Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude and good food with family and friends. From buffets of cooked turkey, cornbread stuffing, and green bean casserole, to platters of sweet treats and chocolatey desserts, it’s a scrumptious and joyous season. Some of that goodwill and generosity should not be shared though.
Don’t spoil your pet’s holiday by giving them raw bread dough. According to ASPCA experts, when raw bread dough is ingested, an animal’s body heat causes the dough to rise in their stomach. As it expands, the pet may experience vomiting, severe abdominal pain and bloating, which could become a life-threatening emergency.
If you decide to feed your pet a little nibble of turkey, make sure it is boneless* and well-cooked. Don’t offer them raw or undercooked turkey, which may contain salmonella bacteria.
*Cooked bones can be fatal for your dog. They can cause broken teeth, mouth injuries, choking, intestinal blockage, constipation, rectal bleeding, infections, and even death. Make sure to secure dispose of the entire turkey carcass out of reach of your pets.
If you’re baking up Thanksgiving cakes, be sure your pets keep their noses out of the batter, especially if it includes raw eggs—they could contain salmonella bacteria that may lead to food poisoning.
Sage can make your Thanksgiving stuffing taste delicious, but it and many other herbs contain essential oils and resins that can cause gastrointestinal upset and central nervous system depression to pets if eaten in large quantities. Cats are especially sensitive to the effects of certain essential oils.
While the humans are chowing down, give your cat and dog their own little feast. Offer them Nylabones or made-for-pet chew bones. Or stuff their usual dinner—perhaps with a few added tidbits of turkey, vegetables like sweet potatoes or green beans), and dribbles of gravy—inside a Kong toy. They’ll be happily occupied for awhile, working hard to extract their dinner from the toy.
A few small boneless pieces of cooked turkey, a taste of mashed potato or even a lick of pumpkin pie shouldn’t pose a problem. However, don’t allow your pets to overindulge, as they could wind up with a case of upset stomach, diarrhea or even worse—an inflammatory condition of the pancreas known as pancreatitis. In fact, it’s best to keep pets on their regular diets during the holidays.
Most pets don’t enjoy wearing a costume and become uncomfortable, unpredictable, and strange to other pets and animals when dressed up. Instead, if you’d like to help them get into the fun, consider a Holiday-themed bandana for them. For some pets, when they’ve been desensitized and positively reinforced, they may be comfortable and even like being dressed up. In these cases, make sure the costume doesn’t interfere with their ability to move, breathe, see, hear or bark.
*Berlin does not like being dressed up, as seen in the Turkey Costume picture on this page, which was taken at my husband’s office. Unfortunately, his boss insisted on regularly dressing the office dogs up to feature on his Instagram page. It bothers me greatly she was forced to do this for the internet’s amusement. Don’t be that person.
Even though you may take every precaution, accidents happen. If your pet becomes ill, immediately take them to your nearest vet or call the ASPCA’s Poison Hotline at (charges may appy) 888-426-4435.
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