Chicken Wings Questions

[Sara_Clara]

I have read a few times on the forums about members giving these to their dogs and saw a packet in Morrisons yesterday.  Tempted to buy but then thought I had lots of questions so here goes:-

Pebbles (18 weeks) is doing very well on RC Junior kibble and I am happy to keep her on this.  Would it be nice to give her these also as a treat?  If so how often and how many?  Think I read they are good for anal gland problems?  Do you feed them raw?

worried she might go off her kibble if fed these?

sorry, new to all this.

Sara

[LynneB]

Yes you do feed them raw. I start my puppies on dried and change them to raw once they have their adult teeth. That is just my choice but I'm sure other people wean straight on to raw.
All my adults are on raw and they love chicken wings

[LynneB]

They are part of their normal diet, so you would need to reduce the intake of other food.

[MaggieR]

I'm in the process of moving to raw, but before that Maggie was on a mix of Nature Diet in the morning and kibble in the evening.  2/3 times a week I would substitute her kibble for a couple of raw chicken wings. It never put her off her kibble, but then she has always tended to just eat what was put in front of her. 
Dunno about age - I started Maggie on them at about 18 months after I read about it on here...

[Sharon]

When I have a litter here, I give the pups (from 5 weeks of age) 1 chicken wing instead of one meal, it's amazing how quickly a 5 week old pup can finish it off......one thing I do, is freeze them individually  then defrost before feeding to kill off any nasty bugs that might be lurking.

[Neon]

This is really going to seem like a dumb question but do they crunch up the chicken bones as well without any probs.  I've always been frightened of feeding bones (unless knuckle or marrow) in case of bone pieces doing damage.

[ElaineH]

Oh yes, they crunch them up! Very satisfying noise it is too.

[Neon]

I'm tempted to give Tobes one.  So, a whole, uncooked chicken wing and he will eat it without fear of a bone getting stuck or anything (sorry to sound like a doubting Thomas).  I just need reassurance.

[MaggieR]

If you're worried about him not coping with it whole or swallowing it whole, I used to break the wing into the three sections and feed her them separately.  But think that was more my nervousness than her ability to cope with it - now give her lamb ribs whole, chicken necks etc and she just munches and swallows as she goes through it. Its a bit of a leap of faith... I grew up being told "never give dogs bones, especially chicken bones" and its only coming on here that I found out different, so your concern/doubts are perfectly normal 

[Sharon]

Oh yes, they crunch them up! Very satisfying noise it is too.

Not to my daughter who is a veggie  .......our last litter we had them all crunching away, sounded great....lol.

[janandted]

I have given Mollie chicken carcasses from 9wks, i did cut them up and i have to say i was very very nervous the first time  , i also made sure i gave it when the vet had a surgery   . Now i give them whole and she ploughs her way through it   I have tried lamb ribs but she couln't manage them, however, now she has almost a full set of adult teeth   i shall try again. Just go for it ,i'm sure Pebbles will love them. Jan and Mollie  

[Neon]

If you're worried about him not coping with it whole or swallowing it whole, I used to break the wing into the three sections and feed her them separately.  But think that was more my nervousness than her ability to cope with it - now give her lamb ribs whole, chicken necks etc and she just munches and swallows as she goes through it. Its a bit of a leap of faith... I grew up being told "never give dogs bones, especially chicken bones" and its only coming on here that I found out different, so your concern/doubts are perfectly normal 

Thanks for that.  I was always told never to give bones unless it was raw knuckle or marrowbone too so this is a whole new concept for me.  I'd love to try it, so many COL's do, but still very nervous about it.

[vixen]

 Pebbles may not take to the chicken wing immediately.    When I first gave my two girls chicken wings, Stevie just held hers in her mouth for ages, wondering what to do with it  
She soon got the idea though and now I have to hold on to it with pliers to stop her swallowing it with one gulp    I like her to take her time and crunch it up first before she swallows.  

[Monstersspaniel]

Never give them cooked chicken wings/bones or any cooked bones this is where problems can accure, chicken wings are fine but you will need to supplement with chicken breast or wet food as your pup may well have very hard stools if its the first time eating them

balance is important with raw:>

[Karma]

chicken wings contain a good balance of meat to bone for an occassional treat... if you were feeding them for every meal, you'd need to balance out with other meat, but as an occassional treat I've never known anyone have a problem....