Can Dogs Get Mad Cow Disease From Eating Commercial Dog Food

Many concerned pet owners are asking the question, "Can dogs get mad cow disease from eating dog food?" The simple answer is "yes, they can" but you deserve to know more detail so you can do something about it and protect your beloved dog from this terrible fate.

First of all, many dogs have already gotten mad cow disease from eating dog food. Your vet is more likely to call it, "Canine Cognitive Disorder" or "Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome" abbreviated as CD or CDS. However, when autopsies have been done, it has been proven to be the same exact thing as mad cow disease.

Governmental agencies are loathe to admit dogs are getting mad cow disease. From 1991 to 1997, the British Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food withheld the results of a study of 444 hunting dogs that clearly demonstrated that many had died of mad cow disease. In fact, it wasn't until a Norwegian scientist figured out that a golden retriever had died from mad cow disease by eating pet food made with cattle imported from Britain that they finally disclosed this information to the public. The American USDA hasn't been any better about disclosing information to the American public and the pet food industry has kept this hush hush as well. Big money talks. Bottom line, governmental agencies and industry groups are not reliable sources of information about mad cow disease in dogs.

Here's why your dog can get mad cow disease from commercial food. Mad cow disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), is caused by ingesting abnormal proteins called prions that behave like viruses. These are concentrated in the neural tissue of animals that have died from the disease or were carriers of the disease. These concentrations occur mainly in the brain and the spinal cord. To prevent these prions from entering the human food supply, most governments around the world, including the US government and the British government, have now banned brains and spinal cords from cattle from being put into food intended for human consumption. However, they have NOT banned this tissue from being added to food supplies used in the making of pet food. To make matters worse, these prions are incredibly resistant and often survive even the intense temperatures used in rendering factories.

Don't be fooled into believing that your particular brand of dog food couldn't contain tainted meat because it most definitely could as it is still legal for pet food to contain brain, spinal cord, and other neural tissue from cattle. Additionally, cows are not the only animals where this tissue can come from. Euthanized dogs, goats, sheep, road kill, and zoo animals, all of which could contain the deadly prions, can be legally included in dog food although you will not see these specially listed on the ingredients list! Almost all brands of dog food are subject to this type of contamination. In fact, there are only a few brands that you can be absolutely certain do not contain this type of diseased tissue that could cause mad cow disease in your dog.