Information On The Dog And Cat Food Recall

On March 16, 2007 Menu Foods initiated the largest dog and cat food recall in history. It had been discovered through the death and illnesses of several pets that there was a problem with the pet foods on the market. Menu Foods is the manufacturer of most brands of dog and cat foods and uses the same basic ingredients for these products. It was found that wheat gluten in the pet foods was contaminated with a substance called melamine. Through several studies the Food and Drug Administration and Menu Foods found that melamine was causing the dog and cat illnesses and deaths.

Melamine is a chemical substance that is used in plastics and other products. When the dog and cat food recall occurred it was found that wheat gluten and other pet food ingredients imported from China were contaminated by this product. It is thought that the Chinese add the melamine to make the products appear to have more protein. Studies that were done in the past came to the conclusion that small amounts of Melamine were not harmful when they were ingested by dogs, cats, humans, and other mammals. But the new research suggests that the melamine causes crystal to be made in the kidneys that then can cause kidney failure. After several pets died from eating melamine tainted foods the dog and cat food recall was quickly initiated.

NEWS FLASH - 2012-02-10
Dog Kidney Failure
The last thing that any dog owner wants to hear is that their dog has kidney failure. Most people don't even want to think about the possibility that it can happen to them, but the truth of the matter is that nine out of 1,000 dogs suffer from this unfortunate chronic renal disease.

Types of Terriers Safe For Small Children
A lot of children these days have quite the affinity for pet dogs. They would like to play around with them, hold them and generally pet them around. To little ones, these are their first best friends. Yet, it isn't all the time that the feeling is returned. At times, what would be a kind gesture or show of affection for us can be taken in a different way by our dogs. At worst, this would result in tragic results. Needless to say, any dog can be trained and raised to become your most devoted companion, but you have to understand that not all dog breeds are actually safe for youngsters.

Golden Retriever Puppies: What You Need to Know Before Adding a Golden Retriever Puppy to the Family
Golden Retriever puppies are commonly looked for because of their friendly personality. Besides being well-tempered, Golden Retriever puppies are also extremely intelligent and make amazing hunting dogs. In the mid-eighteen hundreds, a Tweed Water Spaniel (a now extinct dog breed) and a yellow Retriever were bred together to create the Golden Retriever as we know it today.

Many pet owners have become very concerned about the foods their pets eat since the dog and cat food recall. People want to feel confident that the foods they feed their pets are not harmful. The Food and Drug Administration has continued to be concerned and offers pet owners sound advice regarding the dog and cat food recall. In fact a complete listing of recalled pet foods can be found at the FDA website. If pet owners are concerned about pet food they still have in their home they should consult this list. The list is frequently updated as more and more imports from china are found to be contaminated.

Some pet owners have decided that the best thing to do is to make their pet’s homemade food. This can be done but may prove costly and great care needs to be taken to insure that the pets are getting all their nutritional requirements. There are many web sites that discuss homemade pet food and give recipes for different types of food. One positive aspect of the dog and cat food recall is that people have become more concerned over their pets diets and have become proactive in the care of their pets.