Comments on: Waggin’ Train/ADI Assures Customers Chicken Jerky Treats For Dogs Are Safe

By: Austin

Austin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:45:57 +0000

these chicken treats almost killed my Maltese. She is about 9lbs and after about 500.00 she lived, but with damaged kidneys and a bad stomach. She will never be the same. I cannot believe these are back on the market. This happened around spring 2007. I did report this to the FDA. These treats splinter and pearce their intestines and get hung in the digestive tract. My dog too became so addicted to them she would go days with eating anykind of regular premium dog food (about 15 kinds tried). Stop using them!!!

By: Steph

Steph — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:56:29 +0000

A friend of mine introduced me to these treats for my dogs (4 of them-Cairn Terrier, Miniature Poodle, Shiba Inu/Shepard, and Pomchi). The Poodle was the first to display bloody stools and vomiting. Started to have arthritic symptons, lethargy and vomiting. Flag was raised, because nothing changed from their diet except Waggin Train. They all eat the same food, and the only treats they got were Milk Bones before the Chichen Tenders. All dogs when crazy whenever I approached the the Waggin Train bag. The Poodle was not much interested in Milk Bones, but loved these tenders. Noticing these bloody stools, I stopped giving them tenders daily. Gave it to them once a week and every time bloody stool! My Cairn didn’t care much for them, but she’s 15 yrs. My Pomchi had her first taste when she was nine weeks (long term effect, not known yet). Loves them, but will never have another one. We all have to get on the wagon and shut this company down. Start right now. “Do not buy anything for your pets that is “MADE IN CHINA”!

By: Daniel

Daniel — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:17:38 +0000

For me, these dog treats are highly suspect. We own a relatively calm dog when it comes to food, even with steak fresh of the grill, but when it comes to these treats he goes into a frenzy in an unhealthy way. He is a greyhound over 12 years old and he will not stop barking at the cabinet door where we store these treats. Let me say, he doesn’t even like chicken that much. The fact that this ingredient profile is basically just “chicken,” I believe these treats are HIGHLY suspect. There MUST be some kind of chemical additive causing my dog to go insane over these things. This is NOT a shill for the product. I will be throwing it out after reading about the cases of bleeding diarrhea and vomiting. On top of the fact that these things are made in China, coupled with the extremely short ingredient list, I am near to the point of complaining to the FDA. I can, to a certainty, tell there is something affecting my dog in an abnormal way.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:50:34 +0000

I have been feeding my dogs these also for a few years but my dogs are both sick from these treats… I have thrown the treats out because there is definitely something wrong with them. my dogs only get a 1 or 2 treats at a time, well that is when the vomiting and diarrhea started. both are still sick as of yesterday….

By: Jillian

Jillian — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 05:09:03 +0000

I have been feeding these treats to my dogs for about a year. I use them for training while on walks, therefore my 92 lb. standard poodle gets one a day and my smaller dogs get half of a treat per day. I’ve never had any problems and they love them. Yesterday, however, they got into the bag and ate almost the whole 1 lb. 8 oz. bag! They spent the entire night and today vomiting with bloody diarrhea. I called my vet and was advised to give them Immodium and Pepcid with a chicken/rice diet. I feed my dogs only grain free, high quality dog food. I thought I was taking good care of them by feeding them these treats that are supposed to be human grade 100% chicken. I feel terrible that only tonight did I think to do some research and stumbled across this site. I will be taking my dogs to the vet first thing in the morning and throwing out the other bags of these treats. I will also be contacting the FDA. I’m sure that everyone here loves their dogs as much as I love mine and I’m so sorry to read these horrible stories…all for a dog treat. I thank you, however, for saving mine because I now know not to feed them anything from China.

By: Paula

Paula — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:48:46 +0000

Please contact the FDA with your reports! This is very important to ensure they continue to investigate the problem. They will ask for your Vet reports and the Lot Number from the product bag.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Repo.....efault.htm

We’ve had the Waggin’ Train Jerky Bites tested by the largest food testing lab in the US. Without knowing what to test for, the lab cannot identify the problem. Apparently, this is the same issue the FDA is having.

We’ve contacted a consumer advocacy group because Waggin’ Train has failed to respond to any of our correspondence. we were advised to contact the Governor of Georgia (home of Waggin’ Train) and to file suit in our local court (this does not require a lawyer, just contact your local court for instructions). paula

By: Erin

Erin — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 02:39:28 +0000

My dog absolutely loves these. He’s been eating them for years. We buy them in the big bag from Sam’s club. Recently he got very very sick. Vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy. Not himself. We weren’t sure at first that it was the treats so we cut everything out and only fed him rice and ground beef. The next day he was getting much better so not thinking, we started giving him the chicken treats again to try to get him to eat more. BIG mistake. The next day he started up again. Back to vomiting and diarrhea and it was even worse this time. There is not doubt in my mind that it was these treats. Never again will I feed them or allow anyone I know to buy them without informing them about his experience. A week after this all started and he’s back to his normal energetic self. NO more chicken strips for him!

By: H K

H K — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 04:26:01 +0000

I have three cocker spaniels that have always loved Waggin Train Jerky Tenders. However, the last bag that I bought has made them all sick with diarrhea and vomiting. One of the dogs was ill for 3 days; she appeared to be running fever, would not eat and had numerous bouts of diarrhea and vomiting. The other two were not as sick. They are all fine, however we are disappointed in Waggin Train. They have provided a quality treat for years. I will not buy them again. Aug 2009. Can’t read the lot # for sure; looks like CA 606.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:32:01 +0000

What I can’t understand is that with all our pets becoming so ill and sometimes dying why is there no way to identify what it is about this product that is poisoning our dogs. Are people reporting these incidents and has anyone had the treats lab tested and if so what were the results? Has anyone reported their experience to Waggin Train? Also has anyone had problems with the rawhide meat blasts? These are the Waggin Train cigar shaped chews that have dried liver stuffed in the middle. These are the culprits that made my dogs really, really ill. After reporting my experience to the supplier, importer and manufacturer, Waggin Train (give them their due) had the treats tested but they came back clear, however, I am 100% certain they made my dogs seriously ill. So I have to ask, “what are they NOT being tested for?” Any feedback is really welcomed.
For all you people that feel like you can confidently say these products are safe I can assure you, you will NEVER say that again if you feed a bad batch and YOUR dog is the one to suffer excruciating pain, bloody diarrhoea and vomiting and possible permanent kidney damage, or at the worst – death, all for a treat. Like many people I had been feeding the chicken tenders and the rawhide treats for years without any problems – my dogs loved them too and would still eat them if I was fool enough to give them any. But when that day comes and YOUR dog becomes seriously ill like mine did you too might then join the growing band of pet lovers that know for CERTAIN ‘Made in China’ dog food, especially treats, is a sure way to poison your precious pets.

By: Leslie

Leslie — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:10:21 +0000

I stopped feeding these once I learned that irradiation was used to make the treats and that they were manufactured in China. Costco took back my opened bag and refunded my purchase price in full. Since stopping the treats, my dog has not had any issues of stomach upset. He is a large dog and was only getting 2 jerky strips, at most, per day…and not necessarily every day. He did really like these treat…who am I kidding, he LOVED these treats…so I was on a mission to find jerky treats made in the USA. I struck gold today when I discovered treats made by Homemade Doggy Dinners (http://www.homemadedoggydinners.com/). Check them out, the company has a sound philosophy, they tell you what they use to season the chicken, the chicken is from the US only and the treats are dehydrated (rather than irradiated) in CA. I’m sold and have already ordered a bag so that my dog can give me his opinion. Hope this helps!

By: D. Scarpellino

D. Scarpellino — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 20:48:14 +0000

Well, I had my Jack Russel hospitalized today and the vet thinks the cause is the chicken jerky tenders. I ahve been feeding according to the directions as he loves these treats. He is passing blood through his bowels and vomiting blood. He had a similiar episode several months ago and I stopped the treats and he recovered after getting IV fluids and antibiotics. I do not trust anything that is made in China as they have no regard for human beings much less animals. They will add whatever is needed to increase profit margin. I am afraid that I will not longer be buying in Waggin’ Train products that are made in China. When they come back to the U.S. I will consider it.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:24:12 +0000

I almost lost my 2 boxers last week and it looks like the brand of chew bar I had was the problem. Waggin’ Train brand from COSTCO.

I’ll share the story and you can draw your own conclusions.

Yana is a 3 year old spayed boxer, Buddy a 7 year old neutered boxer.

Both dogs were previously very healthy. They were given a chew bar each Friday night. Saturday morning Yana was off her food and a bit hunched. Onset of fresh blood in stools and illness was very sudden. Yana deteriorated within hours and almost died - was on a drip at the vet clinic barely conscious Saturday evening and through the night. Buddy became off colour a little later and the blood appeared in his stools on the Sunday.

The lab tests ruled out salmonella and other bugs so vet concluded poisoning.

I feed natural food and has searched the property - no hint of a source of poison from those quarters.

Then I googled the name of the chew bars she had fed both dogs the night before: Waggin’ Train brand from COSTCO (made in China).

I found several discussion boards where people described the same symptoms as my two boxers had. This seems more than a coincidence.

Apparently this brand is the biggest seller of dog treats in the States and they’re still being sold in NZ.

We need to get this product out of our country.

By: John

John — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 23:58:16 +0000

My chihuahua Ozzy is hooked on the chicken jerky and also the wrapped Yams. he always looks forward to his treats but will only get them after he eats his dinner. He has been eating them for over 2 years and loves them like your ad says. the only side effect he has had is Diarrhea if he eats too much at one time. We are happy with your products and wish you could make newer ones like chicken wrapped banana chips.

By: Jodi

Jodi — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:25:02 +0000

Two years ago I bought these for my diabetic dog since so many other dog treats have corn syrup or sugars. No problem at first but by about her 3rd bag, she became so sick with liver problems she had to be hospitalized for 4 days. I threw out the jerky treats and now she gets NOTHING that has a “Made in China” label and is doing well. Recently, a co-worker that has a small dog said her dog was acting as though he didn’t feel well. He has been eating, as she described it “a dried chicken thing” that her son had bought for the dog. I told her to look at the label and if was made in China to get rid of them immediately. I’m not sure if they were the WT brand or not, but sure enough, they were made in China and since getting rid of them, her dog’s okay.
Today I picked up a bag of WT treats to look at the label & at first I thought the products were being made in the US - lot of stuff about the company being US owned and operated but there, in small print, off to the side was the “Made in China” mark - VERY misleading. Before, the “Made in China” was in much much larger print and easy to see.

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:04:14 +0000

I recently had my mother visiting with her shih tzu. We have two dogs a shih tzu mix and a yorkie. Many of the treats that we give them and THEY LOVE are the Wagon Train brand. While she was here my Shih Tzu became quite ill and began to vomit for 12 hours. She spent the night at the vet. Labs didn’t produce any toxicity and her symptoms were not acting like enteritis as previously thought. She was allowed to come home. By this time the Yorkie was vomitting and quite sick and my mother’s dog was also sick. At this point, our Shih Tzu got worse and continued to vomit and was taken back to the vet. Basically we were told that he didn’t know what was going on and she was not doing well (she would likely die). Within 2 days at the vet she luckily returned home somewhat better. Fortunately, we had all the dogs on a boiled chicken diet and they all improved. I have $1400 worth of vet bills. Then I began to think about when the illnesses started and thought of looking up the treats and here I am. I want to look up who we make complaints to as this is totally wrong and unacceptable. My dogs will live on freshly cooked chicken and turkey. I feel blessed that we didn’t lose one. I am sorry for those that have.