Greenies are not evil.

Wow, a post with nothing in it about the store! :)

So, I'm sure a lot of the dog lovers have heard about the recent Greenies accusations. That said, let me tell you all this. I have worked in pet retail for years. Every time they have a slow newsday, they run that story. It's true. And for the next few weeks, we get a lot of Greenies returned, and after a few months, Greenies sales go back to normal. Every time I tell a customer that this story gets run a lot, they look at me like I'm stupid. WHO WOULD KNOW? You, or the person who sells them? I get absolutely nothing out of selling you Greenies, why would I make something like that up? They also run the story about dogs that need adopted, about puppy mills, and about "designer" (in other words, mutts) dogs. They rotate them pretty regularly, but you hear all four stories in a year, every year.

Now, back to Greenies. I feed my dogs Greenies. I am not stupid, uneducated, or foolhardy. In fact, I find that most of the people that refuse to feed Greenies after watching the news have not researched it farther than that. Let me be the first to tell you that there is no such thing as an unbiased media source. I don't watch the news if I can help it - they make everything out to be ten times worse or ten times better than it actually is. It drives me nuts. They can take something like a person tripping over a tree root into this long, horrible story. So, number one, don't trust the news. You have to sift through many, MANY different sources, from both sides, to find out what you think. That means you've gotta use your noggin. You may not arrive at the same conclusion I did, but well, this is my blog and only my opinion is going to be represented. So nyah.

Again, keep in mind that I have a degree in Zoology, and years of experience in pet retail, dog kennels, dog training, and at a vet's office.

Greenies are not evil. Greenies help prevent tooth and gum diseases that could otherwise cause your dog illnesses and even death. According to the Greenies people, the recent case is the first one they've been contacted about. So if there are all these problems with Greenies, why are they just getting official complaints NOW? I'm not saying Greenies are perfect. If anything, we've learned there is no perfect dog treat. Greenies are not 100% digestible. Duh. Nothing is. If it were 100% digestible, then your dog wouldn't poop. And dog food companies would make food like that. Can you imagine how great it would be for a dog not to poop because it has absorbed everything in its food?? Yeah, it's not going to happen people.

If your dog swallows a big chunk of anything, you're going to have problems. That's why you've got to supervise your dog when you give it treats and chews. They're like little kids, always getting into trouble! Case in point? My sheepdog, Roofus, at about four months, got a lamb bone (from the pet store, $1.29) for a chew. The next day, he had an intestinal blockage. $620 later, he was ok, but sheesh. Did I sue the bone people? Did I rant and rave about unsafe bones? No. My other dogs did, and continue to, do fine with those bones. Now I know not to give Roofus any of that kind. He does well on Greenies, which he only gets occasionally as they are really expensive and have a very high protein level.

Nothing is safe, watch your dog.

Yes, I've seen the photos of dogs getting Greenies removed surgically. I've also seen the photos of dogs getting pieces of the sofa removed, keys, pennies, remote controls, carpeting, etc removed. SUPERVISE YOUR DOG. If he can't chew that stuff, don't give it to him or give him the Lil Bits they've got. If he likes to chew your sofa while you're away, lock him in a crate until you get home or restrict him with a baby gate. Pet owners are not helpless, you need to use common sense and do what's best for your pet without bashing everybody around you.

The whole Greenies thing actually reminds me very strongly of McDonald's and the coffee thing - the person suing them because the coffee was too hot and they got burned (loser). Yeah, coffee is hot. Now McD's has signs up all over saying how hot the coffee is. Trouble is, Greenies has always put "Supervise your pet while chewing" on every single bag of greenies. I guess you could beat people over the head with a jumbo greenie, but I somehow think they still won't get the point.

I'm just tired of people harassing me about Greenies when they don't know what they're talking about. After the tenth customer of the day it gets pretty old. I'm sorry you don't like Greenies, I really doubt I'll change your mind. But it doesn't make me stupid or uninformed, quite the opposite. Some people at the pet store actually DO know what's going on. Too bad the customers don't.