Dogs should not be fed dried penises of bulls. Here's why.

Dried penises of bulls are called pizzles or steer sticks, beef pizzles, or beef sticks! Ultimately they are the penises of bulls which have been dried out. It sounds completely disgusting to me but perhaps I'm being unduly squeamish or silly. But I'm not sure we are going down the right route feeding bulls' penises dried or not.

And the advice comes from an American veterinarian living in Virginia Beach whose name is Tiffany. She's been a vet for seven years and she wants to bust some myths about what is good and bad for dogs and their owners.

Will Demand for Species Appropriate Raw Diets Influence Traditional Pet Food Manufacturers?

Dr Tiffany. Image from her Instagram pages.

She is making the point about owners as well because she is claiming that some of these foods are also dangerous for their owners. She is criticising the idea of feeding dogs raw foods as well. That's because they contain bacteria often and the bacteria can be spread to the caregivers when they prepare the food or in faeces. And of course they can infect the the dog.

Tiffany has an Instagram account where she spreads her advice. She also advises not feeding canine companions raw eggs or raw meat. Those are the three things she would never feed her dog and just to recap they are: raw eggs, bully sticks or pizzles and uncooked meat.

She adds that "Even if a dog does not show signs of infection, they can be carriers and transmit the bacteria to humans through contact with an infected dog. Long-term feeding of raw egg whites can also lead to biotin deficiency, resulting in skin and coat problems, lethargy and other health issues."

The reason why she's against pizzles is because they are very high in calories containing about 90 cal per 6 inches. More importantly perhaps is that "it has been found that about a third of them are contaminated with bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella."

And thirdly, she says that, "If a dog swallows a large piece, it can cause an intestine blockage, which may require emergency surgery."

As to the calories, it doesn't sound like a lot but she says that "treats should only make up 10% of a dog's daily calories".

As to uncooked meat she says that there are no clear benefits but there are risks. She also adds that "Raw meat-based diet are also high in fat. While they could potentially lead to coat improvements, higher fat diets can cause gastrointestinal issues and increase the risk of obesity. It's easy to overfeed due to increased palatability."

She admits that many dogs can tolerate pathogens but not all dogs can. And because it's raw meat they are inherently prone to bacterial contamination. She advises buying raw meats from commercial suppliers. And, "Although freezing and freeze-drying may reduce the number of bacteria, it does not destroy all pathogens. These pathogens will continue to be shed in the faeces even if the dog consuming the raw meat-based diet does not show signs of illness."

This can put owners at risk as well as their dogs she advises and she added that "This can affect people who are young, pregnant, old or immunosuppressed, as well as increased exposure to resistant bacteria which can cause antibiotic resistance."

Tiffany recommends people feed their dogs a commercial fresh food diet and that fresh food is the ideal choice.

Her advice is seen as controversial by some because there is a following for raw meats for dogs and indeed cats. There are risks with bacteria she says but many people believe that there are distinct health advantages for some dogs and cats to a raw diet. Often these people are suspicious about commercially prepared foods and prefer to give the dog or cat something which is purer and less tainted by commercial processing.

One commenter on her Instagram page said that:

'Wow. I've been raw feeding for over 10 years, and the only food that ever made my dogs sick was kibble. Yes, I'm not sure why people advocate for raw meat when you can just gently cook the meat at home and make it safer!' 

The comment comes from one of those people who supports raw diets but you will find that veterinarians in general both in respect of cats and dogs object to a raw diet but you will find that veterinarians in general both in respect of cats and dogs object to a raw diet because, as mentioned, of the risk of bacterial cross contamination and the difficulties of storage of raw foods safely. It does require skills and finally there's the issue of a balanced diet.

Raw food by itself is not enough to provide a balanced diet and for cats. If you provide a raw diet it should be commercially prepared or you should know how to supplement it with the required supplements and additives to ensure that it is fully balanced and therefore beneficial you should know how to supplement it with the required supplements and additives to ensure that it is fully balanced and therefore beneficial.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Ship's rats preserved in tar since 1373. Analysis of Black Death bacterium.

Scientists hope to be able to found out which variant of the Black Death bacterium caused one of the deadliest pandemics in human history. They have discovered two rats preserved in tar in a shipwreck recently uncovered in Estonia.

The date of 1373 is ideal because that is in the middle of the era of the Black Death in Europe. The scientists want to find out the variant of the bacterium which killed so many people. You may remember that at the time people thought that cats spread the disease but it was humans (see below) so by killing the cats they made things worse. However, it is a myth that there was a mass culling of cats.

The discovery of this ship containing two preserved rats is revealed in the second episode of the Channel 4 series Bettany Hughes' Treasures of the World. It will be aired on April 13.

Image created by the masterful DALL-E. 

Bettany Hughes said that she heard about the unbelievable discovery of the ship and she told The Times (the source of the story for me): "It's the biggest archaeological maritime find on land ever. Then, a few months before we were due to be filming in Estonia, we heard about this incredible discovery of the rats. A barrel of tar had fallen over and mummified them. So they have been preserved in tar. You don't get organic material like that preserved from the fourteenth century. It's almost unheard of."

She added that, "It's the first time we've got a potential candidate for the Black Death carrier. It's bang on the absolute peak of the Black Death surge in Europe, so it would be extraordinary if the rat turns out not to have it."

They've already analysed their hair and stomach contents. The stomach contents would also tell us about the diet of the sailors on the ship at the time.

They hope that the rats test positive for the bubonic plague and if so they will be able to discover the variant that caused the pandemic.

It's believed that the ship was part of a powerful trading network called Hanseatic League. It was discovered in 2022 during construction work in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia.

The area was once underwater. The ship had sunk close to the mouth of the River Harjapea.

The ship has overlapping planking, sealed with animal hair and tar. "We have found wool material used for packing, we have also found some tools and fragments of mediaeval leather shoes." - Bettany

The Bacterium

The Black Death, a devastating pandemic that swept through Europe during the 14th century, claimed an estimated 25 million lives between 1347 and 1351. Historically, rats have been blamed for spreading this deadly disease. However, recent research challenges this assumption.

Yersinia pestis, a bacterium, is the culprit behind the Black Death. In 1894, bacteriologists Kitasato Shibasaburo from Japan and Alexandre Yersin from France independently identified this pathogen. They discovered that it was carried by fleas, which acted as parasites on both rats and other small rodents ¹. These infected fleas, in turn, sought out and bit humans, transmitting the disease.

Contrary to popular belief, rats weren’t the primary carriers of the plague. Instead, it was humans who facilitated its spread. Simulations conducted by researchers revealed that the model focusing on fleas and ticks on humans best explained the disease’s transmission in European cities. The plague moved too swiftly for rats to be the sole culprits. If rats were the main cause, we would expect more archaeological evidence of dead rats, but historical and archaeological records provide little support for this claim ².

So, while rats play a role in the Black Death narrative, it was ultimately human interactions that allowed the bacterium to wreak havoc across the continent. The fleas, hitchhiking on humans, acted as the bridge between rodents and people, leading to one of the most devastating pandemics in history.

Today a simple course of antibiotics cures the Black Death. This critically important drug was unavailable at the time.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Raw dog food manufactured in Europe contains antibiotic-resistant bacteria

A study has revealed that raw dog food manufactured in Europe contains antibiotic-resistant bacteria including superbugs of the type found in hospital patients. This news immediately brings to mind the advice by veterinarians in the UK and in America that cat owners should not make their own raw cat food. I have been sceptical about that advice on the basis that veterinarians want to sell commercially prepared cat food in their clinics.

 Raw dog food manufactured in Europe contains antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Is the cat food version safe?

However, the shocking news that commercially prepared raw dog food contains these pathogens supports the veterinary advice. The new research was presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (2021). This revelation about raw dog food indicates that it presents an international public health risk to the citizens of Europe. And, as mentioned, there might be wider implications.

The researchers suggested that the trend for feeding dogs raw food (and there is a general trend slowly building to feed cats raw food as well) may be fuelling the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

The researchers analysed 55 samples of dog food of which 14 were raw-frozen across 25 brands available internationally and nationally. Of the raw foods analysed 54% contained enterococci. More than 40% of the enterococci were resistant to many antibiotics. There was also resistance to vancomycin and teicoplanin. The enterococci were also resistant to linezolid which is a last-resort antibiotic considered vitally important by the WHO.

They genetically sequenced the bacteria in raw dog food and found that it was identical to bacteria in hospital patients in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands.

Comment: the news surprises me. It would seem to scotch any idea that feeding your cat or dog raw food is a good one. The news may put a halt to the increase in sales of law pet foods unless something is done about the quality. If manufacturers are unable to ensure that their raw pet foods are free of pathogens then what chance do pet owners have if they make home-made raw cat and dog food?

I would have thought that this research would prompt a review of how raw pet foods are manufactured and how they should be made in the home. Raw food should be better than commercially prepared cat and dog foods which are highly artificial. I have heard good things about raw foods in improving the digestive tract and general health. However, any improvements in health are being offset it seems to me by the risks posed as stated above.

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