Dog Toys - the Unregulated Market

Posted by Clare Bristow | 7 Comments

dog-with-ball The latest report by ConsumerAffairs.com has highlighted that there is no regulatory control of dog toys (or any pet products) in the United States - I don't know what the situation is in other countries.

According to a spokesperson from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the FDA does not regulate dog toys, nor are they aware of any Government agency that has such regulatory powers.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) can only regulate those pet products that are shown to put consumers at risk.

Why is lack of regulation a concern? Currently the acceptable levels of toxins for dog toys appears to be based on human data.

"If you're dealing with a teacup-size dog you can't assume that what's safe for a 20-pound child is safe for a three- to ten-pound dog" said a spokesperson for ExperTox, the laboratory that recently tested Chinese made dog products for ConsumerAffairs.com.

That's common sense isn't it? So why aren't there guidelines on the acceptable level of toxins in pet products? I think the answers are that nobody has given much thought to it before, it's too expensive to do the research, and who's going to raise the question anyway?

Click to Continue Reading —>

Did you enjoy this post? Subscribe to the Dog Topics feed to be notified every time a new post is added to this blog.

Keywords: Dog Health, dog toy safety, dog toys, lead in dog toys, PetSmart dog toys

Filed Under Dog Health, Blog

Dog Toys from China - Why We Should Be Worried

Posted by Clare Bristow | 60 Comments

dog-with-chew-toy How many of your dog's toys come from China? A quick count through Zoe and Fritz's toy box shows more than 10 - a mixture of plush and plastic dog chew toys.

Until I read an article at ConsumerAffairs.com, I hadn't given too much thought as to whether or not these were safe toys for them to play with.

However, given all the recent health scares about products from China - pet food and treats, children's toys, toothpaste, etc - I should have known that pet toys would be the next item on the item on warning list.

ConsumerAffairs.com randomly chose 4 Chinese-made pet toys from a Wal-Mart store and tested them for the presence of heavy metals and other toxins.

Here is what they found:
Click to Continue Reading —>

Keywords: China made dog toys, Dog Health, heavy metal poisoning, homemade dog toys, lead poisoning, Wal Mart dog toys

Filed Under Dog Health, Blog

Microchipping Your Dog - What's the Risk?

Posted by Clare Bristow | 11 Comments

dog-being-microchipped This week has seen a number of news articles reporting that your dog has an increased risk of cancer if he is microchipped. According to the articles, sarcomas - malignant tumors - can develop at the site where the chips are implanted.

Some of the articles have been sensational in nature, and there are reports of dog owners taking their dogs to the vet demanding to have microchips removed purely on the basis of what they've read in the press.

As responsible dog owners, we need to know all the available information so we can make an informed decision on whether or not to have our dogs microchipped, or if they are already microchipped, to have the chips removed.

Here are the facts as I understand them:

Click to Continue Reading —>

Keywords: Dog Health, dogs and microchipping, malignant tumor, microchipping risks, sarcoma associated with microchipping

Filed Under Dog Health, Blog