What To Do if Your Dog Ate a Chicken Bone

You only left the kitchen for a minute—but when you return, the roasted chicken you pulled out of the oven is gone.

The only potential culprit—your beloved pup—is sitting on the floor, wagging his tail and looking quite pleased with himself. You then panic when you realize that your dog has eaten the chicken bones, too.

Do you rush him to the vet immediately?

Just like you would never leave a child near the hot food that was just prepared, it’s very risky to leave your dog unattended. Eating hot chicken can cause burns to a dog's mouth and skin, and it can also cause significant upset stomach from the ingested bones and any undercooked meat or excess fat/skin from the chicken.

Here’s what you need to do and watch out for if your dog ate chicken bones.

Can Dogs Eat Chicken Bones?

Dogs have been eating bones for thousands of years.

Chicken bones often will dissolve once they hit a dog’s stomach—before they have a chance to become dangerous. Because of this, dogs can typically pass chicken bones uneventfully.

Other bones—such as beef and pork bones—are usually thicker. Thus, they can cause significantly more distress and disease.

However, chicken bones can potentially be more dangerous than other animal bones because they’re hollow. Hollow bones tend to break and splinter more readily, which can cause internal bleeding and other serious consequences like an intestinal obstruction.

Puppies are often at a higher risk than adult dogs of developing complications from eating chicken bones because their digestive system is smaller. This smaller diameter of the stomach and intestines will cause the bones to create more damage as they pass through. They may even allow bones to get stuck more readily, which can cause an obstruction.

Ideally, no dogs should ingest chicken bones as they often cause more harm than good.

Can Dogs Eat Raw Chicken Bones?

No—dogs should not eat raw chicken bones.

Raw bones can get stuck on the roof of a dog’s mouth more easily. This can cause injury to a pup’s oral cavity.

Additionally, raw chicken meat is less safe than cooked chicken meat. Eating the raw bones and/or the raw meat can lead to an E. coli or other bacterial infection.

However, raw chicken bones are safer than cooked chicken bones when accidentally ingested by a dog. Before the bones are cooked, they are much harder to fracture and splinter when chewed.

Can Dogs Eat Cooked Chicken Bones?

No, dogs shouldn't eat cooked chicken bones or any other animal bones.

Once a chicken bone is cooked, it becomes much more fragile and can easily break into sharp pieces when a pup chews them. These sharp bone fragments can cause internal bleeding, rupture of the stomach or intestines leading to sepsis, or an intestinal obstruction that needs surgical intervention.

Signs Your Dog Swallowed a Chicken Bone

Signs that your dog ate chicken bone(s) include:

• Choking

• Vomiting, with or without blood

• Vomiting after eating

• Retching or gagging

• Drooling

• Licking lips excessively

• Abdominal pain or bloating

• Coughing or labored breathing

• Diarrhea, with or without blood

• Tenesmus (straining to defecate)

• Lethargy or change in behavior

• Lack of appetite or anorexia

What Happens If a Dog Eats Chicken Bones?

If your dog has eaten chicken bones and has any symptoms of illness or they are not acting like themselves, take them to their veterinarian or an emergency veterinary clinic immediately.  

The veterinarian will do a physical examination on your pup. They will then recommend taking an X-ray of your dog's abdomen to look for the location of the ingested bones and to investigate any issues that may be occurring.

Potential Obstruction 

Cooked bones tend to be slightly softer than raw bones, but some (such as the thigh bone) can be quite large relative to the size of the dog. 

If a dog swallows—or tries to swallow—a chicken bone, and it doesn’t go all the way down, it can become lodged in the esophagus. This can cause a lot of gagging, drooling and retching.

In other dogs, the bone can become stuck in the upper part of the airway—either the back of the throat (the pharynx) or the start of the airway. This is an immediate emergency in which the dog will show significant signs of distress and might cough heavily or have trouble breathing.

Risk of Tearing the Gastrointestinal (GI) Tract 

Chicken bones splinter easily, and when they are swallowed, they can cause perforation of the esophagus or the intestinal tract.

Contamination From Bacteria

Particularly if the chicken is uncooked, your dog is at risk of exposure to bacteria like salmonella.

What To Do If Your Dog Eats Chicken Bones

If your dog eats a chicken bone, it’s possible that it might not cause harm. However, it’s important to be proactive.

Feeding your dog a few slices of plain white bread or soft food right after ingestion can help to coat the bone and hopefully prevent harm from any sharp edges.

Keep a very close eye on your dog to make sure they don’t develop any signs of illness. Symptoms such as choking, vomiting, and diarrhea can be life threatening.  

If your pup begins to have any symptoms or they are a puppy, seek veterinary attention immediately.

If your dog is active, is eating well and seems completely normal, it’s generally safe to simply monitor the situation.

What To Do if Your Dog Chokes on a Chicken Bone

If you are concerned that the bone is stuck in the upper airway or the upper intestinal tract, this is an emergency and should be addressed immediately.

If you can see or grasp the bone, you should do so. However, be mindful to not stress your pup out further. If the bone is not immediately visible, take your pup to the vet immediately.

As a rule, don’t feed bones to your dog at all, and don’t allow your pup any access to them.

How To Prevent Your Dog From Eating Chicken Bones

The easiest way to prevent your dog from getting sick from chicken bones is not letting them eat or have access to them.

If you have a dog that likes to steal food off the counter and you are cooking chicken for dinner, keeping them in their crate or wearing a basket muzzle is recommended.

Keeping indoor trash bins up on a counter or even out of the kitchen altogether can help prevent a curious and hungry pup from getting into trouble.

Remember, dogs have an impeccable sense of smell—so don’t leave the leftover chicken in the trash inside your home. Your dog might take extreme measures to get the bones out of the bin as they are attracted to the scent.

Put all chicken bones and any other discarded portions of your meal into a separate bag, tightly secured and double bagged. This trash should then then be thrown into an outdoor garbage can. Make sure your outdoor bin is in a place that your dog can’t get into when they are let outside to play or potty.

If you witness your dog snatch a chicken bone, calmly tell them to drop it and offer a treat as a trade.

Stay calm and don’t reprimand your pup, as that usually prompts a curious dog to swallow what they have in their mouth.