'Bone Treats' for Dogs Linked with 90 Pet Illnesses, 15 Deaths (LiveScience)

By Rachael Rettner, Senior Writer | November 28, 2017 03:38pm ET

Dog owners may want to get their pets gifts this holiday season, but you probably don't want to literally "throw them a bone."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning dog owners that pet products known as "bone treats" — which are real bones that are processed and packaged for sale — could cause serious illness and even death in pets.

The agency said it has received 68 reports of pet illnesses tied to these products, involving 90 dogs (some reports included more than one dog). Of these, 15 dogs died after eating a bone treat.

These treats may be dried through smoking or baking and may contain preservatives, seasonings and other flavorings. A number of different bone-treat products were described in the reports, including "ham bones,” “pork femur bones,” “rib bones” and “smokey knuckle bones," the FDA said. [7 Surprising Health Benefits of Dog Ownership]
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more: https://www.livescience.com/61046-dog-bone-treats-fda-warning.html