No one enjoys having to throw out perishable food or waste perfectly good food.
It’s tempting to give our dogs scraps from the table, but rotting meat isn’t healthy for them.
A dog’s special digestive system and rapid processing of unusual foods like the bird it might have caught earlier in the week might lead you to believe that they can eat anything.
This is why many dog owners have started feeding their pets a raw diet in recent years: the widespread belief that raw meat is healthier and easier to digest than some commercial dog foods.
But are nontraditional foods the healthiest choice? Can meat that has been sitting around or is getting old be fed to a dog?
Can Dogs Eat Old Chicken
It’s okay to feed your dog old chicken as long as it’s not too old or too raw. If your dog eats spoiled chicken, it could develop stomach pain, salmonellosis, clostridium perfringens, obesity, and choking hazards.
Let’s just say that giving your dog stale chicken won’t solve any of the potential problems associated with your dog’s diet.
If you’re still on the fence about the safety of feeding your dog old chicken, check out our in-depth guide to dogs.
Reasons Dogs Can’t Eat Old Chicken
Chicken seems like a safe meat option. Not as unhealthy as red meat, it works just as well in everything from pasta to pie. Nevertheless, due to the presence of pathogens, dealing with raw chicken is a completely different ballgame.
Some dog owners also believe the myth that their pets will thrive on a raw or meat-based diet because canines are obligate carnivores. Canines may have wolf ancestry, but they, like humans, eat a wide variety of foods.
Raw, old, or spoiled meat can contain harmful bacteria, and just like humans, they are susceptible to these germs. So, with that in mind, I’d like to share with you the top five reasons why you shouldn’t give your dog leftover chicken.
Garbage Gut
Animal doctors use the term “garbage gut” to refer to canine food poisoning. A number of different things, including eating spoiled food, eating leftovers, or eating old meat, can lead to this condition. In severe cases, shock may accompany the garbage gut symptoms of high body temperature, bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and hypothermia.
Compared to freshly cooked chicken, raw or stale poultry meat is more dangerous to give to your pet.
Animals and pets can safely consume cooked meat because bacteria is killed during the cooking process. On the other hand, your dog is more likely to get sick from eating stale, raw chicken because of the increased concentration of bacteria and toxins in such a meal.
Dogs under the age of five and toy dog breeds are also at greater risk of food poisoning than larger dog breeds.
If your vet determines that hospitalization is necessary, intravenous fluids, and antibiotics may be used to treat food poisoning. A speedy diagnosis and treatment plan can greatly shorten the time needed to recover.
Salmonellosis
There are approximately 2500 different serotypes of Salmonella that have been identified by scientists; all of them can infect humans. And here’s the kicker: this bacteria can survive for weeks in dry and wet environments, so freezing meat (like chicken) won’t kill it.
Adult dogs rarely get salmonellosis, but they can carry the bacteria without showing any signs of illness. In other words, your dog may be infected and spreading salmonella through its feces and saliva.
On the other hand, salmonellosis symptoms are fairly common in puppies and can include:
Watery stools
● Fever
Throwing up
Less hunger
A decreased rate of activity
In most cases, an infected adult dog can fight off the salmonellosis and return to normal within a week. Puppy dehydration is a real concern, and treatment may involve a stay in the vet’s office.
Clostridium Perfringens
The intestine-dwelling bacteria known as Clostridium perfringens are frequently discovered in poultry.
Over 80% of dogs carry the bacteria without showing any adverse symptoms, so it’s a bit of a mystery in canines. Stressors like a radical shift in diet can bring on symptoms of the infection due.
This means that even if your dog is accustomed to eating chicken, giving it stale chicken could trigger a reaction that causes the clostridium perfringens bacteria already present in your pet’s system to produce toxins, resulting in diarrhea.
Within a week, your pet’s immune system should have cleared up the infection on its own.
Gastritis (hemorrhagic gastroenteritis) can be fatal in dogs and manifests with bloody diarrhea and vomiting.
This condition is often treated with antibiotics and requires prompt veterinary attention to prevent severe dehydration and shock.
Obesity
As an example, a high protein diet is not recommended for canine breeds at risk of becoming overweight, such as Daschunds and Labrador Retrievers.
On the other hand, even high-energy dogs can become overweight if they eat nothing but meat.
Your puppy may have a super strong digestive system and be able to chow down on old chicken like it’s nothing, but this is no excuse to feed it to it regularly, as this can cause obesity and other health issues down the line.
Another reason why it’s not a good idea to feed your dog a lot of chicken (or any meat, for that matter), whether it’s old or not.
Choking Hazards
Chicken with bones, whether old or fresh, poses a choking hazard to canines; this risk increases with cooked meat.
Injuries (gastrointestinal and esophageal) are common after eating cooked bones because of their propensity to splinter.
To add insult to injury, chicken meat often has small bones that pets may try to swallow whole, which can cause an obstruction. This is not only going to hurt like hell, but it could endanger your life as well.
If you have any reason to believe your dog has eaten chicken bones, you should take him to the vet immediately to make sure he is okay.
Can Dogs Eat Chicken Left Out Overnight
It’s not a good idea to give your dog raw chicken that’s been sitting out overnight. Many different types of bacteria, such as salmonella, E. coli, campylobacter, and others, can be found in raw chicken.
If raw meat is left out at room temperature, harmful bacteria can multiply and produce toxins, which can lead to a variety of gastrointestinal problems if consumed.
The opposite is true for cooked chicken; if it smells fine and contains no bones, you might be able to feed it to your pet. However, your dog’s health is too important to risk, so we advise against giving it to him.
Wet dog food that has been left out overnight is dangerous for dogs, according to pet experts. Thus, it is not recommended to feed your dog chicken that has been left out for more than seven to eight hours.
Can Dogs Eat Expired Chicken
According to scientific research, eating expired chicken can still make you sick, even if it’s been cooked.
That’s because salmonella and other bacteria found in raw chicken don’t die when the meat is frozen, and they can continue to produce toxins. Meat can still cause food poisoning even if it has been cooked thoroughly.
Even though dogs’ digestive systems are stronger than our own, they can still be poisoned by the toxins these bacteria produce. Some pet owners swear their dogs can safely eat chicken that’s long past its prime.
However, you shouldn’t feed your dog old chicken if it’s still a puppy or if it has a weak immune system due to age or illness.
Dogs in their prime (without any health issues) may be able to digest the substance. However, if the meat has an odd odor, tastes bad, or looks off, it’s best to toss it.
Will Spoiled Chicken Make A Dog Sick
Twenty percent of dogs in one study who were given moldy cheese and old eggs developed a mild fever, according to AKC veterinarian Dr. Kevin Fitzgerarld.
So, even though dogs have highly acidic stomachs, they can still get sick from eating spoiled food.
Experts advise against giving dogs any kind of spoiled meat, but especially chicken. Ingestion of such meat can result in a bacterial infection with mild to severe symptoms due to the presence of pathogens and the toxins they produce.
Furthermore, cooking spoiled chicken does not render it safe for your dog, as this process only destroys the bacteria present in the meat and not the toxins. Because of this, there is a real risk that giving spoiled chicken to a dog will make it sick.
What Happens If A Dog Eats Old Raw Chicken
Since some dogs are able to digest stale raw chicken while others become ill after eating it, it’s hard to know what will happen if your dog consumes any.
Infected hounds, however, need to be treated quickly because of the severity of their symptoms.
Your vet will first need to determine what kind of bacteria they’re up against, so they can begin treatment accordingly. Electrolyte balance in a dehydrated dog may also depend on intravenous fluid therapy.
Once the source of the infection has been determined, your veterinarian may recommend antibiotics to completely eradicate the infection and any lingering toxins.
Can Dogs Get Salmonella From Chicken
Salmonella can be transmitted to adult dogs when they eat infected chicken, though not all infected dogs will show symptoms.
In short, your four-legged friend can be a salmonella carrier and shed the bacteria (via its saliva or stool) without showing any symptoms, such as vomiting or diarrhea.
Salmonellosis can affect any dog at any age, but puppies and older dogs with compromised immune systems or digestive systems are especially vulnerable. Light fevers, dehydration, tremors, low energy, etc. are also possible symptoms.
Feeding your pet raw or spoiled chicken (even cooked) increases the risk of salmonellosis.
While cooking kills off any bacteria, it does nothing to eliminate the toxins that can lead to food poisoning.
Can Dogs Get Food Poisoning From Old Chicken
There are a number of causes of food poisoning in canines, but one of the most common is eating spoiled meat.
Dogs, say advocates of the raw diet, are able to digest raw or rotten meat (including chicken) because they are direct descendants of wolves. Wolves are carnivores and scavengers, so it follows that wolf pups would be capable of the same behaviors.
This line of thinking, however, ignores the fact that domestication has resulted in significant dietary changes for dogs.
Changing your furball’s diet too quickly after it has become accustomed to a certain kind can cause stomach problems. This could explain why some dogs do well on a raw food diet while others experience nutritional imbalances and issues like diarrhea and vomiting.
Even if your dog is used to eating commercial dog food or freshly cooked doggy meals, it can still get sick from eating old chicken.
Things To Consider
Dog parents, like chicken parents, should always be on the lookout for the latest and greatest for their canine children. Pet owners often stress over providing a healthy diet for their animals.
You’ve probably heard of the raw diet if you’ve been looking for an alternative to commercial pet food.
Here are some things to keep in mind about the various diet plans out there and what the specialists have to say about them.
Raw Diet
Muscle meat, organ meat, raw eggs, doggy-safe fruits and vegetables, and so on are all fair game for raw dog food. You can either cook your own food from scratch or purchase pre-prepared options at the grocery store.
Those who advocate for this diet say it helps dogs’ skin and coat, cleans their teeth, and aids in digestion.
The American Veterinary Medical Association, however, does not approve of this practice and warns against feeding dogs any animal-source protein unless it has been through stringent pathogen elimination processes to prevent illness in both dogs and humans.
Fresh Food Diet
Because it contains only natural ingredients (fresh and cooked), the fresh food diet for canines is favored by veterinarians. This is in contrast to the raw food diet, which can do more harm than good to your pet’s health.
Adopting a fresh food diet for canines has one major drawback: you need to have in-depth knowledge about your dog’s nutritional needs, which is difficult to come by unless you’re a veterinary nutritionist.
However, pet nutritionists and food delivery services like Ollie can help you feed your pet a healthy diet that is tailored to their specific breed, age, body type, and level of activity.