Keep Your Dog Safe on Thanksgiving

Which foods will keep your dog safe on Thanksgiving, and which could be dangerous for your pets to consume? Thanksgiving Day is one of America’s favorite holidays. We love to watch football, fill our plates with our favorite food selections and share that food with our furry friends. But not all foods are safe for pets. Around holidays veterinarians tend to have a lot of animals coming in due to them eating unsafe food.

Foods to Keep Your Dog Safe on Thanksgiving

Turkey meat (no bones and skin). Turkey is safe to serve as long as it hasn’t been prepared with any seasoning, and avoid giving the bones (discussed below) and skin which may have been prepared with fatty ingredients.

Sweet potatoes. These are healthy and safe to eat, just remember not to give any sweet potatoes with any added ingredients.

Potatoes. You can love both kinds of potatoes and share with your pet too! Just make sure there is no butter, sour cream, salt, pepper, or onions and serve in moderation.

Apples. These are a safe healthy treat for your dog, but make sure to cut out the core of the apple because the seeds can be toxic.

Pumpkins. This is a healthy snack that is good for digestive health, just make sure if feeding canned pumpkin that it doesn’t have any spices mixed in it.

Green Beans. These are healthy and safe for your pet to eat, just like the rest though they must be free of added spices or added fat.

Dessert. Pies, cakes and other desserts should be avoided. That does not mean that your pup can’t go without a sweet treat. Give a healthy treat like frozen yogurt to satisfy your pup’s sweet tooth. They can also have plain whipped cream (in moderation) or frozen blueberries.

Consider giving your dog one of these Thanksgiving themed toys as a treat

Foods to Stay Away From to Keep Your Dog Safe on Thanksgiving

Turkey Bones. It can be so tempting to offer your pet a bone during the festivities, but these bones should be avoided as they can cause damage to their digestive system. They are brittle when cooked and slivers can poke holes in the esophagus and such going down. However raw turkey and bones should be ok under supervision, especially if ground up.

Ham. Most deli hams contain a lot of salt and most baked ham has sugar, neither of which are good for dogs.

Alcoholic Beverages. Alcohol is toxic to dogs even in small amounts, not only in drinks but in syrups or raw bread.

Fatty Foods. Fatty foods can upset your dog’s stomach and cause vomiting or diarrhea. It can also lead to pancreatitis, which is an inflammation of the pancreas.

Gravy. Because it’s a thickener gravy has high amounts of sodium, fat and ingredients that can be toxic to dogs like onions and garlic.

Onions, Scallions, Garlic. These are toxic to dogs and can cause harm.

Casseroles. Avoid any foods containing spices, salt and pepper, sugar, fatty ingredients such as butter, or other ingredients that can be toxic to dogs such as onions or garlic.

Mashed Potatoes. Dog’s can have some potatoes (see above list) but with mashed potatoes there are spices as well as milk and butter added which should not be given to dogs.

Sweets. Chocolate (toxic to dogs), cookies, pies, cakes and other desserts (especially anything containing xylitol). Sugar is not good for dogs and a lot of the additives in deserts contain sugar on their own plus the added sugar to make them.

Raisins and Grapes. Grapes and Raisins are known to be highly toxic to dogs, research is yet to highlight exactly what it is that causes dogs to get sick but it stands that they are highly toxic.

Yeast Dough. Once eaten and in your dog’s stomach, the yeast continues to make the dough rise and release toxic levels of ethanol into the bloodstream. The symptoms can mimic and cause bloat but the real danger is the alcohol toxicosis.

Remember, to keep your dog safe on Thanksgiving, keep all foods your pets shouldn’t eat on the back of the counter out of reach or to keep your pets occupied chasing footballs in the backyard. If your pet does eat something toxic that they shouldn’t have, you can call the Pet Poison Helpline (855) 764 – 7661 (there is a fee for this call line) or take your pet to the nearest emergency veterinarian. Happy Thanksgiving!

Dog Training in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Corrales, Placitas

The mission of Good Buddy Dog Training is to help build the bond between dogs and their owners through positive training methods. We teach dogs to accomplish new behaviors and humans to bring out the best in their furry friends. For the most effective training, we work with people directly in their homes, where dogs and their humans feel most comfortable. And the training we do is based on the science of how dogs learn by using a positive and fun curriculum to build confidence in both dog and owner.