Dog owners love to treat their pets, but what if those treats may not be healthy for your dog?
According to an FDA report, some "bone treats" have been making dogs sick. The report describes bone treats as store-bought, packaged bones that are often dried and contain spices and preservatives. According to the report, the FDA has gotten almost 70 reports of dogs getting sick from the treats, and the agency reports 15 dogs have died.
"I think when you put that into context of the entire country, that's a pretty small number of problems and there are certainly other things that can create problems," Knoxville Animal Clinic veterinarian Dr. Stephen Skinner said.
Dr. Skinner said dog owners shouldn't be overly worried.
"Maybe if you're thinking about a new treat, this might not be the thing to choose," Skinner said. "If your dog has had over the course of their life, you've been giving them these cow femurs or pig femurs or whatever for years and they've done fine, I don't think this report woul dbe a reason to stop giving those."
The FDA did not recall any treats and the report did not list any specific companies.
Dr. Skinner says in general, some dogs don't always handle pork products well. He said to make sure a bone isn't too hard that it will damage your dog's teeth. Dr. Skinner said to stay away from giving your dog turkey or chicken bones because they are too brittle if cooked, and if not cooked could cause salmonella. He said to always supervise your dog when you give it a new treat.
Dr. Skinner said to also be a smart consumer.
"You know that company, and you know they put out a quality product, you're probably going to get a quality product, whatever it is that you're getting," Skinner said.
At CitiFid-O in downtown Knoxville, store owner Terri Karlsson said everything she sells has to pass her own test.
"I have four dogs of my own, plus I do research on the product and the company," Karlsson said.
She adds there's plenty of other dog treats besides bones as well.
"If you are going to give your dog a bone, make sure that it's not going to splinter and make sure that it's big enough that the dog's not going to try to swallow it," Karlsson said.