If you’ve ever dropped a piece of raw chicken on the floor and your dog gobbled it up before you could react, you might wonder—is it okay for dogs to eat raw chicken? Technically, yes! As you may have heard, feeding a biologically appropriate, raw food diet mirrors what your dog would be eating in the wild, therefore dogs are absolutely capable of digesting plain raw chicken. But should they be eating it off the floor? Not really.
While a raw diet has numerous benefits for your pet's health, feeding your dog raw chicken straight from the grocery store isn’t the safest or healthiest option. Keep reading to find out more about safely feeding your dog a raw food diet that is both safe and specially formulated to avoid nutrient deficiencies, or rather, "Raw Done Right."
The risks of feeding raw chicken
Just like for humans, giving your dog raw chicken straight from the supermarket comes with real health risks—for both you and your pup:
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Bacteria like salmonella and campylobacter can be present in raw chicken, leading to foodborne illness. While dogs have strong stomach acid, they aren’t immune to these bacteria. Worse, they can spread it to humans through licking, shedding, and contaminated surfaces.
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Raw chicken bones can splinter, which can be a choking hazard and cause serious internal injuries.
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Raw chicken on its own isn’t nutritionally complete, which can lead to deficiencies over time.
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The risks of feeding your dog store-bought raw chicken apply to all parts of the chicken, including breasts, wings and thighs, feet, bones, liver, heart, gizzard, neck, skin and even raw chicken eggs.
Raw Done Right: Instead of worrying about these risks, rest assured: at Stella & Chewy’s, all of our frozen and freeze-dried raw food goes through HPP (high pressure processing) to naturally destroy harmful bacteria and pathogens while assuring the food’s nutritional value is not affected. This means you can feed your pup the raw chicken they were born to crave without fear of them getting sick. Winner-winner chicken dinner!
What to do if your dog ate raw chicken from the kitchen
If your dog just snatched a raw chicken breast off the counter, don’t panic! Here’s what to do:
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Check for bones: If they ate chicken with small, sharp bones, watch for signs of choking, gagging, or digestive issues.
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Monitor digestion: Some dogs handle raw meat just fine, while others might experience vomiting or diarrhea. If symptoms last more than 24 hours, call your vet.
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Watch for signs of illness: Lethargy, fever, or bloody stool could indicate a bacterial infection & require veterinary care.
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Keep an eye on their behavior: If your dog seems normal and energetic, chances are they’ll be fine. But be on the lookout for delayed symptoms.
If you’re concerned, call your vet for guidance—especially if your dog is very young, old, has a sensitive stomach or another pre-existing health condition.
Why raw chicken alone isn’t enough for your dog
A diet of raw chicken alone doesn’t give your dog everything they need to thrive. While it provides protein and amino acids, it lacks:
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Essential fatty acids for skin and coat health
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Calcium & phosphorus for strong bones
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Vitamins & minerals found in organ meats, not just muscle meat
To be truly beneficial, a raw diet for dogs needs to be carefully balanced—which is hard to do at home using supermarket ingredients. Take it from us, our founder faced the same struggles back in 1997 when she began making a raw food diet to save her sick pup Chewy, and decided to make safe raw feeding accessible to pets and pet parents everywhere by starting a company named after the two dogs who started it all: Stella & Chewy's.
A better way to feed your dog raw chicken
If you want your dog to get the benefits of raw chicken without the risks, the best option is a complete and balanced raw dog food made with high-quality raw chicken, like our frozen and freeze-dried raw Dinner Patties for dogs.
Our frozen and freeze-dried raw dog foods are:
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Nutritionally complete—balanced with the right mix of macros (protein, fat & carbs) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, trace elements & phytonutrients)
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Safely prepared—using naturally powerful industry-leading pathogen-control processes such as HPP to eliminate harmful bacteria without impacting nutritional value or taste.
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Easy to serve—ready to eat from the package, or with minimal prep (such as thawing, crumbling or rehydrating)
Instead of worrying about whether raw chicken is safe, give your dog all the benefits of raw with delicious recipes made especially for them!
All of our animal proteins are sustainably sourced from suppliers we know and trust, and every batch is tested in a third-party facility. To put pet parents’ minds at ease, you can see the test results by looking up the lot number from the package.
Stella & Chewy’s offers a wide range of dog foods, meal toppers and treats made with real raw chicken. Try it from America's #1 Freeze-Dried Raw Brand today and see what over 2 million satisfied pups and pet parents are howling about!
