Chicken for dogs .... cooked or not?

[Disenchanted3]

2 breeders have reccomended raw minced chicken, our butchers don't do that.

I bought some chicken portions.

My aunt boils the chicken strips it from the bone mixes with cooked rice & veg and freezes in portions.

Is this a good way to do it?

I know cooked bones are not recommended as the shatter when chewed and can cause splinters,

I really want to stop using these smelly tins (thats what the breeder was giving her)

She also has dried food (Eukanuba puppy) so should I mix that in or do dried morning, dried lunch chicken, rice, veg at night?

I have had dogs before (you wouldn't think it! lol) but I just tended to give them what ever dog food I bought iykwim, I would like to do the best this time.

chicken cooked or raw is great

what your aunt does sounds lovely

they also like raw mince sprinkled over their food

or crack an egg over their dry fod

Oh good, I was planning on copying her

Which veg is ok?

My Border Terrier was trained using chicken. Tiny slivers of cooked chicken used on walks to ensure she comes back, sit, stay, down etc etc. She really will do anything for chicken. I put a few slivers on her dry food. I always cook it.

I'd buy a few clothes pegs though...my mum gives chicken to their dogs and they can clear a whole room in seconds with one silent fart....

She makes it the same way as your aunt BTW!

any dark green veg is really good
but also potatoes cooked and raw
carrots
spinach
sprouts
courgette

peas
green beans
sweetcorn

dogs musn't have mushrooms, onions, grapes, raisins obviously and chocolate

Is broccoli and cauliflower OK?

Thanks btw!

no don't feed them Broccoli as it is toxic to dogs.

We feed DP's dog 'real' food rather than dogfood and the local petshop has a freezer with dog portion sized blocks of chicken/lamb/beef/tripe mince. About 50p a block.

He gets either that or sardines, with oats or rice and suitable leftovers.

Broccoli toxicity has been noted in livestock. Apparently in California it is widely available at certain times and the dairy cattle there are fed broccoli due to this. If the percentage of broccoli in the diet exceeds 10% it can cause gastrointestinal upsets and if it exceeds 25% it is fatal.

I could not find any references to problems with broccoli in small animals, probably because no one feeds them more than 10% of their diet as broccoli or possibly because they don't have rumens and therefore don't digest the broccoli as thoroughly.

The toxic ingredient in broccoli is isothiocyanate and it is reported to be a pretty potent gastrointestinal irritant.

So G. might be right. But I did find several references suggesting that broccoli should be fed to pets because of the bioflavinoids in it and their cancer fighting capabilities. So he might be wrong.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it unless you are planning on feeding a lot of broccoli at one time to Kate. But your daughter might want to follow her vet's advice or find out if there is more evidence of toxicity than I can find.

Mike Richards, DVM

Michael Richards, D.V.M. co-owns a small animal general veterinary practice in rural tidewater Virginia. Dr. Richards graduated from Iowa State University's College of Veterinary Medicine in 1979. He has been in private practice since graduating from veterinary school.