Chicken bones

[czechsonofagun]

So I understand that giving dog a cooked chicken bone could kill him. Apparently heat processed bird bone is brittle and can split and pierce intestines or stomach. OK, I buy it and I don't have to test it on a dog.

At our hunting club fox got into the trash bin and ate remnants of a chicken. Am I to expect to see a dead fox soon? Anybody had similar experience with coyotes and such?

I am just thinking that if the brittle bone was such a danger, there would be a lot of dead urban predators, don't you think? Nobody blocks the landfill from meat eaters and cooked poultry bones are plentiful.

 

[Rocksprings]

Just think of it as eating glass. You may pass it or you may not. No guarantee either way.:licking:

 

[Bird]

So I understand that giving dog a cooked chicken bone could kill him.

I've heard and read that enough that we don't give our little dog bones; just don't take the chance. However, when I was a kid on the farm, I can't ever remember anyone in my family buying dog food. We gave the dogs leftovers and all the bones from the table and I never heard of a bone hurting a dog until I was grown. It would be my guess that there's only a very slight chance of a chicken bone hurting a dog, but as I said, we just don't chance it.

 

[qball98]

I have given all my dogs bones for years. The only ones I don't give then are the really thin sharp bones like the one you find along the big bone on a chicken leg. I have never heard that you should not feed the cooked bones before but it sounds reasonable however I think the risk is relatively low. If you have ever watched dogs on a farm they find and eat a lot of things on their own that seem more dangerous than a chicken bone.

 

[JB4310]

That was always the rule in our house, Cat could eat Chicken bones but not dog.

As far as that fox goes, being a wild animal, thier digestive system is more adapted to scavenging, so probably no serious problems.

Saw a beautiful red fox the other day with his winter coat, wish I got a pic.

Here's a pic of a little savenger in NH this summer, son was feeding him some kind of junk food.

JB.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Very nice fox!

In our county are foxes protected, at least you can't shoot them. The horse and hound lobby is very strong and they want to keep foxes for chasing.

Mixed feelings about it, since I believe bullet is more humane than a pack of dogs but that's the Fauquier county policy.

Anyway, hunting deer here I could write a book on foxes, they are everywhere. sometimes really big and really pretty.

 

[General Lee]

I actually feed my dogs a raw diet. To include raw bone of all sorts. Cooked bone is not good for them and can be fatal. It splinters and can get caught in the intestines, tearing them. Dogs are carnivores by nature and if in the wild they eat raw meat and bones. Their digestive tract is short and very acidic, therefore they can digest things faster. The risk of salmonella and other bacteria is rare because of their digestive tracts.

Long time scavengers are more adaptable to eating cooked left over bones but we hardly ever find out the end result.

 

[dfeck]

Our current dog (Boxer) was raised on the raw diet. We purchased the dog when she was 14months. The breeder raised all of his dogs on the raw diet and was a little whacked out about commercial dog food. He would feed his dogs raw chicken backs and has been going this for years. He explained that raw chicken bones are very soft and easy to digest. He explained the nutritional benefits of chicken bones which had me very intrigued. He said NEVER feed your dogs cooked chicken bones due to the heat turning the bones brittle and sharp if broken. We were concerned about feeding dogs raw chicken then having the dog come up and lick the kids, etc. However, that's another long discussion/debate!

Doug

 

[dave1949]

I actually feed my dogs a raw diet. To include raw bone of all sorts. Cooked bone is not good for them and can be fatal. It splinters and can get caught in the intestines, tearing them. Dogs are carnivores by nature and if in the wild they eat raw meat and bones. Their digestive tract is short and very acidic, therefore they can digest things faster. The risk of salmonella and other bacteria is rare because of their digestive tracts.

Long time scavengers are more adaptable to eating cooked left over bones but we hardly ever find out the end result.

We have fed our dogs the BARF (bones and raw food) diet too with no ill results. We give our dog jointed raw chicken wings once in a while. He thinks they are a great treat, always picks them out of his bowl first. I like hearing him crunch them :laughing:

It's a great debate between vets and dog owners. I've never heard any one say cooked bones are a safe option though, always raw. Our vet says he has lost a few dogs to salmonella and there is the occasional case of a perforated intestine or stomach too. So, I guess from most vet's points of view, they think you are taking an unwarranted risk with raw bones and meat. On the other hand, finding reliable sources of high quality, healthy commercial dog food can be a challenge.

One thing I noticed when feeding a 100% raw diet, the dog's stools look very different compared to processed and cooked food. So, something different is going on in their digestive tract. I think dogs have been domesticated for such a long time, it's iffy to compare them directly with wild members of the canine family such as coyote, fox, wolf, etc.
Dave.

 

[General Lee]

One thing I noticed when feeding a 100% raw diet, the dog's stools look very different compared to processed and cooked food. So, something different is going on in their digestive tract. I think dogs have been domesticated for such a long time, it's iffy to compare them directly with wild members of the canine family such as coyote, fox, wolf, etc.
Dave.

On a raw diet your dogs poop piles will be much smaller. Their body uses and burns more of the food for fuel since the food is its natural state. All those unneeded chemicals and preservatives in dry kibble foods go undigested, causing bigger poop piles. And smellier!

 

[dave1949]

On a raw diet your dogs poop piles will be much smaller. Their body uses and burns more of the food for fuel since the food is its natural state. All those unneeded chemicals and preservatives in dry kibble foods go undigested, causing bigger poop piles. And smellier!

I also noticed they are drier and ash-colored. Maybe the color comes from the bones, not sure. Raw food diets are also very high in water content, which has to have an effect also.
Dave.

 

[CrownHawg]

I guess our dog growing up didn't know about the dangers of cooked chicken bones. My brother worked at KFC in town, and would bring a full bucket of left over chicken home almost every night. Our dog, a German Shepherd would finish off at least half the bucket. After time though, the dog actually got so tired of chicken he would come up to it, sniff then walk away. Of course it took several months for this to happen. However, when he was eating it, not once did he ever have a problem with the bones. I would never feed my dog these days since hearing about this, but just thought I would share the story.

 

[RobertN]

My understanding was pork bones could be bad too. Part of that, is how they are cut at the butcher; a bone-in pork chop has really pointy bones.

 

[Baldy99114]

My grandfather used to feed chicken bones to his dogs and never had a problem. I told a friend that and he told me he had a dog that he too fed chicken bones to. After his dog died (from another cause) the vet opened the dog up and showed him the shards of bones stuck in his intestines. The vet said oft times nothing happens but when it does it is a very painful death for the dog.

I had a neighbor that lost their dog to a pork chop bone. The bone got stuck in the dogs throat but it wasn't for over two hours until the dog displayed any discomfort. By the time they figured out the dog was having problems and left for the vet, the dog died en-route.

For me, no chicken or pork bones for my dogs.

 

[milkman]

My dog never gets chicken bones, but I sure love them. Maybe that's what is making my waist swell up.

 

[czechsonofagun]

I feed our dogs raw bones, actually fun to watch Montmorency (95 pounds of an Airedale) to chew up and swallow quarter of a chicken without ever putting it down.

Same for deer bones, they typically eat till they can't move

 

[General Lee]

I also noticed they are drier and ash-colored. Maybe the color comes from the bones, not sure. Raw food diets are also very high in water content, which has to have an effect also.
Dave.

Yes, the bone causes ash colored stools. Raw diets are very healthy for dogs but you have to do the research and do it right. Tossing a raw bone on the floor doesn't cut it. You need a certain percentage of bone, meat and organ in their diet. The bone chewing promotes healthy teeth and gums, the diet itself is good for the coat and can cure most allergy related issues and other ailments.

 

[AlanB]

It is a long running thing at my house about chicken bones and dogs. All dogs here are really SWMBO, (s) and they tolerate me. SWMBO grew up feeding dogs leftovers or whatever came off the farm, not sure if they ever fed Dog food to the farm dogs. Anyway, our dogs have a constant diet of Chicken bones, and seem none the worse for wear over the past 20+ years, (many dogs) but I must admit I have never seen one of my dogs intestines.

It is almost the running joke, I cringe each time, but I am just at the "whatever" point now.

So, I would not do it, but it is done all the time at my house, and has been for a long time on multiple dogs and breeds of dogs and we have not experienced any problems. ( I know, small statistical sample)

 

[Taylortractornut]

Dont tell my dogs lol. They will take a chicken bone in a minute.

 

[wdchyd]

Dont tell my dogs lol. They will take a chicken bone in a minute.

That's cuz they are "Mississippi Southern Fried Chicken Bones".....ummmmm...ummmmm.....ummmmm.........