CNN.com posted some safety tips for dog food, in light of the tainted food that has been going around recently:
• Check all the store-bought foods you are feeding your pets against a comprehensive list of recalled food products. The American Veterinary Medical Association’s list is updated frequently and sorted by animal type and brand.
• Get rid of any foods found on the list; you can find proper methods for disposal from the pet food manufacturer. As a precaution, the American Society for the Prevention to Cruelty to Animals urges pet owners on its Web site not to feed animals any wet or dry food items that contain the ingredients wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate. The FDA found melamine “in samples of pet food and in the wheat gluten used as an ingredient in the pet food.”
• Be on the look out for symptoms. If your pet has ingested contaminated food, some general symptoms are loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea. In the case of the pet food recalls this past spring, the melamine “affected the urinary system, causing dysfunction of the kidneys,” says Dr. Roger Mahr, veterinarian and past president of the American Veterinary Medical Association. “The symptoms that came with that were increased urination, drinking excessive water, lethargy and dehydration.” Mahr says that any of these symptoms is enough reason to contact your veterinarian.
Homemade food may be an option, but I’m not sure if I want to subject my dog to my cooking!
