Can Beagles Eat Chicken?
When I was considering adopting a beagle, I wanted to be aware of future needs of my dog, specifically what they can and can’t eat. So, I did a little research to find out if beagles could eat chicken.
So, can beagles eat chicken? Dogs are individual creatures with different needs from one another. As a general group, beagles can eat chicken. Certain beagles do have allergies, however, so an elimination diet is best to discover if chicken is the cause.
Because most dog food does contain chicken, pet owners automatically assume that chicken is ok for their pet. In most cases, reputable dog food brands are good picks, but pet owners need to be in-tune with their dog’s needs, and really learn what works for them. If your beagle is exhibiting allergy-like symptoms, it could be that the chicken they’re eating is the cause.
Raw Chicken
For humans, there is no question of eating raw chicken. It is bad for us and can lead to food poisoning and sickness. Everyone has experienced food poisoning from bad Chinese, your crazy aunt’s chicken salad, or maybe you did yourself in with your own cooking.
What they all these instances have in common? Undercooked chicken. Which brings us to the question, can beagles eat raw chicken?
Dogs, in general, have stomachs with higher levels of acidity than in humans, giving them greater protection from bacteria. The reason humans cannot eat raw chicken is that the acidity level of our stomachs is too low to kill off potentially harmful strains of bacteria.
In raw chicken, salmonella is often seen as the culprit behind the danger, which oftentimes is correct. However, raw chicken can contain numerous other bacterias just as dangerous as salmonella.
Many vets recommend not feeding raw chicken to dogs because it is a precaution that guarantees the safety and health of your pet. That being said, the high acidity of dogs stomachs afford them an extra level of protection making it (for the most part) ok for them to consume chicken raw.
If you are planning on feeding raw chicken to your beagle, be sure to be mindful of the purchase date. It is best if your chicken is as fresh as possible. If you don’t plan on feeding the chicken immediately to your beagle, store the chicken in the freezer.
If you plan on feeding the raw chicken to your beagle the following day, you can store it in the fridge. As an added precaution, you can rinse the chicken before serving to your beagle.
It is not recommended that you give your beagle bone-in chicken. While it is mostly cooked bones that owners should be on their guard about, uncooked chicken bones still present a danger. Because chicken bones are often small, if given to medium to large dogs, it is a choking hazard.
Cooked Chicken
Cooked chicken bones are even worse for dogs because cooked bones are more prone to splintering. Please do not give your dogs bone-in chicken without removing the bones. If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of removing the bone, buy boneless chicken.
It is extremely important that you do not give your dogs chicken bones or else you might not have a dog anymore. Chicken bones are notoriously bad for dogs and can even lead to death. If they are given chicken bones, the bones splinter will splinter easily causing choking or a punctured gastrointestinal tract.
Unseasoned cooked chicken introduces protein into your beagle’s diet. If you are giving your beagle chicken for the first time, be sure to introduce small amounts over a period of time. This will allow him/her to become used to this new ingredient as well as ensure that this is not the only food they will eat.
It is best to serve a small amount of chicken with your beagle’s regular meal, or if you plan on feeding your beagle “natural” foods, give them chicken and vegetables, or chicken and another food. Protein is not the only nutrient your beagle needs, so be sure that they are not refusing other foods in favor of chicken.
Like in humans, eating foods in moderation is the key. If your beagle is not exhibiting allergies, then in terms of eating chicken, they should be good to go.
Beagle Chicken Allergies
Beagles with skin conditions could actually be experiencing a manifestation of a food allergy or intolerance. Lots of times, the culprit is overprocessed dog food. The reaction can be caused by chemical additives. If you switch to raw or “natural” foods for your dog and the allergies do not alleviate, it could be an allergy to chicken or other foods.
A large percentage of dog food brands contain chicken, so it is likely that even if you aren’t feeding your beagle baked chicken, he has been eating chicken as part of his dog food.
If your beagle has been exhibiting allergy symptoms such as:
- Hair loss or thinning fur
- Dry, itchy skin and/or rash
- Ear inflammations
- Chewing on self
- Dulling of the coat
- Upset stomach
- Eye discharge
- Coughing
- Wheezing noises
Then it could be caused by the food he is eating. The top food allergies for dogs are:
- Dairy Products
- Chicken
- Beef
- Some fish
- Wheat
- Lamb
- Corn
- Soy
- Chicken eggs
- Grains
Beagles specifically are more prone to soy and grain allergies.
If dogs are allergic to one food item, it is highly likely they are allergic to multiple. The best thing you can do for your beagle is to consult your vet to see if they think his allergy symptoms are being caused by his food, or if he has environmental allergies.
If your vet thinks your beagle is experiencing allergies due to the food they’re eating, it is highly likely they’ll suggest putting your beagle on a hypoallergenic diet, or testing food elimination.
Looking up hypoallergenic dog diets can often lead to finding a pricey dog food that your dog doesn’t really need. The elimination diet is more sensible to research because you can identify specific foods that are causing your beagle’s allergies.
Beagle owners should introduce food to their beagle containing ingredients they’ve never had before, then after 7-10 days, start slowly re-introducing ingredients to their diet such as chicken or grains one-by-one spacing each ingredient out by another 7-10 days.
Food allergies or sensitivities can show up immediately, or take a few days to manifest. If you introduce ingredients one at a time, it makes it easier to find out what ingredients (or multiple ingredients) are causing your beagle’s distress.
If your beagle’s “allergies” only become more severe during this testing process, then it is likelier that his allergy symptoms are being caused by something environmental. Like humans, dogs can experience seasonal allergies.
Additionally, blood and urine tests at the vet will likely help rule out possible health conditions that could be causing your beagle’s discomfort.
Sick Dog Benefits
If your beagle is sick, the first thing you should do is consult your vet. Your vet is a licensed professional that can guide you to best meet the needs of your sick beagle. Questions about your beagle’s diet, while they are sick, should first be run by your vet.
That being said, it is very difficult to get a sick beagle to eat. Between diarrhea, vomiting, and lack of appetite, a beagle that won’t eat is understandable, but also stressful to owners who are concerned for their pet’s well-being.
Chicken can help entice your beagle to eat and ensure they are getting some nutrients especially if they are having diarrhea, or have been sick for a while. A nice bland meal that beagles can eat when they are sick is unseasoned shredded chicken and rice.
Pre-shredding the chicken makes it easier for your weak beagle to eat more, and in combination with the rice, it makes for a meal that is easy on the stomach.
If your beagle is having trouble eating, or you want to load him/her up with nutrients, bone broth is an easy way to accomplish that. Bone marrow is in bone broth giving your beagle healthy nutrients.
If you plan on making your own bone broth, then you need to be on your guard. As mentioned previously, cooked bones are extremely dangerous for dogs. Be sure that no bones or bone pieces are in the broth you give to your dog.
To be extra cautious and ensure that you don’t have to make an emergency visit to the vet, strain the broth through cheesecloth or a mesh strainer to make sure that no small bones escaped your notice.
Related Questions:
Do most dogs have food allergies? Some dogs are genetically predisposed to food allergies due to poor breeding practices. Less than one percent of all dogs have food allergies making environmental allergies more common.
Can a dog with a chicken allergy eat turkey? Just because a dog exhibits a chicken allergy does not mean that he cannot have turkey, duck or any other kind of bird. Many dogs that have reactions to chicken do not have any bleed-over allergies to other birds.