from what age can my puppy have chicken wings ?

[poodlecross]

my dog has raw chicken wings every morning. We now have a 7 week old puppy too and dont want him to have them yet as he wont be able to crunch the bones well enough.

What age shall I start him on raw / wings do you think ?

You can certainly give them now. I know several breeders who wean their litters on a raw diet and pups would be having chicken wings to gnaw on by 6 weeks of age or so. You can hold one end of the wing (its easier with pliers than trying to hold it in your fingers) and let the pup chew on the other to get him used to them.

You can also cut the wing into smaller pieces. I have to do this for one of my pathetic dogs. Use sharp kitchen scissors and cut between the joints of the wing.

We started our puppy on them at 7 weeks and she was fine. It used to take her about twenty minutes to chew through one but she never had any problems with choking or not being able to get her teeth through them!

Ooooh, oh, please help me with the bones thing, whilst you're here!

Our dog is almost a year old. Are we supposed to give him cooked bones, or raw? And does it depend on the type of bones? I gave him the a cooked beef bone last week which kept him entertained for hours. But then worried that I was supposed to give him raw bones.

Don't give cooked bones, ever. Risk of splintering.

Raw chicken wings/drumsticks/carcass/minced offal from butchers makes up a big part of my dogs diet. Raw marrow bone as a treat, green tripe, lamb ribs, minced turkey/lamb and a raw egg once a week. Oily fish every now and again. Liver as a training treat. Occasional leftovers such as brown rice or mushed up veg. courtesy of DD

Thank you! I will chuck out the other cooked bone I was saving for him and get some chicken wings out of the freezer instead. His diet is mainly fishy though I do make Liver Cake for treats.

If its warm I give my boy his mince / wings still frozen, he's still manages em no bother!

Mine had chicken wings from 6 weeks.

Where do you get your chicken wings/other raw foods? Butcher?

We feed our 2 labs frozen meat as well - it makes them actually chew it properly rather than a couple of chomps then swallowing!

If you give a raw drumstick, should you take it away when they get down to the bone? Puppy had one last night and after she'd chewed all the flesh off she had the whole bone in her mouth, rather than chewing on it between her paws iyswim? I took it away in the end because I was worried she was going to chew it up or try to swallow it whole . With wings they can just eat them up, bones and all, right?

I also gave one to my Westie; she licked it once and then turned her nose up in disgust . Do some dogs just not like raw?

Yes, from the butcher. Mine saves me bags full of chicken and rabbit carcass, for free, and also sells little bags of minced offal/bone/scraps for about 70p.

Reduced section of tescos, and value ranges can be a real treasure trove. There is specific companies who sell the free flow minces, turkey necks, and all other bits and bobs, but none of them deliver to me. Lots of threads re BARF feeding where these will be listed.

Some dogs would struggle with raw to start, I imagine it's entirely different from eating kibble.

My boy at first would spend ages messing about eating a wing, as he's it more confident and (guessing here!) his teeth/neck muscles have got used to the tearing actions it's so normal for him, and he makes very short work of a carcass!

Mine eats whole drumsticks, doesn't take the flesh off or anything just crunches it up. Different again when he has a marrow bone, he holds them down and chews them as opposed to eating it!

Yes, they should eat the bone and all from a drumstick.