Dogged Blog

A very sighthound Christmas

What are Val and Stella looking at so intently?

Rawley, the mighty stick hunter, with his prey!

Dog treat manufacturer refuses to recall treats; FDA issues warning

There are good guys and bad guys in the pet food and treat world. The FDA, which sometimes wears a black hat and sometimes a white, today issued a blunt warning about a product manufactured by one of the bad guys: "Don’t feed certain Nature’s Deli Chicken Jerky Dog treats," the headline reads. "Product may be contaminated with Salmonella."

You may notice this says "do not feed" rather than "recall alert." That's because the manufacturer of the treats, Kasel Associated Industries, Inc., refused to issue a recall.

Kasel is the manufacturer of several pet treat products plagued with salmonella and recalls this year.

For example, Kasel makes Boots & Barkley American Beef Bully Sticks, American Pig Ears, and American Variety Pack Dog Treats, all of which they voluntarily recalled in September and October, also for salmonella; the Boots & Barkely treats are widely sold through Target stores.

Additionally, the Nature's Deli jerkey treats were voluntarily recalled in October, again for salmonella; these treats were sold primarily through the Sam's Club chains.

In this case, however, the company has declined to issue a voluntary recall. While the FDA technically has mandatory recall authority, they did not use it, instead issuing this warning.

So, you wonder, who are the good guys? In this case, it's Costco, the retail giant that sells the Kasel jerky treats. Costco is working with the FDA to get the product off their shelves -- just as they did during the 2007 pet food recall, unlike many other brands.

By the way, these jerky treats are made in the USA, not China, so this alert is not related to the ongoing problems with imported jerky pet treats.

Read the full alert here, on the FDA website.

Stuff I love: Good Deal Designs dog-themed hoodies and t-shirts

Looking for some really thick, snuggly, sturdy, well-made, dog-themed t-shirts and hoodies? Check out Good Deal Designs.

I'm not big on reviewing. Before I moved to Michigan, I was the pet columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle/SFGate.com for many years, as well as being a pet blogger here and for a number of other sites. As a consequence, I'm on the mailing lists of bazillions of pet product publicists, and inundated by requests for product reviews, or even just stuff showing up on my doorstep unannounced.

I almost never accept anything for review, and when I do, I have some very clear guidelines, which are posted on my blog in the upper left-hand corner (you can check them out here). One of those is that I don't keep review products, unless they're something that is destroyed during testing, like a chew toy. I offer to return them at the company's cost, or donate them to a rescue group; most companies opt for the second option.

I also don't do giveaways or promotions on the blog.

So if you see me review something here, it's either something I purchased for my own dogs' use, or something I was interested enough to request for review purposes. In other words, I want my reviews to be meaningful, and only of items I genuinely found of value to pet-owners.

Which brings us to my favorite t-shirt/hoodie purveyor, Good Deal Designs.

I spotted a t-shirt photo on my Facebook feed. The slogan on the shirt was, "I don't trust people who don't like dogs," which amused me so much I looked up the company that manufactured it. What I found was a small company producing what looked like high-quality t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, and a few other items with a number of pet-centered (mostly dog, but one horse and some multi-species) sayings or images. The owners of the company compete in sports with their dogs, so agility, rally, and obedience themes play big, too.

The shirts and hoodies come in a wide variety of colors, including some that are both unusual and beautiful, like a lovely chocolate brown and a bright fuschia. The size range is huge, from small, "ladies' cut" t-shirts to 5XL classic cut ts and sweats.

I ordered one hoodie and three t-shirts. I've been wearing them for months, mostly for walking dogs and sleeping, and I love them. They're comfortable and really well-constructed. I don't put mine in the dryer, but they've held up to machine washing very well.

Love 'em! Get 'em here.