Pedigree dog food may be endangering your pet, yet no recall

If you own pets, it is probably worth your while to take a closer look at what you are feeding them to determine whether or not it is actually safe. A recent review of the consumer watchdog website, ConsumerAffairs.com, reveals that popular dog food brand Pedigree has received hundreds of complaints in recent days about injuries and deaths potentially caused by its dog food lines, and yet neither Pedigree nor the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued any formal recalls of Pedigree dog food products.

Rapid tooth decay, loose and discolored stools, severe vomiting, seizures, major gastrointestinal upset, and death are among the many complaints posted by Pedigree customers with regards to the health of their pets after eating Pedigree dog food. One woman from Phoenix, Arizona, for instance, recently posted a complaint about how her Pomeranian died in her sleep just days after eating Pedigree dog food and suffering a seizure. Another woman says her dog, also a Pomeranian, died just one day after eating Pedigree.

"My male who was the only one who ate the food took sick within hours of eating this, vomiting, lethargic and then continued with no appetite and less and less energy," writes Bonnie from Labrador City, Newfoundland, about the consequences of feeding her dog Pedigree's Nutrience dog food. She goes on to explain that within 29 hours, and with no other explanation other than the dog food, her 10-year-old dog Ripley was found dead.

Numerous reports of people's dogs throwing up bile and passing discolored and loose stools litter the feedback page for Pedigree, indicating a common thread that deserves further investigation. Others report that their otherwise healthy dogs developed a pattern of not eating shortly after consuming Pedigree, including one woman from Junction City, Kansas, who says her dog went from eating fine, to not eating, to throwing up regularly. Within three weeks, her dog was dead.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE AT NATURAL NEWS

Can Dogs Feel Our Emotions?

Shelby

Dog owners who claim their pets know their feelings may be on to something: A new study shows that canines yawn more in response to their owners' yawns than they do to strangers' yawns.

That suggests dogs are "emotionally connected" to people, study leader Teresa Romero of the University of Tokyo said in a statement.

Scientists already knew that dogs sometimes yawn when they see people yawn, but it was unclear if that was considered a form of empathy or mild stress, as yawning can be caused by anxiety.

So Romero and her team set up an experiment in which 25 pet dogs watched both their owners and strangers yawn or pretend to yawn. (Read about why people yawn.)

The team ruled out stress when researchers saw no significant differences in the dogs' heartbeats during the experiments, according to the study, published August 7 in the journal PloS ONE.

Not only did the dogs in the study yawn more in response to their owners' yawns, they also yawned less when they saw fake yawns from their owners or from strangers, suggesting they were exhibiting true contagious yawning.

Contagious yawning occurs in humans, chimpanzees, baboons, and dogs. (See dog pictures submitted to National Geographic.)  In a similar study published last year, scientists found that people yawn more in response to the yawns of people they care about most.

In the case of people, scientists suspect that contagious yawning is a form of empathizing with people experiencing a feeling, which—in the case of yawning—usually means stress, anxiety, boredom, or fatigue.

Elisabetta Palagi, of the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies in Rome, noted that the study is the first time that scientists have shown contagious yawning occurring between different species.

"This could be the result of a long process of domestication," said Palagi, who wasn't involved in the study. (Also see "Dogs' Brains Reorganized by Breeding.") "Once more," she said, the study "demonstrates that dogs are capable of empathic abilities toward humans."

SOURCE: Christine Dell'Amore and National Geographic

How to Recognize and Treat Foot Pad Injuries in Dogs

Merlin

Foot pad injuries in dogs can range from abrasions, blisters, burns, ulcers, tears, punctures and lacerations. It is important to be aware what type of surface your dog walks on. Concrete for example can be rough and heats up quickly during warm or hot weather. Rock, gravel and sand can also injure the foot pads. The common clinical signs are limping, licking at the foot or bleeding.

Home care for mild abrasions include gently rinsing the affected foot under cool water to remove any debris, followed by the application an antibacterial ointment or solution. I prefer Vetericyn as it is a reliable wound care solution that does not interfere with the wound healing process. Products such as Neosporin can also be used. Finally, place a non-stick telfa pad over the foot pad(s) and lightly wrap with vet wrap or an ace bandage. The bandage should be kept clean and dry and changed daily until the pads have healed.
Though some foot pad injuries cannot be prevented, avoiding rough, jagged or hot surfaces as well as protective foot wear can be helpful.

Anything more serious than a superficial abrasion should be treated by your veterinarian as foot pads do not heal like regular skin.

SOURCE: Henry Cerny, DVM, MS and Ceaser'sWay