# Would you risk out of date chicken?



## UKpoodle (Jul 22, 2015)

I have two chicken breasts left in the fridge from a pack we got from the butchers at the weekend (no use by date) but this morning they're starting to smell a little. They don't smell really bad, but just past the point where I'd want to eat them myself. Gunther and Gustav are on a raw diet, but I don't want to give it to them if it's off. Do you think it would be safe to feed them the chicken if I cooked it thoroughly first? I don't want to be dealing with the backlash of two lots of dodgy tummies on my cream carpets!!!


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Once it smells I chuck it - it's not just the bacteria, it's the pathogens they can produce that hang around even after cooking. I am not particularly concerned about dates, but if it smells a little off, and doesn't smell OK even after rinsing, into the bin it goes.


----------



## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

I echo fjm - throw it out. You may kill the bacteria with cooking but the toxins that the bacteria have produced will remain and could cause nausea and diarrhea etc.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I know you feed raw, but Skylar is right even if you kill bacteria by cooking the enterotoxins that some bacteria produce are not denatured by heat and food poisoning will possibly ensue.


----------



## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

I'd feed it uncooked. Clearly I'm in the minority, but I have fed slightly off meat before to no ill-effect. The dogs have certainly found worse in the woods and eaten it without a problem.


----------



## UKpoodle (Jul 22, 2015)

Liz said:


> I'd feed it uncooked. Clearly I'm in the minority, but I have fed slightly off meat before to no ill-effect. The dogs have certainly found worse in the woods and eaten it without a problem.


That's the thing isn't it....dogs will eat all sorts of crap without suffering any after effects? Although I do remember one time when Gunther tucked into some horse poo he found whilst we were out on a walk and he ended up with the squits for the next four days!
My mums cockapoo puppy managed to eat a dead mouse he found in the boiler house the other day, followed by a cat poo for dessert and needless to say he's come out unscathed!


----------



## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

I might toss it to be on the safe side...just because I've been so conditioned. But in reality I agree with Liz. Dogs will eat THE most disgusting things if left to their own devices and typically without ill effects. They'll eat road kill that has "scrummy" additives like maggots and other nasties. (a little extra protein)They're quite well equipped to deal with those kinds of bacteria. But I wouldn't eat it myself, cooked or not. People assume that since dogs evolved so much in so many ways that their digestive process has also evolved to the _same_ extent. It has not. It still operates pretty much the same as dogs' ancestors, minus the larger skull, teeth and jaws and they've evolved to have the additional ability to produce a little amylase in the pancreas...not much, but a little. But they're designed to handle most of those food borne bacteria. If they weren't they never would have evolved to where they are now.

Dogs of my past use to bring home all kinds of disgusting dead things and body parts out of the woods when I lived in Idaho and even here when we had acreage. My dogs now eat all kinds of unmentionables that are incredibly covered in really awful bacteria...animal poop. That is, when they get a chance. 

Anyhow, the choice is yours. Follow your_ gut._ Ya know...you could pour some boiling water on it in the sink. Maybe that would wash off the excess germs. haha. It would be kind of a shame to waste two whole chickens. If it's just starting to go bad, barely smelling, I especially and seriously doubt it will hurt the dogs. Raw feeders like me have been feeding raw meat for ages and our dogs are healthier than ever. And you can bet there are plenty of bacteria on that even if it isn't spoiled. It's just covered with icky pathogens. I know people who have raw fed for upwards of 20 years with zero issues with bacteria and amazingly healthy dogs.


----------



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

You can't compare a dog's stomach to a human's. They are not affected by bacterias as we are. Salmonella isn't a problem for them, that's why they can eat raw meat.

UCSB Science Line

That being said, if it only smelled a little bit I would give it to them raw. If it smells more, I would discard it. Not that they'll get sick, but it would gross me out. I don't want my dog to eat something gone bad and then lick me...


----------



## UKpoodle (Jul 22, 2015)

Poodlebeguiled said:


> Anyhow, the choice is yours. Follow your_ gut._ Ya know...you could pour some boiling water on it in the sink. Maybe that would wash off the excess germs. haha. It would be kind of a shame to waste two whole chickens. If it's just starting to go bad, barely smelling, I especially and seriously doubt it will hurt the dogs. Raw feeders like me have been feeding raw meat for ages and our dogs are healthier than ever. And you can bet there are plenty of bacteria on that even if it isn't spoiled. It's just covered with icky pathogens. I know people who have raw fed for upwards of 20 years with zero issues with bacteria.


Well I've just given it a rinse and had another whiff and it barely smells so I'm going to poach it in boiling water to cook it then let the dogs have it. 
Unfortunately I'm one of those people that gets a bit obsessive about food smelling 'funny' (I sniff the milk every single morning before I put it in my coffee). Half the time when I think something's off you can bet my husband thinks it smells perfectly fine. Or maybe that's a man thing...?
Any road, hopefully they'll enjoy their scrummy chicken


----------



## Caddy (Nov 23, 2014)

I think they'll be fine, especially if after rinsing it doesn't smell, plus you are cooking it. I'm glad I'm not the only milk sniffer, and yes, it's definitely a man thing.


----------



## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

Haha UK...That is exactly my daughter. She is so paranoid and smells everything, questions everything when she's at my house. "When did you buy this?" "Are you sure this is good?" Haha. A milk sniffer isn't to be blamed. It's pretty disgusting when you discover you just put some sour milk in something you cooked. Sometimes it's just turned and you don't notice it at first. 

I wouldn't even bother cooking that. Then they can't have the bones. :sad: Or are you not into raw? Anyhow, cooking it should definitely make it cleaner.


----------



## UKpoodle (Jul 22, 2015)

Poodlebeguiled said:


> I wouldn't even bother cooking that. Then they can't have the bones. :sad: Or are you not into raw? Anyhow, cooking it should definitely make it cleaner.


Yes they're both raw fed, but it's just boneless chicken breasts. As soon as I got the chicken out of the fridge they got their hopes up and I had two big wet noses attached to the kitchen counter whilst I rinsed and sniffed it, so I couldn't bring myself to break their little hearts and throw it away!


----------



## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

UKpoodle said:


> Yes they're both raw fed, but it's just boneless chicken breasts. As soon as I got the chicken out of the fridge they got their hopes up and I had two big wet noses attached to the kitchen counter whilst I rinsed and sniffed it, so I couldn't bring myself to break their little hearts and throw it away!


Oh heavens no! Of course you couldn't! :sad:

I can totally empathize with_ the nose against the counter_ and how it makes us do things we might not otherwise do.


----------



## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

I remember the first time my darling Dobe (rip) did that. (what's in the picture) He was watching me intently make his dinner and I looked to the side to see him leaning against the counter with his nose all squished up and his teeth showing. I laughed so hard that it served as a reinforcer. And from that time on, he not only did that often when I was cooking, just amusing himself watching me, he also did it as a communication to me that he was hungry for his dinner and that I should get with the program and start fixing it...to which I dutifully obeyed. :act-up:

So if you ever catch your dog in the act of that little behavior, if you like it, reinforce it and be ready with your camera. haha.


----------



## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

I would have tossed the meat, but I'm not one for any expired food for me or the dogs.


----------



## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

So UK...did you feed the out of date chicken? Are your dogs still alive? Are they sick? Are you sick? :afraid::act-up:


----------



## UKpoodle (Jul 22, 2015)

Poodlebeguiled said:


> So UK...did you feed the out of date chicken? Are your dogs still alive? Are they sick? Are you sick? :afraid::act-up:


Haha! Yes they ate it all up and I'm happy to say they are both alive and well! No brown surprises on my cream carpets either....!


----------



## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

:hungry::amen::happy:


----------



## RD. (Jul 19, 2016)

Glad to hear that your dogs came through unscathed. It actually sounds like the chicken really wasn't "off", yet. 

While I'm a little late to weigh in, my motto has always been - when in doubt, toss it out. I mean why risk the potential of gastrointestinal upset? It doesn't make any sense to me.


----------

