I ve been told recently that its okay to give my sibe raw chicken bones what is everybody else s opinion on this i don't want to end up damaging my baby by giving him something that will hurt him. Please help
Love Xanthe and Bandit

You'll get different opinions on this, I do give mine raw chicken wings carcasses etc as well as other raw bones and food

                                   Anne

I have 2 dogs under 8kilo they get,chicken wing tips,marrow bones,lamb&pork ribs,pretty much whatever the butcher has got at the time,raw meat and bones are the natural diet for dogs,nothing to be worried about :D Give your dog a bone and watch him float into utter bliss :p he will love you forever :)

christine

Er raw chicken bones with meat on please!  I have fed my dogs totally raw for 2.5 years but please ensure you know the difference between a raw meaty bone (RMB) and a recreational bone.  The former is something like a raw drumstick, thigh, carcase, wing designed to be consumed; the latter is a large knuckle bone designed for teeth cleaning and jaw exercise.

There are quite a few people that swear by chicken wings etc for their dogs. Personally I wont feed mine them because of the dangers of splintering, bacteria, etc. I give mine other chews such as edible nylabones etc, and Logic gel (enzymatic toothpaste which breaks down plaque) to clean their teeth. :)

Hi xanthe and bandit I feed my cocker chicken wings and he loves them but it did take him a while to get used to eating them at first he practically swallowed it whole and brought it back the same way it went in ..please do not be put off by this some dogs will take to eating raw meaty bones naturally ( I think the younger the better) but my cocker is 4 and a half and has only been eating raw for 6 months he is really good now and crunches them to bits!!
If your worried bout him eating raw meaty boes please read Kathy schultz or get further info of these excellent boards
Best of luck..

Xanthe and the Bandit,

Why would you want to give your dog raw chicken bones?   If you are feeding them a raw diet than chicken would be part of that diet.   If you are feeding them a commercial diet than there is no reason to feed raw chicken bones.

Chicken bones will not help to get tartar off teeth, they are too soft.  Raw marrow bones or Nylabones will help remove tartar.

Stacey

Adding raw meat and bones to a commercial diet would be a bonus,much better than feeding only commercial.Alot of people feed both,some feel their dogs are getting the best of both worlds.Feeding even the minutest amount of real food can only make a positive difference.
A friend of mine had a dog with very bad tartar but after a month of feeding him chicken wings his teeth were sparkling,no sign of any tartar,this is not an isolated case either i have heard of many success stories from people who have used chicken wings to keep their dogs teeth clean,mine included.

christine

mmmmm id disagree with that....

i feed raw, but at teh moment my dogs arent getting big recreational bones, ALL they are getting is chicken, carcasses, wings necks backs etc....this is the same as when i started raw feeding, just chicken, (well not just chicken, but chicken was at first the only meat with bones i fed) and it DID remove the plaque/tartar from their teeth.....thats not just one dog, thats 2 adults....i also have a pup raised totally raw.......no tartar on his teeth either...

Em

i have fed a natural diet to my 3 for about 3years now, never had any probs with raw chicken wings been the main part pf the diet, personally i knew of 20+ dogs that have been on this diet for approx the same amount of time who have had no probs, there are some good books out there to read if you are interested.

Unfortunately, I have known several people whose dogs have had problems with raw chicken wings and other raw bones.  Raw is much better than cooked, without a doubt, but raw bones are not problem free.

Stacey

Hiya
     Thank you everybody for your help, i still don't know what to do as some of you say its okay and others say it s not. I have tried Bandit on a raw chicken carcass(if thats spelt right) and tripe and he spent about 1 hour crunching through it happily and the next day his stool was firm which is surprising as if you give him something new it normally takes weeks to adjust. I think i'm going to try the raw diet with some biscuits and see how it goes. I 'll let you know how we get on. Many thanks again Xanthe And Bandit

Glad your dog liked the chicken carcass.  May I ask why you are feeding biscuit as well?  Dogs have no need for carbohydrates they will get all their energy from the fat in meat.  I feed no grains whatsoever and that includes biscuit.

Xanthe,
There are risks in feeding everything,dogs have bloated and died from eating dry food or choked on a raw hide or nylabone,in my opinion the benefits in feeding raw meaty bones far outweigh the risks,there will always be someone that says Dont Feed Bones and then there are others who say dont feed commercial,this is one subject i dont think we all will ever agree on.i know a lady who has been feeding raw for 30+ years and she has never had a problem and there are many more like her,i also feed dry as well as raw,when i can actually get them to eat the dry! you will find the more real food you feed the more your dog will crave it,thats what happened with my dogs,they probaly think "why should we eat those boring old bickies when we can have a big juicy bone"LOL
The reason i still feed dry is coz i want to make sure their getting all of their vits. and mins. I feed a dry food called "innova" which is very similar to Burns but it has added fruit and probiotics(sp?) My friend even tried a kibble and said it tasted good,yuk! as it has all human grade,organic ingredients.

Tohme i thought carbs such as pasta etc helped to keep weight on dogs or put weight on,is this not correct?What other sources would you suggest to substitute beside fat which i am already feeding?

christine

What i did was to feed him the chicken carcass and tripe in the morning then at 6pm i gave him a few biscuits as a snack but he didn't eat them till after i had my diner. He still thinks he s in with a chance of eating my food!!! I didnt realise there were health risks in feeding both i ll take him off the dry. Thanks love Xanthe And Bandit