Why NOT feed your dog cooked chicken bones?

by Barbara on January 16, 2009

in Dog Biology, Dog Care, Dog Treats

Paul from South Africa asked this question using the contact form on Best Dog Food Guide.

I have been feeding my dogs raw and cooked chicken bones for over 3 years now. Never had a problem. Both were strays so I know they have been eating the same or much worse in the past. That means all of their lives they have eaten bones like chicken bones.

Why are we not supposed to feed our dogs chicken bones? The notion seems absurd. I have seen wild dogs devour an impala until there was almost nothing left, including the bones. Am I to believe my dogs are so far removed from those in

Bones are very nutritious for dogs. You do need to take several things into account when selecting safe bones.

  1. Choose robust bones. Dogs can choke in tiny bones.
  2. Choose raw bones. Cooked bones can easily splinter! Bone splinters can perforate the digestive tract. Though your dog’s stomach acid is very strong and will dissolve most of the splinters. Still, this is a risk that can easily be avoided.

Wild dogs of course always choose uncooked bones :-)

So it’s not a problem to feed your dogs chicken bones, as you can already tell from experience. Feed cooked bones however, elevates the risk of damaging the intestines. Cooked bones are unsafe, especially cooked chicken bones.

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Dog Food Mall » Blog Archive » Why NOT feed your dog cooked chicken bones?
January 24, 2009 at 7:43 am

{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

Dog Food Recipes January 27, 2009 at 12:22 pm

This is very true. However larger or mid size bones can be great for chewing on and the cooking brings the flavour out.

Dog Food Recipes January 29, 2009 at 7:10 am

This is true however boiled bones which have been boiled for a long time will actually soften, especially chicken bones.

The Pets Central July 24, 2009 at 9:56 am

it’s very true!feeding chicken bones are very nutritious for dogs.be careful when selecting the bones for your dog.nice post!

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