Chicken. It is everyone’s favorite food. Yours. Mine. Your dog. My dog. I mean who would not love a savory chicken barbeque or a crispy fried chicken?
Plus, chicken meat is healthy for us humans and our dogs as it provides protein for our bodies. But what if the chicken meat is served raw? Can dogs eat raw chicken?
Or should they, like us, stay away from eating raw chicken?
I mean, a dog’s diet is different from ours, for example, we can eat various foods that they cannot such as chocolate or sweets, or they can eat food that we are not supposed to eat like the obvious one is dog food. But what about raw chicken? Well, that is what we are here to answer in this article.
Can Dogs Eat Raw Chicken?
The answer to that is yes, they can eat raw chicken. But most vets advise against it. Read on to get the scoop.
Unlike us humans, dogs can eat raw chicken and that is because their body is different from ours, specifically in the digestive system.
However, even though they can, it may still be risky to do so. Especially if we consider other factors like age and the dog’s immune system.
The reason why dogs can eat raw chicken unlike us, humans, is because their digestive system works differently from ours. A dog’s digestive system is shorter compared to ours. It does not have extra stomachs or rumens, or long digestive tracts.
Most of the time, for us, it takes some time for the food to be digested and ready for defecating. But for dogs, it is usually fast. As soon as they are done eating they can defecate after 2-5 minutes.
Dogs and Raw Chicken
One possible explanation why it is okay for them to eat raw chicken is due to their fast metabolism. The bacteria in that chicken just does not have enough time to grow in their bodies.
Plus to add to that, our dogs have a highly acidic sterilizing chamber on their stomach. This means that they are more acidic compared to us humans.
And that’s not all. They also have many powerful enzymes along with gut bacteria which can help in defending their bodies from outside bacteria.
Should You Give Your Doggo Raw Chicken?
However, even though they can eat raw chicken, that does not mean that they should. Just like with us humans, eating raw meat may cause salmonella or other bacterial contamination.
Vets advise against dogs eating raw meat or chicken for the reasons stated above. Plus, raw meat may not be the best choice of food for puppies.
By properly cooking chicken, the food is more digestible. And foods that are more digestible are better because our puppies can absorb nutrients more easily and as a result, they can build more muscle and strengthen their immune system.
The same could be said for senior dogs, especially those with weaker immune systems. Raw chicken can also increase the risk of nutritional deficiency.
So to wrap it up, dogs can eat raw chicken with lower risks of suffering from an illness thanks to their digestive system. But there are risks. And it is still not the best option as our dogs may not easily absorb nutrients from raw chicken.
Learn More About What Human Foods Are Healthy or Harmful for Dogs
This article is part of our special series of articles about “What Human Foods Can Dogs Eat?”
Check out our other articles in this series including: Can Dogs Eat Brussel Sprouts?
