Is it really bad to feed dogs chicken bones?

Answer 1

Yes, of course you can give (raw) chicken bones to a dog.

Dogs evolved eating the whole carcass of an animal, this included the bones. A dogs digestive system is radically different to that of a human in several ways.

1) In dogs digestion begins in the stomach, not in the mouth as in humans. Dogs don't need to chew to begin digestion. (They do chew/bite to get food into the right size to pass down the esophagus).
2) The acid in a dogs stomach at least twice as strong as that in a human This acid dissolves bones and gristle very quickly.

Raw, soft, pliable bones such as those from rabbit, chicken, even lamb are quite suitable to feed to a dog. On the other hand cooked bones are difficult for a dog to digest and can splinter into shards which could cause damage.

I have fed 3 German Shepherds raw meat and bones for many years. I have yet to see first hand any real problems from this method of feeding other than the urban myths and mistruths quoted on the internet. (Propagated by the commercial food producers)

Answer 2

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RE:
Is it really bad to feed dogs chicken bones?

Answer 3

Yes. Cooked chicken bones splinter very easily and can get caught in the dogs throat or in their digestive tracts.

Before any freaks out, I am NOT recommending this to anyone, BUT to clear up some confusion...If your dog was running around in the wild, it would eat everything on the kill, including some of the bone for the bone marrow inside. What is the difference? The difference is the bone is raw. Raw bone isn't as brittle as cooked bone and doesn't splinter when chewed.

PLEASE, do not give your domestic dog raw bones though. I just don't recommend that either.

Good luck and Take Care

Answer 4

Not a good idea to give your dog chicken bones. Chicken bones splinter and can cause some serious problems for your dog.

Answer 5

Oh yeah. Between chicken bones' ability to puncture either the esophagus or the stomach, they can get stuck other places. Story - my old Cocker Spaniel had gotten into the garbage after chicken bones. I thought I got her out of them in time. Several days later, she woke me up in the morning as usual by poking her nose in my face, but what a stench. And she had really yucky reeky stuff drooling out of her mouth. I was worried about a tooth abscess. Took her to the vet that day. A chicken bone had gotten lodged between two of her teeth and was causing a gum infection. Bone removed, gums cleaned up, and $75 later we went home. Moral - don't feed chicken bones to dogs.

Answer 6

My boyfriend and I argue about this all the time. I say not to give him chicken bones, but my boyfriend does anyway. My dog has eaten several chickens. And they were cooked. Nothing ever happened to him. Wild dogs, coyotes, wolves all eat birds in the wild. They are not cooked so they don't splinter as easily. I would say if he's a small dog, I wouldn't give him any. But if he's big, I would give him some.

Answer 7

Yes! Chicken bones are very soft and brittle. Pieces can be very sharp and can get caught in your dogs throat causing them them to choke, or puncture their throats, intestines, etc. I suggest you go to the butcher and get a bag of beef bones..really thick ones. This way your dog will have a tougher time breaking pieces off the bone. These bones will keep his chewing craving satisfied, his teeth sparkly white and his breath fresh. And, I'll bet that's something your vet wouldn't tell you...the better to charge you for dentistry!

Answer 8

You can be like my husband and give the dog the whole chicken carcass. We had debates every time I cooked a whole chicken and then he would take that carcass into the back yard and the dog would eat the bones whole. YUCK! After 4 years the dogs are still alive. But I don't recomend it.

Answer 9

I think that it is bad to feed a dog chicken bones because they can probably choke on them or the bones could get stuck on the dogs throat and he may die. i think that you shouldn't feed a dog anything with bones in it. So i think that you should stop before your dog gets hurt or something bad happens to him/her.

Answer 10

Yes!! Bones, especially chicken bones, should not be given to dogs. They break and are a chocking hazard. Chicken bones are known to be the worst kind because they break so easily.
Go to the pet store to get safe bones for you dog.