FDA Warns Dogs to Avoid Chicken Jerky
Time to pull back those chicken jerky strips! The article is saying they don’t know where the tainted jerky comes from but I bet we can guess…
Thanks to Scientific American for this warning.
FDA warns chicken jerky may make dogs sick
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chicken jerky products for dogs may be making some pets ill, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned on Wednesday.
The FDA has received more than 70 complaints about close to 100 dogs who became ill or died and are believed to have eaten chicken jerky products, the agency said in a statement.Although the FDA has conducted chemical and microbial testing, the agency said it has not been able to identify any contaminant or a definitive cause for the reported illnesses.
Preliminary information the agency received from Banfield, The Pet Hospital, an Oregon-based hospital group, suggested a connection between exposure to the jerky, also known as chicken tenders, strips or treats, and gastrointestinal illness.
Dogs that have become sick typically showed some of these signs: decreased eating, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, increased water consumption and/or increased urination.
It was unclear where the treats were made.
Follow this link to read the rest of the article.
Please note the word “may have” in the FDA release. I have one dog and four cats and have always been an animal lover and owner. I’m also working with the one chicken jerky brand that has been absolutely PROVEN to be safe (including by the FDA!), a company whose employees, retailers and product consumers are being terribly damaged by the inaccurate things being said about chicken jerky by those who overreact to cautionary announcements.
Please take a moment to visit http://www.waggintrainblog.com. That’s where you’ll get much more information that the FDA has released to date.
Jonathan Bernstein
for Waggin’ Train
Thanks Jonathan,
I was just coming in here to post a message concerning the warning. We are a family of 5 pups, and faithfully buy your Waggin Train brand chicken jerky. It has never made any of us even remotely ill in any way, and Mom and Dad will travel 20+ miles to a store that carries it for us. At times, our local Wal-Mart carries it, but they’re not very consistent with stocking it. Once, Mom went there, they were out of it, and she picked up an alternate brand. When she got to the self check-out, it would not allow her to purchase it. Low and behold, 2 days later, the recall for that alternate brand was announced.
Waggin’ train is made her in the United States with only US products. It’s the brands that are made from ingredient sources outside the United States that are causing all of the problems and giving Waggin’ Train Brand a bad reputation.
My cocker spaniel sister Emmy was a victim of the menu foods fiasco with Nutro Ultra Holistic food, so our parents are very vigilant and cautious when it comes to our diet. We are solely home-cooking pups. It cost a pretty penny and a lot of sleepless nights until she was back to normal and regained her health. So for Mom to have faith in a treat manufacturer is saying something for the brand!
Jonathan, I for one will continue to purchase ONLY your products!
Sorry, Mr. Bernstein, but your products are made in China. Despite all your slick marketing and pummeling of “our treats are SAFE” mantra, I and many others have justifiably come to distrust ANYTHING that carries a “made in China” label. The European Union in fact is seriously considering a ban on all China imports due to the constant stream of unsafe products - pet food, seafood, toothpaste, children’s toys, baby cribs - that have been pouring out of China. My partner and I simply will not buy anything anymore that says “made in China,” regardless of the product.
From your blog’s FAQs:
Why does Waggin’ Train operate factories in China?
We discovered the average person in China prefers dark meat (i.e. legs, wings, etc.) and as a result we can buy the white meat breasts and tenderloins from chickens grown for human consumption at a fraction of the price available elsewhere. We operate these factories under the most stringent safety and sanitary guidelines and they are regularly inspected by our own QA team as well as third party independent inspection teams and auditors to insure we don’t miss a single detail. The cost savings to our US consumers is approximately 70 – 75%.
Eddie, you sound like you could be a walking -talking commercial for Waggin’ Train! My goodness, if I didn’t know better, I’d think your post was a carefully crafted “testimonial” intended to advance Waggin’ Train product confidence. Actually, I do know better, as in my former life, I was a Sales & Marketing minion who earned a rather fat paycheck crafting testimonials which sounded, curiously enough, very much like your glowing post!
I have to agree with Lucy! Wagontrain brand Chicken Jerkey is made in China! When the first recall of Chicken Jerkey came out, I went and checked the bag and sure enough it showed “Made in China.” Since there was an email address for Wagontrain on the bag, I emailed them and asked them about their product and unfortunately I got an email back from them that sounded like Jonathan’s testimonial. Now I still allowing my dog to have one piece a day from the bag I have now, as she’s pretty much addicted to the stuff and thankfully she hasn’t had any problems, but once this bag is gone, I won’t be buying it again. It’s just too scary!
To Wendy and others,
Here are a couple of home-made recipes for jerky. It’s obviously a bit more work to make these yummy treats yourself, as opposed to buying them pre-packaged from your local pet store, but the reward is priceless: The assurance of food safety and knowing, with confidence, exactly what it is you are putting into your dog or cat’s mouth. (From my fledgling blog, http://www.mizzjesse.com/blog)
CHICKEN JERKY STRIPS (fried)
Ingredients
Chicken (sliced thin like bacon)
Butter or low sodium chicken broth (recommended for dogs with pancreatitis, overweight dogs or dogs with sensitive stomachs)
Directions
Slice chicken in the same form as bacon (the butcher counter at a grocery store can do this for you). Fry chicken until well-done in butter or chicken broth (it should be the consistency of somewhere between beef jerky and the pig ears given to dogs). Let cool and serve.
BEEF JERKY STRIPS (baked)
Ingredients
1 piece flank steak (3 to 5 lb.)
Directions
Place meat in freezer and allow it to become about half frozen, so that you can see ice crystals in the meat, but it is still slightly pliable. Using your hands tear off thin strips of meat, with the grain (this is the way Mexican cooks cut meat). Pound meat slightly with flat side of a wooden spoon. Place meat on a rack in a baking pan. Cook at 200 degrees, turning once for 6 hours. Store in airtight jar in a dark place.
I don’t trust any products at this time..I make my “boys” food and treats. I have been making their food for over a year, and they are healthy…and love it..
our friend jonathan bernstein is a paid crisis abatement publicist whose clients include the dreaded chem nutra, responsible for the deaths of uncounted numbers of animals that ate contaminated menu foods.
eddie is either a plant or of diminished responsibility. waggintrain product is made in china.
fda alert did not say “jerky made in china except for waggintrain”. we have no good reason to trust anything that any pet food or treat manufacturer says, or pays other people to say.
mr bernstein says this company has been terribly damaged. my sympathies lie with the sick and dead animals, and those whose pets have been stricken ill or died from eating tainted products. my sympathies lie with those who are struggling to pay vet bills and look after chronically ill pets. my sympathies lie with those who grieve for and miss their dead pets.
i am not being paid to say the things i say here. can mr. bertstein make that claim?
Richard,
Here, here! Very well said. Thank you!
Richard: Have never posted here before but saw your post & had to respond. You put it beautifully, better than anything I’ve seen so far.
I get so angry because it’s not only WT but another brand carried by a “members only” warehouse…..big signs saying that their chicken jerky is safe. Sorry guys, but I have seen many posts that claim otherwise. I have printed all those posts because I have friends that believe this bull**** & continue to feed their dog these poisonous treats.
Once again, thanks Richard…..I love your honesty. Thank you from all pet parents. I hope Bernstein sees your post.
At the rate Walmart is increasing the price of the chicken jerky, no one will be able to aford it anyway!!!
[...] FDA Warns Dogs to Avoid Chicken Jerky [...]
To Jonathan Bernstein:
Just curious. After reading your comments on numerous websites and forums (regarding the Waggin’ Train Chicken Jerky Tenders debacle), do you EVER advise your clients that they should perhaps take the high road?
A decent company would not try to defend themselves in such manner as they have hired you to do - if their product came up in so many places as being a culprit to ill or dead pets, they would pull the product and cooperate fully with the FDA and AVMA.
This would lead to a much better situation regarding their reputation. As it is, my bet is that Waggin Train will fold in the next year due to their evasive tactics - and you, my friends, may very well go with them. Sometimes, you simply cannot defend the indefensible.
For those who don’t know, Jonathan Bernstein is in the employ of Waggin Train in his capacity as a “Crisis Management� expert - http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
For those who don’t know, Jonathan Bernstein is in the employ of Waggin Train in his capacity as a “Crisis Management� expert - http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/
You know that it is terrible that someone like Mr Bernstein would use a crisis like the jerky strips to better his company. It doesnt matter what the brand is….Dogs are dying and getting seriously ill from eating the strips from China. Mine is one that was not lucky enough to see a vet…He is buried in my backyard. People need to be very cautious when buying anything that does not have to pass our government standards and regulations. How do you sleep at night Mr Bernstein knowing that you are promoting a product as made in the USA when it is clearly made in China????
Is the jerky that is killing and making our animals sick only from China? We get a good brand organic brand that is made in USA. Is that safe?
Thanks
Julie,
I haven’t heard of any problems with American-made organic jerkies. Has anyone heard anything else?
[...] September 26th, 2007 | Pet food & products Time to pull back those chicken jerky strips! The article is saying they don’t know where the tainted jerky comes from but I bet we can guess… Thanks to Scientific American for this warning. FDA warns chicken jerky may make dogs sick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chicken jerky products for dogs may be making some pets ill, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned on Wednesday. (more…) [...]
Thanks for the post! I almost bought a bag of chicken jerky before I had read this post, but decided against it.
I’ve had a bad experience…
I bought these at Costco to give to my 2 dogs. A couple of days after giving them to them once per day, my lab developed loose stools and my Chihuahua developed explosive diarrhea. I stopped the treats and replaced them with a different treat and the symptoms went away. I checked the company’s web site and it said their products were verified safe, so I tried giving them again. Just one a day and on the second day the same thing happened. I e-mailed the company on 9/16/2007 to let them know of my experience and they have not replied to my e-mail. I would stay away from these at all costs. The lack of reply from the company shows their lack of customer concern. And since this happened twice with me, I have ruled out some kind of bug. STAY AWAY AT ALL COSTS…BUY FROM A COMPANY WHO CARES FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS AND THEIR PETS.
I too got skunked by “Waggin Tails.” The “American-made chicken jerky treats” were clearly marked made in China when they arrived. I threw out $80 worth of the stuff. That guy just lies & lies and won’t take things back.
I am very thankful that my dog is still with me…..she was eating at least one piece of chicken jerky a day for close to a year before the proverbial you-know-what hit the fan. However, none of us know what kind of damage these pieces of poison have done to them over the long-term. I have two friends still buying them at a “members only” store & they won’t listen to me so I gave up……signs on shelves say they are safe so they will take the word of the store over what I’m trying to tell them. I pray their dogs live through it. Right now, I suspect there are a lot of very serious problems with products for our fur kids…..I’m suspicious of most everything.
Julie…..if you read this, please tell me where you are getting organic chicken jerky made in the USA. I sure would love to be able to give my dog jerky but never again from China…..I want to try the above recipe for chicken cooked in broth. However, if you’ve found an organic brand, I’d like to hear about them.
Below is a email notice I have been sending out about these poisonous treats.
Please be aware that many Chicken Jerky treat brands that are manufactured in China have been making small dogs very ill along with killing them. Symptoms are: lethargy, vomiting, diareha, and anorexia (total lack of appetite except for the treats). To see this alert from the American Veterinarian Medical Association go to http://www.avma.org/ click on Pet Food Alert line and then click on Chicken Jerky Treat alert.)
Our two adorable Cavalier King Charles puppies, Lacie, 11 months, and Misty 7 months old, had been eating Wagon Train Jerky treats from Costco on a daily basis (not as a supplement for their food, but as a treat after their evening meal). They both became very ill in July. Their symptoms were; lethargy, vomiting, diarrea, and anorexia (total lack of appetite except for the treats, which they loved and looked forward to). The test started showing signs of kidney failure which made no sense to the vets because Misty and Lacie are not related, and Kidney failure is rare with puppies. Both puppies received extensive care in the hospital along with test after test trying to figure out what was wrong with them. Vet bills started mounting up to over $9,000. Every meal had to be force fed except their nightly jerky treat which they got very excited about.
Mid September we found out about the AVMA warning, and immediatelty stopped giving them these treats, Our little seven month old Misty rallied and got better, but our sweet little Lacie never got better and on November 13th, our precious little 11 month old Lacie got much worse, and had to be put down. We were able to pray with her and love on her as she peacefully went to be with the Lord. She surely took a piece of my heart with her. I have been through a lot in my life, but I have never been through the extreme roller coaster pain that we have gone through in the last four months.
I wish someone had warned us about this product. I thought this product was American made. Only after I saw the warning, did I see in small print on the bottom of the package, product of China. I didn’t know it, but this jerky treat has been making dogs sick well before April 2007. If someone had warned us, Lacie could have been spared the four months of painful treatment she went through, let alone having her princess life robbed from her at such a young age. Lacie was the most adorable sweet little feminine angel. She loved people so much that I was planning on having her be a therapy dog so that her and I could help people that are ill.
Please spread the word. After I send this to all the Cavalier breeders. I am going to send this warning to the other small breeds. It is so sad that I have to do this, but as long as Costco and other stores only care about their profit margin we will have to protect our sweet little puppies on our own.
I know Lacie would never have wanted any other dog and owner to go through the pain and agony that she and her mommy and daddy have gone through. Lacie was our little angel and I don’t want her to have died in vain, So I will not give up on spreading the word about these poisonous treats.
Sincerely,
Barbara Fafard
Email: fafardre@sbcglobal.net
(949) 766-0140
Barbara,
Thank you for barking in your experience. I am very sorry for your loss.
4/17/08
I have two dogs, both mongrels one is 50lbs th other 25lbs. I have been giving them wagon train jerky treats for quite some time. This morning I gave them each one from an open bag they have been snacking on for a week. Within 20 minutes both animals were vomiting and vomiting repeatedly. I will never feed them anything from China again. Cheap prices (not that cheap) are not worth watching my pets die. DONT BUY ANYTHING FROM CHINA!!!!! its not worth your life.
Sept 25, 2008
Sent to Waggin Train and Costco today
THIS IS SERIOUS . . .
My Siberian Husky had fallen ill eating the Waggin Train Brand chicken jerkey treats sold at Costco. I did not think this product had a problem however Iwas wrong. Unfortunately I threw the bag out in disgust once I examined very closly and saw that the product was MADE IN CHINA!! Had I not, I could have given you the lot number for further examination.
This began a couple of weeks ago with diarea and her refusal to eat yet she had an increase in water consumption which prompted me to take her to the vet. She is experiencing liver disfunction and pancreatitis as her liver and pancreas are both enlarged as illustrated on the xray taken last week at the vet’s office. She now has a temperature of 105 and is too weak to walk outside to urinate and has refused food for a week. My vet has her on antibiotics and we will start another new one today in addition to the anti-diarea and stomach settling medication she is taking.
In checking the web, I have discovered that many other pet owners have indicated their pets have experienced the SAME SYMPTOMS with this product. I make my dog’s food from scratch: rice, chicken, carrots and green beans so I know it is not what I am feeding her!!! The only other treats she has been getting (about 5 - 6 per day) is this chicken jerkey product!!!
PLEASE REMOVE THIS PRODUCT and WARN PEOPLE!!! I did not see that this product was made in China until researching this on the web!! Put this in big bold letters on your packaging as it is a very small and goes unnoticed!
Additional sites of interest:
http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/jerky092807.html
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/CVM_Updates/Chknjerky.htm
http://www.waggintrainbrand.com/company/pressrelease.shtml
I am so glad that loving dog owners are becoming more and more aware of the dangers of chicken jerky from China. But there are still many out there who are not aware! We were not, when we fed our dog chicken jerky from China and he became seriously ill. Please check the back of all dog treats for 3 very tiny words, “Made in China”. And, please spread the word! Also, there are chicken jerky strips made in America for dogs now called Kona’s Chips and you can buy them online at:
http://www.konaschips.com
Also, another interesting site is:
http://www.laciessite.org/
Our dog, Pooky, a 10 lb pomeranian got sick from eating the chicken jerky too. We are so thankful that he recovered, but he had all the symptoms listed on the warnings such as lethargy, drinking water, refusing food, etc. Both the dogs were totally addicted to those chicken jerky treats! I’m trying to get the word out, but it seems like the word is out on this blog–don’t feed treats from China! Also, to let everyone know about Kona’s Chips, which we found a wonderful chicken jerky replacement, produced here in the U S of A and you can buy them online at konaschip.com
Our vet recommended them and our dogs love them!
Oops! Sorry, I didn’t realize I had already posted here! Just trying to spread the word about dog products from China!
I have read some info on your website related to Chicken Strips that are made in China. I have 4 Dogs and the one Dog that I fed Chicken Buddies Chicken Strips has contacted Toxoplasma Gondii which is a parasite that has affected my beautiful,healthy, strong Standard Poodle’s brain and muscles. In less than a 4 month period my dog is blind, lacks muscle coordination, lethargic, has dementia among other systems. I am not sure this is where she has contacted the parasite but I am having the last bag of chicken strips I purchased tested for the parasite. I would like to know if anyother readers to this blog have had the same issues with this product..
I would urge anyone that has a dog with the symtems described above (my dog started with just being lethargic, having diarrea, drinking water constantly and progressed quickly to the other systems) to have their dog check for Toxoplasma Gondii immediately!
They have started my dog on Antibiotics for a 6 week cycle to kill the parasite but we don’t know if there will be permanent damage.
my e-mail mistybleu@msn.com
WELL I’VE BEEN GETTING CHICKEN STRIPS FOR MY TWO KIDS FOR TWO YEARS KNOW. I HAVE’NT HAD NO PROBLEM WITH IT AS OF YET. BUT THE KIDS HAVE EAT’EN CHICKEN SINCE THEY WERE BORN. THEY WILL NOT EAT ANYTHING ELSE. AND THERE WHAT I WOULD AND MY VET. WOULD CALL HEALTHY. THANK YOU, BILL
I have purchased Chicken Nibbles and Chicken Strips from Pet Professional’s Choice with, so far, no ill effects. No mention was made that any product came from China. However, their NEW labels clearly state that this product is from China!! Why weren’t we notified before? I, too, am opting for home-made treats from now on. This is scary!
I have read about all these terrible incidents and am so glad that most of us are becoming much more aware of the edible products made for our pets. There are many chewies, rawhide chips, rollbones, etc. carried at most of the pet food and supply stores that are franchises; even some of the smaller, family-owned and operated franchises and they TOO carry some products made in china…It is very difficult to find bones, rawhides and roasted knuckle type bones for larger dogs, as well as the smaller size for the medium to small dogs that are MADE IN AMERICA…It really shouldn’t be that difficult to find these items since so so many of us want QUALITY foods and treats and bones for our beloved pets. Yes, the pet industry seems to only have the “bottom line” in mind for their profit margins…whatever happened to making quality items that may cost a little bit more than buying poisoned food and treat items…we should all ask these franchises to take the made in china items off their shelves if they want our business. I have, on more than one occasion, gone in to these franchise pet stores and when they ask me if I need any help, I ask the employee that offered their assistance to me if they carry any of these types of products “not made in china or argentina or brazil, etc.” They usually don’t know the answer and go ask their manager on duty… the responses I get vary, but usually they don’t know what to say, either they say they didn’t know they were made there or that they didn’t realize anything was wrong with products from these countries. The reason I stated those other countries is due to the fact that usually the hides, etc. are chemically sprayed with poisonous pesticides and hung to dry out before they are cut up and made into the products we purchase for chew products for our dogs…like the rawhide chips, flips, pig ears, roll bones, etc….and I am sure that you all already know this from reading all the above entries…It sure is a sad state of affairs that poisonous, edible products can make it on the shelves of our stores here without any repercussions to speak of. We really need to boycott these items and at least tell one other person in those stores that are shopping, or checking out with one of these products in question and let them know why they shouldn’t buy these type items…just like a pyramid or the domino effect…we can pass this word around to these poor, uneducated pet owners and then they can pass this info around too…we need to change the products that are offered to us by boycotting these potentially life threatening poisonous products–but the stores and companies need to know that we are doing this and are spreading the word! Sorry to go on so long and thank you for those jerky recipes, I am going to make those for my pack of dogs too!
My 9 1/2 year old female Maltese (my fur child) was recently diagnosed with diabetes and chronic pancreatitis. She underwent an abdominal ultrasound and a liver biopsy which revealed the pancreatitis. She had been having the Waggin’Train chicken jerky strips for several years - and loved them. I have no way of knowing for sure if the treats have caused her illnesses, but I will never again give her anything to eat where any part of it is made in China. Her vet said that in his 13 years of practice he has not treated a dog with two serious illnesses at one time. I give her an injection of Vetsulin twice a day to treat her diabetes, and she takes some expensive medication every day (which we are hoping will help her liver to heal). She also recently (and suddenly) lost her eyesight. I now cook for her (turkey, brown rice, and vegetables). I make some of her treats - and also found that she loves Carvers (roasted slices for dogs, made by Purina). They are made in the USA and the package says they have over 80% real chicken. I purchase them at Pet Smart. I plan to check out the Kona’s Chips that have been mentioned by a couple of you as being safe. I keep hoping and praying that my little girl will eventually regain her health and at least partial eyesight. She is such a good part of my life.
These treats almost killed my dachshund this weekend. $6,000 worth of treatment and test and they all come back to these treats Waggin Train Chicken Treats, BEWARE
I bought a bag of Waggin’ Tails chicken jerky from Costco to give to my finicky, 6lb. poodle-Shih Tzsu mix. Within two days, she began to vomit yellow bile and refused her regular meals. Luckily for me–and her–I had only given her 1/3 of a piece for each treat, and she recovered within a few days. What really upset me was that I had examined the jerky bag before purchasing it to make sure that it was NOT a product of China. After my dog became suddenly ill, I examined the bag more closely, carefully looking at all sides, including the bottom. There in tiny, tiny print on the lower corner of the bag almost on the bottom seam were the words, “product of China.” I returned the bag to Costco and told the customer service rep what had happened to my dog. I was assured that their purchasing department would be notified, but the product remains for sale to this date, many months later.
After extensive research into all brands of chicken jerky, I have yet to find a brand that isn’t made in China, although a few companies have simply left out the location of the manufacturer and state only the distribution location which is often in the US.
I now avoid ANY product made in China–not only the ones that go into my dog’s mouth, but mine, as well. That includes plastic straws, cups, plates, utensils–anything plastic or ceramic glazed used for food preparation or service in particular. I was appalled, for example, to find that those cute, little sippy cups I’d been buying for my granddaughter, carried a “made in China” stamp.
Now, I check EVERYTHING before purchasing. Since we can’t trust the individuals whose job it is to police this problem, we are forced to do it ourselves.
My five-year-old Boston Terrier was diagnosed with pancreatitis this morning after throwing up three times within two hours, the last time with blood. After waiting 30 minutes for blood tests, the enzyme levels were off the charts and didn’t even register except for a large red arrow pointing to the right indicating it couldn’t be measured it was so high. My four small dogs have been eating Waggin’ Train chicken treats for years, and just three weeks ago I started giving them the Waggin’ Train pig ear wraps from Sam’s. That’s the only change in their diet and I think I’m fortunate at this point that only one of my four babies is sick. But it makes me sick to my stomach to think that I poisoned my own dog by giving her a treat that I thought was safe. She’s hospitalized for a minimum of two days without any food or water and on an IV with antibiotics. I’ve picked up every leftover pig ear chew in the house and thrown them away. I will never buy another chicken treat either, even though like other stories, my dogs are addicted to them and know where I keep them and beg for their two-three time daily chicken bites. No more! I will now start making my own homemade treats where I can control the quality and no worry about unknown food safety controls or indredients. My sweet Bella doesn’t deserve to be in pain because of a treat! NO MORE!