Our wonderful Golden Retriever, Buddy, is currently being hospitalized at the vet's office, where he has been all weekend long, for salmonella poisoning. He got really ill on Friday morning with diarrhea, followed by constant rounds of vomiting, and we rushed him to the vet when it did not clear up - which may have saved his life.
Buddy is stable now, but continues to suffer from bloody stools. His entire small intestine was inflamed on the X-ray, and he did not test positive for any other parasites, such as Giardia, after multiple tests, or for Parvo. Instead, the vet suspects salmonella, and the most likely cause is pet food contamination.
Here’s where it gets interesting:
This past week, we had just started giving Buddy Pedigree Chicken & Rice canned dog food, which we had not used before (OK, don’t lecture me – I should have known better than to feed him that cheap dog food in the first place), which we just bought at our local supermarket. We learned yesterday that the Mars company, which makes Pedigree, has had other recent recalls of their dry dog food and cat food for salmonella contamination. So, we are wondering if the problem we had is related.
(See: Mars Extends Pet Food Recall - Mars Extends Pet Food Recall )
To be clear, Buddy was on this new canned pet food for about one week straight. Buddy ate this food 6-7 times (6-7 days) before he fell ill.
Also, we were surprised to learn that HUMANS can get Salmonellosis from handling pet food that is contaminated, unless you wash your hands in warm water after handling your pet’s food (as we did, thankfully).
We have found a huge number of postings online about Pedigree canned and dry dog food and cat food online and these postings allege that many pets are being sickened by this brand of food.
You can read more here: Update: Recall of Dry Dog and Cat Food Products Associated with Human <I>Salmonella</I> Schwarzengrund Infections --- United States, 2008 .
I am posting this in case anyone else has encountered any problems with this product. But to be fair, this particular Pedigree product is NOT part of any salmonella recall at this time.
Also, I could use any info on labs that will test dog foods for salmonella contamination.
Last, but not least, I am at a loss as to which dog food to buy for this 3.5 year old dog. Most of it seems to be pure crap. I would welcome suggestions on some good dry dog food to use going forward.
Thanks to one and all.
Buddy is stable now, but continues to suffer from bloody stools. His entire small intestine was inflamed on the X-ray, and he did not test positive for any other parasites, such as Giardia, after multiple tests, or for Parvo. Instead, the vet suspects salmonella, and the most likely cause is pet food contamination.
Here’s where it gets interesting:
This past week, we had just started giving Buddy Pedigree Chicken & Rice canned dog food, which we had not used before (OK, don’t lecture me – I should have known better than to feed him that cheap dog food in the first place), which we just bought at our local supermarket. We learned yesterday that the Mars company, which makes Pedigree, has had other recent recalls of their dry dog food and cat food for salmonella contamination. So, we are wondering if the problem we had is related.
(See: Mars Extends Pet Food Recall - Mars Extends Pet Food Recall )
To be clear, Buddy was on this new canned pet food for about one week straight. Buddy ate this food 6-7 times (6-7 days) before he fell ill.
Also, we were surprised to learn that HUMANS can get Salmonellosis from handling pet food that is contaminated, unless you wash your hands in warm water after handling your pet’s food (as we did, thankfully).
We have found a huge number of postings online about Pedigree canned and dry dog food and cat food online and these postings allege that many pets are being sickened by this brand of food.
You can read more here: Update: Recall of Dry Dog and Cat Food Products Associated with Human <I>Salmonella</I> Schwarzengrund Infections --- United States, 2008 .
I am posting this in case anyone else has encountered any problems with this product. But to be fair, this particular Pedigree product is NOT part of any salmonella recall at this time.
Also, I could use any info on labs that will test dog foods for salmonella contamination.
Last, but not least, I am at a loss as to which dog food to buy for this 3.5 year old dog. Most of it seems to be pure crap. I would welcome suggestions on some good dry dog food to use going forward.
Thanks to one and all.