Share the Wonder: doggy's first raw chicken leg

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Fundog
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Share the Wonder: doggy's first raw chicken leg

Post by Fundog »

So I had to stop at the store this morning-- I have a pact to get my boys doughnuts every Sunday now. While I was there, I remembered the girls are all out of bones, and cow ears. They didn't have any beef bones available at the meat section, so I settled on a package of chicken legs. This is the first time I've given raw chicken. I gave it to the girls as part of their breakfast this morning. Both girls gobbled the other stuff in their bowls first, and saved their special treats for last. When Dottie pulled her chicken leg out of her bowl, she just went straight to work on it. This is unusual for Dottie, who often has a hard time with bones and even her cow ears. Her jaws just aren't as strong as Annie's. But she loved that chicken leg! She munched enthusiastically until she was full, but even then wasn't ready for me to put it away. She wanted to keep it around where she could see it, lol.

Annie, on the other hand, wasn't sure what to do with a treat like that-- she kept looking at me like I'd just sprouted a second head, lol. She wouldn't eat it. She mouthed it a little, but mostly just kept it where she could see it, and looked kind of confused and unsure of herself. I tried to tell her that it's okay, and that mom's not bonkers, but she just looks sadly at me like I've gone off the deep end. :lol:

I finally picked both of the remains up and put them back in the fridge. The girls can have them again later. Meanwhile, Annie has her trusty cow ear to chew on again.
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Noobs
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Post by Noobs »

Murphy reacted like Annie when I gave him his first chicken leg, too. He wanted to take it to his "place" but I didn't want raw meat on his rug, so I sat on the floor in front of his crate while he sat in there with the chicken leg (with the door open). It took him a few minutes of sitting there with the leg in his mouth, whining a little, because he was confused. But he eventually ate the whole thing. I've given him raw chicken once a week now and I give him extra veggies when he gets it. Today I gave it to him on our porch, which worked out much better, he just hunkered down and ate up with no hesitation.

I usually give him raw chicken when he's had extra exercise, like trotting or running the whole four miles to and from the park, plus off-leash running at the park as well. I am investigating other meats to give him soon, but I'm going to stick with chicken for the next couple of months first.
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DogzRule1996
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Post by DogzRule1996 »

My mom continuously says that chicken legs are bad for dogs because they could get lodged in their throat. :shock:
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Post by Leigha »

No offense to mom, but dogs can choke on regular old kibble too.
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Post by maximoo »

The fear of choking on chicken bones (or any bone) is if the bones are cooked. Never give cooked bones b/c they splinter thus become a choking hazard. However raw bones are fine as they are hard and have to be chewed on, widdled down to a certain extent.

I started giving Max raw frozen chicken legs too about a month ago. At firts he licked/nibbled on it but within 8 mts he has devoured :shock: it.
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DogzRule1996
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Post by DogzRule1996 »

Oh ok so now I can tell my mom not to worry and fret so much about the bones, only COOKED ones. Maybe I'll tell her to get some for our dog someday...
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Post by wvvdiup1 »

I can't agree with you that cooked bones are more hazardeous than uncooked bones. Both can be hazardeous, however, the best thing you can do when you give your dog(s) a bone is to supervise them while they're chewing on the bones.

My Akita, Karma, not only chews her bones but she grinds them as well. Everytime I give her a bone, and she does this, I wait until she finishes then I check to make sure nothing is lodged in her mouth. On one occassion, I found an inch-long bone splinter in her mouth that had she swallowed, it could have been life-threatening. However, you know your dog(s) better than I. If your dog allows you to check inside it's mouth after it chewed a bone, do so. Otherwise, keep an eye on your dog(s) when feeding them bones!
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Post by Fundog »

Well, Mr. Fundog put the kabosh on bones. :cry: At first, when he heard I had given the girls raw chicken legs, his first complaint was that he was planning to cook those for himself for lunch, lol. I assured him they weren't all gone, there were three more he could have. Then (and this was his primary concern) he was worried that I had given chicken bones. Of course, he has been indoctrinated his entire life (as had I) that chicken bones are deadly to dogs. I told him the "new" information, that only cooked bones of any kind are dangerous, and that raw chicken bones are just great. Well, he wasn't too sure of my information, or the source (meaning the folks on this forum) for that matter. So after I went to bed for the day, he did some research on the subject. And he didn't settle for just one article; but rather, searched both pros and cons. In the end, he has ruled that he doesn't want *his* baby girls to have bones, ever again. He just doesn't want to take the risk. He did amend that, however, to agree that I can continue to get those hollowed out marrow bones that I stuff and freeze like Kongs. I gotta give him some credit: He isn't just being a party pooper; but rather, he is genuinely concerned about the girls' safety. So I guess I can live with that. I'm still working on him, regarding the dog food debate, though. :wink:
maximoo
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Post by maximoo »

Can you link the articles?
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Post by emmabeth »

Blah! Those marrow bones are way riskier!

I spent a week staying with a friend recently and her dogs have these, cooked marrow bones with filling inside them.... the number of chips and lumps i had to remove from Errol was unbelieveable. I guess with her dogs they go right through but they are a lot bigger than Errol is!

On the other hand.... i have had four or five dogs for the better part of the last 10 years. Ive raw fed bones lets say four times a week.... to five dogs.... for 7 years... *does maths*...


Thats 7280 raw bones and thats under estimating things as at times i have had six dogs and at times i have fed bones more than four times a week...

7280 raw bones.... 0 injuries. 0 blockages. Once or twice there has been a few bits of bone visible in the poo riiiiiight back when i started and maybe about 10 times in the course of the last 7 years, a dog has barfed up a bit of bone that wouldnt go down (chicken necks every time, dont feed them any more).

I wont claim it is 100% safe..... but NOTHING is 100% safe... feeding kibble carries the risk of salmonella, ecoli and choking. Crossing the road carries the risk of being hit by a car (and i have been! splat!) - feeding cooked pet shop bones carries the risk of splinters, cuts and blockages, feeding those rawhide bones risks blockages and choking...

Nothing in life is risk free.... to my mind the benefit of feeding raw bones far outweighs the potential risk!
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Post by Nettle »

The essential move with raw bones is that they have meat round them. Doesn't have to be great lumps of meat - just some. Like you get on ribs. And feed the right bones - ribs of bigger animals, anything from a chicken. No large animal legs.

I've fed raw to a similar number of dogs to Emmabeth, but for more than 20 years. Like anything else, you have to do it sensibly. You have plenty of sense, and I do understand that your beloved wants the best for the dogs. If you do decide to give raw bones another try, there is plenty of research and information we can put your way. :D
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Fundog
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Post by Fundog »

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your support; I appreciate it. I finally got around to reading the email my hunny bunny sent me regarding the matter, including two of the links he sent me. I've enclosed the email he sent me, just because I thought he was so sweet in the way he wrote it, and I wanted to convey to you all just how much he really does love the girls-- every bit as much as I do. Also, this email also reminded of one more bit of difference in our debate: He is concerned about the possibility of the girls getting food poisoning from eating the raw meat on the bones, or having the bones lay about too long before they are consumed or picked up. I gave him the argument from those of you who feed raw, but he isn't too sure. I think I might print out some of what y'all have to say, so you can weigh in. Maybe you can help me win him over. (:wink:) I am still niggling him about eventually converting over to feeding raw/homecooked entirely. We keep going the rounds on that point as well. Part of it is protectiveness on his part, and part of it is economics. He is not convinced that the big-box store brand dog food is all that inferior, and he is not willing to pay more for a superior brand. He also argues about the cost of feeding raw/home cooked as well. However, I did convince him to pick up some bags of frozen vegetables that I can mix in their Kong stuffing, and to top their kibble with. So here is the email he sent me. He really does love our doggies.


Hi Hon,

I did some further research on feeding dogs bones. You can find opinions in both directions - some say it is ok, some don't. Here are a couple of good articles from reliable sources that support the "No Bones" and "Raw Bones Only" opinions. I will admit that the feeding of raw chicken bones now seems to be fairly accepted. I think that perhaps we should look closer at our practice of feeding the girls cooked bones of any kind. I also think that those large, hollow bones are ideal and need to be stuffed more often.

I ask your forgiveness if I seem to be overly protective of our girls. I have spent a lot of time with them since I hurt my back, and I guess I have gotten pretty close to them. I just would not want any harm to come to them. They both have provided me with significant emotional support.

http://dog-care.suite101.com/article.cf ... dogs_bones

http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/sit ... mt=default

I love you,

[Mr. Fundog]
wvvdiup1
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Post by wvvdiup1 »

Like I've said before in my earlier post, whether feeding your dog(s) raw or cooked bones, it is best to supervise your dog(s).

When I go shopping for groceries, I stopped by the meat counter at my local grocery store and get those round bones or "soup bones" for my dog. Sometimes I cook the bones and other times I feed my dog the raw bones. Either way, I get that big smiling face from my dog while I'm watching her chew her bones so she doesn't choke or get any bones stuck inside of her.
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Post by maximoo »

Ok with thanksgiving coming up let's talk turkey or turkey bones rather :)

Max weighs 42 lbs would a raw turkey leg be too much to give him? We usually get a 14-17 lb bird. I wouldn't wait to take it away if I give it to him & it's too large. Talk to me raw feeders! 8)
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Nettle
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Post by Nettle »

It wouldn't be too much, but are the tendons drawn? Turkey leg tendons are massive and rather sharp.

Turkeys if intensively raised are fed a host if antibiotics and other medication. They are such delicate birds. I worked on a farm where they raised free-range turkeys, and even then they had to be medicated.

That is why I don't feed turkey - but if you would like to - feed a wing rather than a leg :) unless the tendons have been removed.
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