[Mira R]

My dog had a very bad experience with dried beef trachea. She has enjoyed them in the past with no incident. A week ago she chewed on onein the e, under my supervision, without a problem -which is usual. In the middle of the night I heard her stirring but she seemed OK. By 6 am she was cowering in the corner, lethargic and would not eat (which is unusual for her). We were at her vet by 9:00 am and then to Mass Vet Referral Hospital for blood work and x rays of her abdomen – she is diabetic so no one wanted to take any chances. Everything looked normal and we were sent home with instructions to come back in if she still refused to eat. She started coughing in the middle of the night and still refused to eat. We went back to the hospital and the coughing alerted the vet to do a chest x ray. Lodged in the bottom of her esophagus was a piece of the dried beef trachea. It was removed by an endoscope but since it was hollow and stuck to her esophagus, which was badly damaged She is still in the hospital being fed through her nose and she will have a tough time to recovery, many endoscopes and we hope that her esophagus will heal so it will not leak. The dried trachea normally dissolves – but it did not. I want other dog owners to know so that this does not happen to their dog.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Mira R-
What a horrible thing to happen! I’m so glad you were persistent at finding out the cause of her misery. Thank you for the heads up and I’m hoping and praying for a complete recover of your pup. I have fed these to mine in the past and most likely will never again as I could see how that could happen with dogs who tend to gulp and swallow without chewing much.

[Leonard G]

Hi Mira R that’s horrible. PROMISE Pet Treats make sprinkles which is ground beef liver in powder form. Looking at doing the same with trachea cartilage and milling into a powder. Great for pups and dogs of all ages. Takes the risk out of what you have alerted to happening. http://www.promisepettreats.com.au

[Sherrel C]

I was using a brand of dried beef lung. My dog loved it so I tried the same brand that was beef spleen trachea and lung. When I pulled the trachea out of the bag I noticed that the ends were extremely Sharp. I tried to break it and it poked my finger so hard it felt like a needle. I called the company because I feel this is extremely dangerous. I can understand how that happened to your poor dog getting it stuck in the esophagus. I haven’t heard back from them yet. If they’ve been selling it for a while I doubt if they’ll take it off the market. this product is just too hard and small to be safely given to any size dog. Too easily swallowed and could get stuck in the mouth throat or damage the intestines. I would agree beware trachea

[william M]

Dont want to seem indifferent, but this is the problem with the whole pet food and pet products industry. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out what your dog would find downright irresistible to eat. The problem is packaging and long term usage issues. If you lived on a farm, that trach would have been not only fresh but extremely pliable. And puppy wouldnt have been choking on it, but instead waking you up and bugging you for more goodies. Your best bet is to identify the “BODY PART” your dog is getting and see if its something thats usually very pliable or something thats naturally harder i.e. sinew and bone etc.

Awful (thats internal organ meats) generally have to be processed so they can be wrapped and put on a dry shelf. Keep that in mind as well as the fact they may even have to add preservatives to keep it from molding, and these may not be of any long term benefit. Good to read labels.

When I was growing up, you couldnt get out of a grocery store without being accosted by some kid giving away pups or kittens. Now theres re-homing fees and all manner of fees associated with pets. Food and treats are as big a business as it gets….nearly 117 billion last year alone. Due diligence and common sense rules the day here. Scientific Diets and treats arent worth much since the FDA doesnt regulate pet food. It’s always up to you to educate and understand whats going into their mouths since they arent in the wild anymore and dont learn from instinct. Hope your pup recovers soon, and if it likes this kind of treat, consider Safeway or your local supermarket and get some beef liver or chicken gizzards etc. etc. and wait till they are in the managers reduced section. A quick boil for 5 min. makes the most astounding treat and someone will be bugging you everytime you walk to the stove, hoping for more of that good stuff!

[Author]

Posts