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Monday, March 01, 2010

Dog Food

Joe

Thank you for taking my call. I am not accusing any manufacturer or store. I am only asking if anyone else has had a similar situation.

My otherwise healthy dog became very ill on Friday morning. He was rushed to Salisbury Animal Hospital. There they found him to be suffering from a problems with his kidneys. He seems to act like he was poisoned or ingested something. Vomiting, no appetite and completely lethargic-very ill.

My question to the public is has anyone else had a similar situation with their dog lately? He just started on a new bag of dry dog food. My internet research indicates that he has the same symptoms as pet food contanimation. I am omitting the brand and purchase location so that I do not point fingers. We do not have all of the lab results as of yet and we will take the food for testing on Monday.

Thank you for your help.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those are also the same symptoms of parvo, has the dog had the parvo vaccination?

Anonymous said...

Im sorry about your dog being sick. I still wish you would post the type of food. If others are using that food maybe they can get their dogs to a vet even quicker if need be. Letting people know there MAY be a problem could help save a dogs life.

Anonymous said...

Yes he is up to date on all shots. We arent' ruling out anything yet.

Anonymous said...

The food is Beneful. Please keep in mind that his symptoms match pet food contanimation but the vet has not diagnosed that. Not all of his lab results are in. I was searching the internet and matched it up. A dog with an otherwise healthy appetite not eating at all, not drinking, pale gums, lethargy. I just want to see if anyone else has dogs with the same symptoms. Plus I found where this brand has had problems in the past. Our other dogs that he is exposed to eat different food and are not sick. Just the one that eats this brand.

Anonymous said...

Is he fenced in or allowed to roam?

Anonymous said...

Please tell us the kind of dog food it was. I have a puppy and I would like to know; I want to make sure she doesn't eat the kind your dog ate. Plus, by getting the word out, you can save other dogs.

Anonymous said...

He is kept in the house and our fenced yard or on a leash. Does not roam at all.

Anonymous said...

How to register a Pet Food Complaint with the FDA
http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ReportaProblem/ucm182403.htm

Anonymous said...

Someone could have given him something over the fence to get back at you.

Depending on the lab results, you may want to install outside cameras if you leave him in a fenced in area.

Anonymous said...

just found this link thought it may help.. I feed our dogs verus alittle more out of the pocket but it is made here in the us.. not in another country.. it is also all natural no corn etc. that is not good for dogs, hope everything is okay with your pet..http://hubpages.com/hub/Review-of-Beneful-dog-food-by-Purina

Anonymous said...

In 2005, my two dogs died 6 days apart from the melamine poisoning found in dog food. The signs and symptoms you listed are the same that my dogs experienced. My dogs were 12 and 7 years of age and died in that order. The food was Iams canned dog food (which I only gave them on Sunday evenings for a weekly treat) but it was so potently contaminated that it killed them within a week of eating it. The vets worked like crazy to save my dogs, but to no avail. I have never fed dogs Beneful. I now feed my new dogs Eagle Pack dry dog food. Versus is also a good dog food, but it has a limited geographical area where it can be purchased, so it you travel or move somewhere else with your dog you might not be able to buy it outside of the mid-atlantic area. And surprisingly, another excellent dog food is BilJac and it is made in Berlin, MD and has a nationwide distribution.

Anonymous said...

Before you get all worked up, don't assume that it is dog food poisoning. Lot's of other things can make a dog sick. Maybe the dog got into a plant, or something as innocent as artificial sweetner - or some type of cleaner. Dogs can find and eat things that we never dreamed they would. One of our dogs was terribly sick after catching and eating a frog!

Anonymous said...

Get your dog off of beneful or any other dog food you can buy at a grocery store or Walmart. It's all junk and not good for your dog at all. Johnson's Seed and Feed carries several brands, including Eagle Pack and Verus, that are excellent choices to feed your pet. Ask your vet what they would recommend.

Anonymous said...

I try to stay away from any pet food that has the red dye in it. Seems like every time I gave it to them it made them yack.

Anonymous said...

Something similar happened to my dog last month. She vomitted for 12 hours and I had to take her to the Pets ER because she became dehydrated. They gave her something to stop the vomitting and they pumped her full of fluids. She finally stopped vomitting and has been fine ever since. It really scared me. The weird thing about this was that she normally stands up and gets in "position" when she is going to get sick. But, this time she was laying down each time she vomitted and she would get sick all over herself. Its like she didnt see it coming or was just too out of it to get up. I think she may have gotten in the trash, but I will never be sure. She's ok now, though. Good luck with yours!

Anonymous said...

There are some comments stating every day run of the mill pet food is "junk" or "no good" for the animals, I strongly disagree with those statements. I have been a pet owner all of my life and have never run into any problems with the so called cheap pet food. All of my animals have lived long healthy lives; one of my cats actually lived for 2.5 yrs. after being diagnosed with kidney failure when he was given only 3 months, or less, to live.

Just because someone shells out $20 more for a bag of dog food does not make that a better food. I seem to recall the last major pet food recall included a great deal of the overpriced foods as well!

I have owned 4 dogs, two lived to be 14, one was 13 and the other was 17 yrs old when they died. My cats lived to be 14 and 18 yrs old. I know have a dog that is only 4 years old and he is in perfect health eating Dog Chow, Kibbles and Bits and as a treat he has boiled eggs, rice, and chicken once a week.

Chimera said...

Anon 313
You make a great point-my cat will ONLY eat this cheap cat food by Purina called "Deli Cat".I have bought the "better" brands before,he turns his nose up at them.
I was thinking the same thing as some other comments,either someone tried to posion him or he got into something in the yard like trash or a dead animal.I stopped using pesticides for mice once I got a cat,because eating a poisoned mouse would not be good.Luckily,thanks to the cat there are no mice!

10001110101 said...

My dog gets poached eggs or oatmeal for breakfast, and beef or chicken and rice for dinner usually with string beans and homemade dog bisquits for snack. My animals live way past their life span.

Only on rushed rare occasions does he get store bought dog food.

You have to spoil the man of your life.