Dangerous Pet Product

Powdered product for teeth
A friend recently asked what I thought about a tooth product that’s meant to be fed to pets daily for life. The product’s label proudly proclaims it doesn’t have coloring, preservatives, gluten, salt, or sugar. Well, that’s good, but let’s look at what this product does contain: iodine, arsenic, cobalt, and magnesium. Not so good.

Danger of ingredients
Why is it dangerous to have these ingredients in a product intended to be given every day for life?
· Iodine can accumulate in the thyroid gland and lead to hyperthyroidism.
· Arsenic can damage the kidneys.
· Cobalt can stimulate release of free radicals and tumor necrosis factor. Cobalt is one of the heavy metals that contaminate pottery glaze so that we don’t allow it to be imported.
· Magnesium can increase likelihood of struvite bladder stones, especially in female dogs prone to develop urinary tract infections.

Whole foods are safe
While whole foods contain iodine, cobalt, and magnesium, they do so in balanced concentrations, and we don’t feed the same food every day for life. At least we shouldn’t. If we do, our pets may be so bored with life they won’t mind getting on the fast track to heaven.

Don't jump on the bandwagon
My friend assumed the product was safe because a friend of hers feeds it, and because the company is applying for patents all around the world. In addition, she found testimonials on the product’s website proclaiming that it has improved oral health. Unfortunately, whether or not a product is safe is not related to whether it does a good job. Thalidomide did a good job for nauseated women. Vioxx did a good job for arthritic folks.

Thorough testing
In order to tell if a product will be safe for pets, the product should be given to many different breeds of cats and dogs for long enough that we can see what happens to them and to their offspring. In other words, we need to wait and see before recommending a product.

Many dangerous pet products
While I sympathize with families that want their pets to have kissable mouths, the subtle cellular damage caused by these ingredients may be the kiss of death that no one recognizes. We’ve had enough pet death because we weren’t looking for dangers in food and toys. Let’s learn the lesson.