Entire Dog Blog

I personally never really understood the dog houses that people build in their backyards. That's probably because I currently live in a dog house with a mortgage that I pay on behalf of the dogs that own me.

I know dog houses are pretty popular, and some are very extravagant. Something to keep in mind, though, is that unless you're installing a heater for some reason, the dog relies on its body heat to keep warm in the dog house. And for that to work, the house needs to be small enough to store the body heat and insulated with some material that will prevent it from escaping.

KOTA has posted an article (that I crudely coverted from its original all-caps format) to remind us of those factors.

Keeping the dog house out of the wind, elevating it off the cold ground, and giving them extra food, to keep their bodies warm are all important, but if that dog house is too big, your pet might not be able to stay warm.

"you don't want to make the dog house so big that the dog can't stay warm," said Panhandle Humane Society director, Deb Shutte. "the body heat is what heats up the dog house and helps keep it warm, so as long as they can get in, stand up and turnaround, that dog house is plenty big."

PetSmart.com gives some specifics.

• the door height of the house should be at least three quarter of your dog's shoulder height (from the ground to the neck);
• the length and width of the house should be at least equal to but not more than 25 percent larger than the distance between the nose and the root of the tail;
• the height of the house should be at least 25 percent taller and no higher than 50 percent the height of the dog when stood erect.

It's hardly a massive recall story and likely an isolated incident, but I figured it was worth reporting under the "better safe than sorry" rule.

A Texas man reports having found a foreign plastic object in a can of Beef 'N More canned dog food. According to their web site, Beef 'N More is sold at "most Sam's Clubs and some Wal-Mart store locations in the United States."

The man, William Sikorski, says he found the object a month ago. He has received a refund check from the company.

"I always mix the can dog food with the dry dog food and I found it merely by accident. It kind of upset me when I found it," said Sikorski. 

William contacted Beef N' More, which is based right here in Texas. He got a refund check in the mail, but says, that's not enough. "It's more than a check, it's the point that something that was foreign was found in the dog food which, doesn't need to be there. I want to be sure that the company is doing their part so it won't happen again."

For what it's worth, take a second or two to scan your canned dog foods for any foreign objects.

Soniks are plush squeaky dog toys with a twist: Your dog can hear them, but you cannot. The toys use Silent Squeak Technology, apparently developed at a University Department of Speech and Hearing, to emit a sound in the 25,000 Hz to 35,000 Hz range. This is above the range audible by humans, but well in the normal range heard by dogs.

There are currently 5 varietys of Soniks, all with an outer-space theme, sized to accomodate small, medium and large dogs.

The silent squeaker is held in the toy using Velcro, and replacement squeakers are apparently available in 4 packs.

I was able to find only one online retailer offering Soniks at this time, but I'm not comfortable linking to them because I know nothing about them. Soniks are apparently readily available in the UK.

Anyone who purchased any of the 95 recalled Menu Foods-produced varieties is eligible to join a Class Action lawsuit filed Thursday in United States District Court. The suit, Howe v. Menu Foods, "seeks compensation, including veterinary and other expenses." The plaintiff's lawyers are Milberg Weiss & Bershad LLP.

The class action, Howe v. Menu Foods, was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The Complaint alleges Menu Foods was negligent in the manufacture and continued widespread sale of its "cuts and gravy" style pet food products. Menu Foods allegedly knew of contamination problems in late February, but did not initiate a nationwide recall until March 16, 2007. New York state health officials identified aminopterin, a banned toxic substance used to kill rats in other countries, as the contaminant on March 24, 2007. The Complaint seeks compensation, including veterinary and other expenses, for all those who purchased any of the 95 brands subject to the recall, regardless of when they were produced.

According to the article, anyone wishing to get more information should contact Sabrina Kim at (213) 617-1200 or (800) 320-5081.

In another questionably timed weekend release, Menu Foods has expanded the recall of their dog and cat food products to include all wet foods regardless of the date code.

The safety precaution comes days after it was discovered that some of the pet food products Menu Foods manufactured were tainted with rat poison.

Several dogs and cats fell ill or died of kidney failure across North America.

Menu Foods says it will compensate pet owners for any vet bills caused by the tainted food.

Controversy is brewing over the number of pet deaths reported from the tainted food. The AP continues to report the official government number of 16, while logic would dictate that it has to be more. This is 60 million containers of dog and cat food tainted with rat poison. Are we really going with 16 here? PetConnection.com's self-reporting database is up to more than 1700 dead pets. And that's just among folks who know to go to the site to report the death of their pet. This thing is so widespread, reporting 16 pet deaths is an outrageous abomination.

In other Menu Foods recall-related news:

• The recall of rat poison-tainted food is turning pet lovers into pet chefs.
• Folks have started a Flickr group to post photos of their Menu Foods victims.
• A Canadian woman says she's sick after eating rat poison-tained Menu Foods products.
• PETA wants all involved companies investigated and their dry pet foods recalled and tested for poisons.
• Industry's Dirty Lie Revealed: Store brands are the same as expensive premium brands.
• SC Woman Buys $1000 Worth of Wal-Mart Pet Food to Save the Pets of Others
• PetSitUsa.com is hosting a list of non-recalled pet foods. Personally, I can't condone anything but going dry.