Thanksgiving is just around the corner and with so much going on with planning for a perfect meal and entertaining your family, you may not be thinking about the safety of your pets.
- Be careful with turkey: If you decide to feed your pet a small bit of turkey, make sure it’s boneless, skinless and well cooked. Don’t give pets raw or uncooked turkey, which may contain salmonella bacteria. Do not give your pet the leftover carcass. The bones can be problematic for the digestive tract.
- No bread dough: When a dog or cat ingests raw bread dough, the yeast continues to convert the sugars in the dough to carbon dioxide gas and alcohol. This can result in bloated, drunken pets, which could become a life-threatening emergency, requiring hospitalization.
- Don’t let them eat cake: If you’re baking Thanksgiving desserts, be sure to keep your pets’ noses out of the batter, especially if it includes raw eggs, which could contain salmonella that may lead to food poisoning.
- Fatty foods: Too many fatty, rich or unfamiliar foods can give your pet pancreatitis or gastroenteritis, two medical conditions that can be painful and even life-threatening.
- Just say no to these: Certain bones can lacerate or obstruct your pets’ insides. Save the bones for the broth, not your dog. Onions and onion powder, which are widely found in stuffing as seasoning, will destroy your dog’s red blood cells, which can lead to anemia. Grapes and raisins contain a toxin that can cause kidney damage to both dogs and cats. Chocolate can actually be fatal to a dog.
- Be careful of food wrappings: Aluminum foil, wax paper and other food wrappings can cause intestinal obstruction. Make sure to place these items securely in the garbage.
- Quiet time: Make sure your pet has a quiet retreat should the holiday festivities become too much. Watch his or her behavior for stress.
- Fresh water: Make sure your pet always has some.
I must be a terrible pet owner, because my dog has eaten almost everything from the “Do not eat” list. He’s a prure-bred soft-coated wheaten terrier and he’s a rascal who loves to get into garbage and steals food off of the kids plates. He’s failed doggy training school several times. So, he eats like a pig and the vet keeps saying that he looks good and is really healthy. He’s 14 years old and the vet said to “keep doing what we’ve been doing,” because he’s as healthy as can be.
I don’t get it. He should not be healthy eating all the chocolate and drinking beer (two of his favorites)…
Ha! Every dog is different. When I was growing up we had a terrier mix who ate the cheapest dog food, rawhide bones (which as of late is dangerous) and toys that I’m sure were made in China. She lived a very long, healthy life. Now I have 2 small dogs and they seem to have stomach problems with every little piece of human food they eat. My dog has gotten sick from eating string beans, which are actually very healthy for dogs!
I say keep doing what you are doing. Clearly you are doing something right!