Hi guys not been on here for an age so apologies for that! :-(

I've just RAW fed my six dogs and found lead shot in their empty bowls!
Please can someone advise me of what harm, if any this could do to my dogs.
I'm worried sick!

>I'm worried sick

*passes a glass of special Ribena* ;-)

I would imagine that the quantity in that one instance will not pose any risk of acute poisoning or toxicity :-)

My Father is the head of publications for BASC (British association for shooting and conservation) and I grew up with family and dogs all eating shot at one time or another... No ill effects.

Interestingly ( the reason I mention my father ) BASC and the Countryside Alliance went head to head with the WWF (wildfowl and Wetlands foundation) over the risks of lead shot, it has been banned in some countries but both Food agencies of the UK confirmed no cases here... And the original Canadian study has been debunked.

Hope this allays your fears.
And good to see you! I've been away a while too x

I've found lead shot in the bottom of my dog's empty bowls. I assume it's gone right through the grazing animals system from the grass it ate, the land having been shot over. My dogs might have injested a few pellets per meal very occasionally but never had a problem. Hopefully they spat it all out!

If you've found it in meats where you wouldn't expect to, then it's well worth mentioning it to your supplier and/or checking the labelling on the meat they've supplied you with.  Otherwise I wouldn't worry either

In the meantime...   isn't it amazing that our dogs can pick out bits they don't want?  When you consider the speed at which some of them consume their food then it's quite a trick for them to both find and avoid eating "shot".  Not daft are they!!

If you buy game even in Waitrose, you'll see a notice on the package saying 'may contain lead shot'....  I would not think Waitrose would be selling it if it could pose a risk to health...

What, like cigarettes?........

( ;-) sorry! Couldn't resist there, you sounded like my Mum.. John Lewis and Waitrose can do no wrong in her eyes.)

LOL HuskyGal!  I just mean that (unlike cigarettes) they could end up being sued if they sold something not fit for human consumption.

I guess humans are sensible enough to be wary of lead shot and spit out anything that grates on the teeth.

I do wonder about dogs though as they don't really chew (macerate) food as we do - they just slice it into swallowable pieces. So it might be possible they swallow a chunk containing a piece of lead shot.... and then what happens to it? I would hope it shoots (pun intended!) out the back end but if it was delayed or even caught up inside, then it would become a slow-release poison.

I stopped feeding rabbit for that very reason, I'm pretty sure mine were swallowing it as I'd find it when I was sharing out the rabbit, but never found it in their bowls.

Having visions of all game products being locked up in cabinets in Waitrose, with the ciggies! Lol.