Can my dog eat chicken?

No. Raw chicken is often contaminated with Campylobacter and salmonella, and PetMD explicitly advises against it, because the germs can make dogs seriously ill too. Freezing doesn't reliably kill Campylobacter. Dogs fed raw food can shed salmonella and Campylobacter in their faeces and pass them on to people in the household. If you feed raw anyway, wash your hands afterwards with soap and hot water, and clean surfaces, the bowl and utensils with hot water and washing-up liquid.

No, neither cooked nor raw. Cooked bones splinter easily and can cause choking or injure the stomach and gut. The WSAVA also considers raw bones very dangerous; injuries to the gastrointestinal tract and broken teeth have been described with raw feeding. This also applies to chicken feet.

Better not. According to the USDA, cooked chicken skin has around 363 kcal and 33 g of fat per 100 g, while cooked skinless breast has 151 kcal and 3 g of fat. Fatty food can trigger painful pancreatitis. Remove the skin before cooking.

Unseasoned and cooked in the oven or grilled without fat, yes – the AKC says so too. Boiled chicken is the simplest. Pan-fried in oil, no: that can irritate the stomach and gut and trigger pancreatitis, and seasonings can contain onion or garlic, which are toxic to dogs. Don't give roast chicken, chicken nuggets or breaded foods as treats. According to PetMD, though, a small piece usually won't make your dog ill.

Homemade, yes, in small amounts over the food. Make it without salt, stock cubes, onion, garlic or seasoning, strain it through a sieve so no bone splinters get in, and skim off the fat. Ready-made chicken stock often contains onion or garlic, which are toxic to dogs.

Yes, by the same rules: thoroughly cooked, without skin, bones or seasoning, in small pieces. A complete puppy food provides the bulk of the diet; treats don't replace a meal. Don't give your puppy raw chicken: home-made raw diets can be unbalanced and lead to serious health problems, especially in young, growing animals. The daily amount of your puppy food is worked out at doggomeal.de/en/welpen-futtermenge-rechner.

As a small treat, that's fine, as long as all treats together stay below 10% of daily calories and the main food is complete. PetMD mentions chicken as a treat or occasional topping, and the AKC says cooked chicken can be mixed into the normal food. The calculator on this page shows how much.

Until it's cooked all the way through. How long that takes depends on the thickness of the pieces, so it's the result that counts: the meat is white all the way through and the juices run clear. You can be sure with a meat thermometer once the centre has reached 70 °C for at least two minutes. This kills Campylobacter, salmonella and other pathogens.

As an extra on top of the normal food, PetMD gives about one tablespoon for dogs up to 9 kg, two tablespoons up to 14 kg, up to a quarter of a cup (around 35 g) up to 23 kg, a third of a cup (around 47 g) up to 41 kg, and half a cup (around 70 g) above that. The calculator on this page uses the lower value for each weight class and also keeps to the 10% limit for treats. If chicken replaces a meal, for example in a bland diet, different amounts apply.

In a bland diet, cooked chicken with rice is the meal itself, not an extra. PetMD calls the combination a common remedy for digestive problems that vets may recommend for vomiting or diarrhoea. How much chicken and rice your dog gets a day, and how to split it into small meals, is worked out at doggomeal.de/en/schonkost-hund-rechner. It also explains when you should go straight to the vet instead of feeding a bland diet.

Yes. Like beef, dairy, wheat, egg, lamb, soya, pork, rabbit and fish, chicken is one of the most common triggers of food allergies. It usually shows on the skin: itching, redness, rashes, hair loss, skin or ear inflammation, sometimes also vomiting or diarrhoea. A food allergy can develop at any age. Whether chicken is the trigger is something your vet can find out with an elimination diet.

Boiled and skinless, around 151 kcal per 100 g. According to the USDA, one breast fillet – half a breast – weighs around 95 g cooked, without skin or bone, and has just over 140 kcal. The snack limit for a 10 kg dog with normal needs is around 63 kcal a day, which is just over 40 g of chicken breast.

No. The amounts on this page are an extra on top of the normal food. Home-cooked food has to be complete and balanced, and chicken alone isn't enough for that. How much chicken belongs in your recipe depends on the recipe and the dog; the DoggoMeal app works it out to suit your dog's weight, age and activity.