Dogs and chicken wings - good idea?

Bromley86

withabix wrote: »

Any bacteria on the chicken would just be joining the high bacteria load in your dog's mouth, so what's the difference?

Thanks - that made me laugh .

Thanks everyone for the input. Looks like I'll summon up the courage to give her a wing or two then. Although perhaps on a week day, just in case we have to visit the vets .

BTW, if we ignore ethical-type issues and assuming I'm not fussed about it being super-tasty, does it make any difference whether we harvest the wings from a normal supermarket chicken as opposed to an organic chicken?

Smashing

Bromley86 wrote: »

BTW, if we ignore ethical-type issues and assuming I'm not fussed about it being super-tasty, does it make any difference whether we harvest the wings from a normal supermarket chicken as opposed to an organic chicken?

Unless your dog has been watching Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall, it makes not one iota of difference,

suki1964

Bromley86 wrote: »

Thanks - that made me laugh .

Thanks everyone for the input. Looks like I'll summon up the courage to give her a wing or two then. Although perhaps on a week day, just in case we have to visit the vets .

BTW, if we ignore ethical-type issues and assuming I'm not fussed about it being super-tasty, does it make any difference whether we harvest the wings from a normal supermarket chicken as opposed to an organic chicken?

A lot of people say to make sure they have been frozen first but tbh I dont see this is needed. If you are buying wings special for the dog then you will find you can only get "cheap chicken" you know a dozen wings for about a pound in the value range in the supermarkets.

NEVER feed a dog any bone unsupervised. Give it to her in the garden and stay near by. She may not be fussed or even know what to do with it at first so if thats the case, split the skin a bit for her. Once she cottons on to the idea be prepared for her to bite and swallow - scary but she should be fine. Its only young pups with their softer teeth that tend not to crunch them enough before swallowing so I always keep hold of one end when feeding a pup

moj1966

the first few times i just held the chicken wings and let my dogs sniff and knibble on them,
my three prefer turkey legs, as they last longer

I always freeze then defrost

mirrorimage0

you are meant to freeze them first as this kills of any nasty germs or bacteria that may be living on the chicken

Debt_Free_Chick

mirrorimage0 wrote: »

you are meant to freeze them first as this kills of any nasty germs or bacteria that may be living on the chicken

Although it's worth bearing in mind that a dog's digestive system is designed to cope with raw meat/bones, so the bacteria that might be harmful to a human are a "non-event" for dogs.

Debt_Free_Chick

Raw bones are great for dogs, as others here have confirmed.

My butcher gets me chicken carcasses - basically, the rib cage left over once the breast & legs have been removed; plus the wings. These are what's left over when the supermarkets want the joints and not a whole chicken. I pay £2.50 for 25kg and put them in the freezer, then defrost them overnight. Although my boy (3 yo Springer) will also eat them frozen or semi-thawed.

Another great bone is brisket. These are also chewable.

Avoid the big, hard bones that you think a dog would enjoy. If they can't chew it, then they can't digest it so it's a waste of time & money. There's also the danger that the dog can damage their teeth on a hard bone.

The key is ... chewable bones. Chicken, other poultry/game and beef is excellent. Lamb is OK (breast is good); pork, I'm not sure about.

A decent butcher will let you have brisket bones for free, especially if you've just bought the Sunday roast from him. Brisket bones ensure I get an hour's peace at the weekend when my 3 dogs lie down quietly to enjoy them

Bromley86

Just a follow-up. I've chickened out (ooh, a pun!) after reading about the (no doubt very rare) cases where problems have occurred after feeding wings.

Poppy can be a bit of a gulper, which would increase any risk. So it looks like I'll just keep boiling the carcasses for a tasty jelly stock for her.

SuzySu

We have fed our choccy lab raw chicken wings for about a year now and she absolutely loves them. The are more cartilidge than bone so very safe. Just make sure you hold them until she is used to chewing them properly. A sunday lunch for her might be 2 raw wings, a tin of sardines in oil (good for her coat and her joints) and a whole raw egg on top. Mmmmmm doggy heaven.

Never had any tummy trouble and never had to empty her anal glads either.

scheming_gypsy

Bromley86 wrote: »

Just a follow-up. I've chickened out (ooh, a pun!) after reading about the (no doubt very rare) cases where problems have occurred after feeding wings.

Poppy can be a bit of a gulper, which would increase any risk. So it looks like I'll just keep boiling the carcasses for a tasty jelly stock for her.

Both of mine have raw and never had a problem with wings.. Wilo is a Northern Inuit and throws her food down like nobody's business. Even with wings she chews them. Only had one problem with feeding raw and that was last week where i missed some of the string on a chicken but she threw it up a few hours later.