Thanksgiving Leftovers

What’s Safe & Unsafe For Your Dog To Eat

Last week we discussed teaching your dog a certain behavior that could help you keep your dog under control, well we only went over the basics. I’m sure everybody is taking my advice & spending plenty of time hammering away at the “Place” command. If you’re not, well then this article is for you. This article is for when your dog starts counter surfing, slurping up all the tasty Thanksgiving dishes you spent all day preparing. Hopefully this article will help you decipher if the dishes your dog ate could be toxic or could be a healthy snack.

Whether your dog forcefully demolished your Thanksgiving dishes or maybe you have leftovers to spare. We want to help everybody stay conscious of what your dog can & can’t have. We are going to start with the foods to stay AWAY from & will finish the article with healthy foods & some recipes you can use as treats.

*Remember, when in doubt always consult with a veterinarian & not this article or Google. Though you can Google the closest Emergency Vet & double check with them to make sure they will be open for the holidays.

Unsafe Thanksgiving Foods:

Chocolate: Chocolate is always a well known No-No for dog owners but make sure you keep an eye on that tasty chocolate pie. Chocolate is always a concern but remember the darker the chocolate the more toxic it will be for your dog.

Grapes/Raisins: I’m not sure I can recall off hand any Thanksgiving dishes with grapes or raisins in them but stay away. Grapes/raisins can cause severe kidney damage as well as urinary issues. Best to just keep the Grapes & Raisins out of Thanksgiving.

Mashed Potatoes: Potatoes by themselves aren’t terrible for your dog but most potato dishes have loads & loads of butter, milk & onions. Any combination in your potatoes can cause severe diarrhea & I promise you that’s the last thing you want to worry about when you are trying to enjoy your Thanksgiving day. Talk about loss of appetite. Speaking of onions in your potatoes, onions can cause Onion Toxicity in your dog so it’s best to just stay away.

Turkey Bones/Cooked Bones: Most people think bones are ok for dogs which they can be if they are raw UNCOOKED bones but there are way too many harmful factors when it comes to cooked bones as well as Turkey bones. Bones can cause severe indigestion to the intestines & stomach causing an obstruction to their bowl system as well as vomiting. Cooked bones can also splinter very easily which can cause severe if not deadly consequences.

Ham/Pork Products: Ham & pork can cause pancreatitis which can lead to an upset stomach, diarrhea & vomiting. Ham & pork products are also very high in fat which can lead to obesity. Best to just leave the ham & the pork to our needy human bellies.

Stuffing: Stuffing is a combination of toxic ingredients & I would highly recommend keeping the stuffing far away from your dog. Like mentioned earlier, most stuffing contains high amounts of onions which can cause onion toxicity. Stuffing also typically contains garlic as well & this combination can lead to a break down of your dogs red blood cells.

Safe Thanksgiving Foods

Sweet Potatoes: Sweet Potatoes are full of essential vitamins & nutrients your dogs body needs therefore making sweet potato a great Thanksgiving snack to feed your dog. One form of sweet potatoes to avoid though are the canned Sweet Potatoes. Other than the cans, you can choose to feed your dog raw sweet potato or dried sweet potato but remember to stay away from the butter & additives. Even better, you could dice up the sweet potato & freeze the larger pieces for crate snacks or use the small pieces as training treats.

Turkey: I’m sure we’ve all seen the Christmas Story where mom has been cooking her Turkey all day & is only ruined by a pack of dogs & dad sneaking pieces a little too early. Turkey is dogs heaven, although you need to be cautious on how much you feed & steer away from seasoned turkey. Also keep an eye out to make sure you aren’t feeding your dog too much fat & remember what we talked about earlier… No Turkey bones!

Green Beans: I’m not sure about you but almost every dog owner I’ve met has tried feeding their dogs green beans & I’ve maybe seen one dog actually enjoy green beans. If your dog is the one dog who enjoys them, by all means feed away. Not literally, but green beans are a great snack & contain high amounts of fiber Vitamin K & C, just make sure you feed the green beans raw & with no butter or seasoning.

Carrots: Raw & cooked carrots are an amazing & healthy treat for your dogs anytime of the year. Dice them up, feed them whole (pull the stems), mix with green beans, however you want to feed the carrots by all means feed away. Obviously like with all food, make sure there is no added butter, seasoning, or sauces, feed them as is & your dog will enjoy a tasty treat full of antioxidants.

Pumpkin: Most of you have been to the vet because of your dogs upset tummy. If you have I’m sure you’ve heard your vet suggest some pumpkin in their diet. That’s because pumpkins are a fiber gold mine & work wonders for your dogs digestive system. Alway avoid any sugars & spices & always feed fresh pumpkin, not your leftover halloween decorations.

Apples: I’ve never had any apples at thanksgiving but I’m sure there are plenty of people who only show up for the cooked apples. Makes sense, since apples are like the greatest fruit ever & don’t even get me started on the apple pies. Either way, apples can be a good treat for dogs but remember to never feed anything that may contain sugar, spices, filling, etc. Also never ever ever feed your dog any portion of an apple core. These can be poisonous to dogs & depending on how much they consume, may require a visit to the emergency vet.

This is probably the 400th article you’ve seen this week on dog appropriate foods for the holidays. Well if you made it all the way to the bottom of this article & have read all the way through, I’d love to offer you 1 free video chat obedience lesson. All you have to do is shoot us an email or text & say “Hey Michael, I read the entire article give me the free stuff!”

On a real note, this is our rendition of dog safe/unsafe foods. Like we always say, when in doubt speak to a professional. We hope you enjoyed this article & I’m sure you guys are totally stoked for the next one….NOT! Who knows I may give something away at the end of that article as well ;) Stay tuned & I Hope ALL OF YOU HAVE A SUPER WONDERFUL HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

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