Those puppy dog eyes are always hard to resist, but on a holiday in which we celebrate how thankful we are? How much harder is it to resist your four-legged best friend? Well, the good news is, a little turkey to share is fine. Boneless, skinless and 100% cooked is perfectly fine to chop up and put in his food so he feels like he can partake with the family.
However, along with that good news, we have to share that there are a lot of things we shouldn’t be sharing with our dogs this Thanksgiving:
1) Sage and many other herbs can cause an upset stomach and even seizing in the wrong amounts. Keep them away from those seasonings.
2) Many dogs already have wheat allergies, so keep them away from the dough. Raw dough, especially, can rise in your dog’s stomach because of their body heat causing vomiting, upset stomach and even surgery in the worst of cases.
3) Chocolate can be fatal to dogs and cats and is always a no-no. Make sure your guests know this as well.
4) Onion and onion seasoning can destroy your dog’s or cat’s red blood cells, leading to anemia.
5) Keep them away from those nuts! Nuts, especially walnuts or macadamia nuts, can lead to shock, fever, seizures and even death.
6) While we mentioned that cooked, boneless, skinless turkey is fine in small amounts for your dog, keep them away from those bones! Cooked ham and turkey bones have a tendency to break and can splinter in your dogs digestive system. This can lead to surgery or worse.
Our advice comes from animalplanet.com, petmd.com, and the ASPCA. Keep your animals safe with other treats to satisfy them (think a turkey-flavored dog stuffing for their kong or a turkey flavored treat bought from the pet store) and indulge guilt-free this holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving!
