Zuke's Mini Naturals Dog Treats, Roasted Chicken Recipe, 16-Ounce
CUSTOMER REVIEW
--------------------------------------------
INTRO AND GENERAL INFO
--------------------------------------------
My wife and I purchased these treats one day when we had run out of our normal treats. They are small, our dogs love them, and are much better quality than many commonly available store brands. Still, I had some questions about the ingredients, so I sent an email over to the Zuke's customer service address, and got a very nice response, pasted below.
You may be asking already, "if your dogs love them and they're good quality, why four stars?". Because in our household, "good" quality and "best" quality are two very different things, and in the (sometimes) murky world of meat grading the difference can actually mean health or illness and even life or death. I'm not trying to be dramatic, but after seeing the DOZENS of recalls on pet food and treats over the past few years, my wife and I decided (with the help of a top Amazon reviewer, Chandler) to get informed about meat quality.
This is what led me to my email to Zuke's.
--------------------------------------------
Q&A WITH A ZUKE'S CS REP
--------------------------------------------
Hello!!
Thank you so much for writing us here at Zuke's, and thank you for the great questions! Here are the answers:
1) Your treats are made in the USA, but are the ingredients ever sourced overseas?
We are still made in the United States, with all of our meat, fruits and veggies sourced from the USA (with the exception of the Wild Rabbit and Venison, which comes from New Zealand). Our Salmon is Pacific Wild Caught when available, and USA farmed (Pacific Coast) when Wild Caught is not an option. Our ingredients are grown, processed and packaged all in the USA. I would like to assure you that we here at Zuke's would never put anything harmful in our products. Our pets are our family, and we treat them as such!
2) You have done a great job at NOT being part of recent recalls - do you have a recall history?
Our company has been in business since 1995 and has never had a recall, because of the methods we use to test. We test our products throughout manufacturing, and then one final test before packaging. The product is then packaged, and sits in the warehouse until the test results return from the lab confirming their safety. Only after the final thumbs up does our product get shipped. I would like to assure you that we here at Zuke's take our treats very seriously.
3) Could you tell me a little bit more about your meat content? I know it's not human-grade, but what specific inspections are made by the FDA for the meat content?
All meats come from USDA regulated and inspected facilities... The meat is handled the same way meats for human consumption are handled. It is shipped in frozen blocks to our manufacturer and is kept frozen until our product is produced......NZ Rabbit and venison are inspected at the port of entry.
Thank you again for writing us here at Zuke's, and please feel free to contact me with any other questions you may have!
--------------------------------------------
SO WHY NOT FIVE STARS?
--------------------------------------------
Listen, I was very satisfied with Zuke's customer service, and their responses lead me to believe that they are absolutely above-standard when it comes to dog treats. That said, knowing what I know about the "standards" of non human-grade meats (and the animals they come from) that are used in dog treats (regardless of the manner in which they are handled) I simply cannot rate this at the full five stars. I feel much more comfortable feeding these to my pups than other common brands, but with recent news of super-premium brands with no recall history having to recall products (which they only do after significant numbers of illness and death are reported), I really think that human-grade dog treats are just so much safer.
I'm not going to plug other brands here, but if you are looking for recommendations please don't hesitate to contact me - my email is on my profile (click on my name to get there).
--------------------------------------------
OVERALL
--------------------------------------------
If you have been feeding your dog "regular" treats with all sort of animal by-products, Zuke's is certainly a step up. I don't want to discourage ANYONE from buying better-quality treats than they are currently purchasing. That said, if you want the absolute best treats for your pup don't have the time or resources to make your own, I highly suggest researching companies that use human-grade meat. Keep in mind "handled in the same way as meat for human consumption" and "human-grade" are two entirely different things.
Recommended, but with some reservation.