Is the hose your dog is drinking from full of toxic chemicals?

Oh-oh.  Another thing we have to do to keep our dogs safe.  Now it’s garden hoses that are causing problems for you and your dog.  High amounts of lead, phthalates and the toxic chemical BPA were all found in the water of a new hose after sitting outside in the sun for just a few days, according to researchers at the Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center, who just completed a large study of toxic chemicals in gardening products.

Nearly 200 hoses were tested for lead, cadmium, bromine (associated with brominated flame retardants); chlorine (indicating the presence of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC); phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA). Such chemicals have been linked to birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, premature births and early puberty in laboratory animals, among other serious health problems.

“Even if you are an organic gardener, doing everything you can to avoid pesticides and fertilizers, you still may be introducing hazardous substances into your soil by using these products,” said Jeff Gearhart, Research Director at the Ecology Center. “The good news is that healthier choices are out there. Polyurethane or natural rubber water hoses are all better choices.”

Highlights of Findings

• 100% of the garden hoses sampled for phthalates contained four phthalate plasticizers which are currently banned in children’s products.
• Two water hoses contained the flame retardant 2,3,4,5-tetrabromo-bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (TBPH).

What Was Found in the Water

• Water sampled from one hose contained 0.280 mg/l (ppm) lead. This is 18-times higher than the federal drinking water standard of 0.015 mg/l.
• BPA levels of 2.3 ppm was found in the hose water. This level is 20-times higher than the 0.100 ppm safe drinking water level used by NSF to verify that consumers are not being exposed to levels of a chemical that exceed regulated levels.
• The phthalate DEHP was found at 0.025 ppm in the hose water. This level is 4-times higher than federal drinking water standards. EPA and FDA regulate DEHP in water at 0.006 mg/l (ppm).

What You Can Do

• Read the labels: Avoid hoses with a California Prop 65 warning that says “this product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects and other reproductive harm.” Buy hoses that are “drinking water safe” and “lead-free”.
• Let it run: Always let your hose run for a few seconds before using, since the water that’s been sitting in the hose will have the highest levels of chemicals.
• Avoid the sun: Store your hose in the shade. The heat from the sun can increase the leaching of chemicals from the PVC into the water.
• Don’t drink water from a hose: Unless you know for sure that your hose is drinking water safe, don’t drink from it. Even low levels of lead may cause health problems.
• Buy a PVC-free hose to fill your dog’s pool or outside water bowl: Polyurethane or natural rubber hoses are better choices. Visit www.HealthyStuff.org for sample products.
• Make sure your dog doesn’t get hyponatremia by drinking too much water in a short period of time: Another problem with hoses (and water sports in general) is that dogs can drink so much water  that their electrolytes drop to the point of causing hyponatremia (water toxicity) causing their blood plasma to thin and their  brain and other organs to swell.

PVC-free watering hoses:

• Rubber
  • Commercial Premium Rubber Hose (GoodYear)
  • Premium Rubber Hose (Swan)
  • Industrial Hot Water Rubber Hose (ACE)
• Polyurethane/Other
  • Flat Soaker Hose (Gilmor)
  • Green Coil Hose with Nozzle (REnew Room Essentials)
  • Purple Coil Hose with Nozzle (REnew Room Essentials)
  • Red Coil Hose with Nozzle (REnew Room Essentials)
  • Taupe Coil Hose with Nozzle (REnew Room Essentials)
  • Soil Soaker (Tractor Supply)
  • Soaker Hose (Swan)
  • Heavy Duty Garden Hose (Flexon)
  • Sprinkler Hose (ACE)
  • Soaker Hose (ACE)

If you haven’t already done so, throw out all your vinyl dog toys because they probably contain lead.

As part of our safe toy guarantee at happydogsplay.com, we have all the toys we carry safety-tested by Exposing Lead, an Atlanta company, using a sophisticated XRF analyzer.   By screening all our dog toys using the XRF, we’re able to detect if any of them contain Lead, Mercury, Arsenic, Cadmium, Nickel, Antimony, Bromine and many other potentially toxic metals.  WE’RE THE ONLY DISTRIBUTOR OF DOG TOYS THAT TAKES THIS PRE-CAUTION. When you buy toys from happydogsplay.com, you know they’re safe.

So we had all our toys tested earlier this week and shockingly, one of the new bungee dog toys that we were going to carry tested positive for lead because it had a vinyl nose.  We bought this toy from a company that guarantees their toys are safe (we don’t buy from any manufacturer that doesn’t test their toys) but they had somehow missed this.  But we didn’t.  We notified the manufacturer and sent the toys back.   And that’s exactly why you should buy your toys from happydogsplay.com–they’re really safety tested and we don’t let anything slip by.

Most vinyl toys aren’t safe even if they say “non-toxic vinyl.”  You’ll notice that most of the toys you buy these days have the word “non-toxic” on their label.  It doesn’t really mean anything but the manufacturers have discovered just what a powerful marketing word “non-toxic” is.  We all want everything we buy to be non-toxic, right?

But vinyl isn’t safe.

We test all our dog toys to make sure they're safe.

This is from the April 08 issue of Whole Dog Journal: “In our opinion, the use of vinyl in dog toys is more dangerous than other applications.  This is due to the number of mechanism that come into play when a dog chews a toy that can contribute to the release of toxic substances from the vinyl into the dog (chewing, saliva, warmth, digestion, skin contact).”

Safe dog toys matter because they offer one area where we can control what substances our dogs come into contact with. We can’t protect our dogs from everything in their environment but we can make sure that the toys they put in their mouths are safe and don’t harm them in anyway.    Sometimes even the stores that sell premium dog food carry toys that contain lead and forget about even looking for a toy at Petco or PetSmart because there’s no telling what vinyl toys they’re selling.

Our dogs just don’t live long enough so we have to do everything we know how to keep our dogs safe from toxic products that may be in their environment.  Besides buying your dog toys at happydogsplay.com, here’s a list that may help you take some chemicals out of home:

1. Use  mild, non-toxic products to clean your home.
2. Provide spring or filtered water in your dog’s water bowl.
3. Use stainless steel feeding bowls or ceramic bowls that you know are lead-free.
4. Feed natural, human-grade food and treats that are free of preservatives and by-products.
5. Use safe, environmentally-friendly pest control products in your home and yard.
6. Throw out all the vinyl and plastic toys that are in your home.

truthaboutpetsfoods.com Crusader logo

An easy way to keep up with pet food recalls and to learn how to choose healthier foods and treats for your dog is through http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com.   You can subscribe to their free TruthaboutPetFood newsletter.

Susan Thixton who writes this newsletter explains that “Pet Food is the only industry that is allowed to lie to consumers. Current regulations allow ‘direct unqualified claims’ on pet food labels and pet food advertising.  ‘Direct unqualified claims’ can be a bold face lie…or it could be the truth.  One of many problems with pet food is that we do not know what is true by reading the label claims, watching the television commercials, or listening to pet food radio advertising.  Any pet food can claim it is ‘Healthy’ or ‘Provides Optimal Health’ or ‘Supports Healthy Weight’ yet these statements could be a ‘direct unqualified claim’ (a lie).”

For $17.95, you can also subscribe to Petsumer Report online.  It provides subscribers with reviews of dog foods, cat foods and pet treats.  Currently there are over 1600 different reviews available and new reviews are added monthly.  You’ll find out which foods are Chinese imports, what companies use BPA lined cans and who uses risky chemicals and dyes.

I subscribed today.  I feed Gracie, my dog, a combination of home-cooked organic meals and  high-end, premium commercial dog food.   She is going through cancer treatment right now and I know that it’s my job to provide her with the healthiest food that I can.  I can’t control everything she comes into contact with but there are things I can control and I do my best to only buy the safe products.  I did check out the safety of the dog foods I buy on PetsumerReports.com and none of them have any unsafe chemicals in them or came in cans with BPAs.  Some of the ones I would think would be safe aren’t and that’s exactly why this website is necessary.

happydogsplay.com tests all our dog toys using the XRF device that's commonly used to test children's toys.

My business, happydogsplay.com, is also devoted to keeping your dog safe.  We sell dog toys that are non-toxic, lead-free, phthalate-free, eco-friendly and durable. Not only do we get safety testing results from each of the dog toy manufacturers who make the toys we sell, we also test every toy ourselves to make sure that they’re free of Lead, Mercury, Arsenic, Cadmium, Nickel, Antimony, Bromine and many other elements.  We use exposinglead.com, a company right here in Roswell, GA to do our testing.  (BTW, when explosinglead.com was here testing the dog toys, I had them test some of the products I use and found out that the dishes I had been using had lead in them so I replaced them all.)

The more we know, the better choices we can make.  Our dogs certainly deserve the best.

Gracie with her safety harness and Wrist Wraps on.

Gracie, my 13 year old dog, would sometimes stumble on her fronts legs when we went for walks and a few times, she even fell down.  I watched her closely to figure out what the cause of the problem was and saw that when her legs gave out, it was because her front wrists buckled and they weren’t strong enough to hold up her body.  She has had arthritis for most of her life;  in fact, her left hip was replaced with an artificial hip when she was about two years old. Besides giving her all the supplements that I knew could help her from the inside, I started looking for a way to help support her from the outside.

I came across The Wrist Wrap from handicappedtpets.com and it seemed to be exactly what I needed to help support her weak wrists.   It’s simple to use  - you just wrap the neoprene brace around the front leg about 1 inch above where the wrist bends and fasten it securely with the Velcro part of the wrap.  The instructions tell you  to be sure that the brace does not interfere with the flexion of the paw and your dog will soon let you know the proper tension for support.

I got two of the Wrist Wraps for Gracie and I know they’re working because she actually stands still and waits for me to put the them on her before we go for a walk.  She now hardly stumbles at all and I think the extra support helps eliminate the arthritic pain that she must have in her wrists.

The moral of this story is that there are products that can help keep your dog mobile.  handicappedpets.com has many kinds of dog wheelchairs,  lifting harnesses, pet boots, slings, leg splints, orthotic braces, dog ramps and dog steps.

Gracie's new career as a wrist model

The Wrist Wraps are easy to use.

Dirty Dozen or Clean 15?

If you make your dog home-cooked meals, it’s always best to buy organic ingredients but did you know that with non-organic celery,  you can get a dose of up to 76 different pesticides?   According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) , if you’re eating non-organic celery, that’s the number of pesticides you may very well be ingesting. According to the 2010 edition of EWG’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides, the top 12 pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables contain 47 to 67 different pesticides per serving.

Different pesticides have been linked to a variety of health problems, including nervous system toxicity, cancer, hormone system effects and skin, eye and lung irritation.

We all know too sadly that compared to humans, dogs live shorter lives. They also have correspondingly shorter latency periods for the development of life-threatening diseases such as cancer (Kelsey 1998).   According to truth4dogs.org, 46% of all dogs dying of disease, will die of cancer.

The Dirty Dozen (Most Contamination)

1. Celery
2. Peaches
3. Strawberries
4. Apples
5. Domestic blueberries
6. Nectarines
7. Sweet bell peppers
8. Spinach, kale and collard greens
9. Cherries
10. Potatoes
11. Imported grapes
12. Lettuce

The Clean 15 (Least Contamination)

1. Onions
2. Avocados
3. Sweet corn
4. Pineapples
5. Mango
6. Sweet peas
7. Asparagus
8. Kiwi fruit
9. Cabbage
10. Eggplant
11. Cantaloupe
12. Watermelon
13. Grapefruit
14. Sweet potatoes
15. Sweet onions

Notes from the EWG:

1.  The health benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables outweigh the risks of pesticide exposure.  Use EWG’s Shopper’s Guide to reduce your exposures as much as possible, but eating conventionally-grown produce is far better than not eating fruits and vegetables at all.

2.  You can lower your pesticide consumption by nearly four-fifths by avoiding the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables and instead eating the least contaminated produce, according to EWG calculations.  When you eat the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables, you’ll be exposed to an average of 10 pesticides a day. When you choose fresh produce from the 15 least contaminated fruits and vegetables, you’ll consume fewer than 2 pesticides per day.

3.  Just washing your produce isn’t the answer. The data used to create the Guide is from produce tested as it is typically eaten. This means washed and, when applicable, peeled. For example, bananas are peeled before testing, and blueberries and peaches are washed. Because all produce has been thoroughly cleaned before analysis, washing a fruit or vegetable would not change its rank in the EWG’s Shopper’s Guide (i.e. washing a conventional apple will not make it is less contaminated).

Again, you can download the complete guide or iPhone application so you have it with you when you go shopping.

By: Edie Lau for The VIN News Service

At least nine class-action lawsuits are pending against makers of topical flea and tick products in the wake of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) investigation into safety of the pesticides used on dogs and cats.

One law firm in New Jersey has filed seven of the suits — one each against Merial Ltd., and its parent companies Merck & Co., Inc. and Sanofi-Aventis U.S., Inc., maker of Frontline; Summit VetPharm LLC and its parent company, Sumitomo Corp. of America, maker of Vectra; The Hartz Mountain Corp. and its parent, Sumitomo, maker of UltraGuard; Bayer Healthcare LLC, maker of Advantage and K9 Advantix; Sergeant’s Pet Care Products, Inc., maker of SentryPro; Farnam Companies, Inc., maker of Bio Spot and Adams; and Wellmark International, Inc., maker of Zodiac.

An eighth suit filed by a lawyer in California working with another New Jersey firm targets Hartz, Sergeant’s and Summit VetPharm.

A ninth suit filed by lawyers in Chicago and New York names Central Garden & Pet Co., Farnam, Hartz, Sergeant’s and Sumitomo as defendants.

The lawyers involved said more suits may be coming.

The burst of litigation represents increasing public awareness of potential problems with the popular parasite-control treatments, especially since an announcement by the EPA on March 17 that safety concerns are real and that tighter regulation and oversight are justified.

Jacqueline Mottek, a class-action and consumer advocacy attorney in Sausalito, Calif., said she has been “absolutely inundated” with calls from pet owners as a result of the EPA action and subsequent news reports.

She said the proliferation of suits reflects the fact that victims number in the thousands. The lawyers, she said, want “to make sure that people are represented. We also want to make sure that the courts understand the gravity and extent of this problem.”

The EPA’s investigation began about a year ago when it saw that the number of reported adverse events in pets exposed to topical flea and tick products topped 44,000 in 2008, an increase of 53 percent compared with the previous year.

The rate of incidents was 16 per 100,000 doses sold.  Story continues at the VIN News website.

Gracie

I took the big leap this summer and am using only natural flea control on Gracie, my wonderful dog, instead of the horrible spot-on pesticides that the EPA is investigating.  Every summer I start out using natural products until July hits and the fleas here in the South get out of control.  Then, reluctantly, I would put Frontline on my dogs because it was the only thing that worked.  But not this summer.  I’ll never use those products again.  Ever.

Using only natural products for flea control, Gracie does have a few fleas and does itch more than she used to on Frontline.  And it’s a lot more time-consuming for me to flea comb and spray everyday but I truly believe it’s worth the effort.  To me, it’s really not even a choice.  Gracie is going through chemotherapy right now for a growth on her tongue and in her brain.  She’s already gone through surgery and radiation and there is no way that I would put any pesticide on her when her immune system is already being pushed to the max.  Why I thought it was ever OK to put poison on my dogs is a question I keep asking myself.

According to Jan Rasmusen on her  blog, Dogs4Dogs.com ,  “46% of dogs and 39% of cats dying of disease will die of cancer. Pesticides are proven to increase your dog’s (or cats) chance of getting cancer.  A University of Pennsylvania vet school study showed topical insecticides (aka preventatives) “significantly increased” bladder cancer risk, especially in overweight dogs. Other studies have shown cancer risks from herbicides. Some products meant for pets can even increase the chance you and your children will become ill.”

So this summer, I’ve been experimenting with different formulas and methods to naturally control fleas and have not settled on which one works the best. Along with daily flea combing, I’ve been trying four different things:

1.  Lemon Spray Repellent: Add a lemon that’s been sliced thin to boiling water and then let it steep overnight.  Spray your dog in the morning.

2. Apple Cider Vinegar Spray: Put half water/half vinegar in a spray bottle and spray away.  Be prepared for the smell of vinegar to take over your whole house.

3.  Rosemary Flea Dip: Steep two cups of fresh rosemary in boiling water for 30 minutes.  Once it cools, you can use it as a dip or spray. So far, this has been the most effective spray.

4. Diatomaceous earth: comb it into your dogs coat  and the fleas who come into contact with the razor-sharp silica in the DE , become dehydrated and die within a day.   When applying DE, you should wear a mask and keep your dog’s face protected with a towel because the silica can be inhaled and can irritate the throat and lungs.  I use this once a week.

Please let me know how you’re controlling fleas this summer because we can’t do it the old way anymore.  I’ll keep you posted on which of my methods is working.  We all know too much to go backwards.

Flea combs and the Ticked Off Tick Remover and now available at happydogsplay.com.

Photo of Gracie by Sisters Pet Pics.

When the EPA warned that some spot-on flea treatments are toxic, they only listed seven products.  

Not all essential oils used to treat pet pests are safe for pets or people. Herbal or natural products that
contain cedarwood, lemongrass, peppermint, rosemary and thyme are likely safer. Use herbal or natural products
containing citrus, cinnamon, clove, d-limonene, geranium, tea tree, lavender, linalool, bay, eucalyptus,
and rue oils sparingly because they can cause allergic reactions in people—and severe reactions in cats and dogs have been reported.

Avoid the use of any flea or tick product containing pennyroyal oil. It can cause seizures, comas,
and even death in animals.