lily cd re

I hate to add another potential concern into the mix, but here it goes. In some areas of New York state there is a lot of elk wasting disease in the deer population. This is a prion disease, aka "mad cow" disease. Mostly it is transmitted by consumption of central nervous system tissue (brain and spinal cord), not though peripheral tissues like antlers or muscle, but nonetheless in NYS deer from the affected areas are not to be consumed at all. I think I would want to know that antlers I gave my dogs came from an area that I knew to be unaffected. Since I wouldn't know where they came from if I bought them in a store I've never given them much more than a glance.

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Catherine
Lily AKC: CGC CD HIT CDX RN RA RE RAE NAJ; APDT: RL-1; CPE: CL1-R, CL1-H
Peeves AKC: CGC BN

MaryLynn

That is absolutely true, it also affects many populations of white tail and mule deer.

msminnamouse

As long as people accept and understand the risks, that's what's important. Denying that anything can possibly go wrong is what's the most dangerous.

After researching Kuru and other Prion caused diseases, I was wondering if dogs were affected and resources showed that dogs are immune to Prions.

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lily cd re

msminnamouse, how interesting to know that dogs appear to be prion resistant. Can you provide a reference please? If I wait until I have time to research it myself I will probably forget. It is the last three weeks of the fall semester at my college and because of the hurricane loss time, it is really hectic.

You are right about informed risk too. All of life is a series of decisions, hopefully, well thought out on the potential benefits and whether they outweigh the potential risks. I always give that analysis to my sushi loving students who often eat lots of raw fish until they learn about parasites in my class!

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Catherine
Lily AKC: CGC CD HIT CDX RN RA RE RAE NAJ; APDT: RL-1; CPE: CL1-R, CL1-H
Peeves AKC: CGC BN