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The PetsitUSA.com News

May - June, 2007     Page 1     Page 2
  
 

The 2007 Pet Food Recall & The Pet Food List

The pet food recall, first announced on March 16, has forced many pet owners to rethink the way they feed their pets. The crisis has made consumers more aware of what may be in their pets' food - good and bad! As a result, rather than simply buying food off the shelf based soley on brand name, price, or other factors, many people are now looking beyond the label to find healthy food for their pets.

Pet owners are studying pet food labels more than ever. And along with studying the labels, they're questioning the companies that sell pet food and those that manufacture them. People want to know who makes their pets' food, where the pet food is made, what's in it, where the ingredients come from, and more. No longer are they trusting that the labels accurately depict the food inside the can or bag.

Early on in the pet food recall, we started a blog entry of pet foods that were not on any recall list. This was done as a result of many of our readers writing to ask what was safe for their pets. As a way to help, we compiled a short list of foods, which quickly became very popular...so popular in fact that it was moved to its own website - www.thepetfoodlist.com. The Pet Food List has continued to grow, and rather than just names of pet foods, we now have information provided by the pet food companies about thier foods.

If you haven't already visited The Pet Food List, please take time to do so. And while you're there, if you'd like to get updates on pet food recalls, be sure to join our forum. We post new recalls in the forum and send out notices to all of our members as soon as we hear about them.

The Pet Food List is just getting started! Although it's been a great resource for pet owners during the pet food crisis, we intend to grow it into a valuable resource for people to turn to at any time to learn more about the food they feed their pets.


This handsome fella is Buddy, and he spends his time hanging out with a couple other dogs and acat. His person, Rose says he is definitely a brat, but also says, "Look at him, you got to love him. Right?" It sounds like he's got someone wrapped around his little paws!

Does our next pet of the month live in your home? Let us know! Email a picture of your pet, and be sure to tell us a little bit about him or her.

Top Tips for Tip Top Bird Care

The latest addition to our dog training staff at Buddy's Chance (our Austin Dog Training Center) isn't a dog trainer or even a dog! It's a bird. To be specific, a little Budgerigar named Smidgie (short for Smidgen of Sky). You're probably wondering how he can be a staff member at a dog training center if he's a Budgie? Well, he works for his living! Smidgie is hard at work learning tricks and cues so he can help us teach important concepts of training and learning to our students. He has also helped teach me a great number of things about birds and their care. Here are some of the top tips that any bird owner should know!

1. A seed diet is not sufficient for a bird

Contrary to what the grocery store pet food section would have you believe, a seed only diet is not sufficient for a bird. Your bird may prefer seeds because they are high in fat and calories (think, potato chips!), but they don't provide the complete nutrition your bird needs to stay healthy. Ideally, feed your bird a commercial pelleted diet and supplement that with other fruits and vegetables. Dr. Julia Whittington, a veterinarian at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital has some guidelines on bird nutrition that can provide more information to help you get your bird's diet on the right track.

2. As with all animals, a bird needs mental stimulation throughout the day

All animals need to exercise their brains and pet birds are no different. Unfortunately, many pets don't get enough mental stimulation in their life. We usually put all of their food in a bowl and they don't need to hunt or forage for it. They also can't just go explore their environments whenever they'd like to. You can use toys to feed your bird treats or even its meals so that it has to work its mind to get the food. This may be as easy as adding a seed stick to the side of your bird's cage to make them work a little to get the seeds or more complicated like putting treats inside a box and letting your dog work through the box to get the food. You can find more information and suggestions for bird mental stimulation here. Also see tip 5 for training information - training is excellent mental stimulation!

3. Bird first aid is crucial to know when you have a bird in your home

It is very important to be able to recognize an emergency when you see one and to know ahead of time where your avian veterinarian is located. You should also find out which local emergency veterinarians have experience with bird care and what their hours and location are. You should call your veterinarian immediately if you see any of the following:

  • If your bird is bleeding or has a broken blood feather
  • If your bird's eyes look dull
  • If your bird is puffed up (feathers puffed out) for an unusually long period of time
  • If your bird is not eating or eating less than usual
  • If your bird is losing weight
  • If your bird looks sluggish or lethargic
  • If your bird's waste is very loose, changes color suddenly, or otherwise looks abnormal

In general with birds, err on the side of caution - never take a "wait and see" approach with a bird. If you think your bird might need a trip to the veterinarian, put in a call to your veterinarian ASAP just to be sure!

4. Avoid the myths!

As with dog and cat behavior, the world of bird training and behavior is utterly filled with myths that can lead to more problems than fixes. Since I am not yet an expert on bird behavior (I'm working on it!), I will leave the explanations up to the experts. One well-known and respected authority is a current teacher of mine, Dr. Susan Friedman. Dr. Friedman teaches at Utah State University and works with children, birds, dogs, zoo animals, you name it. She is an authority on learning, behavior, and behavior analysis. I have posted a number of articles that she has written covering bird behavior, including a number where she dispels common myths. You can find them on my Austin Dog Training website.

continued on page 2

 

Dear Site Hound,
I'm going to be in a big animal trivia contest soon and I want to WIN! I found a few good trivia websites but I thought I'd check to see if you know of any good ones. Please help so I can win some cool prizes!

Jackie, Portland, OR

Dear Jackie,
I can certainly point you to a good website, but the rest is up to you and how much new info you can pack into your brain before it explodes! There are actually a lot of websites out there about animals that would help you but I found one that's fun for trivia buffs of all ages. It's the ASPCA's Animaland.org and at first glance it may look a little too fun to be informative, but as the saying goes, don't judge a website by it's homepage…or something like that. At Animaland.org you'll learn what a Cavia porcellus is, why dogs drool, and what animal slows their brain down as an alternative to sleeping...in addition to much more useless animal trivia. And no, I'm not going to tell you the answer to any of these mysteries…you'll just have to visit Animaland.org and find out for yourself! So there you go Max, get your contest brain in gear and good luck in that contest! (Please note: The Site Hound accepts no responsibility for brain explosion due to trivia overload.)

Animaland

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