My Dog Ate A Chicken Wing

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With dogs, accidents can easily happen, and it only takes a moment for a dangerous situation to occur. Many dogs will steal food from the counter or your plate when youre not looking… and many human foods can be hazardous to your pups health.

Even though you may give your dog raw bones to chew on as a treat, cooked bones (like chicken bones) are dangerous and should never be offered to a pet. So, if your dog has recently eaten a chicken bone, stay calm and follow these steps.

What if a dog eats a chicken wing?

What to do if you dog ate a chicken bone

If your dog ate a chicken bone, contact your vet immediately. Your vet will tell you if your dog needs to go to the clinic. Dr. Werber also recommends “feeding the dog something very bulky like bread to cover around the sharp edges, and it will begin to soften. Also, the digestive juices do a wonderful job softening the object even more, getting the bone to go through the intestines and out the other end.”

Dr. Werber advises that you shouldn’t induce vomiting if your dog ate a chicken bone. “Once a bone gets safely down the esophagus and into the stomach, we do not recommend having the dog throw it up because we don’t want to risk a sharp sliver of bone cutting the esophagus on the way up and out,” he explains.

While it’s scary to realize that your dog ate a chicken bone, it’s likely that your dog will be okay if he didn’t choke while eating the bone. “In most cases, the bone will be eliminated safely through the intestines,” Dr. Werber explains. “In the rare instance that surgery is required, it is preferable and safer to retrieve bones from within the stomach as opposed to in the esophagus. However, these surgeries are not often needed.”

I’m Not Sure When They Ate It – What Do I Do?

The advice is the same as above. Monitor closely for any problems and contact your vet immediately if you have any concerns.

Step 4: Watch for Signs

Regardless of whether you fed a cushion or just let your dog be, it’s important that you keep a close eye for the next 24-48 hours. You’ll need to be on the lookout for signs such as abdominal pain, lethargy, and black stools. You’ll also want to be on the lookout for any behavior that you may deem out of the ordinary.

If your pet insurance covers exam fees and your dog needs to be examined, there is a good chance your policy will reimburse those costs based on your policy details. However, if you are a new customer, vet expenses will not be covered until after your policy’s defined waiting periods, so signing up once you have an existing health concern is not going to help this time. Pre-existing conditions are not covered by any current pet insurance plans.

My Dog Ate A Chicken Wing

Now that you know what to do if your pup just ingested chicken bones, you may have some additional questions. Below are some common questions that many dog owners have after their pup eats chicken bones. If you feel we’ve missed anything, drop us a line in the comments!

Unfortunately, chicken bones are no different from other types of cooked bones and can be dangerous to dogs. They’re very brittle, especially when cooked, and can easily splinter in your dog’s powerful jaws. Instead of a tasty snack, the bones can turn into a mouthful of sharp points that can damage the gums, injure the throat, pierce the gullet, or make it all the way into the stomach to cause havoc there.

Chicken bones can also ‘go down the wrong way’, causing choking and coughing. Dogs’ stomachs can partially digest bones, but it takes a while- during which time sharp bits of bone can cause problems. The undigested portion can also get stuck in the guts, causing a blockage.

FAQ

Will my dog be OK if he ate a chicken wing bone?

Should You Be Worried If Your Dog Eats a Chicken Bone? In many cases, if your dog stays active, continues to eat and drink, and doesn’t exhibit any negative symptoms after eating a cooked chicken bone, they will be fine. The bone will pass through their digestive tract without causing any damage.

How long does it take for a chicken wing to pass through a dog?

The chicken bone will probably pass within 24 hours, but factors such as your dog’s size, breed, age and even diet will influence this. Some dogs may take over two days to pass the bones. If your dog seems perfectly normal after getting into chicken bones, then it is very likely that there will be no issues.

What happens when a dog eats a chicken bone?

If your dog ate a chicken bone, contact your vet immediately. Your vet will tell you if your dog needs to go to the clinic. Dr. Werber also recommends “feeding the dog something very bulky like bread to cover around the sharp edges, and it will begin to soften.

How long after eating a chicken bone will a dog get sick?

“If a dog manages to consume a large enough quantity of chicken bones to cause a blockage, then you will see symptoms like vomiting for more than 24 hours, appetite loss, depression, and usually no bowel movements at all,” says Dr. Myers.