According to just about any poll you reference, a large percentage of Americans plan to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and family, and many also admit to sharing their Thanksgiving dinner with their four-legged family members. But a festive time for you could be a stressful or dangerous time for your pets. Here is a list of ten Thanksgiving foods that are hazardous for your pets:
Turkey Bones
When the turkey’s gone, the bones that remain are NOT a good chew toy for your dog. They are brittle choking hazards that easily splinter if chewed.
Fruit Salad A good rule of thumb is to not feed dogs fruit with seeds or pits. These inflame doggie intestines. Yuck! So, no plums, peaches, or grapes. That includes raisins!
Pecan Pie
Dogs shouldn’t be eating dessert anyway, but nuts can cause muscle spasms and weakness of the legs for up to 48 hours. Walnuts and macadamia nuts are the worst.
Salty Turkey Skin
Your Thanksgiving turkey will be basted in a number of tasty herbs and spices, like sage or dill, which are bad for your dog’s tummy. The fatty skin, added salty brine, and added butter isn’t very good for dogs either. When they start throwing the puppy dog eyes, you can give those pups a tiny piece of turkey breast though!
Stuffing
This Thanksgiving staple often contains onions, which poison dogs’ blood cells.
Garlic Bread
Garlic is a member of the onion family (as far as dogs are concerned), so this is also bad for their blood.
Sausage
Sausage is more than meat. Sausage also contains onions, garlic, and a bunch of other ingredients we’ve already mentioned.
Booze
Whether wine or beer, alcohol is simply not good for dogs. Grapes and hops are both toxic to dogs, and so is the alcohol itself.
Pumpkin or Sweet Potato Pie
This one’s tricky. Both pumpkin and sweet potatoes are good for dogs. But for Thanksgiving many people add cinnamon and nutmeg to their pumpkin or sweet potato dishes which isn’t so great for our pups.
Ice Cream
Just like humans, some pups handle dairy just fine– others get a tummyache. It really depends on your pup.
Be sure to keep these foods away from your pets this Thanksgiving, to keep them safe and healthy. If you have any questions about what you can feed your pet around Thanksgiving, give us a call.