Hi everyone! Just wanted to let you know that pet journalist and author Maryann Mott is dishing out the tips on The Daily Dog Tip, the Dogster blog that serves up a juicy tidbit of canine information every weekday.

Maryann’s books and articles can be found at Petwriter.com and you can follow her on Twitter here. She will be joining us every now and then as a guest tipster on both Dogster and Catster. Her first tip for this week is live already and can be seen here.

More about Maryann:

For more than 15 years Maryann has written exclusively about pets. Her thorough and accurate reporting has led to assignments with a variety of publications including: The New York Times, Family Circle, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor as well as National Geographic online. Articles written for syndicates has landed her work in the online editions of Newsweek, Yahoo!, MSNBC, USA Today and U.S. News and World Report.

As a contributing editor to Dog Fancy magazine (the oldest and largest pet publication in the country) she pens the popular Newshound and Lifestyle sections each month.

Over the years she’s worked as a staff newspaper reporter as well as veterinary assistant. In 1996 Maryann was editor and publisher of Desert Pet News in Palm Springs, California. The newspaper featured shelter animals for adoption and educated owners on how to properly care for their pets. Later, while living in Lake Arrowhead, she started the Altitude Agility Club and served as president of the Mountain Humane Society.

Maryann now resides in Arizona. In 2005, Maricopa County Animal Care and Control (a.k.a the pound) named her Volunteer of the Year. Currently she volunteers delivering meals to senior citizens here in my hometown.

Maryann shares her life with two dogs – K.C., a rescued Chow mix, and Sasha, an energetic 9-year-old Belgian Sheepdog cross.

The best way to get The Daily Dog Tip is via email, and if you sign up now, you won’t miss a single tip from our grrreat pet experts. Or to add the RSS feed to your reader, click here. Want it all? You can also get them via Twitter when you follow @dogster.

Here’s another product that’s a casualty of the salmonella breakout caused by Peanut Corporation Of America. That place is the gift that keeps on giving.

Breadfarm, Inc. Recalls Valencia Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies, Sirius Dog Treats, and Wonder Bars, purchased in January 2007 and October of 2008, Because Of Possible Health Risk

Contact:
Scott Mangold
(360)766-4065

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Bow, WA — March 2, 2009 — Breadfarm, Inc. of Bow, WA is recalling Valencia Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies, Sirius Dog Treats, and Wonder Bars purchased in January 2007 and October of 2008 because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The Valencia Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies, Sirius Dog Treats, and Wonder Bars were manufactured using peanuts recalled by Peanut Corporation of American because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in pets, young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

The Valencia Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies, Sirius Dog Treats, and Wonder Bars were sold in Washington State at the Bellingham, Mount Vernon, and Everett Farmer’s Markets and at the Breadfarm retail location in Bow, Washington. This recall affects products purchased between January 2007 and October 2008.

All products were sold under the Breadfarm label with no additional labeling or code information on the package (Excepting the unpackaged, single cookies).

The following products are affected by this recall:

* Valencia Peanut Butter sold in 16 ounce jars.
* Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies sold in sealed cellophane packs of 5 cookies or as unpackaged single cookies
* Sirius Dog Treats sold in sealed 7 ounce cellophane packages
* Wonder Bars sold in sealed cellophane packages of 2 bars

Breadfarm products produced after October 2008 are made using non-recalled peanuts from a different source and are not affected by this recall.

No known illnesses have been reported to date in connection with these products. The recall was initiated after it was determined that some of the Organic Peanuts received by Breadfarm were manufactured by Peanut Corporation of America. Breadfarm, Inc. has informed FDA of its actions and is fully cooperating with the Agency.

Consumers who purchased the Valencia Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies, Sirius Dog Treats, or Wonder Bars, between January 2007 and October of 2008 are urged to return them to Breadfarm for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-866-372-7323, between 8am and 5pm, Monday through Friday, Pacific Time. Breadfarm products produced after October 2008 were made using non-recalled peanuts from a different source.

Please pass the word, we want to keep all the pups out there safe.

*Pic from FDA site

On Monday I posted an article about how to start a Neighborhood Watch program. It’s a terrific idea that was shared with us by Anna Nirva, founder of Sunbear Squad, also the person who gives us the tip of the week we post on Mondays.

Anna was offering FREE kits to those that signed up by February 15th, can’t beat free. There was just one little glitch, when people signed up on the site the messages accidentally got deleted. Computers, we’ve all had our share of mishaps. Anyway, for those that did sign up please resubmit your information so that you will get your kit.

A Neighborhood Watch program is just a monthly look (and listen) at all the neighborhood dogs and cats. You get to know them and their families. When you see a problem or potential problem, you take appropriate action to protect animals from harm or even save lives. Eventually, your neighbors learn to regard you as the “go-to person” for animal questions, which can result in some new and wonderful friendships.

The most common issues involve stray animals and wandering animals owned by neighbors. Because you know all of the neighborhood animals, you know if they are strays or just wanderers, and you can take appropriate action for your neighborhood and municipality. I believe many of our readers are doing this already, informally. Strengthen these efforts by starting a true Neighborhood Watch.

Read about setting up a route, telling your neighbors, telling your shelter leadership, and learning about the signs of abuse and neglect. Then, download Neighborhood Watch tools, print, and post, or you can request a Neighborhood Watch starter kit from Sunbear Squad. These kits are FREE to all Dogster Blog readers who order them through Feb. 15th, unless materials run out sooner. Please allow 4 weeks for delivery.

I didn’t mention this in the previous article, but the Neighborhood Watch would be a great thing to share with children.  It’s a wonderful way to get them to learn about how animals should be treated and how to interact with them. Order a kit to give to their teacher, what a great way to teach about compassion and responsibility.

Here’s what to do if you want a kit…

I’m so sorry to say that I had a problem receiving the emails. I do hope you won’t mind resubmitting your information. Thank you so much for your understanding and patience!

Here is the link:

www.sunbearsquad.org/join.shtml

For anyone who has a blog it would be greatly appreciated if you share this information. Pass the info on to all the dog lovers in your life,  let’s help make animal cruelty a thing of the past.

In April of ‘08 Joy posted a message on the danger of Sergeants Gold Flea Medication, and the story of what happened to Dogster members Lucky and Nala.  There have been 150 comments on that post, many sharing horror stories of what happened to their dogs when this, or a similar, product was used.

I came across a very interesting article today, Pesticides In Pet Products, and the debate about the safety of the pyrethroid family of chemicals. These over the counter products are readily available at grocery stores, pet stores, and even hardware stores. The manufacturers and distributors claim their products are safe, as long as used properly and the pet has no acute sensitivity or pre-existing condition. That warning is a bit of a double entendre.

These products are approved for sale by the EPA, yet they have been linked to over 1,500 pet deaths. Those are only the ones that have been reported, I suspect it’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Pyrethroid spot ons also account for more than half of “major” pesticide pet reactions reported to EPA over the last five years — that is, those incidents involving serious medical reactions such as brain damage, heart attacks, and violent seizures. In contrast, non-pyrethroid spot on treatments accounted for only about 6 percent of all major incidents.

In the last five years, the EPA received a total of more than 25,000 reports of pet pesticide reactions of every sort — fatal, major, moderate, and minor — to over-the-counter pyrethroid spot on products. This compares to 10,500 reports of all pet incidents related to shampoos, powders, sprays, collars, dips, mousses, lotions, and towels. This analysis does not take into account how much of each product was used over the last five years as the EPA does not have that information.

Since there are other treatments available you have to wonder why the EPA doesn’t pull these products. I think it can be summed up in one word, money. If this was something that was used on children I have a feeling the outcome would be much different.

Of course the manufacturers cast blame on the owners, claiming they misused the product. User error, so to speak.  Even if some of the issues are due to the owners, it’s hard to believe with the incredibly high report of incidents that it doesn’t come back to the safety of the product.

The concentrations of pyrethroids in over-the-counter spot on pet treatments range from a 40 percent to an 85 percent solution, eight to 17 times stronger than the strongest pyrethroid product currently approved for use on humans.

Neither the EPA, which generally regulates topically applied products, nor the Food and Drug Administration, which generally regulates orally applied pet products, has a product registered for human application containing a pyrethroid concentration above 5 percent, and that FDA-approved product requires a doctor’s prescription.

In fact, the Sergeant’s Gold Squeeze-On for Dogs warning reads: “Harmful if swallowed or absorbed through skin,” while the application portion of the label directs people to apply the treatment “to the dog’s skin.”

The EPA is working on a better system to track the incidents that are reported to veterinarians. They are  starting to analyze the pet incidents to see if a pattern can be identified, which may one day lead to a change in labeling regulations. Or potentially, further regulatory action concerning these products.

There is a lot more information contained in this article, I highly recommend taking a few minutes to finish it.

* Kozmo, who has since been treated for fleas, and was adopted into his forever home on Jan. 3rd, 2008. Congrats on your one year adoption day!

Here’s a great winter tip from our friends at Sunbear Squad.

Week of Dec. 21:

Watch for tracks in the snow or mud leading to occupied dog houses—if you don’t see footprints, the dog is not being fed or watered. Call the authorities.

Be A Good Samaritan For Animals

]]> http://dogblog.dogster.com/2008/12/22/sunbear-squad-tip-of-the-week-22/feed/ 1