Chicken Feet for Dogs: The Makers We Carry, Compared

Chicken feet reach this site from several makers, and what separates them is the bag more than the bird: sold by count or by the pound, with nails on or trimmed. A foot is a chew, not a snack: it takes minutes where a cube takes a second. This page compares what the makers on this site sell; Sniff and Shift's own store at sniffandshift.com keeps its freeze dried dog treats for anyone after the house line on its own.

What a chicken foot is

A chicken foot is the end of the leg: a pad and four toes, three pointing forward and one back, each ending in a nail. A dried foot is roughly the length of an adult finger; hold one next to your own hand and measure it with a ruler before you choose a size. The toes fan out in a shape that is hard to mistake for anything else.

Fresh, a chicken foot is mostly skin, tendon and small bones, with very little meat. USDA FoodData Central lists boiled chicken feet at about two thirds water, and that is the first thing a dryer takes out. What is left after drying is lighter, stiffer and much smaller than the foot you started with.

That shape is the whole point of the chew. The toes are separate, so a dog can hold one in its mouth like a stick and work at the end of it.

Whether a bag is sold by count or by weight, the choice comes down to how many dogs, how often, and how long the bag will sit open.

Forms and bags from the makers on this site

The chicken feet here come in two kinds of bag. Some makers sell by count, from a single foot or an 8 pack up to bags of 6 and 18; others sell loose by the pound, in 1 and 3 pound bags, where the count depends on how big the feet run. At least one listing sells the feet with the nails trimmed. Not every title names the drying method, so read the product page before you choose by form, and expect the shelf to change: the rail shows what is in stock now.

The four forms a foot can take differ in texture and in how they break.

Air dried feet are dried slowly with moving air, and they finish hard and brittle. They take longer to chew and they snap rather than bend. Dehydrated feet are close cousins, dried in a machine with moving warm air; the line between air dried and dehydrated is soft, and the label is the only place to see which word the maker uses.

Freeze dried feet are lighter and more porous, and they crumble. Puffed feet are the lightest of all: the foot is expanded until it is hollow and crisp, and it breaks into flakes.

The same foot can arrive in any of these forms, so the word on the bag matters less than the feel in your hand. Pick one up and press the pad with a thumbnail: a hard foot will not dent, a puffed foot gives and cracks.

Trade off: puffed feet are lighter and crumble, while air dried feet take longer and snap. If your floor matters, choose the air dried; if your dog is small or has a soft bite, choose the puffed.

Air dried chicken feet in the rail come from Sniff and Shift, which air dries New York chicken in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and sells the feet in 6 and 18 count bags.

Nails on or off

Nails on is the traditional look. The nail is a small hard point at the end of each toe, and a dog that chews a foot from the end will meet it last.

Nails off is tidier. The toes are cleaner, and there is no point on the end. For a small dog, or a dog that gulps, the trimmed version is easier to give, and you can trim a dried foot yourself with a pair of kitchen shears: cut each toe where it meets the pad and you have five pieces.

Both are chicken feet. The nail does not change what the foot is, only how it ends.

If you are unsure, start with one foot, nails off, and see how your dog handles it. You can always go back to the traditional version once you know whether your dog chews from the toe end or the pad end.

Matching a foot to a dog

Hold the foot beside the dog's muzzle. If the pad alone would fit in the dog's mouth, the foot is too small to chew as a single piece, and you should hand it over in sections. If the whole foot is a long mouthful, with toes sticking out each side, the dog can work at it.

Merck Veterinary Manual names bones as the most common object to lodge in a dog's esophagus, with rawhide and chew treats also on its list, so the first few times, stay in the room and take the foot away when it gets short. The same advice goes for any dried chew.

A small dog gets sections or a puffed foot. A medium dog gets a whole puffed foot or a short air dried one. A large dog can have a whole air dried foot. Because dried feet are a chew, give one at a time and not every day.

Do not hand a foot to a dog that is excited, hungry and standing up. Ask for a sit, put the foot on a towel, and let the dog settle with it, because a dog that bolts a chew is the dog that needs sections instead.

Put a towel or a crate tray under the dog. Dried feet shed flakes, and a floor that is easy to clean saves arguments.

Keeping a bag of feet

Dried chicken feet are dry, and they store like it. Keep the bag sealed between uses, in a cool, dry cupboard, and read the best by date printed on it.

The smell is the other practical point. A bag of feet smells like chicken, strongly, and a dog will find it on a high shelf. Our raw feeding notice covers washing your hands and the bowl after handling any dried animal product, and keeping products out of reach of young children.

For other poultry chews, see the chicken dog treats collection, the guide to duck feet for dogs, which are flatter and wider, and the guide to turkey necks for dogs, which are longer and heavier.

Common questions

Do chicken feet for dogs have to be cooked?

Most dried feet are sold ready to give, air dried, dehydrated or puffed, and the label says how each was made. The raw feeding notice on this site says raw and uncooked animal products can carry bacteria, so wash your hands and the bowl after handling any of them. Cooked feet from your own kitchen are a different product, so check what the dog is really getting.

Can small dogs chew chicken feet?

A small dog can manage a puffed foot, or a dried foot cut into sections with kitchen shears. Whole dried feet suit larger dogs, since the toes are long and firm. Stay close the first few times.

How long does a bag of dried chicken feet last?

Check the best by date printed on the bag, and keep the bag sealed between uses in a cool, dry cupboard. Air dried feet keep their shape and snap, so the bag does not need special care beyond staying closed.

Should chicken feet for dogs have the nails trimmed?

Either works: some bags come with the nails on and some with them trimmed. A trimmed foot is tidier and has no point at the end of each toe. For a small dog or a dog that gulps, the trimmed foot is the easier pick.