Salmonella in Dog Treats? The Truth About the Puppy Love Recall

By Dr. Andrew Jones December 1, 2025 0 Comment

What You Need To Know About Puppy Love Treats, Salmonella, and Keeping Your Dog Safe

Another month, another pet food recall. This time the recall involves a company called Puppy Love, a brand mostly sold in Canada. The concern is around some of their raw dog treats, including freeze dried chicken.

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What Was Recalled?

Some of the Puppy Love raw treats, including freeze dried chicken breast, were pulled from shelves. I am holding one of those treats in the video, and yes, Tula loves them.

Just last month in the United States, another raw brand called Raw Beastro had a similar recall involving their frozen raw chicken, which both Tula and Cassian also enjoy.

But here is what makes this recall different.

There are:

zero dogs in hospital from salmonella
zero cats sick with vomiting or diarrhea
zero pets showing symptoms

Instead, the salmonella cases involve people.

Human Cases Linked to Handling the Treats

In Canada there have been 32 confirmed cases of salmonella linked to handling these treats.
Of those, eight people were hospitalized.

And the source was simple. People reached into the bag, pulled out a treat, gave it to their dog, and then did not wash their hands.

Tula is currently enjoying her own chicken snack as I film this. It helps her stay patient during these videos.

Why Dogs Can Eat These Treats Without Getting Sick

People often ask how dogs and cats can eat raw chicken, even with bacteria, and stay healthy.

The reason is in their anatomy.

They have very short digestive tracts

Food passes through rapidly, giving bacteria little time to multiply.

They have far more acidic stomachs

This strong acid kills many bacteria that would make a person very sick.

So even if a treat has a few bacteria, it usually passes through your pet before it can cause problems.

This is why dogs can eat raw chicken and never get sick, while a person would be stuck in the bathroom for a week.

How Salmonella Gets on Chicken

Salmonella is not inside the meat. It comes from the intestinal tract of the chicken.

During butchering, intestinal contents can contact the skin. That is how it ends up on chicken breasts, skins, and raw treats.

If you can buy from a careful, local supplier, that helps.
But with current regulations, most raw dog treats come from large processing facilities.

Most chicken is raised as broilers, grown rapidly in massive factory barns. It is hard to know the source when you walk into a pet store.

The Ethical Chicken Issue

Broiler chickens are bred to grow extremely fast. They go from chick to full size in six to eight weeks. This unnatural speed creates health problems:

legs that cannot support the weight
birds stuck on the floor in their own feces
heart muscle that grows too fast
sudden death from cardiomyopathy

If you can support ethically raised chicken, please do. Many people cannot, and that is understandable.

Should You Stop Feeding Raw Treats?

In my opinion, no.

You need to look at risk versus reward.

The risks:

small chance of contamination
risk is almost entirely to humans handling the treats

The rewards:

high protein
minimal processing
no carbohydrates
supports muscle health
supports brain health
no synthetic preservatives
fewer toxins
organ meat benefits

I have seen countless dogs fed raw or homemade diets. These pets had better teeth, fewer illnesses, fewer vet visits, and often longer lives.

Tula is proof. She is fifteen and a half and thriving.

The Real Risk Is To You, Not Your Dog

Your dog is built to handle bacteria.
You are not.

So how do you protect yourself?

Simple:

wash your hands with soap and water
clean and disinfect your counters
do not share pet dishes
wash your hands every time you handle raw treats
clean cutting boards after use

This is exactly what I did a thousand times in my clinic.
Wipe, clean, disinfect, wash hands.
Repeat.

Good hygiene prevents salmonella.

Should You Panic?

In my opinion, no.

Should you be cautious? Yes.

If you bought anything labeled Puppy Love or Puppy World, I would avoid feeding it.

Throw it out.

But do not throw out the idea of feeding healthy, natural, minimally processed food. Freeze dried chicken breasts and high quality frozen raw are incredibly beneficial.

Fresh food equals: