We are always warned never to feed dogs on chicken because the bones can choke them. But I’m always reading about foxes making raids on hen houses. So do the foxes ever choke and die on the chicken bones? I mean that would be a great way to catch foxes, right? Or are foxes smarter than dogs? For that matter, has anyone ever had a dog choke on a chicken bone? Any vets here?
I don’t think the big problem with chicken bones is choking, it is the fact that the bones splinter easily and cause problems when traveling through the intestinal system. My vet told me about a dog she lost after it got into the trash and ate a chicken bone, even surgery couldn’t save it. I think raw chicken bones are safer because they’re not so brittle as cooked bones, but I wouldn’t give any to my dogs. Foxes, of course, would be eating raw bones.
I’ve survived many a debate about chicken bones on my basset hound email list.
Basicbo is right: There is general agreement that raw bones are safest. I know people who give raw chicken wings to their dogs as treats.
I know plenty of people who will allege that their dogs have eaten cooked chicken bones with nary a problem, but I’ve heard enough stories about things going awry when a splintery bone didn’t go down right to make me think twice. My dog has stolen discarded chicken pieces from the trash and lived to tell about it, but I don’t make it a habit.
Boscibo, Major F - A couple of years ago, my dad once fed chicken bones to the family’s Doberman. He did not choke, but suffered considerable internal bleeding as the splintered bones tore lacerations all down his small intestine. Our dog spent that night in our laundry room, and the next morning, the floor and lower parts of the walls & appliances were covered with blood. Our dog was bleeding profusely from the backside.
That morning, my brother rushed our dog to the vet.
We were pretty lucky. I do not remember the specific treatment, but our dog was able to pull through. He didn’t have much of an appetite for food for a little while, but he would drink water & soup. Our Doberman is a big dog, and apparently his system could overcome such an injury. I’d hate to have seen the same type of injury occur with a toy dog, or even a medium-sized dog. I can easily see how it would be fatal.
Have fed them (cooked and raw) to many dogs over the years, never a problem.
Had a st bernard once that ate a bag of flour. That was a problem.
We had this debate before, with no real consensus: