Can Dogs Eat Rotisserie Chicken? (Here’s What You Need To Know)

When I plan to make a trip to pick up some groceries from my supermarket, I usually make it a point to get there about an hour before it closes. I do this for two reasons.

Firstly, it is a lot less crowded. But more importantly, the rotisserie chicken from the meat section is going for half price! Time to load up. My dog goes more bonkers than usual when he smells the rotisserie chicken when I pull up in the driveway.

He gets a little morsel to calm him down. But can dogs eat rotisserie chicken on a regular basis?

Dogs can eat rotisserie chicken depending on how it is prepared. If you are feeding your dog rotisserie chicken bought from the grocery store, you need to be careful of the ingredients used as some can be toxic. Furthermore, the cooked bones in the rotisserie chicken can really do damage to your dog’s digestive system.

Let us take a look at why rotisserie chicken may or may not be the best thing to feed your canine companion.

What Is A Rotisserie Chicken?

The term rotisserie chicken isn’t used to describe some ‘fancy schmancy’ way of preparing your chicken.

It just means that a whole chicken is being roasted in a rotisserie which is a device that rotates the chicken on a skewer while it is being cooked.

Rotisserie chickens sold at grocery stores come in a variety of marinates that you can choose from.

Most of us can do it at home but it can get pretty messy and oily.

Personally, I prefer rotisserie chicken meat as it feels and tastes a lot more tender and moist than straight-up grilling a piece of chicken in the oven.

Is Eating Rotisserie Chicken Healthy For Dogs?

Eating rotisserie chicken bought from stores isn’t the healthiest of options I have to say.

The bag can get rather oily and the amount of marinade on the skin can elevate sodium intake to unhealthy levels.

Here are some reasons why rotisserie chicken from the local grocery store isn’t very healthy for your dog’s diet.

Rotisserie Contains Too Much Salt

I’ve tried rotisserie chicken from a number of stores in my neighborhood and they have something in common.

They do taste a little too salty.

This level of saltiness can be acceptable for humans but when it comes to our dogs, it is definitely too much sodium for them.

Many commercially sold rotisserie chickens have brine or salt water injected into the meat to enhance the flavor of the cooked chicken and to prevent it from drying out.

A 3 oz serving of rotisserie chicken from your local store can contain up to 460mg of sodium. while boiled chicken has about 70mg.

That’s a whopping six times more sodium for the same serving size of chicken. The same goes for dogs that like eating orange chicken which has a high sodium content too.

Just based on the figures alone, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to tell that feeding your dog too much rotisserie chicken can lead to trouble.

Trying to ascertain the amount of sodium that your dog needs can be a futile mission.

From what I’ve read, it ranges from 100g per 100 calories of food to 13mg for every kg of body weight.

You don’t have to get the amount of sodium that you are feeding your dog down to the exact mg.

As long as your dog’s diet consists of a good quality brand of dog food, it should be getting all the salt that it needs.

The majority of living things do need a certain amount of sodium to be healthy.

A lack of salt in your dog’s body can lead to problems like lethargy, nausea and weakness of muscles.

On the flip side, too much salt can lead to salt poisoning in your dog.

The common symptoms:

• Extreme thirst
• Excessive urination
• Diarrhea
• Coma
• Incoordination
• Breathing difficulties

Salt poisoning isn’t a trivial matter and requires immediate medical attention. In severe cases, it can even be fatal to some dogs.

Rotisserie Chicken Contains Too Much Fat

You might be wondering if rotisserie chicken is basically chicken, why would it be higher in fat as compared to normally cooked chicken?

Based on the nutritional values of rotisserie chicken, 3 oz contains about 7g of fat. In your boring boiled chicken, it has about 50% less fat.

Similar to salt, your dog needs some salt in its diet for proper bodily functions.

When you get your rotisserie chicken from the store, many of them will marinate the skin of the chicken with oil, butter and sugar.

This helps to give the skin of the chicken a nice brown crispy texture once it’s done.

Furthermore, chicken itself contains its own natural fat and 2 rotisserie chickens can produce about half a cup of grape drippings.

I’ve seen some stores cook their chickens on top of each other which means that the grease drips from the chicken on the top to the ones below.

I noticed that the bag which holds the chicken is usually soaked through with grease and oil by the time I get home from the store.

Not gonna lie, it’s the fat drippings that make the chicken skin and meat taste so yummy too. But too much fat in your dog’s diet is definitely not healthy.

More than 50% of dogs in the United States alone are overweight. Being overweight can cause health problems like:

• Diabetes
• Pancreatitis
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Joint problems

Dogs on a good and balanced diet already have all the fat content that they need. If you are feeding your dog dry food, you could be feeding your dog more fat than necessary.

You should start to transition your dog to wet food or a raw diet. When switching your dog to a new diet, make sure to do it gradually to prevent your dog from getting loose stools and smelly gas.

Rotisserie Chicken Contains Cooked Bones

Many of our dogs love to chew on bones and to a large extent, bones do have some health benefits.

It helps get rid of some of the plaque on the dog’s teeth and eating bones provides calcium to the dog.

The problem arises when your dog eats bones that are cooked or eats meats with bones on them like pig’s feet.

Cooked bones are very hard and brittle making them splinter easily into small sharp pieces.

The sharp pieces can get stuck in your dog’s throat and even perforate your dog’s stomach and intestines.

Needless to say, it can be very painful for your dog and cause serious damage to its digestive system.

NEVER give your dog cooked bones to chew on. Always make sure that the bone is raw.

Can Dogs Eat The Skin Of The Rotisserie Chicken?

I’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t love eating chicken skin, especially when it is crispy.

You can bet your last dollar that your dog loves eating rotisserie chicken skin due to its high fat content.

Unless you are giving your dog the skin from a non-marinated rotisserie chicken, I wouldn’t give the skin to my dog.

Many stores marinate their chicken with garlic and onion salt or powder for taste. And both garlic and onions are highly toxic to dogs with garlic being 5x more toxic.

These vegetables can cause serious damage to your dog’s red blood cells which results in less oxygen being transported around its body.

When this happens, your dog can have difficulty breathing and collapse.

Onion and garlic poisoning can also cause:

• Nausea
• Diarrhea
• Weakness
• Kidney failure

A dog should not be eating anything that contains onion, even in trace amounts.

Even a small amount can quickly become toxic for puppies or smaller dogs.

What Should You Do If Your Dog Ate Rotisserie Chicken?

If your dog has eaten some store-bought rotisserie chicken, the most important things to note are the type of ingredients used for the marinate and whether your dog has eaten any cooked bones.

I would give your vet a call to see if there is a need to bring in your dog for medical treatment.

Many years ago, my dog managed to get his greedy paws on some rotisserie chicken from the kitchen counter and he eat half of it including the bones.

I knew there wasn’t anything toxic on the chicken but the cooked chicken bones freaked me out.

The vet told me to watch my dog’s bowel movements for any sign of the bones being expelled.

Feeding your dog a few slices of bread can also help prevent the sharp pieces from puncturing its insides.

I went through his fecal matter like a miner panning for gold over the next few days and found some pieces of bone.

He had some diarrhea but thankfully everything was back to normal after a few days.

I would strongly suggest that you give your vet a call to let them know what happened.

How Much Rotisserie Chicken Can I Feed My Dog?

If you are feeding your dog rotisserie chicken from the store, make sure to just feed your dog the chicken meat without any skin and bones.

Given that this type of rotisserie chicken is very high in sodium and fat, just a small handful of chicken meat as an infrequent treat would suffice.

Your dog should be eating a healthy and balanced diet like good wet food or a raw meat diet with organ meat like chicken liver which many dogs love.

If you are making your own rotisserie chicken without any added ingredients, you can afford to give your dog some meat and skin but NO bones.

Please do not use rotisserie chicken if your dog is on a bland diet such as chicken and rice. The added salt and ingredients will upset your dog’s digestive system.

Do note that dogs need more than just meat in their diet to be healthy. They also need other types of minerals and vitamins that aren’t found in chicken alone.

Always feed your dog a good diet with a little homemade rotisserie chicken as a garnish.