Products made in China

[Jelane Hurst]

Should all products made in China be a "no No" In previous dog I never bought anything out of the US, but forgot and have bought some China product. I am assuming that anything out of US should not be consumed?

[Cam & Oski]

You know that's an interesting topic. I did some Googling & came up with this article from consumeraffairs.com Basically they test 4 toys from Walmart that were made in their Chinese factories: they came back high in lead & cadmium levels. 2 vets said that the levels in & off themselves did not pose a health risk to the pets which is interesting because the toxicology lab basically tested the toys' heavy metal content by putting them under "pet use" conditions: they snipped a piece off, put them in some acidic water & then brought the heat up to body temp which is basically what would happen if Oski or some other dog chewed on his toy & ripped a piece off & swallowed a bit of which. This is what dogs do, no? The vets feel that the amount in the toys is too small to be toxic but are a "potential hazard." Sounds like they're just hedging their bets.

Here's the link to the article:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/09/pet_food_recalls74.html

Anyhoo, IMHO, I'd rather give Oski stuff that I know won't harm him & buying local helps the economy here. Just my $0.02 :)

[Cam & Oski]

Oh, & since I'm on a roll here, did you remember the "faux fur" coats that ended up having dog fur on them? I'm glad Oski doesn't live in China. According to the article:

"Raccoon dogs look like oversized, fluffy raccoons and aren’t kept as pets. Importing their fur is not illegal, but activists say they are still a type of dog.

'This is an animal that is routinely killed by stomping them or beating them or skinning them alive,' Markarian said. Video produced by Swiss Animal Protection and posted on the Internet shows raccoon dogs being clubbed or slammed on the ground. Some writhe, gasp and blink as they are skinned alive."


http://articles.latimes.com/2007/feb/24/business/fi-dogfur24

I'm going to squish my snow-wet dood now :(

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The problem is, it's almost impossible to buy anything that's made here. Clothes, toys, shoes, etc. Go look at the labels in these items in your home and find one that says "made in USA", regardless of what you paid for it. The foods, you can call or e-mail the companies to find out if they use any ingredients from China; keep in mind, even if it says "Made in USA", many of the ingredients may have been imported from China & just put together here. I call every company to ask these questions before using any food product for Jack.
Sometimes, a product is made in China, but tested in the USA before packaging, Dogswell jerky is one of these. Both Lynne NJ & I have called to check on this. So just the wording on a package doesn't really tell you much.
We have had quite a few discussions on this in The Food Group that you may be interested in reading. In addition, there was one about toys from China & their possible connection to allergies & illness in our doodles a while ago. Here's the link:
http://doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/interesting-information-for

[Adina P]

Karen, do you our anybody else know of a website or catalog where dog products made in the USA are available???

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Adina, you can check out onlynaturalpet.com. I have ordered from them. Their shipping is a little on the high side. I think they are in Colorado.

[Ingrid]

I have put Rufus on a different food, that is made in Indiana and made from local products in a mostly 40 mile range of the factory. Rufus does very well on the food. I mix their kibble with their canned food and Rufus can't wait to eat, his mouth literally waters, when I carry the food to the place where he eats. I have never seen him that excited about any other food. Here is his ration for the day.
a one cup measuring cup filled to the rim with kibble
3 heaping tablespoons of 100% pumpkin
1/3 can of canned food
3 heaping teaspoons of cottage cheese
This does not sound like a lot of food, but it fills his bowl and he has lost the few pounds the vet wanted him to lose and now he has leveled out and is at the right weight. Here is a link to the Pet food company so you can read and see what goes in the food.
http://www.evangersdogfood.com/
They are not a new company, I think they have been in business for 70 years,but you will read all this when you go to the website.
By the way I have put my cat on this food regiment as well and the very over weight cat has lost 5 lbs so far with 5 more to go. His coat has become shiny again, he has stopped to shed profusely, he is alert again instead of sleeping 24/7, he has started to groom himself again. By the way that cat was never free fed always had a small amount of dry kibble before, his rations are of course smaller then the dogs.
1/2 a can of canned cat food
1 tablespoon of the dogs kibble (yes you can feed this to the cat)
1 tablespoon of pumpkin
1 teaspoon of cottage cheese

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Actually, Evanger's corporate offices are about 3 miles from my home; they used to do their manufacturing and had an outlet store right here, too, but evidently have now moved to Indiana. I see that their products are available at my local "Pet Supplies Plus, so I'm going to check them out. Thanks!

[Jelane Hurst]

Karen, did you ckeck out Pet Supplies Plus? I am near one so shall check them out to see if they carry toys not made in China. I could not find a toy that was not made in China .... so Santa was unable to bring Mocha a Christmas toy. She is really tough on toys so only has a ball and"natural Bone, plus a Kong. And I guess the "Kong" is made in China also. Sigh........

[Jelane Hurst]

Karen, went to Pet Supplies Plus today and they have the brand "West Paw design" which is made in the USA. Bought a "snake" for Mocha which will probably be torn apart in two days, but at least I know it will not be "stuff" from China that gets into her mouth etc. They have a websight .. WestPawDesign.com
Thanks for the tip about Pet Supplies Plus as I was beginning to think that there were no toys made in the USA
To everyone .... hope this helps with the problem of toys only from China

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I love that store! They have the best selection of USA made rawhide & treats, too!
Toys are not such a problem for me, becuase my goofball doesn't play with anything other than a ball, but I really think that the smaller stores like PSP maybe carry a better line of merchandise, and I don't worry so much about the "rat droppings in the gigantic warehouse" issues, LOL!

[Cam & Oski]

Evanger's is great. I mix some of the canned food in Oski's kibble & he loves it. It's made of human grade food--actually, sometimes when I'm opening a can it smells so good I think, "Hmm, why make dinner? We can just sample some of this...." LOL

We get a lot of Oski's treats from onlynaturalpet.com (his Lakse Kronch salmon treats that are 85% salmon & 15% fish meal, made in Denmark & their venison jerky treats that come from New Zealand venison which is important because they don't have chronic wasting disease (a deer form of mad cow disease) & they test all deer used for consumption). Definitely a good resource for pet food, toys & treats! We also get STAM treats for him which are made here in Portland--he loves them & they donate 10% of their profits to no-kill shelters.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, New Zealand is a great source for meats...the lamb and venison that Nature's Variety uses in the kibble I give Jack comes from New Zealand...it has to do with their laws on irradiating (whatever that it, lol) plus no steroid use, and the animals graze on grass as opposed to being fed grains.