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If you came across this post because your dog ate a cooked chicken bone, don't panic – call your vet immediately! Do not leave a comment asking what to do – I am not a veterinarian. I'm a content creator, and this post shares what I've learned as a dog owner.
The Dangers of Cooked Bones for Dogs
Growing up, many people tossed their dogs steak bones after dinner. Raw bones are great for dogs. They are a nutrient-rich treat that satisfies a dog's chew drive, strengthens their jaw muscles, and cleans their teeth.
Cooked bones, on the other hand, can splinter into sharp pieces when chewed. These sharp fragments of bone can puncture a dog's esophagus or stomach and create a bowel obstruction, both of which can lead to death if not caught early.
After a Dog Eats a Cooked Chicken Bone
Step 1: Don't panic. Dispose of the chicken and ensure no more of this tantalizing treat is available. And, again, don't panic.
Step 2: Leave it! If your dog is in the process of eating the chicken, tell them to drop it and dispose of it immediately. Reward your dog for listening with lots of praise. DO NOT PUNISH YOUR DOG.
Step 3: Call the vet. Although Rodrigo didn't have a bone stuck in his mouth or throat, I called the vet to ensure I had all bases covered. Rodrigo was chewing the food, not gulping it down after a bite; the vet advised me to watch him.
Signs of a Bone Lodged in the Throat
Don't make your dog throw up. This seems like a natural next step, and I was tempted to do it, but if he has sharp bones in his stomach, the act of regurgitating the bones might cause more damage. Our veterinarian avised me to watch for the following signs:
- choking
- salivating and licking his lips
- drinking a lot
- anxious behavior, inability to remain still or sit still
Signs of a Perforated Bowel
Over the next 12-48 hours, I was advised to watch for signs of a perforated bowel:
- signs of pain
- shallow breathing
- stretching as if trying to move something along (the stretch looks like a dog's play stance or bow)
- vomiting (or attempts to vomit)
- bloody stool
- difficulty defecating
- general discomfort (panting, inability to stay still, unwilling to play)
I continued to monitor my dog for a few days after he ate the cooked chicken bones. He never showed any signs of illness; he continued to eat and poop without issue.
Invest in Pet Insurance
Pet insurance has its pros and cons. Paying a monthly amount that increases as our dogs age without the need to submit a claim gives the impression that we wasted thousands of dollars. However, a significant and expensive health crisis makes pet insurance worth the risk. My oldest dog is on Trupanion, and my other dogs are on Embrace. I switched from Trupanion to Embrace for the lower monthly premiums. Today, many reputable pet insurance companies cover both traditional and holistic care.
Hi Giselle
Give your veterinarian a call, they’ll be able to give you some clear guidelines specific to your dog.
Hi, Kimberly I´m so glad I´ve found this blog… 2 days ago I caught my Chihuahua with a cooked chicken bone from the backyard, (it appears that its been there for a while, because it was old) I´m not sure if she got to eat some. I gave her some bread and rice and she is been acting and eating normal so far. When do you think will be safe to say that we are on the clear and she is going to be fine?
Danger!! Cooked bones are more brittle, sharp and dangerous than raw bones.
If you haven’t contacted your vet, please call to get advice.
My dog is a 18 lb wiener dog, he ate half a chicken drumstick from the trash. The other half was stuck in his throat and I pulled it out. Not sure if the other half that he ingested was in tact or not and that worries me so much. I gave him a slice of white bread to cushion the bones in his stomach, but if the half drum stick that he ate is in tact, I can’t imagine him passing that. Any thoughts?
Both of my dogs got into some chicken bones when my son put a plate on the counter while I was in the bathroom. I’m grateful your info was emphatic about calling the vet. Despite lots of what I had read, he told me to induce vomiting with 1 ml of hydrogen peroxide per pound. Even though the bones can scratch coming up, it’s far better than to risk perforation somewhere lower in the tract. We got them up within the hour and are likely OK from here. Just wanted to share the importance of calling the vet – and quickly. Time was of the essence for this approach.
Thank you for responding, but my emergency vets also do not open until Tuesday as well. Thankfully, there have been no problems yet.
Hi Delaney…
If you have an emergency vet in your area, I highly suggest that you contact them.
Hi
My German Shepherd puppy jumped up and stole a whole chicken leg out of my hand. There was still chicken on it, so there is no telling how big the bone was. Only 30 minutes have passed, but I am a nervous wreck. My vet does not open until Tuesday, which is a couple days away. I’ve seen stories of death from these bones, and I’m terrified.
Im not sayin here that its a good practice, but Im 64 years old..have feed my dog bones their entire lives and never lost one…not one prematurly…lotta fuss about nothing. As for ham…a lil piece will do no harm …
Hi Jan,
Did your dog ever pass that chicken wing? My sister’s dog just did the same thing and I’m really nervous but glad it’s not chewed so it shouldn’t splinter 🙁
Thanks,
Dominique
Hi Greig – my dogs have never eaten a whole, cooked chicken so I don’t know if this is better or not. I suggest that you contact your veterinarian.
Hi we have a 4yr old rottie who ate a whole chicken I tried to get chicken from him but I think he just swallowed whole is that better in the situation than them cheating and braking them so worried can’t sleep
Hi Tommy…
The only thing I recommend is contacting your vet to double check on what to look for and what you can do. Best of luck to you and your dog.
Hey. My 3-4 year old pug-begal mix just ate 3 chicken legs i left on the table from hooters. I gave her some water and bread and she seems ok but i am really worried because even though i am a teen, i do love my dog. Do you have any other recommendations. I know this feed is old but still
Hi Kimberly
I was walking my 14 year old Border Collie at the park and she started eating something. I didn’t know what it was until I saw the cooked chicken bone.
We’ve fed her bread and she hasn’t been gagging so far, but she doesn’t seem to be very active. She keeps sleeping in her bed.
I’m not sure if this means that everything is normal. She ate it just a few hours ago and hasn’t done any poops yet. We wish the best for her.
Hi Hannah
I hope your dog will be okay.
Hi Kimberly
Thank you for this blog. It gave me comfort and calm. I’m in hour 15 of my 48 hour watch over my 5-year-old cocker spaniel. I’m housesitting a place and the cleaner left a big bag of rubbish underneath a gated area of the house – my pup crawled under the gate and ripped it open, devouring THREE – yes THREE whole, cooked chicken carcasses. I noticed his swollen belly first thing this morning and found the source. Called the vet who said to keep watch over him. About 12 hours later he vomited up what looked like undigested chicken so I took him straight to the emergency vet as it’s late at night. They felt his stomach and organs, which felt normal. They poked around in his bum and checked his stool, and felt bone fragments in there. The vet gave me gloves to check his stool – he passed two pretty large poos just as we left the vet and I checked them – chicken bone fragments, some alarmingly sharp, but they’d passed through and he seems fine.
The vet advised that I feed him wet food (not dry kibble) and feed him at least 4 times a day for at least the next day or so, to keep his stomach acids working and metabolism churning away. It’s definitely better to feed the dog and surround their stomach with other matter to protect them.
I am hoping and hoping that he makes a full recovery – the wait is awful and full of anxiety so I’m sending kind thoughts to everyone else who has gone through this horrible wait.
I hope your dog is okay. Thanks for sharing your experience, Carol.
Hi, thanks for your post. Two hours ago my dog ate a chicken bone. My first step was to call her vet, who told me that there was nothing we could do at that moment. She was as normal as she could be, he told me to observe. And now I have 46 hours ahead of me, but anyways, what I loved about your post is that it gives me hope that everything will turn out ok. And as you said, people post bad stuff and celebrate good ones, so was very good to read that, to keep me calm.
I was reading all the comments and it’s true no one every writes the good outcomes. I wanted to let everyone know that my standard poodle ate 84 Nu-Vet canine wafers. She was able to open the package and break the cap off the bottle that it came in. In a panic I called my vet, but he suggested I call ASPCA poison control. They suggested I give him 3 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide mixed with peanut butter to make her throw up. And if she didn’t she would suffer from diarrhea and extreme thirst. She was too smart and did not drink it. At that point, she became thirsty and drank a ton of water. We took her for a walk for about 45 minutes to see if she would throw up, but still nothing. Upon returning she drank a lot of water and about 1/2 hour later everything came up . Even though it was extremely messy and a lot of cleaning, we were happy it was over that night and didn’t have to worry about the mess that could have happened on the other side.
We make wings at my house at least twice a month. I have had my German Shepherd, Balto since October, it is now February.
Each time we made wings, I mentioned how we have to make sure we don’t leave anything out for him to get.
Today was the first day we had wings and I didn’t reinforce the obvious.
My mother left a spicy fried chicken leg on her plate and walked away for a phone call, and he ate it.
She just told me now, two hours later.
I am so angry.
In my book, that is equivalent to leaving a bottle of opened NyQuil out and my 3 year old son drinking the whole thing.
Anyways. We gave him 3 slices of bread and a bowl of mashed potatoes.
Thankfully it is the weekend and I can watch him closely.
I hope for a good outcome and a memory that my mother will not forget.
Good luck to everyone in this thread!
-Chelsea
I understand the crying. I’m so hard on myself when it comes to my dogs. Plus the exhaustion you must be feeling due to lack of sleep and worry are probably taking it’s toll. Do something special for yourself and your dog this weekend and keep reminding yourself that at least Now You Know and so you won’t have to worry about this happening again.
Hi so my Dalmatian ate a few chicken bones on Sunday night, was trying to vomit Monday morning. Tuesday he woke up went to the bathroom like normal, ate food and drank water normal all day and was playful. When bed time came he couldn’t sit still for awhile. Today (Wednesday) he woke up went to the bathroom everything was normal, ate breakfast, lunch and dinner and drank a normal amount of water but was panting for a couple minutes. Now is sleeping. I talked to the vet this afternoon and she said if he ate them on Sunday he’s probably fine now. I’m still extra worried and haven’t stopped crying today.
Hi Kay,
How’s your Luna doing today?
My 6 lb. chiwawa got into the trash and ate several chicken bones and shrimp peels. I have given her a tbl. of olive oil in wet dog food and will give her some bread in chicken broth throughout the next 48 hours. I can’t even imagine how the bones will be able to pass through such small internal organs of a 6 lb. dog. She is the light of my life (no children other than her). Prayers for little Luna.
That’s so great, Chris.
Glad to say, all went well & my Rott is fine. Only found some fragments of bones in stool, but no other signs of ill health effects. Hopefully I can prevent this from ever happening again.
I’ll cross my fingers right along with you!
Kimberly, so glad I found this post. My Rottweiler ate leg & thigh chicken bones from a couple fast-food dinners last night. I called my vet this morning as suggested in your blog & was given full advice on what to do & watch for, which was similar to the posts. I must say your experience (& experiences of others) helped me calm after my initial panic – thank you!
According to my vet, the first 24 hrs are the most crucial – watch for vomiting/gagging, lethargy, or signs of digestive distress, including loss of interest in food. Vet states to continue to watch for changes in bowels, bloody stool, straining to go, etc, for a minimum of 3 days, and that except for rare cases, we should be mostly “out of the woods” after 5 days.
So I’ll keep my fingers crossed that all goes well & he passes them through okay. Thanks again!
Hi Joshua
You should contact your veterinarian for dog health issues. I’m just a blogger and I have no veterinarian experience and it would be unethical for me to diagnose dogs through this blog.
I hope your dog will be okay.
My 1.5 year old British lab ate 6 Buffalo Wild Wings, do you think she will be ok, I got school tomorrow and I’ve been crying for the past hour, what should I do
Hi, our Chi just ate half a drumstick of chicken bone last night and like everybody else right here we are kinda worried, hope all will be fine to all having this kind of unfortunate incidents. Thanks for the material Kim.
I’m sorry about what you have experienced with your JRT. I recommend contacting your veterinarian about any risks. I’m a blogger and I’m unable to offer medical advice.
Hi my 3 years old jack russel just ate a small bone of chicken legs, my dad accidentally fell the bone on the ground and my dog just chewed it a bit and swallowed it immediately.. Is it alarming? Im so nervous.. Hoping for your response. Thank you in advance.
actually both dogs are ok. Poops have shown that the bones are passing along with a lot of paper toweling. We have fed them white rice and white bread with low sodium chicken stock. The newfoundland vomited up some paper towel wadding but no bones. So far so good and they are acting normal and playful. Guess we were lucky. Thx for answering.
Lynn
Hi Lynn
I hope you were able to get a call into your vet on this Labor Day Weekend and everything worked out. That would have freaked me out. I’m lucky because we have an emergency vet one city south of us.
My newfoundland and lab ate baby back ribs (about a total of 12 bones) we had placed in the garbage and then left for a boat ride. Upon our return, we found the rest of the garbage strewn on the floor, but no rib bones. They were cooked in the oven for 2.5 hours. Both dogs are looking very guilty, but are acting fine. Should I give them pumpkin, bread at this point in time. They ate them about 2 hours ago.
They have plenty of water to access if they need to. It is about 11pm and I am not sure if I should sleep near them or go to bed and hope for the best.
Hi Kimberly,thankfully so far they are doing all right.It took Candy a little longer than Angel to go to the bathroom but they both have which was a relief.Not just for me but them too lol.:0)There doesn’t seem to be any problems with them for which I am very glad.They are their usual hyper selves!Your right,there is no excuse for what they did.They have loud parties a lot,which I have put up with but after this,next time I am calling the police.Thank you for responding to me!:0)
Hi Kathy
I hope your dogs are doing okay. It drives me crazy when people are irresponsible like this; no excuses.
Your story has helped me calm down a little.The people behind me had a loud party last nite and threw chicken bones into my backyard.Needless to say they ate them before I could stop them.I am so scared they will hurt their intestines.They crunched on them as they were eating them.I will watch them praying nothing happens.Your experience has helped.Thank you.
You Should tell them. that’s a disservice to other dogs and their owners who may eat them.
I’m glad, Allison
I hope your dog is doing okay. I’m currently training my dog to stop counter surfing. It’s not easy.
Your article calmed my nerves some. Our 2 year old dog Martin ate a cooked chicken bone off the counter today. I turned around for a few seconds and then BAM! The rest of my lunch was gone. Your experience helped give me some hope!
Good luck, Paula! I’ll have you and your dog in my thoughts. I remember how stressful the time can be – Rodrigo has done this twice and dodged the bullet both times. We now keep food off the counters, because he’s learned that if we can’t see him, then it’s okay.
Yes am glad I’ve found this blog as I’m in bits – my adult son took a whole cooked chicken out of the fridge & left it on a worktop, got distracted & our normally well behaved 3 year old dog who never counter surfs must have been overcome with temptation & has ate the lot, bones & all, I’m beside myself, raging with my son too, to add insult to injury she already has a scarred inside from two previous operations so it will be more difficult for her to pass, I’ve already phoned the vet, who has given me options & advice & as Kimberley already suggests it’s a wait & see, it’s going to be a long 48 hours , butter I know the signs/symptoms, wish us luck!
I’m sorry to hear about your dog. A trip to the emergency vet is paramount at this point – please go immediately.
Well, our large puppy German Shepard managed to devour our entire chicken we left on the counter top intended for us to eat for dinner. Before we knew it, about 3/4 of the large chicken was gone. POOF!
This afternoon, while crated when I went out for a quick errand, she managed to …. ummmm. expel what I would believe to be a large chicken out of her system. Poor thing. Totally grotesque. After alot of cleaning and letting her stay outside with a close eye on her she kept drinking alot of water. Now she is vomiting it up just as fast as she has been drinking it. I’m seriously concerned. No blood in stool but there hasn’t been any stool yet. Should I take her to the emergency vet clinic now? Her primary Vet office is closed at this time but I’m seriously considering taking her to emergency. Does anyone know if this excessive amount of drinking is normal to have the chicken bones pass?
I’m so glad she’s doing well. Two of our dogs are almost 6 too!
My five almost 6 year old hound mix ate a chicken out of the garbage last week. I totally freaked out. I found your blog and I knew what to look for. Thankfully she is doing well.
That drives me crazy! I’ve also seen people dropping chicken bones on the ground at the dog park – saying the dogs could eat them. No one could convince the guy that they were dangerous. The parked emptied out in seconds. If you don’t want it in your car, then don’t buy it to eat in your car!!!
ug… ug….I never leave anything out, but some idiot tossed a fast food container of chicken bones in the street and and Mr. Poodle got one down his throat….I wrestled three others out of his mouth, but it was at great personal danger because while he is really friendly, once he gets food items in his mouth, they are not willingly released, ever. 🙁 Let’s hope his stomach acid digests the little pieces… grrrr. Why do people throw trash in the street?
Fingers crossed that your pup is going to be okay.
Hi, my 12 month Springer Spaniel ate 3 small chicken drummers that my teenage son left out overnight. I didn’t realise until I found the empty plate in his room! So far Molly is fine, she was running round in the night chasing the cat like she normally does! She had her breakfast and half of mine,like she normally does! I’ll keep a watch on her for the next 48 hours but she’s already done a normal poop. Glad I found your page, it really helped. ?
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I hope your dogs are doing okay. I can’t answer your question, because I simply don’t know, but your vet will definitely be able to offer advice. Best of luck and hugs to your dogs.
Kim
Well, my 5 month old medium sized border collie-lab and 13 year old little dog just shared a chicken carcass. I freaked, my dogs are going to die… though they seem to be fine. Pup is in trouble for grabing it off the counter. They didn’t choke, HB fed him some bread, hope he eats some kibble, and now we wait I guess.
I’ll be devestated, there are no words. This is the most well behaved 5 month old I’ve ever known. I should have put away the left overs… I have to work all tomorrow, leaving him in a crate. Will that be too cramped in his condition?
Good luck. It would be so convenient if we could just give our dogs a list of things NOT to eat.
Apparently while I was at work my German Shepard escaped and ate a whole chicken carcass from the neighbours garbage. I will be watchful for signs of trouble. Thanks for posting.
I’m glad that my experience helped. Big hugs to you and your dogs.
THANK YOU! I have been lucky to find no horror stories in my search for advice. I made chicken for a dog with an upset stomach and while I seperated him they got on the counter and pulled out 3 of the bones between the 3 that were out. UGh I was so mad at myself I thought I had pushed them enough so that they couldn’t get them until he finished eating the chicken and rice. Now I have 4 dogs I’m watching nerotically to make sure they don’t do anything off. Paranoia has set in 46 hours to go
I never saw anything pass through, but he was fine the 2 time he got to cooked chicken. Glad everything worked out for you and your dog. It’s so nerve wracking, but it sounds like you did everything right.
Thanks for the great article. Almost two weeks ago, my 70 lb dog – who is unfortunately EXTREMELY food-obsessed – grabbed a chicken bone on a walk and chewed parts of it up and swallowed it instantly. I assume it was cooked, and I can’t say for sure that she swallowed any large chunks whole, but there’s a chance that she did. I am so incredibly cautious with her (too much), and I called the vet immediately. They told me she should be fine and we’ll probably see the pieces pass, but I’m very aware of the dangers of cooked bones. I gave her canned pumpkin and some food when we got home, and she’s been acting fine ever since.
It’s been almost two weeks and all I saw in her poop were a few tiny, tiny pieces after the first day. Did you ever see your dog actually PASS parts of the bone, or do you think it digested?
The few other times she’s swallowed something whole (like a piece of an antler, which was terrifying), it passed. But once, she swallowed a piece of a bully stick whole, and we never saw that either. After we found her as a puppy (she had been in a dumpster), she threw up large rocks and I’m SURE ate all kinds of horrible things when she was on the street or wherever, so I keep reminding myself that she was somehow okay on her own…
And no, we no longer give her any chews, unfortunately, because she has a horrible habit of swallowing things whole the second you walk by, even though she’s incredibly aware of what ‘leave it’ and ‘drop it’ mean. :-/ sigh
Call the vet immediately. Best of luck. I hope your puppy feels better.
hi i have a bluenose pitt brendel shes only 3months old an she has gotten ahold of some chicken wings we cooked last nite she has peed an had the runs an all she wants 2 do is sleep she normaly up and running around chaseing my kids im worried she feels realy hot i have gotten her to drink water help i dont know what 2 do!
Definitely put a call into your vet and monitor to see how your dog is doing.
my dog just ate chicken bones i am so scared cause he is so little what do i do
I will send you healing thoughts, Netti. Please come back and give me an update.
So glad I found this site….my 5 month old cocker poo ate something out the rubbish last night. I am not 100% sure, but I think he may have eaten some chicken bones. we had a kfc the night before…and he managed to eat the bags…
I have been a nervous wreck all night and feel awful. he seems ok….still running around and being his usual cheeky self. he has done a wee, but not pooped yet which is bit unusual…this is starting to make me worry. he has eaten, but I don’t want to give him to much, just in case there is a blockage. I will call the vets if he has passed anything by lunchtime.
That’s so fantastic. Thanks for returning to give me an update.
All 3 of my babies are doing well. The 1st night I “padded” their guts with wheat bread, brown rice, pumpkin, and some kibble. Being beagles, they were THRILLED to get extra food. After a LOT of pooping for the past couple of days, everybody is doing well. Thank you!
I’m so sorry, Susan. I hope your dogs are doing well today.
Sigh…I have (3) 13″ beagles. My fiance ate lunch of fried chicken, but instead of putting the bones in the trash outside (like he has been told), he put them in the house trash. The youngest beagle got the bones out of the trash. It is believed he ate (1) of the bones because my fiance couldn’t find both of them. Unfortunately, he assumed only the 1 year old ate the bones, but my old man (11 years) or my oldish gal (7 years) could’ve helped eat them. I am a nervous wreck and I am angry. Thank you for your post. I will be keeping a VERY watchful eye on my babies…while I sob my eyes out with worry.
I’m so glad that I could help. It’s so very scary when that happens. We’ve started being more careful about food on the counters, because Rodrigo keep stealing. Drives me bonkers!!!
Thank you so much for your blog. Our “Ike” stole a chicken bone off of a plate on the counter, and our 10 year-old was upset thinking he might die. After reading your information to him, I think he feels better.
Take care!
DOGS! 🙂
I hope you’ve contacted your veterinarian. If they’re closed today, call an emergency vet – in my area, the emergency veterinarians are open 24/7. I’m a blogger, not a veterinarian, and I’m unable to offer you assistance in this area. I can only share my own experience. I’m sorry.
Hi! My yorkie recently ate maybe 3 chicken bones a few days ago. We also had 2 parties during those day, and she loves food so people were feeding her. For the past 3 days she has been throwing up, once every day. I don’t know if this is because her maybe overeating or could be because of the bones. I’m really worried, thanks.
It’s so stressful. I’ve been through it twice and Rodrigo has been fine both times, but now we’re very careful about leaving food out since we know he will counter surf when we leave the room.
I’ll be sending you healing thoughts. Let me know how he is in a couple days 🙂
My 11 month old Doberman swollowed a small chicken bone, hardly an inch long. We always feed him boneless chicken. Unfortunately he swollowed a small piece in the backyard. It has been 2 hours since then & his behaviour appears to be perfectly normal. I called up the vet immediately, who has told me to monitor him for next 48 hours. I am quite worried. Hope it will come out without causing any harm to his intestines!
I honestly can’t answer that question, because I’m not a vet and don’t know dog anatomy. We can hope that your dog passes the bone easily, because it wasn’t chewed up, but only a vet can give you the certainty that you’ll need, because they have the training.
I can only share my experience and Rodrigo was okay; he’s done it twice now with no ill effects, but now we don’t leave anything on the counters, because we know that he’ll get it if we turn our back. And we leave the dogs outside if we have guests over for dinner, because our dogs beg and if a guest drops something on the floor, we know that our dogs are faster than we are at picking it up.
Big hugs to you and your dog and I hope it works out just fine.
We have a cocker spaniel who is 11 years old. He got hold of a chicken drummie and we tried to get it out of his mouth, but he wouldn’t let go. He swallowed it whole without chewing it. Will he digest it and pass it okay? It was a small wingette, he didn’t choke. Will call vet in am. THANK YOU JAN
This is a wonderful blog post about what to do if your dog eats something it shouldn’t. Dogs can steal a piece of neglected table food easily, especially at a party. Your good advice will help me know what to do, instead of just worrying!
Thank you!!
If your dog will eat, then you should feed your dog. That’s a good thing. Don’t give your dog salt to induce vomiting. There are safer ways should that every come up. But definitely call your vet to put them on notice, because they may know something about your dog that you never thought of – that’s how I learned not to induce vomiting. 🙂
And watch for the symptoms that I listed, because you’re going to need to share this with your vet when you call; and they can give you more tips. Best of luck. I know how nerve racking this can be – if your dog becomes lethargic – go to the emergency vet immediately.
Hi. My dog just ate two pieces of fried chicken and several chocolate chip cookies that my son and his friends left out. He seems to be fine right now and is laying beside me sleeping, resting comfortably.
I tried to induce vomiting but he kept running away from me and I couldn’t get him to take the salt. I am glad since I read your comment about not inducing vomiting.
I gave him some water but no additional food. Should I?
Thanks,
Mary Jo
Hi Lucy
I’m so sorry; hugs to your dog. I would recommend taking your dog to the vet today.
Thanks for this. My dog ate a whole bunch of chicken legs the other day (cooked!) and he’s still having some trouble. He’s a bit lethargic but has eaten (I’m giving him rice with a little tuna for the moment) and he seems to be resting–I won’t say comfortably.
How much longer should I watch him for issues? Like I said: he ate 6 or 8 cooked chicken legs (and my husband was the one cooking and left them on a plate on the counter. Needless to say? I’m not feeling ultra-confident at the moment, but I continue to monitor my boy.
Thanks for any advice. It’s been over 48 hours now.
I’m glad I could help. We keep our trash in the pantry, but sometimes the door is open when we’re cleaning and the dogs are lightening quick when they want to get to something. Arrgghhh. It’s scary. Best of luck to you and Bonnie. Naughty girl. 🙂
Hi Kimberly!
My Bonnie raided the trash today, and I was so happy to come to your familiar website when I googled. Your article made me feel better. I’ll keep close watch on her for a couple of days. She’s a Houdini of dogs.
A few years ago, there was a family eating chicken and tossing the bones on the ground at the dog park. I turned and left, because I couldn’t stand them telling dog owners that they had a right to be there and that the bones were good for our dogs.
We give our dogs duck feet and we’ve never had a problem with them. They crunch them up as a snack and come back for more. It’s a great source of chondroitin and glucosamine. I give them everything under supervision. I just placed an order for 200 that I’ll be splitting with a friend. We’ll go through 100 in less than a couple months.
If our dogs tried to swallow them whole, I wouldn’t give them to them, but they eat them. If you’re not freaked by the body part, a great way to introduce your dog to them is to hold them while they eat them to show them that they need to eat it in pieces rather than swallow them whole.
Very good points. We had a dog who ate a giant, 1 lb Hershey’s Kiss. He was terribly sick, but he survived. Brooks got into a corn cob and it caused a blockage. I could tell right away that it was serious. He had to have surgery ($3000!)Corn cobs are especially dangerous because they aren’t digestible and the cob is sharp and hard.
Kimberly,
Your story brings up a question I have been wondering about lately. I see the new craze in dog treats seems to be dehydrated chicken feet. I have been reluctant to let my girl have them because of all the horror stories and very real danger of chicken bones. I am told that with cooking, chicken bones become soft. However, one, is dehydrating really cooking? And two, I have gotten a stray bone in chicken soup and still found it sharp. Could you get a definitive answer for myself and many others who may be wondering or already giving their dogs these treats?
Thank you!
Yeah, I do panic every time something like that happens. Well, inside … Outside, I give some food in attempt to “cushion” the bone, watch carefully and hope for the best.
We haven’t had a problem with that yet either but I don’t like pushing my luck. This only happens whey they find a piece out on the walk … people just throw everything around.
Thanks for the reminder to remain calm and clear so you can notice any warning signs. I’ve caught Gretel eating a chicken bone she found the the bushes once or twice. I did worry but it all turned out ok. However, she ate a bunch of chocolate once and was pretty much at the state before seizure and death. It was so scary!
Glad Rodrigo is ok. It sounds like he ate quite a lot.
I am so glad everything ended up ok for you all!
When we lived in Philly, local stores used to sell chicken wings by the piece. You can only imagine what a minefield it was walking the dogs shortly after school let out.
I did learn not to panic. I had no choice since the dogs always found the bones on the ground faster than I did.
But I’m glad that since then I’ve learned how to teach an excellent “leave it” cue. You’re right, it’s a life saver. And I’m glad Rodrigo and Scout know it so well.
Thanks for this article. Thor just grabbed a cooked chicken bone the other day while I wasn’t looking and my reaction was very similar.