Is chicken liver good for your dog?

Cooked chicken liver for your dog

Cooked and dried chicken liver works well as a training treat. Simply give your dog very small pieces of this rich, tasty food as a reward or as part of his daily diet. If your dog’s prepackaged food contains liver, give liver only once or twice a week. If the food does not contain liver, liver can be up to 5 percent of the dog’s daily diet.

Chicken liver benefits

Chicken liver is high in protein, fat and vitamin A. Its high fat content makes it a particularly good choice for young, growing dogs and underweight dogs. Vitamin A plays an important role in supporting eye health, and all dogs need high quantities of protein to remain healthy. Wild dogs and wolves consume small quantities of organ meat such as liver on a regular basis because they usually eat all or most of their prey.

Chicken liver risks

Because chicken liver is high in fat, it can easily contribute to weight gain, particularly in obese dogs. Its high fatty content can also cause stomach problems if it is fed in large quantities. Perhaps the biggest risk posed by chicken liver is its high vitamin A contents, which can cause hypervitaminosis. Hypervitaminosis is a life-threatening condition that occurs when dogs eat very large quantities of the food or subsist only on liver.