I am currently trying to find other foods for my 10 month westie. Since finding this site I have noticed chicken wings drum sticks etc can I give them to him raw and does he get the bones. Until now I have avoided giving him bones incase he chokes ( paranoid new owner).  He has had raw hide bones but heard they are not that good for him but would like to give him some good treats to look forward to.  I have changed his food to nature diet and he now chases his bowl around the kitchen getting every last bit so I can safely say he loves it.  Any information greatly received.

Yes you may feed any part of the chicken raw complete with bones.  It is only cooked bones that you must never feed.  Much better for him than rawhide!  However it will be a meal in itself, 2 wings would be more than enough for a westie and so cut out one of his naturediet ones otherwise you will have portly westie on your hands :D

My vet recommends rawhide and warns against raw chicken because of salmonella.  Also recommends not feed bones at all.  :-)  You will find most vets are the same in terms of advice.

However .. it does not mean they are right. 

Your dog actually does not need other foods, but it sounds like you are looking for something for him to chew.  I've given my dogs good quality rawhides for many years, without a problem.   I would love my dog to chew on the Nylabones, which are probably the safest chews, but I haven't had a dog yet that will touch them.  Nylabone make edible bones, which my dog likes, but they are expensive and tend to give her loose poo if she has too much.  And my dog now will not chew on large raw knucklebones either .. she cries and buries them in the garden.

You can also take a small Kong and fill it with the Naturediet, or cheese, or dog biscuit, or anything that he really has to work on to get it all out of the Kong.  A piece of raw carrot is also good for a crunchy, lo-kal treat.

Stacey

My pups the same he cries when I give him chicken wings and all he does is pull a bit of the chicken meat off and wont crunch the bones has anyone any Idea why he won't eat them he's a 6month old Chinese Crested, could it be his teeth and does anyone know when he should have his full set of adult teeth,

Thanks,
Nickie,

Salmonella is omnipresent and in far more stuff than raw chicken, including rawhide chews; the provenance of which are doubtful in the UK as it never says what country they are from or what animal!  Rawhide is, IMHO, far more risky than bones!

Tohme,

Right, it's a matter of opinion and experience.  I noticed the web link that was posted which had a brief piece on the dangers of rawhide was, in fact, a site for selling dog products.  They were happy to sell sterilized bones and other chews which, in my opinion, are also potentially dangerous.  Especially cooked, dried sterlized bones, which are lethal when they splinter.

Bottom line is anything a dog can put in its mouth is potentially dangerous.  And we all make choices based on what individual dogs will accept. 

Stacey