Dogs and chicken wings - good idea?

RooBee

I've been feeding a raw diet for a couple for years now and had no problems at all.

One dog practically inhales his chicken wings and I doubt they even touch the sides Mind you, this is the same dog that can devour an entire massive knuckle bone in less than an hour, leaving nothing but a vague smear on the patio!

The other has to have hers cut into 3 pieces because she doesn't like having to break up bigger bones...And we're talking giant breed here, not some delicate little toy breed :roll:

Spudnik_2

With a lab, I'd personally advise against feeding wings as they are quite small and so can pose a choking hazard - not because they're brittle, but because some dogs are prone to wolfing. Although others, particularly BARF fans, will disagree, I think that chicken wings are most suitable for smaller dogs. If something is small enough for a dog to swallow whole, then they're quite likely to do it. Lots of people have no problems feeding chicken wings - I myself used to do it when I followed the BARF diet - but with a larger dog I'd advise feeding something larger that the dog actually has to work at before swallowing. Not only does it reduce the chance of swallowing whole (although dogs should always be supervised when eating regardless of the size), it gives them a good work out and helps to further clean their teeth.

I'd also recommend against weightbearing bones from large animals - particularly 'marrow bones' that butchers often supply if you tell them you're after something for your dog. Due to the weight that they carry, their density is far greater than that of your dog's teeth, so they can cause a fair amount of damage. Try a rack of ribs or perhaps a shoulder once in a while. When feeding bones, the emphasis is always on meaty so that they have something to rip into - another reason that some advise against chicken wings/carcasses. A chicken quarter would also be very good, but then we're straying into full-blown raw feeding territory and I'm not sure how far you want to go with it?

As for freezing - my dog used to refuse to eat chicken unless it was frozen, but is now much less fussy. However, I'm not sure about the claim that it makes eating the meat safer. Freezing doesn't kill bacteria; it simply forces them to become dormant. Although I cannot be sure of this, I would assume that once the dog ate the meat and the temperature increased, they'd become active again anyway so it wouldn't make much of a difference. Having said that, the digestive tract of a dog is much shorter than that of a human, and as such bacteria carried by raw meat pose, for the most part, a negligible threat.

I apologise if this is particularly incomprehensible or unhelpful - I'm not feeling at my best tonight, but will try my best to explain anything that you might think is vague. Or, indeed, incorrect!

orlao

RooBee wrote: »

I've been feeding a raw diet for a couple for years now and had no problems at all.

One dog practically inhales his chicken wings and I doubt they even touch the sides Mind you, this is the same dog that can devour an entire massive knuckle bone in less than an hour, leaving nothing but a vague smear on the patio!

The other has to have hers cut into 3 pieces because she doesn't like having to break up bigger bones...And we're talking giant breed here, not some delicate little toy breed :roll:

LOL....I'm so glad that my boy isn't the only big dog that is a bit *delicate*.
The JRT's are happy to demolish any bone even if it's bigger than them, one even sleeps on hers if it's more than she wants at once ( to protect it from the cat:rotfl: :rotfl: ) but the rottie has to have his in * bitesize* bits which he then nibbles gently:o