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Is Thanksgiving Dinner Safe for My Dog?

Nancy Miller 11/18/24


It’s that time of year again! This year I’m blessed with making only the pies (one gluten free), the famous red Jello salad that the grandsons request each holiday, and a gluten free sweet potato casserole. Since it’s delicious for us, our Thanksgiving dinner leftovers should be safe for my dogs, right? WRONG! Don’t feed your leftovers to Rover until you know all the facts:


TURKEY: If you live in the South and you’re deep-frying your turkey again this year, keep it away from the pups. The extra fat from the absorbed oil, turkey skin, and dark meat, as well as any other fatty foods, could all contribute to pancreatitis. Another NO for the doggy world is brined turkey. Although humans can usually handle the excess sodium (with swollen eyes, fingers, and an extra pound or two water weight the day after), Spot cannot, and the overdose of salt could possibly cause an electrolyte imbalance including sodium poisoning, high blood pressure, or dehydration. Plain ol’ skinless, unseasoned white meat, stripped of all fat, and fully cooked in the oven is just fine in moderate amounts! Do NOT give raw or cooked turkey bones, which can cause intestinal blockages and punctures,


HAM: Because of its high fat content, ham is considered unsafe for dogs. Besides an upset stomach from the fatty ham, it comes with the potential of pancreatitis, which can be life-threatening besides being painful.


STUFFING (or DRESSING or whatever you call it): NO! If it’s a good stuffing, there are too many spices (especially sage), onions or chives (which are both always a NO), and garlic that do not blend well with the digestive system of canines; plus, it is high in sodium.


GRAVY: Like its nutritional value for us, gravy is not the best for our little canine buddies: too many calories from fat. After all, its main ingredients are fat from the turkey, white flour, and (if it’s good, cream gravy) half and half or cream. Especially bad for older dogs with a few pounds on them (as well as for people).


GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE: Canned or frozen green beans (low or no salt) – YES! Unsalted fresh green beans? - YES! Casserole – NO! Have you ever looked at the ingredients on the can of cream of mushroom soup? Or a can of crispy onion rings? What in that could possibly be healthy? Too fatty and sodium content too high! Do I eat it every year? YES! Will I feed it to my dogs? NO! But I can open an extra can of no salt green beans, and let Sunny eat as many as she wants. In fact, vets often advise cutting back on kibble and filling in with no-salt canned, frozen, fresh, cooked, or raw for dogs who need to lose weight.


SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE: Fresh sweet potatoes? - YES! Casserole - NO! If your sweet potato casserole is like mine, it’s filled with lots of butter and brown sugar, and if you’re adding marshmallows to the top, that’s a double whammy. Canned sweet potatoes are often packed in a sugary syrup, so be sure to thoroughly wash them first. Once again, this is something that will go into my mouth, but not my pooches’. Now, freshly baked or microwaved sweet potatoes are great for your dog, so throw an extra one in the oven while you’re baking yours for the casserole. Remember to feed sweet potatoes in moderation, though, because their high fiber content can cause diarrhea when overeaten.


MASHED POTATOES: Plain, cooked, mashed white potatoes are fine to give to your fur babies, but without the butter, cream, salt, and gravy, I wouldn’t recommend serving them this way to your family. Our human version is too fatty for the pup, and pancreatitis is a horribly painful thing for a dog to endure.


CARROTS: Raw carrots are great snacks for humans and canines, filled with potassium, beta-carotene, and vitamin B6. You can even share them cooked, but leave out any butter, brown sugar, or other seasoning (including salt) if it’s going to Fido.


CRANBERRIES: Both raw and cooked cranberries are terribly bitter without sugar, and most dogs won’t eat them, but if yours will, go for it, only a few because they can cause stomach upset, especially when raw. Do not give them cranberry sauce, canned cranberries, or dried cranberries because of the high sugar content.  


DESSERTS


APPLE PIE: My Sunny loves fresh apple slices, but it’s another big NO when it comes to apple pie. All that sugar could cause an upset tummy, expensive and painful dental issues, weight gain, and even diabetes. Make sure to take out all the core and seeds but leave the nutritious skin when you’re tossing your pup some slices while you make pie.


PUMPKIN PIE: YES to plain canned pumpkin, especially organic, but NO to the canned pumpkin pie filling due to nutmeg, which can be toxic, causing high blood pressure and hallucinations to name just a few. The pie itself contains a lot of sugar and milk, which are two red flags for upset stomach. Like sweet potatoes, pumpkin is high in fiber, so too much of a good thing like canned organic pumpkin could cause diarrhea, and vets often recommend only a tablespoon or two mixed with their food to add fiber to their digestive system.


BAD ALL THE TIME:

          Anything with chocolate, Xylitol, macadamia nuts, grapes or raisins    

    

HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE THANKSGIVING!



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