Hereâs the story of one pet owners royal runaround from Royal Canin after she discovered mould in her dog food.
Was it verified that the bag was sealed properly? This is a very common issue when bags have been damaged and not adequately repaired, or when they havenât been correctly stored.
Yes, as we understand there was a substantial amount of mould discovered in the bottom of the bag and the pet owner Nina was using the product for a maximum of two weeks. Our understanding is the product could have possibly gone mouldy well before its expiration date while being transported to or sitting on the shelves of stores in Australia.
A big of the concern and reasoning for the article was the treatment Nina received from Royal Canin.
âRoyal Caninâs in-house vetâ - is that like a tobacco companyâs doctor?
Years ago someone dobbed us in to Wildlife for feeding bread scraps to the annual influx of magpie geese - apparently bread isnât good for birds and we got told off soundly. Now we still feed the local finches and doves but feel obliged to purchase large bags of finch seed from the local pet shop. Just as well Iâm good at budgeting. The magpie geese now have to fend for themselves and have stopped visiting.
Whilst talking with my sister today, I asked her if they were still feeding their dog raw chicken necks, which they were doing years ago, and which we had been giving our puppy for the past few months.
She replied that they only feed their dog cooked chicken necks since she read the article below on the ABC News website last year.
No more raw chicken necks for our puppy.
At this stage it is still not proven, but we know for a fact the bacteria in raw chicken is harmful to humans so itâs not a big stretch to think it can be bad for dogs.
People still wanting to give their four legged friends chicken can minimise the risks in the following ways:
- Avoid fresh meat from the butchers. I know this seems counter-intuitive but meat that has been refrigerated is more likely to have high bacteria levels compared to frozen pet mince from the supermarket
- Portion your meat as soon as you can and freeze it. This minimises the time it spends out of the freezer.
- Cook it (no bones remember). Yes this cooks off some of the nutrients, but chicken on itâs own isnât a complete diet so should be a treat or complimentary food anyway.
A non biased vet, at RSPCA, years ago, told us, re our dog, that whilst the expensive brands / science diets were an option that provided all a dogs needs, in theory, he had real trouble getting his dog to eat just the particular brand they gave as samples. He suggested a not overly cheap dry food (he didnât recommend any brand, just that super cheap options werenât great) but to add some tinned food. He also suggested the odd raw chicken - wings or necks, or raw pets mince from the butcher. His main suggestion was to mix it up a bit (our then dog was a breed where bones were more of a suck toy, as jaw not powerful enough), for both the dog to be interested, and to get different nutrients.
I think people see conspiracies where there arenât any re medical practitioners (including vets)
Yes it is a stretch without specific evidence. For those who think the ability of dogs and humans to eat material with high bacterial count is similar I invite you to explain how a kelpie can gorge on a roo (over a period of days) that has been in the sun, with no ill effects other than halitosis. After day two you will be able to find the roo blindfolded, either by smell or by the sound of the blowflies. I do not recommend being scientific and trying this yourself to compare the effects.
Or just google âdogs coprophagiaâ.
Please provide some evidence that fresh meat suitable for human consumption has such a bacterial count that it is bad for dogs. That isnât counterintuitive it is contradictory.
My point is not that the effects on humans tell us anything about the effects on dogs. My point is this wouldnât be some shock revelation if we found it effected dogs in some way. That was my personal thoughts on the suggested link.
https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/safety/faqsafety/pages/foodsafetyfactsheets/charitiesandcommunityorganisationsfactsheets/temperaturecontrolma1477.aspx
As for bacteria levels, bacteria can grow to dangerous levels for humans at temperatures as low as 5 degrees in 2 hours. Between originally being prepared, being transferred to display, being transferred to the fridge and then going in the dogâs bowl there is plenty of time for bacteria to develop. If you purchase a frozen option itâs not going to reach 5 degrees in transport unless itâs been mishandled.
As for evidence it can harm dogs, weâre discussing a study that suggested that right now. It is not proven but itâs certainly worth following my suggestions to minimise the risks
Our vets all had the same advice for our small breed of dog. Even the average lamb shank unless spit raw was unsuitable and would last forever.
Donât try this at home, but some observations that echo @syncretic.
The kelpies on the farm seemed to have a preference for aged meat too! There must be a tenderising effect after a few days. After a week or two it might be more a jerky? The droppings of other animals, birds, cats, cows etc could also prove a tasty snack. The odd dead snake seemed to be just as safe, head excluded. Yes there are all sorts of perils in that, notably from parasites. Yes, you can train behaviour out, but sometimes the dog brain/nose wins!
Are we too precious with our pets and love them too much?
Given in the wild dogs scavenge and survive due to the very different design of their gut. Is there a genuine problem due to our pets not being exposed through their mum and puppy ages to some of the things they would experience outside of our pristine homes?
Not sure about the issues re what wild dogs eat compared to pets, but possible we are too careful.
My last dog had a slightly aged meat preference, in that heâd leave the tinned food, or pets mince, for later in the day. Wasnât an issue as far as he never became sick from that, but I then lived in Western Sydney- 40 degrees plus, in summer & Iâd come home from work & his food was still partly there from the morning. I checked with vet and we werenât over feeding, & splitting food to morning & night had no impact on his habits re leaving for later. Vets advice was some dogs are just odd & heâs healthy, so donât stress.
Also remember that dogs have been selectively bred over thousands of years.
If this kind of growth was common then our food handling rules are woefully inadequate and we would all be wracked with food poisoning often. You are taking an extreme case out of context.
Secondly, what has that got to do with dog food?
You still miss the point that dogs can deal with much higher bacterial levels in food. Even the most inbred pampered pooch can stomach meat (and other things less savoury) much nastier than you or I. A working dog that has been bred for stamina (amongst other things) can manage further down the path of putrescence than I want to describe in any detail.
The difference is humans cook chicken, we donât eat it raw. And as I said yes dogs can handle much more bacteria types than humans, but the above research looked into whether raw chicken was an issue. Thatâs why weâre having this discussion. All youâve given in response to that study is a general statement that dogs can handle high bacteria levels.
As Iâve said I agree that more research is needed and this study doesnât prove a link. However simply denying the findings because you personally think itâs fine isnât a good way of thinking. When youâre talking about an animalâs life I always like to err on the side of caution and make sure I at least try to reduce risks.
