How deadly is ingesting roasted turkey leg for dogs?

December 1, 2023 10:33 AM

I accidentally left out a roasted turkey leg on my kitchen counter and my dog ate the whole thing overnight (skin, fat, bone, ligaments) around 2am. I was awoken by the sound of her crunching the bones.

Please be gentle. Yes, I know dogs are not supposed to eat cooked poultry at all, because of shard/splintering reasons in the GI tract. For reference, she weighs almost 60 pounds and is generally classified as a large dog, being a German Shepherd x Saluki mix.

Sorry, I don't know how to link a photo bc I am too distraught. But she looks like a very lean, long-legged German Shepherd.

Now it has been 8 hours since her snack, and she is her usual self: energetic, no vomiting or diarrhea or any distress. I read online from a reputable source at 2am that monitoring her for the next 72 hours is important, which I can do.

YANMV, but I was hoping for positive, heartwarming answers of dogs that survived ingested cooked poultry. Please set my mind at ease.

posted by honey badger to Pets & Animals (30 answers total)

Best answer: I grew up with an iron-stomached, counter-surfing malamute. She ate more than one chicken part, and also literally ate bits of a glass pie plate from a pie that she stole, to no apparent ill effect.
posted by rockindata at 10:46 AM on December 1, 2023 [10 favorites]

I don't understand. I feed my dog bits of cooked poultry all the time. Her canned dog food is literally shredded chicken in sauce, and I often feed her bits of my chicken sandwich at lunch even though I know I shouldn't. She's never had an adverse reaction.

I would think - and perhaps this is your point - that the real issue is the bones, and that's right. I have on occasion had dogs get into the trash and tear open the bags and eat bones and it has always made me nervous but nothing bad has happened, although it's something I'm always wary about.

That doesn't mean it's never a problem - it can certainly be a health hazard and a serious one. Monitoring your pup for signs of distress is good and smart. I hope everything works out and you have a happy result and a happy dog!
posted by kbanas at 10:47 AM on December 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

As I understand it, the thing about poultry bones is that they’re unacceptably risky — a shard might do internal damage. So you want to watch the dog for signs of distress. But if the dog seems fine after a day or two, you probably got away with it, and they really are fine.
posted by LizardBreath at 10:48 AM on December 1, 2023 [8 favorites]

Best answer: I also had a beardie mix rescue while living near a fried chicken place. She could find chicken bones on the sidewalk like nobody’s business, and it was a race to see if she could get it down before I could pry it out of her mouth. Also no apparent issues, though I lost the race more than once.
posted by rockindata at 10:49 AM on December 1, 2023 [7 favorites]

Best answer: I think with chicken, etc bones it's more like cave diving or riding a motorcycle. Most of the time you're fine, but it can be dangerous, and when it goes wrong it can go quite wrong. But when it's fine, it's fine.

Make sure your dog continues to behave normally, is eating and drinking normally, and watch your friend's poop closely to make sure everything is moving along at a good clip. At the first sign of a problem, go to the vet.

But more likely than not, everyone will be okay here.
posted by phunniemee at 10:51 AM on December 1, 2023 [19 favorites]

Best answer: Oh, and for a heartwarming story of survival? Thirty years ago in the Peace Corps I saw a village dog stand there snapping up cooked chicken bones as a cook tossed them aside after picking the meat off them. The dog ate the bones off about five pounds of chicken, and was completely fine.
posted by LizardBreath at 10:51 AM on December 1, 2023 [6 favorites]

Best answer: YANMV, but I was hoping for positive, heartwarming answers of dogs that survived ingested cooked poultry. Please set my mind at ease.

Oh, my god, I had a schnauzer/poodle mix, all of maybe 15 lbs, eat an entire rotisserie chicken once and she lived to be 21 years old. Another dog, a golden/shepherd mix, ate an entire platter of grilled chicken wings OFF THE GRILL and was completely fine, albeit very sticky from the bbq sauce.

To be clear, in both cases this was skin and bones and all. In the second case we're pretty sure it was skin, bones, and at least one or two pieces of charcoal.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 11:00 AM on December 1, 2023 [9 favorites]

My two pit bulls beat me to bones of all types and sizes when we walk through the park. The smaller one would let me take bones out of her mouth without biting, but she also would just chew faster when she saw me reaching. When we have family gatherings, our folks are seriously old school (like, “dogs eat leftovers bc dog food is expensive and we’re poor” old school), pmuch everyone throws bones to them and I can’t make them not. The smaller one died last month at 15, basically of being 15.

I think the caveat is about worst cases, because most people can’t afford the remedy when bone-eating goes wrong. In conclusion, dogs love to eat bones and if she got away with it this time, no foul.
posted by toodleydoodley at 11:07 AM on December 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

One of my dogs was an expert at finding chicken bones during walks (how were there so many in my old neighborhood?? My guess is raccoons.) , and despite my best efforts at pulling them out of his mouth he occasionally won and chomped them up. He passed away at 16.75 years, and had a healthy digestive system the entire time.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 11:09 AM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: My boxer once ate 6 (!!!) chicken legs bones and all off a plate when I turned my back. She has also eaten countless socks, underwear, bits of toys, and other associated foreign objects and pooped them all out. My vet advised me to give her some plain white bread with the bones to “cushion” and canned pumpkin because the fiber helps bulk up the stools and protect the digestive tract. Obviously, you should carefully monitor her and her stools the next week or so but I would try not to worry too much.
posted by sparringnarwhal at 11:37 AM on December 1, 2023 [8 favorites]

This is an interesting thread! I am always very careful, but my largish mix of all herding dogs manages to get bones from a chicken, duck or goose every now and again, and has never suffered the slightest discomfort from them. There are other things he eats that make him sick, one of them is too many of those sticks that are supposed to be good for dogs' teeth (when we hadn't closed the dog-treat drawer properly). But the main point is that he will eat everything, all the time and sometimes he gets sick. I have been so worried.

Wait, once I read that dogs can eat chicken bones if they have been pressure cooked, and I would give him those a couple of times. Not good at all. But each time he was well again before I could get him into the car to go to the vet. It was just a terrible poop- and barfstorm for like 10 minutes.

I think the caveat is about worst cases, because most people can’t afford the remedy when bone-eating goes wrong. In conclusion, dogs love to eat bones and if she got away with it this time, no foul.

I think this might be it.
posted by mumimor at 11:39 AM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

No scolds from me. My little terrier manages to find chicken bones all the time (at the park, in a teenager's room on a plate left on the floor), and he's still kicking at 14. I'm not saying I'd feed him chicken bones on purpose, but there's a different between dangerous and toxic. Poultry and bones aren't toxic, just sometimes dangerous, it seems.
posted by bluedaisy at 12:05 PM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Do you have any vaseline? When my dog ate SHARDS OF GLASS the vet said to feed her a "vaseline sandwich" which would help coat any sharp shards passing through. Literally make it like a peanut butter sandwich, my dog thought it was delicious and was grateful for it because I pretended I'd made it for myself.
posted by ojocaliente at 1:00 PM on December 1, 2023 [9 favorites]

My dog has eaten so many things he shouldn't have, including chicken bones. My most embarassing bad-owner story is the time I gave him the same long-lasting chew treat every day for MONTHS before I realized it was made of rawhide (yes, I'm a bonehead, and yes, I stopped when I realized). Anyway, he's almost 11 and he's never had a problem with any of it.

Dogs evolved as scavengers and pets who lived off our scraps, including cooked bones. This doesn't mean that we should give them cooked poultry bones indiscriminately, but it does mean that your dog is likely to be just fine. Keep an eye on her over the next few days to make sure she's eating well, pooping regularly, etc.
posted by lunasol at 1:02 PM on December 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Eating Too Much Of The Meat We Cooked is the main thing that dogs have done for the past 15,000 years.

Sure, monitor the situation, but please don't be worried.
posted by foursentences at 1:12 PM on December 1, 2023 [8 favorites]

My kid called sobbing last Thanksgiving because our dogs had fished the turkey carcass out of the garbage last year & devoured it. We kept an eye on them for a couple days, but there were no signs of distress. They are all still healthy garbage-stealing monsters. (We have learned that all poultry bones need to be bagged & either put in the fridge until garbage day or taken out of the house to the outdoor trash immediately or else the dogs will dig them out of the kitchen trash.)
posted by belladonna at 1:14 PM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

It's likely she'll be fine. Cooked bones may be brittle and splinter-y, so watch for intestinal discomfort/ bleeding. She probably wants the other turkey leg. The skin is nice and fatty to lubricate things.
posted by theora55 at 1:17 PM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

I wish I'd read this thread before I spent over a thousand dollars at the emergency vet when my dog (who ate the glass shards with vaseline sandwich chaser) ate an entire rotisserie chicken with bones in it. She was totally fine after the entire chicken, btw, but they did give her some kind of medicine.
ALSO just a side note: if you have a dog that likes people food don't leave out baked goods filled with raisins, even on a countertop that you can't believe the dog can get to. Raisins create another situation that will make you have to decide between "probably it will be fine" and "$$ treatment just in case."
posted by ojocaliente at 3:02 PM on December 1, 2023 [3 favorites]

No, the only time I've had to take my food-stealer extraordinaire labradoodle to the vet for his poor decision-making was when he wolfed down an entire packet of Kit-Kats left on the floor during Hallowe'en.

They gave him $120 medicine to induce vomiting.

He ate the vomit.

We were charged $240.
posted by rpophessagr at 3:14 PM on December 1, 2023 [12 favorites]

My late dog (also a shepherd-y guy) ate dozens and dozens of chicken bones he found on the street and snarfed down faster than I could stop him and was always fine. So seconding everyone else saying, yes, it can cause real problems, but dogs will eat illicit snacks and most of them will be just fine.

I did once have to stand on the street with my hand in his mouth and waving treats in front of him with my other hand for a good 10 minutes to stop him from swallowing an enormous and rather pointy oxtail whole, but that's the only one that would have made me seriously worry.
posted by snaw at 3:39 PM on December 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

Not chicken bones but my pupper ate a whole bag of peanut m&ms when he was 3 and I freaked but nothing happened and now he's 11. I think alot of the rules are to the extreme. No, he shouldn't eat peanut m&ms on the regular like he shouldn't eat chicken bones on the reg, but a once in a blue moon is likely fine.
posted by Saucywench at 3:46 PM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

My dog eats chicken bones from my own jerk chicken dinner once or twice a week every week. She's 12 and has never had an issue. Your dog will likely be fine.

People (vets, too) that say not to feed dogs cooked bones are being hysterical. I suspect vets are just confirmation biased. They have no idea how many gazillions of dogs are eating them every day with no problem, but because every dog with a good owner that has an incident ends up at the vet, vets seem to believe it'll happen every time.

Oddly, they never tell us not to walk our dogs across the street even though they occasionally have dogs come in after being hit by cars.
posted by dobbs at 6:50 PM on December 1, 2023

The other comments seem to have reassurance well in hand but I’ll chime in as well. I could have written this post two days ago and lo! My dog is perfectly fine. We’ve kept an eye out for weird/absent pooping or changes in behavior/appetite but all is well.

My childhood Labrador as a young pup ate:
-Barbie heads
-tennis balls
-a pound of Hershey’s chocolate
-rubber bands
-a roll of paper towel
-parakeet feathers
And
-whole lightbulb, glass, filament and all
And he lived to be 15 years old.
posted by shesdeadimalive at 7:12 PM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Ours (similar size) stole and ate a big sharp wood skewer of prawns from a barbecue. We saw it break into two pieces, each maybe 8 cm long, as it went down the hatch. Didn’t poop for three days. Vet couldn’t see anything on the scan because it’s wood and didn’t want to open her up with no idea where it might be. Vet said to give her bread and pumpkin and keep a very close eye on her, squeeze her carefully to check for discomfort. It all came out eventually ! It’s incredible what can get through their guts.

Don’t feel bad - it is really difficult to keep them away from everything. Please do update! Hopefully all will be fine.
posted by tardigrade at 11:57 PM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Ya listen. Dog is fine. We fed my childhood dog chicken bones as de rigeur for probably 10 years before we learned about the bones sharding or whatever. He was fine lived to 16. I also didn't know about the grapes thing until about a year ago. Had another dog, that was his favorite snack. He'd spit them out and chase them and eat the again. He lived to 16 as well.
posted by chasles at 12:09 AM on December 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

This is...tangentially related but hopefully will make you feel better and make you laugh too. I agree with others, monitor and watch to make sure pup is eating and drinking normally. Previously.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 12:52 AM on December 2, 2023 [3 favorites]

This isn’t bone related but piggybacking off of the Vaseline sandwich trick above… when you need to get your dog to vomit, a super easy way to get the hydrogen peroxide down them is to soak some bread in it. My dog always finds chocolate and getting any HP him is impossible until we learned the bread trick. Worked like a charm!! After about 7-8 minutes, he barfed up the bread and half a container of Trader Joe’s, chocolate covered pretzels that he had stolen from a guests backpack. Crises averted!
posted by pearlybob at 2:23 AM on December 2, 2023 [2 favorites]

I was once on a walk with my friend and her dogs and Teddy found the remains of a box of KFC under a bush. Before we could stop her she ran away with it and by the time we found her she'd cromched the entire lot down, and it was mostly bones. She was fine. And of course, every time we go on that walk now she has to check under the Magical Chicken Bush... just in case.
posted by essexjan at 5:07 AM on December 2, 2023 [6 favorites]

Did my dog write this question to solicit anecdotes to convince me to stop stealing his scavenged chicken bones on walks?

Adding to the chorus of yes, my dog-goat has eaten chicken bones and lived to wag his tail.
posted by the primroses were over at 5:24 AM on December 2, 2023 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks for all the reassuring answers, dog lovers of MeFi; my Drumstick Thief is completely healthy, and seemed to have digested all of the thought-to-be indigestible parts. Previously, she was a very good girl, but she just couldn't resist the siren calls of the turkey (I don't blame her!).
posted by honey badger at 1:18 PM on December 4, 2023 [7 favorites]