Thanksgiving brings to mind thoughts of family and feasts. While your pooch might delight in the attention from guests and the delicious food aromas, there are many budding hazards lurking for your pup. It can be hard to deny your furry friend a feast of his own, but many of our favorite holiday dishes can be very dangerous to our dogs.
• The turkey is the center of the Thanksgiving dinner. Boneless, skinless turkey is perfectly healthy for your furry friend in sensible portions, but make sure to remove the skin! Brittle turkey bones can break and splinter, puncturing your dog’s stomach. These should never be given to dogs. Do not feed your dog raw or undercooked turkey because it contains salmonella bacteria and could give your dog food poisoning.
• Sage, a common ingredient in traditional Thanksgiving dishes, has essential oils that could upset your dog’s stomach or cause central nervous system depression if consumed in large amounts.
• Onions are poisonous to dogs and can cause a dangerous type of anemia that might not be detected for days.
• If bread dough is eaten by your dog, their body heat could cause the dough to rise inside their stomach. This could cause vomiting, abdominal pain, and bloating.
• A portion of turkey, mashed potatoes, and pie should be fine for a well behaved pooch, but overindulgence could pose serious problems, such as upset stomach, diarrhea, or even worse – pancreatitis. For these reasons, it’s a good idea to limit the goodies to a minimum.
• Some dogs can’t pass up a taste of beer or alcohol. Make sure you don’t leave drinks unattended. Alcohol can cause your pet to feel disoriented and nauseous and in large quantities, could cause coma or even death.
• If you’re baking cakes and cookies, keep your pooch’s nose out of the batter. The raw eggs contain salmonella and could give your dog food poisoning
• Food wrappers, aluminum foil, and plastic wrap can cause intestinal blockages if ingested. Take care to keep tempting garbage out of your pet’s reach!
It’s best to keep your dog on their regular diet at all times, but if you can’t help but including your pampered pooch in the festivities, make sure to limit treats to a minimum. Stuffing a Kong toy with turkey, vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy will keep them occupied for hours. If you think your pet has eaten something harmful, call the Animal Poison Control Center Hotline at (888) 426-4435. There is a charge for the call, but it could very well save your pet’s life! Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
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