FDA issues warning about bone treats for dogs

With Christmas quickly approaching, many dog owners are planning to give their favorite pup a special treat so they can celebrate the season along with the rest of the family.

But, before you go stuffing your pup’s stocking with bone treats, you need to read this warning about the dangers of certain popular doggie treats.

The Food and Drug Administration has just issued a serious warning regarding bone treats.

They released this statement after numerous dogs became ill and even died after ingesting bone treats.

The FDA says that they recently received more than 70 complaints about bone treats, including the tragic deaths of 15 dogs.

The treats caused symptoms such as choking, gastrointestinal distress (including diarrhea, vomiting), bloody stool and blood in the rectum, as well as cuts on the mouth and inside the dog’s throat.

Many people have taken to social media to share their own horror stories with bone treats:

Specific treats to avoid include those described as “Ham Bones,” “Pork Femur Bones,” “Rib Bones,” and “Smokey Knuckle Bones.” But the FDA is warning against all bones and bone treats in general.

Telling dog owners not to give their pups a bone may seem counterintuitive. After all, many dogs love nothing more than to gnaw on a bone. But the dog can ingest large parts of the bone, or the bone can splinter inside his throat or belly. Ouch. As you can imagine, a sharp piece of bone inside of your body is not only painful, but it can also lead to serious illness and even death.

While many people knew that giving dogs bones from the table was a bad idea, bone treats from the store were still assumed to be safe. However, the reality is bone treats still pose a serious risk, as they are made of real bones (which have been processed and often have different flavorings added to them).

These are often also marketed as “chews” because we know dogs need to chew in order keep their jaws strong and their teeth clean (and younger pups chew to help ease teething pain).

However, there are safer alternatives to these bone treats, such as rubber bones (like this Kong Dog Goodie Bone Red on Amazon) or teething toys that can be frozen for added comfort (such as this Nylabone Romp ‘N Chomp Wolf Chicken Flavored Freezer Bone).

Bones aren’t the only danger to our pups’ health. Here are several foods that you should never feed your dogs:

Pass this message on to anyone you know who owns a dog or loves dogs. Together, we can keep our precious pups safe!