Due to the downturn in the economy people have been buying less expensive pet food, competition in the pet products sector is increasing, causing retailers like PetSmart concern.

“In recent weeks, we have become concerned with consumer trade down in pet food as the macro continues to deteriorate and steep inflationary price increases cut into consumers’ shrinking budgets,” Nemer, who is an analyst for Thomas Weisel Partners, wrote in a client note.

Nemer said pet food prices have risen 14 percent from a year ago, which is cutting into consumers’ “shrinking” budgets. Nemer also said major pet food manufacturers are reporting a shift in demand to grocery brands from specialty brands.

This article is from Forbes and focuses on the stock price of PetSmart, but I found it interesting and was curious what Dogsters thought.

Has anyone changed their dog’s food lately due to the economy?  Or, have you kept the same food and made other cutbacks?  Give me a bark.

We’re  having some Halloween fun here at Dogster, a trick or treat  giveaway.

Pet Botanics, by Cardinal,  has given us three bags of Healthy Omega Chicken Treats for Dogsters to win.

These healthy treats contain nine simple and easily digestible ingredients, dogs love them.

The top, middle and bottom layers are codfish, known for its low fat content and for Vitamins A, D and omega 3 & 6 fatty acids. The two thick, inner layers are made of a mixture of chicken and sweet potato.

This provides a balance of protein, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Sweet potatoes, which contain a lot of potassium, and chicken are easily digestible sources of energy.

To win just share a something to do with Halloween and your dog, anything it doesn’t matter, and leave under the comment section. The contest starts today and ends Wednesday, November  5th when I will randomly choose three winners.

Important information regarding a recall on Hartz Chicken Basted Chews due to potential salmonella  contamination.

The Hartz Mountain Corporation has voluntarily recalled a specific lot of its Hartz chicken-basted rawhide chips for dogs due to concerns that one or more bags within the lot are potentially contaminated with Salmonella.

The company announced the recall Friday, saying the two-pound plastic bags of chips with lot code JC23282, UPC number 3270096463 were distributed to a national retail customer it did not identify.

Hartz said the normal testing it conducts through an independent outside laboratory did not detect the presence of Salmonella in any of its rawhide products, but sample testing conducted by another laboratory did indicate the presence of the bacteria in a single bag of the chicken-basted rawhide chips.

Salmonella can cause serious infections in dogs and if there is cross-contamination caused by handling of the rawhide chips in people as well, especially children, the aged, and people with compromised immune systems.

Hartz is investigating the difference in test results and the potential source of the problem. It said there have been no reports of any animals or humans becoming ill. (Newsday)

If you have this product at home please check the lot number and take appropriate action.

On October 2nd I posted, Healthy Autumn Brownie Recipe,  given to us from The Honest Kitchen.

Because I put it on the bottom of the article, some Dogsters missed that along with the recipe we are also having a fun giveaway.

The Honest Kitchen has generously donated some of their homemade dog treats to give away. Besides being all natural they have great names; Nuzzles, Pecks, Ice Pups, and Smooches.

We’re going to be giving one of each kind away, a total of four prizes. To enter use one of the treat names in a funny sentence, it doesn’t have to make sense. As an example, “I give my dog Smooches.” Leave your comment, in the comment section, and I will choose the winners on Thursday, October 9th based on the funniest or silliest answers.

To enter, go to the original posting and leave your comment in the comment section.  Good luck!

A lot of Dogsters have left comments on the articles I posted having to do with pet food product recalls.  Lately there have been more and more comments concerning grain mites. Many aren’t sure where to report a complaint, the FDA has a page with contact numbers for every state.

To report adverse reactions or other problems with FDA-regulated products, contact the FDA district office consumer complaint coordinator for your geographic area.

Stop by their site to get the full list of contact numbers.  Definitely a list to keep handy in case a problem arises.

The Honest Kitchen, based out of San Diego, is a natural pet food company. They’re a company that loves what they do and take pride in preparing fresh, healthy products for your best friend.

“We believe our pets deserve the same quality food that we’d choose for ourselves. That’s why all our recipes are made with 100% human-grade ingredients that you’d recognize from your own kitchen.

Our recipes are prepared with care and uncompromising attention to detail, so you can serve them with confidence.”

Lucy Postins
Company Founder and Friend to Mosi & Willow

The other great thing about this company is that a percentage of their profits go towards animal-welfare causes. As if that wasn’t enough, they have a pet friendly office and are joined by up to seven co-dogs a day.

For all the Dogsters who are foodies, The Honest Kitchen has been nice enough to share one of their healthy and fun to make recipes.  You and your pal can spend a fall afternoon whipping up a batch of yummy brownies.  Although I would advise that the two legged member be in control of the oven.

Healthy Autumn Brownies
These rich but delectable brownie-style treats can be made with any one of our dehydrated raw foods for dogs, and make use of some of the fall’s healthiest vegetables and fruits. Squash may be substituted for sweet potatoes if desired.

Ingredients
2 Eggs
½ Cup of Cooked, Mashed Sweet Potato
½ Cup of cooked Parsnips, finely diced
3/4 Cup of Diced Ham
¼ Cup Grated Gruyere Cheese
¼ Cup of Dried Cranberries
4 Tbsp Applesauce
2 cups of Honest Kitchen Dehydrated Dog Food
1 ½ Cups Warm Meat Broth (low sodium, if commercial)
1 Small Pinch fresh or Dried Rosemary (optional)

What To Do:
Hydrate the food using the warm meat broth.

Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk lightly. Mix in the applesauce, ham and cheese.

Mix the sweet potato or squash into the hydrated food, along with the parsnips & cranberries.

Add the egg mix to the Sweet Potato mix and combine thoroughly.

Spread in a thin layer onto a well greased baking sheet.
Grate a little extra cheese on top if desired and cook at 300 F for about 60 minutes or until the top is slightly dried and slightly crispy.

Cool thoroughly and cut into squares to serve.
For firmer treats, divide the mix into teaspoon sized drops and space evenly on a baking sheet, flattening gently with the spoon. Cook as above.

*Oatmeal and a little ground meat can be used as a substitute for the THK products.

The Honest Kitchen has generously donated some of their homemade dog treats to give away.  Besides being all natural they have great names; Nuzzles, Pecks, Ice Pups, and Smooches.

We’re going to be giving one of each kind away, a total of four prizes. To enter use one of the treat names in a funny sentence, it doesn’t have to make sense. As an example, “I give my dog Smooches.”     Leave your comment, in the comment section, and I will choose the winners on Thursday, October 9th based on the funniest or silliest answers.

I received a message about a potential danger concerning the “Real Ham Bone” made by Dynamic Pet Products.

I have not been able to find any recall of this product, or any information for that matter.  Regardless, this is definitely something you’ll want to be aware of.

I would like to warn all dog lovers out there to be very careful about the dog treats that you give your dogs. Last week I bought a “Real Ham Bone” made by Dynamic Pet Products of Missouri from Walmart.

Here is what it looks like: . The label says it is made with “100% Food Grade Ingredients” and it isn’t made from China. I thought that meant that this would make a good treat for my dogs. Boy was I wrong.

Trace, my dog, enjoyed chewing on this bone. It did not splinter or anything, in fact there is quite a large piece of it still left. Then in the evening she started vomiting.

She spent the next day at a veterinarian’ s office where she was diagnosed with a blockage of the colon. That night she endured a 4 hour surgery at Brandon Veterinary Specialists where the vet picked out small round pellets of the bone, up to the size of about a b-b.

The next morning she was moved to Florida Veterinary Specialist critical care unit. Again in the evening she had another 2 hour surgery, because the blockage had caused poison in her body. She passed away at 4:30 the next afternoon.

Everyone who hears this horrible story immediately says “Well that sounds like a lawsuit to me”. That is what I thought also. Since then, I have learned that is not that easy to sue on behalf of a dog.

The lawyers say a dog is a possession just like a couch. So, so far, all I have been able to do is write a certified letter to Dynamic Pet Products of Missouri.

In it I requested my vet bills to be paid and their product to be relabeled or preferably removed from the shelf. I don’t know if I will get a response. If anyone else has any ideas about how I may address this issue, please let me know at djurgens12@aol. com.

In the memory of Trace, please pass this email on to all of the dog lovers that you know. This type of bone is sold in all of the stores under several different manufacturers names. I would assume they all may do the same thing. Even if they don’t splinter, they can cause a blockage.

I would like to pass on my condolences to Trace’s owner, and thank them for sharing this tragic story to help prevent it from happening again.

I know many Dogsters have had questions regarding this recall, here is the latest update:

Mars Petcare US Issues Voluntary Recall of Everson, PA Plant Dry Pet Food Product due to Potential Salmonella Contamination

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - FANKLIN, TENNESSEE - SEPTEMBER 12, 2008 - TODAY, MARS PETCARE US ANNOUNCED A VOLUNTARY RECALL OF PRODUCTS MANUFACTURED AT ITS EVERSON, PENNSYLVANIA FACILITY. THE PET FOOD IS BEING VOLUNTARILY RECALLED BECAUSE OF POTENTIAL CONTAMINATION WITH SALMONELLA SEROTYPESCHWARZENGRUND. THIS VOLUNTARY RECALL ONLY AFFECTS THE UNITED STATES. 

SALMONELLA CAN CAUSE SERIOUS INFECTIONS IN DOGS AND CATS, AND, IF THERE IS CROSS CONTAMINATION CAUSED BY HANDLING OF THE PET FOOD, IN PEOPLE AS WELL, ESPECIALLY CHILDREN, THE AGED, AND PEOPLE WITH COMPROMISED IMMUNE SYSTEMS.  HEALTHY PEOPLE POTENTIALLY INFECTED WITH SALMONELLA SHOULD MONITOR THEMSELVES FOR SOME OR ALL OF THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS: NAUSEA, VOMITING, DIARRHEA OR BLOODY DIARRHEA, ABDOMINAL CRAMPING AND FEVER. ON RARE OCCASIONS, SALMONELLA CAN RESULT IN MORE SERIOUS AILMENTS, INCLUDING ARTERIAL INFECTIONS, ENDOCARDITIS, ARTHRITIS, MUSCLE PAIN, EYE IRRITATION, AND URINARY TRACT SYMPTOMS. CONSUMERS EXHIBITING THESE SIGNS AFTER HAVING CONTACT WITH THIS PRODUCT SHOULD CONTACT THEIR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS.

PETS WITH SALMONELLA INFECTIONS MAY BE LETHARGIC AND HAVE DIARRHEA OR BLOODY DIARRHEA, FEVER, AND VOMITING. SOME PETS WILL HAVE ONLY DECREASED APPETITE, FEVER AND ABDOMINAL PAIN.  ANIMALS CAN BE CARRIERS WITH NO VISIBLE SYMPTOMS AND CAN POTENTIALLY INFECT OTHER ANIMALS OR HUMANS. IF YOUR PET HAS CONSUMED THE RECALLED PRODUCT AND HAS THESE SYMPTOMS, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR VETERINARIAN.

Please go read all the information to make sure you have all the facts. You can also go directly to the Mars site and click on the different food logo’s to see if what you bought is affected.

When Bo was just a pup we took him, one hot summer day, to an ice cream stand to get him his first ice cream cone.  We got him a small vanilla and before we knew what happened he was covered in ice cream.  He dove in face first and had it on his nose, in his nose, and all over his face. I don’t think Lisa and I have ever laughed so hard.

These days you can pick up ice cream for dogs right at your local grocery store.  We’ve bought Frosty Paws before but now I just found out about a woman from Stratham, MA who makes yogurt for dogs.

Thanks to a Stratham woman, dogs are licking up cups of certified USDA organic frozen yogurt made especially for them at an amazing pace. The frozen treat, created by Jody Rodgers, owner of the Barking Dog, a doggie day care with three locations around the state, is called Yöghund.

“I don’t know why someone else didn’t think of it first,” said Rodgers, who first started offering the frozen yogurt to dogs at her doggie day care in late 2006.

The Yöghund company, a combination of the Dutch words for yogurt and dog, was created in 2006. The yogurt can be found in many major stores, including Whole Foods and Hannaford, and comes in 3.5-ounce cups.  The company says their product is more than just a treat, it’s low in calories and high in nutrients.

The Yöghund could be called the dog version of the Activia yogurt marketing to people. The dog yogurt does not have any sugar and was first made in a peanut butter and banana flavor. “We actually create a true yogurt, we ferment it,” she said. “We’ve tried to find things dogs like, plus they have a health benefit.”

The yogurt contains probiotics and prebiotics that aid dogs’ digestion, strengthen the immune system and improve intestinal health. And the dogs lick it up like crazy. “The dogs think it’s fabulous,” Rodgers said. “If a dog is on antibiotics, it’s a great way to establish good flora in the intestines.”

The newest yogurt flavor is a blueberry and vanilla bean mix. The company is working on adding other flavors but Rodgers says “in taste tests the dogs don’t favor a particular flavor,  they ate whichever flavor they get to first.”

A recall was just announced by Mars Petcare US on some of its products…..

A salmonella scare has forced Mars Petcare US to recall 100 of its 20-pound bags of PEDIGREE Complete Nutrition Small Crunchy Bites sold at some Albertsons in Southern California and Las Vegas, Nevada.

The company also makes Nutro pet food, which scores of consumers nationwide blame for the recent illnesses - and even deaths - of their dog and cats.

Nutro products, however, are not included in this recall.

Mars said a “component” that tested positive for salmonella was inadvertently shipped to its Tracy, California, plant and used in the production of 100 bags of PEDIGREE pet food.

The affected bags have the “best by” dates of July 7, 2009.

“Our primary concern is the safety and welfare of our pet owners and their pets,” the company said in a statement. “Although the finished product tested negative and we have received no reports of illness of pets or their owners, out of an abundance of caution we are issuing a voluntary recall of the limited number of bags of Pedigree Complete Nutrition Small Crunchy Bites containing the component in question.”

The following are tips to help prevent the spread of salmonella poisoning.

Salmonella can cause infections in dogs and cats. It can also be transferred from pets to people who ingest or handle contaminated products. Children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems are most at risk.

To prevent the spread of salmonella contamination, the FDA said consumers should wash their hands for 20 seconds with hot water and soap before and after handling pet foods and treats.

Consumers should also:• Wash pet food bowls, dishes, and scooping utensils with soap and hot water after each use;

• Not use their pets’ feeding bowl as a scooping utensil. Pet owners should use a clean scoop or spoon;

• Dispose of old or spoiled pet food products in securely tied plastic bags and put them in a covered trash cans.

The FDA’s Web site has additional tips on how to safely handle pet food.

To keep your best friend safe check your dog food to make sure you don’t have one of the affected products.