Last reviewed: September 2026

Can Dogs Eat Walkie Talkies (Chicken Feet & Heads)?

ModerateBone & Cartilage Hazard

Walkie talkies — chicken feet and heads, a popular South African street food — are not toxic as such, but the small, sharp bones and cartilage are a real choking and internal injury risk once cooked.

Why

The meat and cartilage themselves aren't a toxicity concern, but cooking (boiling, frying, or braaiing) makes the small bones in chicken feet and heads brittle, the same mechanism covered on our cooked bones page. Raw chicken feet are sometimes used deliberately in raw feeding as a natural source of glucosamine from the cartilage, but that's a different, supervised context from a dog scavenging a cooked one at a braai.

How to serve it safely

Never offer cooked chicken feet or heads — see our cooked bones page for why
Raw chicken feet, from a reliable source, are lower risk and sometimes used intentionally in raw diets — discuss with your vet first
Keep braai leftovers and bins secured, since this is a realistic scavenging risk at gatherings

Sources

General veterinary toxicology consensus, cross-referenced against the Merck Veterinary Manual and ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center food hazard references. See How We Source This for our methodology.

This page is general educational information, not a substitute for veterinary advice.