses related to “bone treats,” which differ from uncooked butcher-type bones because they are processed and packaged for sale as dog treats.
“A variety of commercially-available bone treats for dogs…were listed in the reports. The products may be dried through a smoking process or by baking, and may contain other ingredients such as preservatives, seasonings, and smoke flavorings,” reads a FDA consumer update. Among the illnesses reported were gastrointestinal obstruction (blockage in the digestive tract), choking, cuts and wounds in the mouth or on the tonsils, vomiting, diarrhoea, bleeding from the rectum and even death. According to reports received by the FDA, approximately 15 dogs died after eating a bone treat. There were about 90 reports in all, some of them involving more than one dog.
Bones are not the only treats that seem to be a problem area. Since 2007, FDA has also received multiple reports of adverse reactions to jerky pet treats. There have been more than 5000 complaints of illnesses associated with consumption of chicken, duck, or sweet potato jerky treats, many of which involve products imported from China, which produces much of the jerky pet treats on the market, not just in the USA but also in India.
Do’s and dont’s
• Chicken bones and other bones from your table can cause injury when chewed by pets, too. So be careful to keep platters out of reach
• Be careful what you put in the trash can. Dogs are notorious for helping themselves to the contents of the trash basket
• Talk with your veterinarian about other toys or treats that are most appropriate for your dog. There are many available products made with different materials
