While dog foods contain safe and required nutrients, some puppy owners want to change their diet from time to time. However, can puppies eat chicken?
Being a first-time puppy owner can be confusing. Will the dog food be enough? Should I substitute it with a more natural diet? What should I feed my puppy?
Chicken, on the other hand, is quite nutritious.
We are going to discuss the benefits of feeding chicken to your puppy. It is not always recommended to do so as some dangers might be involved.
So how often can puppies eat chicken?
Is It Safe For Puppies To Eat Chicken?
Do not get me wrong; chicken is one of the most nutritious meals. I mean, it contains proteins that are required for energy.
Well, it is safe for puppies to each chicken, but in moderation. But before you begin, I suggest you talk to your vet about changing your pup’s diet.
It could lead to stress or digestive problems if you change the diet abruptly.
Well, if your vet agrees with you and offers you a guideline, now you can feed your puppy in various ways. For instance, you can substitute it for dog food or mix up the two.
However, you cannot let your puppy eat chicken every single day. It is unsafe for puppies to eat chicken daily without supplementing their diet.
Once again, your vet will be able to recommend the best ratio of chicken to dog food to use.
Keep the safety of your puppy first before you go on to prepare a dietary schedule for him.
Benefits Of Feeding Chicken To Your Puppies
I am sure you want nothing but the best for your puppy. When puppies feed on chicken, it could result in higher energy levels, which is a good thing.
However, when they provide too much chicken, it could be unhealthy. This is why chicken contains high volumes of omega-6 fatty acids.
While the Omega 6 fatty acids are suitable for the puppy’s skin and fur, your pup’s body might be unable to process the fats.
This will eventually lead to obesity issues, which are entirely unhealthy.
Chicken is a good source of proteins needed for muscle growth and forming stronger bones. However, what happens when you feed your puppy nothing else but chicken?
While it is safe for a puppy to consume chicken, it means that your puppy is feeding on an unbalanced diet. This could have adverse results.
Also, be careful when you are mixing dog food with chicken. This is because most dog foods contain chicken, meaning you could offer more chicken than you should.
Therefore, talk to your vet and identify the correct way to feed chicken to your puppy.
Another advantage of feeding chicken to puppies is that the different parts contain different types of nutrients.
Therefore, providing these other parts to puppies means that you are supplementing their diet.
Disadvantages Of Puppies Eating Chicken
Chicken, in normal circumstances, is easy to prepare and nutritious. However, as I have mentioned a couple of times, too much chicken will not be suitable for your pup.
If you are still convinced to change your diet to chicken, you have to understand the dangers that may come with it.
Do not give your puppy raw chicken. While most people want to switch to natural foods for their dogs, raw chicken could pose a few dangers to your puppy.
Also, you must take out some parts of the chicken, such as the neck. These parts could be harmful to your dog.
In some cases, puppies are reported to have an allergic reaction toward chicken. Chicken is among the top foods that may cause an allergic reaction in dogs.
Therefore, you must be keen and watch your puppy closely.
Your vet will be able to help with that as well. Talk to your vet about your plans to change your puppy’s diet so he can get tested.
Before buying dog food, it is essential to understand what your puppy might be allergic to. As I mentioned earlier, most dog foods contain chicken as an ingredient.
We cannot forget to talk about chicken bones. You must remove the cooked chicken’s bones before feeding your puppy.
Due to their small size and ability to break easily, chicken bones can lead to more severe illnesses. They could get trapped or pierce the puppy’s throat or stomach.
Therefore, take precautions not to lead to cause him more problems.
Precautions To Take When Feeding Chicken To Your Puppy
Even if your vet approves your request to feed chicken to your puppy, you must take precautions. Above, we have outlined the dangers and benefits of feeding your puppy chicken.
So, if you still want to go ahead and substitute dog food with chicken, the following precautions will be of importance:
- Introduce the chicken diet gradually. You can probably mix it with commercial dog food at first. Sudden diet changes could not only lead to digestive issues, but they could also stress your puppy. Alternatively, you can feed it to your dog as a chewable treat during different activities.
- Watch out for chicken allergies. I always insist on visiting the vet before you go ahead to change your puppy’s diet. As discussed above, the vet will perform several tasks to determine whether your pup is allergic to chicken. If you notice any change in behavior or digestion after feeding your puppy, it could also be the best time to see your vet.
- Do not feed him the neck and skin parts of the chicken. Do not get me wrong; chicken is quite nutritious for puppies. However, some features could be harmful. For instance, chicken necks cause illnesses, while the skin may contain more fatty acids than your pup can process.
- Watch out for chicken bones. Earlier, we looked at how chicken bones can lead to critical issues should your pup swallow. Therefore, you must ensure that there are no bones in the chicken you feed him.
- I suggest that you cook chicken for your puppy. However, some dog owners are switching to a raw diet for their pups. While this is a good thing, it could bring about adverse consequences. Let us talk about raw chicken and its effects on your puppy.
Raw Chicken For Puppies
As I mentioned above, puppies are delicate when changing their diets. This means that you must be careful to ensure that even if you switch to a raw diet, it is healthy for him.
So, how dangerous is it for puppies to eat raw chicken?
We can go on and on about the dangers of raw chicken to our puppies. However, did you know it can be the most nutritious diet if done correctly?
Let us look at the things to remember when considering offering your puppy raw chicken for dinner.
A raw diet is healthy. I mean, initially, this is what dogs are designed for. In the world, they would hunt and feed on natural prey.
However, through domestication, we have changed this. We rely on commercial dog foods in the stores.
There is nothing wrong with the commercial dog food as it is healthy. But supplementing it with a raw diet makes it even better!
Well, how do you feed raw chicken to your puppy? Once again, puppies are susceptible, so I insist you take it up with your vet.
Once you have the green light to feed him raw chicken, it is up to you to be cautious.
Raw bones are much healthier than cooked chicken bones. This is because a puppy can comfortably chew on a bone without causing blisters.
Chicken bones can put your pup in a critical condition should he swallow them. They could be lodged in his throat or pierce his stomach lining.
Cooked bones become more brutal and thus could cause your pup an injury. Furthermore, when your dog is enthusiastic, he might end up swallowing the whole thing.
Temperature
Now, when we are talking about raw chicken, the temperature is a must concern. You should keep the chicken refrigerated before feeding it to the puppy.
This is because once it reaches room temperature, it could become a breeding ground for bacteria and salmonella.
It would help if you talked to your vet to determine the amount of chicken you should offer your puppy. Well, you do not want the chicken to go to waste.
Once he has started eating the chicken you deliver him; you cannot refrigerate it back. If he has any leftovers, you should throw the meat away.
What About Other Chicken Organs?
I mentioned that while the chicken is healthy for puppies to eat, not all the parts. For instance, I ruled out chicken necks and skin for the outlined reasons.
However, internal chicken organs are nutritious for dogs. They supplement the digestive enzymes that may not be present in commercial dog foods.
Therefore, feeding your puppy raw chicken liver and other organs is perfectly safe. They provide different amino acids that are essential for healthy skin and coat.
These amino acids will also aid with repairing damaged tissues in the body.
Another advantage of feeding your puppy raw chicken organs is that they are easily digestible.
Chicken feet contain high amounts of glucosamine which is responsible for strong, healthy joints.
However, as I mentioned above, you must be careful when feeding bones to your chicken.
Now, I must mention that your puppy will love bones. He will want to protect it as he feeds. That being said, you should supervise him as he eats.
This way, you can always ensure that he does not swallow the bones. ‘
Avoid feeding a giant bone marrow of the chicken to your puppy. While it could contain healthy nutrients, it could also lead to an injury.
Your pup could break teeth, so you must take him to the vet for surgical rectification.
Also, ensure that the kids and other pets are far from where your puppy feeds. Children are curious and could try to take the bones away.
As a result, your puppy might get aggressive to defend what’s his. Also, chewing bones has a significant advantage: it is perfect for cleaning teeth.
A More Natural Diet For My Puppy
As I mentioned, some dog owners prefer a natural puppy diet to dog foods. It would help if you understood that dog foods are equally nutritious.
However, if you want to switch to a wild puppy diet, you should go ahead. But first, have you talked to your vet about this?
If yes, what else, other than chicken, can a puppy eat safely?
There are other natural foods that you can feed your puppy. However, safety must come first. Remember to be more cautious when introducing raw food into your puppy’s diet.
Other foods that may work well with your puppy include meat, fruits, and vegetables. Go for vegetables such as broccoli, fruits like apples, and organic meats.
Once again, beware of bacteria in these foods.
Conclusion
Can puppies eat chicken? They most definitely can, whether cooked or raw. The easiest and safe method of feeding chicken to puppies is cooking it.
However, should you go for a completely natural diet, you must exercise caution. The raw diet could expose your puppy to health risks such as bacterial infections.
Do not get me wrong; raw chicken can be pretty nutritious for your puppy. It will contain enzymes that are absent in commercial dog foods.
Well, that being said, I have outlined the precautions to take when changing your pup’s diet.
Beware of chicken bones that may lodge in your puppy’s digestive system. It could lead to health complications.
Therefore, when you feed cooked chicken to your pup, ensure that the meat is free of bones.
Finally, check with your vet before you change your pup’s diet. This way, you will know what to expect during this process.
Only feed him frozen chicken, which is free of bacteria and salmonella.
Take the above-outlined precautions to ensure that your puppy is safe while eating chicken, whether cooked or uncooked.
