# Raw chicken linked to paralysis in dogs



## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/raw-chicken-linked-to-paralysis-in-dogs


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Nice to see you again PB !


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

thanks for posting Poodlebeguiled. My daughter used to give her Rough Collie turkey necks - which I assume carry the same risk as the chicken for Campylobacter. She had a problem with paralysis in her dog hind legs last year - specialty vet couldn't find any reason and her dog fairly quickly returned to full health - but it was scary at the time. Maybe this was the reason why. I forwarded the link to her.

I also looked on the CDC and they link Campylobacter to Guillain-Barré syndrome "Infection with Campylobacter jejuni, which causes diarrhea, is one of the most common risk factors for GBS." https://www.cdc.gov/campylobacter/guillain-barre.html


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Well that is interesting, especially the additional information of similar issues for both dogs and humans between _Campylobacter_ and GBS as per Skylar's link.

In our various discussions of feeding dogs I have always maintained that since dogs are not wolves they don't need to eat like wolves. I also for my own dogs have not ever considered raw feeding because Peeves has a tendency to take his food out of the bowl and put it on the floor as he eats (and not always right near the bowl) and I don't relish the idea of raw chicken landing on the floor all over the house. I home cook for all of our dogs.

My question now for those of you who do feed raw, does this information have you rethinking that practice? If yes, then what would you do instead?


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

Thanks for posting, PB! This absolutely has me rethinking Buck’s chicken necks. That will not be a happy transition, those are his two favorite words. His vet appointment is coming up. Can they test for campylobacter?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Mfmst said:


> Thanks for posting, PB! This absolutely has me rethinking Buck’s chicken necks. That will not be a happy transition, those are his two favorite words. His vet appointment is coming up. Can they test for campylobacter?


Campylobacter can be tested for. Although it can be isolated from healthy animals too, for me the elevation of risk from raw chicken (necks) is above my level of tolerance.

Here is information on testing. Fecal PCR test for Campylobacter spp. - Texas A&M Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

Off the menu


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Mfmst said:


> Off the menu


Mfmst I know Buck will miss those necks, but better safe than sorry I think.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

They were SO convenient and his teeth have no plaque. I would be foolish to ignore the article and Catherine’s risk assessment. Buck is not going to be happy.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I know that reducing plaque and tartar is one great advantage of raw necks. Lily's teeth looked a lot better after we started giving buffalo ears. I wish I could say they did the same for Javelin but he seems to have a different oral chemistry and is more prone to tartar. I scale his teeth myself (with somewhat limited success). I am actually thinking of getting his teeth cleaned at the vet and having them give him a fluoride treatment. Maybe Buck would like ears. All of our dogs love them. Lily will routinely take them away from Javelin and try to hoard them in the tent crate (which she thinks is just for her).


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Aw, jeeze! Poppy's most favorite thing in the universe is raw chicken feet.....
Poor baby sure is going to miss those.:bawling::bawling:


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

I find it interesting that the warning said 'particularly' chicken necks......Molly during the Holidays was offered a raw turkey neck and would NOT eat it she kept sniffing it but did not want it .......I have never given her chicken necks, only legs but I wonder why the warning specifically was for mainly necks? Why necks?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Molly that is an interesting question since the suspect organism _Campylobacter_ is a gut lumen organism.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

That is going to be Buck’s question tomorrow! He has been eating necks since we brought him home and before that at his breeder’s. I forwarded the article to her, too. Buck has rejected exactly one neck in all this time, so it went in the trash.


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## Caddy (Nov 23, 2014)

First, so good to see you back poodlebeguild! Second, I bought chicken necks to give the girls once but just couldn't do it, raw is not in my comfort zone. I often have a hard time handling raw meat to cook for us or the girls. Thirdly and my final thought, thank goodness for this post, because I've always felt a little guilty for not giving the girls raw chicken necks for their teeth.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

The benefit to teeth, I can attest to. Smaller output at the other end too, as well as pure joy at the words “chicken necks”. I feel compelled to contact the authors and ask, “Why necks or is it all raw poultry?”


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

I'm not sure why their article focused on chicken necks - maybe it's because it's popular to feed raw chicken necks and less popular to feed raw chicken breast?

I believe all parts of the chicken is potentially contaminated, especially with commercial handling of chicken. Any animal that is eaten has the potential to be contaminated. Quoted from the CDC "How does food and water get contaminated with Campylobacter?

Many chickens, cows, and other birds and animals that show no signs of illness carry Campylobacter. Campylobacter can be carried in the intestines, liver, and giblets of animals and can be transferred to other edible parts of an animal when it’s slaughtered. In 2014, National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) testing found Campylobacter on 33% of raw chicken bought from retailers." https://www.cdc.gov/campylobacter/faq.html

I've seen much higher percentages of contamination depending on the year and region tested. In this article the researchers found 84.3% of Irish chickens sampled were contaminated . https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22054193


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I read the original research paper, and then read around more widely to try to get a feel for the risk level. The incidence of Acute Polyradiculoneuritis is low, and it seems to be associated with a number of common respiratory and digestive system viruses, not just campylobacter. As far as I can see, most dogs with APN carry campylobacter, but the vast majority of dogs carrying campylobacter will not contract APN. My dogs - and cats - get chicken wings once or twice a week for their teeth, and unless the risk level proves much higher than it currently appears I will continue to feed raw wings.

I might be warier of necks:
"The latest data show 9.3% of chickens tested positive for the highest level of contamination in this quarter, down from 21.8% for the three months from December 2014 to February 2015*.

Campylobacter was present on 50% of chicken samples, down from 71% in the equivalent quarter of the previous year. We tested 1,009 samples of fresh whole chilled UK-produced chickens and packaging this quarter.

One of the reasons the survey results are lower this quarter is because of the decision taken by a number of retailers and their suppliers to remove neck skin from the bird before it goes on sale. The neck skin is the most contaminated part of the chicken. However, it is also the part of the bird that we have been testing in our survey and this means that comparisons with previous results are not as reliable as we would like."
https://www.food.gov.uk/science/microbiology/campylobacterevidenceprogramme/retail-survey-year-2


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## reraven123 (Jul 21, 2017)

fjm said:


> I might be warier of necks:
> "The latest data show 9.3% of chickens tested positive for the highest level of contamination in this quarter, down from 21.8% for the three months from December 2014 to February 2015*.


Thanks so much for this info, I have been watching this thread closely. Zephyr gets a raw chicken neck whenever I leave him home alone; I will switch to wings.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I guess it makes some sense that necks would be more heavily contaminated than other parts because of handling during processing. However I would still not feed any raw parts because of how "sloppy" commercial processing tends to be.


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## reraven123 (Jul 21, 2017)

lily cd re said:


> I guess it makes some sense that necks would be more heavily contaminated than other parts because of handling during processing. However I would still not feed any raw parts because of how "sloppy" commercial processing tends to be.


I get my chicken parts from a natural foods place. Not to say they couldn't get contaminated, but I think it less likely. Their meats come mostly from Amish farms, not sure how or where they get butchered. Not the big commercial processors, anyway.

Zephyr doesn't get a lot of them, he mostly comes with me wherever I go; but when I have to leave him home alone that is his special treat. He's so picky he won't eat most "treats", this one he loves. When we go into pet stores they always want to give him a treat, I tell them "you can try!" They usually end up trying everything they have before he eventually condescends to not spit it out and actually eat something.


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## chinchillafuzzy (Feb 11, 2017)

PB lovely to see you again! Thanks for sharing. this is concerning to me because my dog is fed 2 meals of raw per day and one meal of kibble. Her raw mostly consists of chicken drumsticks, wings, hearts and gizzards, occasionally feet, liver (beef and chicken), and muscle meat of either beef, elk, chicken, or pork. She loves her raw meals, much much more than her kibble. Since the article said that this is not common I think I will continue but will watch for more updates on this. I haven't ever fed necks, though that is only because I haven't been able to easily find them. My breeder and several others that I know feed raw and have for years and have never had a problem on it.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

reraven123 said:


> I get my chicken parts from a natural foods place. Not to say they couldn't get contaminated, but I think it less likely. Their *meats come mostly from Amish farms, not sure how or where they get butchered. Not the big commercial processors, anyway*.
> 
> Zephyr doesn't get a lot of them, he mostly comes with me wherever I go; but when I have to leave him home alone that is his special treat. He's so picky he won't eat most "treats", this one he loves. When we go into pet stores they always want to give him a treat, I tell them "you can try!" They usually end up trying everything they have before he eventually condescends to not spit it out and actually eat something.


You mean those same Amish farms that often are puppy mills? I don't think the Amish win any big awards for kindness to animals just because they are Amish. I remember being startled when I was at mostly Amish farmers market in Maryland (St. Mary's peninsula) and saw many ex pens full of puppies of all types for sale. A little scratch of the surface showed some ugly potential in the origins of those puppies and convinced me to apply the same grain of salt to evaluating an Amish business person as I do any other.


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

lily cd re said:


> You mean those same Amish farms that often are puppy mills? I don't think the Amish win any big awards for kindness to animals just because they are Amish. I remember being startled when I was at mostly Amish farmers market in Maryland (St. Mary's peninsula) and saw many ex pens full of puppies of all types for sale. A little scratch of the surface showed some ugly potential in the origins of those puppies and convinced me to apply the same grain of salt to evaluating an Amish business person as I do any other.


Totally agree Lily-cd
Never fed raw and never would, other than their dog food the get nothing other than cooked chicken once in blue moon


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## reraven123 (Jul 21, 2017)

lily cd re said:


> You mean those same Amish farms that often are puppy mills? I don't think the Amish win any big awards for kindness to animals just because they are Amish


Sorry, my point was not that they are Amish. I have no illusions about how the Amish treat their animals. My point is that they are small farms rather than the big commercial producers.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

reraven, sorry to bend your point on you like that. I wonder though what kinds of quality assurance on processing there is for smaller farms vs. agro-business farms to again take your point in a different direction? Food quality is a huge concern with cuts to inspections, trends towards self monitoring and the pressure to produce we certainly see our fair share of recalls of all kinds of food both human and dog/cat food.

When I switched our dogs off commercial food I decided to cook for a variety of reasons: Peeves tendency to put food on the floor all over the place; our own immune situations; not wanting my dogs to become reservoirs for others in my family who are elderly and the like. I'll be frank. It is a pain in the you know what to be forever having a big pot of chicken boiling on my stove, wondering if there will be chicken livers available, etc., but if I can manage to cook for three large dogs most people who don't want to feed commercial could manage to cook for one or two large dogs or several smaller ones. I think it is a no brainer to reduce risks all around on this issue by cooking rather than feeding raw. While the risks revealed in this study seem to be small, they are extremely high compared to the base line and to me a risk avoided is better than one taken.


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## reraven123 (Jul 21, 2017)

lily cd re said:


> When I switched our dogs off commercial food I decided to cook for a variety of reasons


I hear you. I have thought about this a lot, continue to think about it. For now I will stick with raw. I buy a raw mix in bulk, it gets delivered to my door and Zephyr loves it.

Food and nutrition are very complicated, something I will always keep re-evaluating in light of new information that comes my way.


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## asuk (Jan 6, 2017)

I have been watching this thread closely too. Milo doesn't get neck much, I don't specifically buy raw food for him. I give him what we eat so for eg, if I am butchering a chicken for us, he gets the wings and backs. He gets a big variety of meat. He is excellent in staying in one spot with raw and also chewing rather than gulping. Knock on wood, I haven't had any issues. I have cooked for him, he eats it but raw is his fave by a very long mile with kibble at the very bottom of the list.

I too will continue to feed raw and watch for changes.


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

I just posted this because I received it in an email and thought of all those dogs out there who might be harmed. I stopped feeding raw a while ago because I got too dang busy...big, huge changes going on in my life, part of the reason I'm never on here anymore. But I did want to post this. 

I never did feed necks, as I read about necks going into commercial food which was linked to hyperthyroidism with often lethal outcomes. The thyroid gland is right there and the hormone can get into the necks of any animal so those should not be fed anyhow. (And I would not feed a dog when I'm not home. That's risky and I believe dogs should be supervised when chewing a bone or even toys. Call me paranoid) Now I see this article and woah! I thought I'd go back to raw once I get re-settled. But I am not sure.

Plus, I now have a 3rd dog (50 lbs GSD/ Pitbull mix) (darling and wonderful, affectionate with my other dogs and all other dogs AND people)whom I've mentioned before that was my son's. (long story) And she's always eaten TOTW or something similar... at least most of her life. She's about to turn 18 yrs. old and is still, while a little arthritic, very lively and puppyish acting, goes for a walk every day... Healthy except I suspect she may be developing that darn thing GSDs get (she's part GSD) that demylenization of the spinal cord. Not sure but showing some early signs. Anyhow, it's hard to argue with the phenomenon of dogs living to be very old and healthy (I've had a few) that ate less than optimum food.

Anyhow, thanks to those who made a nice comment about my being back...very kind. I am not sure how much I will be back but every now and then...:smile:


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## Asta's Mom (Aug 20, 2014)

Nice to see you, PB and thanks for the article. I give Asta frozen chicken feet as a treat occasionally but am rethinking now. I see more Smart Bones in his future instead of the raw chicken feet.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

I’m going to send a fecal sample to Texas A&M, from the link Lily CD provided. Buck has eaten so many necks in his short life, he must sweat Campylobacter! It certainly turns my stomach that there is such a high rate of poultry contamination for all of us.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Mfmst said:


> I’m going to send a fecal sample to Texas A&M, from the link Lily CD provided. Buck has eaten so many necks in his short life, he must sweat Campylobacter! It certainly turns my stomach that there is such a high rate of poultry contamination for all of us.



I think the operative principle you expressed is high rates of poultry *contamination for all of us* not just for chicken or turkey fed to dogs, but to people too. Would you eat raw chicken? I sure as s#$t wouldn't so I won't impose risk on my dogs either.

The other part of this is to demand better out of the food producers in terms of quality assurance. Read the information on NARMS that Skylar provided links to above.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

I wish we had contamination rates for Pilgrim’s Pride and Purdue. As the biggest processors and producers, that number may be out there, with a FOIA request. I am only interested in Irish chickens if I get citizenship by descent.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Add Tyson to that mix too Mfmst.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

Mfmst said:


> I wish we had contamination rates for Pilgrim’s Pride and Purdue. As the biggest processors and producers, that number may be out there, with a FOIA request. I am only interested in Irish chickens if I get citizenship by descent.


You should assume that all meat is contaminated with bacteria that can make you ill if not handled and cooked properly. The odds are likely that it is contaminated whether it’s a common brand you bought at a chain grocery store, or Amish raised chicken in your natural food store. 

https://www.cdc.gov/features/salmonellachicken/index.html


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Skylar said:


> You should assume that all meat is contaminated with bacteria that can make you ill if not handled and cooked properly. The odds are likely that it is contaminated whether it’s a common brand you bought at a chain grocery store, or Amish raised chicken in your natural food store.
> 
> https://www.cdc.gov/features/salmonellachicken/index.html


Yes, if not _Campylobacter _then_ Salmonella_ or something else. I do assume all poultry is contaminated with something. My chickens did come to me certified Salmonella free and I therefore figure my eggs don't carry Salmonella, but chickens also tend to harbor various coccidia (protozoans). Javelin has tested twice for coccidia once or twice and my vet and I agree that is from eating chicken poo (which both poodles love to do).


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

Catherine can you treat the chickens for protozoan infection? I’m pretty ignorant about the care of chickens but I assume it would help with Javelin.


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## Charleeann67:) (Nov 6, 2017)

Lilycd, Curious and new at this. What do you home cook for your dogs? Since I have to wait for my mpoo until May I'm using this time to get more educated and up to date on everything. Did you feed them home cooked from the start as pups? If you did, what did you use for training? I was hoping to find a kibble that I could use part of a day's ration for training.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I mostly cook for mine - they get wings raw because of the bone. I buy a very good quality mince for pets that is around 80% muscle meat, 10% ground bone and 10% offal, varying the meat - mostly chicken and beef, with rabbit when it is available and occasionally lamb. I simmer it gently with quite a lot of water. The dogs get cooked mixed vegetables with theirs (fresh from the garden or frozen), the cats get some of the broth the vegetables are cooked in. They all also get sardines or other oily fish regularly, and occasional meals of scrambled eggs. If I cook a chicken they get the bits, carefully stripped from the simmered carcass. It works out cheaper than a decent kibble, they all enjoy it and eat well, and I find it much easier to manage their weight. It takes me less than an hour a week to prepare meals for four animals, excluding the time the meat takes to simmer and cool - these days I tend to freeze one day's food for all four in a 500ml tray, which is quicker and easier than making four separate packs.

I have 70 pounds of meat on the doorstep waiting to be sorted right now - it is snowing, and I don't feel like paddling through slush to pack it all away in the freezer in the garage!


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## Miz34 (Jan 20, 2018)

Not the most eloquent piece, but raises some interesting points.

https://www.dogsfirst.ie/raw-chicken-does-not-cause-paralysis-in-dogs/


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Skylar Javelin has never been symptomatic at a time where he tested positive for coccidia and he cleared it himself. Also the chickens were raised and fed organically, so no antimicrobial drugs for them. Our vet didn't think it was anything to do anything about.

Charleeann, all of my dogs were on kibble when they were puppies and I am not sure about how I would handle the next pup. I suspect I would probably home cook. We fed Blue Buffalo large breed chicken and brown rice and they generally did very well on it. But then each of them developed health concerns. Javelin clearly had a food ingredient intolerance or sensitivity manifested by extreme ear wax. The older dogs both were having urinary crystals and infections. Our vet recommended NutriScan testing as a way to get data on what were at the root of the problems and as a way to make an informed decision on how to change their food. The results thankfully showed a core of foods that all three of them could eat and on which I could base a complete diet, but I couldn't find one commercial food that would have worked for all of them, hence the home cooking, which I am now very happy to have taken on (and it has been just over a year since I started). All of the health issues have cleared up.

I think if I were to home cook for a future puppy I would still use some sort of nice kibble like ZiwiPeak and the chicken jerky I currently give as a put in your pocket without a mess training treats.

My basic recipe has dark meat boneless skinless chicken, whole grain pasta, chicken livers and ground up spinach/kale as the main ingredients with supplements for calcium and some other micronutrients. Coming up with this food plan was the result of great crowd sourcing here. There are some computer programs that allow you to calculate a complete diet based on the dog's body weight and also plenty of good books with information on nutrition planning for dogs.

Here are links to some of the threads where these diet changes and their outcomes have been discussed.

http://www.poodleforum.com/5-poodle-talk/228729-our-nutrition-plan-general-vet-check.html

http://www.poodleforum.com/29-poodle-health/220722-nutriscan-summary-interpretation.html

http://www.poodleforum.com/29-poodle-health/223586-benefits-our-diet-change.html


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Thanks, Miz34 - as is so often the case, I suspect the truth lies somewhere in the middle. On balance, after allowing for confirmation bias on both sides, I consider anything that helps to keep my dogs teeth healthy, avoiding the risks of gum infections and anaesthesia, is worth a very tiny additional risk from a rare, non fatal complication from a bacterium carried by around half the canine population.


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

*Research funding source*

On another forum it was suggested that perhaps some pet food company funded this research. Apparently, not. 

Investigation of the Role of Campylobacter Infection in Suspected Acute Polyradiculoneuritis in Dogs - Martinez-Anton - 2018 - Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine - Wiley Online Library


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## Miz34 (Jan 20, 2018)

This strikes me as very odd:

“A significant association was found between small breeds and APN. Based on our clinical experience, small dogs are more likely to be fed raw chicken because of the presence of small bones in the chicken which are easily eaten by these dogs rather than larger meat bones that may be fed to medium and large breed dogs”

Raw fed dogs are usually fed a variety of proteins and chicken is certainly a staple (as long as there are no allergies present) for raw feeders due to its availability. The statement above seems a little ridiculous. Maybe there is a correlation in smaller dogs due to a higher concentration of the bacteria affecting their smaller bodies but not that they are getting chicken and large dogs aren’t. Just seems strange. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Miz34 if you have a tpoo you would be feeding probably an ounce of meat or maybe less for a meal. My smallest dog, Lily who weighs 37 pounds eats almost a half a pound of cooked chicken (plus other things like pasta) per day. Javelin eats just under a pound of chicken and Peeves over a pound of chicken a day. It is not about small dogs get chicken but large dogs don't, nor is it about the number of organisms the dogs are exposed to. There must be a different susceptibility to the effects of the infection in smaller dogs for that noted difference to be explained. I agree with you that there is something odd in concluding that small dogs get more chicken than large dogs because of size, but it isn't logical to explain the outcome based on more bacteria per pound of dog for a small dog than a large one since portions would be adjusted for the body weight of the dog and that would mean a lower number of organisms per serving for smaller servings.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Noting to add about chicken here from me............

I just want to give a BIG SHOUT OUT TO PB & THE BOY TOYS !!!! Give us some pictures of those handsome rogues in the picture thread!!!!! And maybe a little catch up with whats going on with you!:bounce:


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## Tamika (Jan 7, 2018)

Thanks for this article. I had only just finished feeding my girl a chicken neck when I read this. I feed her one a day to help keep her teeth clean. Not sure what to give her for teeth now. She is such a tiny thing that trying to use a toothbrush is difficult.


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## asuk (Jan 6, 2017)

Tamika said:


> Thanks for this article. I had only just finished feeding my girl a chicken neck when I read this. I feed her one a day to help keep her teeth clean. Not sure what to give her for teeth now. She is such a tiny thing that trying to use a toothbrush is difficult.


bully sticks, they do make some for small breeds. but i dont really care much, i get 6" for him and it works out very well. i very rarely feed necks, mostly backs or wings.


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## david1438 (Feb 14, 2018)

This is an interesting thread. We will bring a new poodle pup home on March 1 and have been researching food and trying to determine the best approach to get our new boy off to the best start. We have ruled out commercial dog foods because of all the publicity about what goes into those products. For our past dogs, my wife always made homemade (cooked) dog food out of fresh chicken, oats, and a variety of veggies. The dogs were healthy but had dental issues their entire lives. Recently, I began learning about the "raw diet" and found a great deal of info on YouTube about how to properly use a raw diet and its benefits. One thing these videos emphasized was that the raw meaty bones should be frozen for at least two weeks before feeding to the pup. Supposedly the freezing kills most of any parasites or bacteria in the meat. I have not seen anyone refer to freezing their poultry necks in this thread. I found two articles which both reference that freezing will kill 90% of potential Campylobacter in raw poultry. Of course, thawing should be done slowly in the refrigerator or in cold water. So, I'm still on the fence about going "raw" but if I do, I will definitely freeze the meat before feeding. I agree, however, that the article about Campylobacter causing paralysis does give me pause about a raw diet. 

Freezing Chicken Could Reduce Risk Of Food Poisoning Bug Campylobacter

Campylobacter: Seven things you need to know about supermarket chicken bug | The Independent


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Thawing should be done rapidly. A slow thaw will leave the item at an appropriate temperature for the growth and metabolic activity of many microbes resulting in higher levels of metabolic toxins and actual higher numbers of organisms. If you have only killed 90% of the contaminating organisms then a slow thaw leaves plenty of time for the remaining viable population to rebuild to robust populations. 

Additionally how long it takes to thoroughly freeze and kill parasites varies with the type of meat. For example to kill _Trichinella spiralis_ (a helminthe) in pork chops (a lean meat) requires 6 weeks. In contrast this organism is never reliably killed in a very marbled fatty meat like bear meat. I know most of us are not hunting and eating bear meat, but you get what I mean.


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## Dina (Jan 24, 2016)

I give Hugo turkey necks... are those a NO too?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Dina I could suspect that they may also be risky although the original study linked to is strictly about chicken. If you think about how the slaughter and processing of poultry is done commercially the necks probably get a lot of exposure to bacteria.

ETA I just now had time to look at the articles linked to on _Campylobacter_ and in the one on 7 things you should know about _Campylobacter_ one of the important things noted as the only way to reduce contamination was to adequately cook your chicken as quoted below.

"*How can I avoid it? *Simple: by adequately cooking your meat you remove any dangers. Ensure that when eating chicken the meat has been cooked through. Freezing chicken can also kill the bug.Also, don’t think because you buy organic you’ve got a lower chance of getting campylobacter - much of British meat goes through the same abattoirs."


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I'd not spotted that freezing reduces he levels of campylobacter - thanks Catherine. I buy fresh wings as they are easier to chop in half, then freeze them. I rather doubt that all those New Zealand dogs were fed fresh, unfrozen chicken though - one suspects minced chicken backs, including necks and vents, were involved.


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## West U (Jul 30, 2014)

Thank you Lily CD, I will read through your links.


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