As Thanksgiving approaches, we are preparing for holiday parties and a lot of yummy food. But, keep in mind that many of these Thanksgiving foods can be hazardous for your pets. Here is a list of 10 hazardous Thanksgiving foods to NOT feed your pet.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Stuffing
This Thanksgiving staple often contains onions, which poison dogs’ blood cells.
4. Garlic Bread
Garlic is a member of the onion family (as far as dogs are concerned), so this is also bad for their blood.
5. 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!
6. 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!
7. Sausage
Sausage is more than meat. Sausage also contains onions, garlic, and a bunch of other ingredients we’ve already mentioned.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. Moldy Foods
I’m sure you don’t intend to feed your dog moldy, rotted food, so what I’m really trying to say is watch your dog around your overflowing trashcan. Moldy foods produce harmful mycotoxins, which just sound scary and do serious damage to your dog’s health.
If you have questions about keeping your pet healthy this Thanksgiving, give our office a call!