How to Have a Dog-Friendly Thanksgiving

Turkey day is fast approaching, and as you start to plan out your elaborate meals and decorate your table with Pinterest-level precision, don’t forget to plan around the hungriest, most enthusiastic eaters in your family: your dogs. Unfortunately your furry family members who are most excited about this food-centric holiday may be exposed to some potentially dangerous factors on the big day. Here are some Thanksgiving safety tips for dogs before bringing everyone over to gobble up some turkey. Show your pups how grateful you are for them with these Thanksgiving pet safety tips!

1. Protect the Prep

While prepping ingredients, like peeling potatoes or gutting pumpkins, make sure you keep an eye on your little furry scavengers. Many raw veggies and meat scraps can be less than ideal for your dog’s digestive system, but raw potatoes are particularly harmful and raw pumpkin can give your pup diarrhea — no fun when you’re already stressed about getting all the food cranked out!2. Synchronized Feeding

To avoid incessant begging once you’re all sitting down to enjoy your Thanksgiving meal, give you dogs their meals at the same time that everyone sits down at the table. Maybe even throw a little plain turkey in their bowls for an extra treat, but remember to cut down on their portions of regular food when you know they’ll be snacking on people food throughout the day.3. Set Expectations

If you have strict rules about what your pets can and cannot do during meals, make an announcement to all your guests before the meal starts. Everyone is different when it comes to what they allow their dogs to get away with, so make sure your guests aren’t sneaking spoonfuls of gravy under the table if you’re discouraging begging or trying to keep them on a strict feeding plan.4. Keep Bones Contained

It seems like Thanksgiving would be the perfect time to dispose of your bones in a mutually beneficial way, but despite your dog’s enthusiasm to devour your turkey bones you should keep them contained and out of reach. The cooked bones can easily splinter in your dog’s throat which can potentially be very dangerous, especially for small dogs. 5. Brush Up On the Do-Not-Feed List

The following foods are never to be feed to pups:Turkey Skin – The turkey skin, which holds onto marinades, butter and other ingredients high in fat, can be very difficult for your dog to digest.

• Cooked Bones – Turkey and ham bones become very brittle after cooking and can splinter in your pup’s digestive tract.
• Walnuts and Macadamia nuts – Various nuts contain toxins that could cause vomiting or seizures in your dogs. Not all nuts contain them, but be sure to do your research before feeding nuts to your pup and always avoid walnuts and macadamia nuts. Here’s a guide to nuts for dogs!
• Onions – Onions contain sulfides which are toxic to dogs.
• Nutmeg – Nutmeg can cause seizures and central nervous system damage to dogs, so make sure there isn’t much in any pumpkin or sweet potato dishes you might want to share with your dog.
• Chocolate and Dough – Chocolate is a well known carcinogen for dogs, but dough can also be dangerous as it can rise inside your dog’s stomach, leading to lots of discomfort.

6. Avoid Anxiety

Some of our furry friends are sensitive to noise, strangers and new situations. Be sure to account for any anxiety your pets may be feeling with new people, loud situations and possibly young children running around. If you see your dog is having trouble coping with the large gathering, put him in an area of the house where he feels safe with his comforting toys, dog bed or treats. Don’t force your pets to participate in the celebration if they are uncomfortable with it.

6. Treat Your Pups

Since you’ll be in the kitchen baking anyway, you might as well throw a few festive dog treats together while you’re at it! Ingredients like pumpkin, apple and cinnamon are great for pups. Here are some quick, easy and beautiful treats you could feed the pups this year, or if you’re low on time order some delicious and healthy Carnivore Cookies! Follow these Thanksgiving safety tips for your pets to ensure an enjoyable holiday for you and your pooch.