Top 5 Thanksgiving Items Not to Share with your Dog

This time of year, many of us are busy in the kitchen, preparing a special Thanksgiving dinner for our family. Our pets feel like family too, and often pet owners are tempted to bend the rules and share some of the festive human food with their furry companions — don’t do it! Unfortunately, each year our hospital receives severely ill pets who indulged in the human holiday food. To help keep our pet community safe, we’ve put together a list of the top five things to avoid sharing with your pets this Thanksgiving.

Do not share:

  1. Turkey: When humans eat turkey they can get tired, but when dogs eat turkey they can get sick, very sick. Avoid a trip to the Emergency Room this Thanksgiving by not sharing your turkey — cooked or uncooked—with your dog. Small pieces of lean white meat are fine to give dogs and cats in little amounts, however, avoid giving red meat, fat, and the skin. We often see pets brought to our hospital after Thanksgiving dinner due to pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas). One of the potential causes of this condition is eating a high amount of fatty foods. We recommend playing it safe and not sharing the turkey with your pets.
  1. Turkey Bones: Bones are usually digested in the stomach, but if your pet happens to swallow a small sharp piece it can cause trauma to the stomach and intestine and even perforation. Safe to say, turkey bones have no business in the paws of your pet. Play it safe this season and keep the bones out of reach of your pets.
  1. Salads with Grapes/Raisins: Grapes or raisins can be very toxic to animals and potentially deadly by causing renal (kidney) failure. Avoid that potential altogether by keeping them out of reach of your pets, even storing grapes and raisins in a location where curious noses cannot sniff them out.
  1. Mashed Potatoes: Potatoes are fine to give pets; however, once you start adding butter and milk this increases the risk of pancreatitis.  Additionally, mashed potatoes often contain garlic and onion which are toxic to pets.
  1. Bread Dough: Don’t share any bread dough with your dog, even if they are begging. The unbaked bread dough will expand inside the stomach and can result in a life-threatening condition called bloat.  Moreover, raw dough can cause ethanol (alcohol) toxicity.