Is the Thanksgiving Turkey Bad for Your Dog?
I can tell Shadow is up to something. He keeps walking through the kitchen with his nose in the air. I’m sure he’s seen that big bird in the oven and I know he smells it. Every year, we get a few pieces of the turkey. I hope it happens soon, it’s “better than snuff”.*
Foods dogs should avoid during Thanksgiving dinner
By the way, did ya’ll know that there are a lot of things during Thanksgiving that dogs can’t eat? Some examples that can frequently be found at the dinner table are listed below.
Too much turkey
Too much turkey can cause dog gastric distress. This never bothered me much but it can be a quick ticket out of the house and into the back yard.
Turkey Skin
Turkey skin has a lot of fat. Excess fat can cause dog pancreatitis (dog vomiting and dehydration are not fun at all)
Turkey Bones
Turkey bones are similar to chicken bones. They can splinter and cause a dog intestinal blockage or cause an intestinal perforation.
Nutmeg
Nutmeg can cause tremors, central nervous system deterioration and possibly death.
Xylitol
Xylitol is a sweetener made from sugar alcohol. It can be found in chewing gum and candy, but also in some baking ingredients used at Thanksgiving. Xylitol is safe for humans, but can be extremely toxic to dogs. If a dog eats a product with Xylitol, it may cause an excess of insulin created in the pancreas, dog vomiting and seizures. As little as three grams of Xylitol can be enough to kill a 60 pound dog.
Chocolate
Chocolate contains theobromine which is toxic to dogs if they eat enough of it. The good news is that it takes a large amount of theobromine to cause a reaction. For more information, see Chocolate Toxicity in Dogs.
Macadamia Nuts
According to my research, researchers do not know what causes macadamia nuts to be toxic to dogs. However, depending on the size of the dog, as few as six nuts can be toxic. The symptoms of macadamia nut poisoning can be dog vomiting, abdominal pain, stiffness, pale gums, difficulty in movement, tremors and depression.
Onions
If dogs eat too many onions, raw or cooked, they can get hemolytic anemia. Most dogs can handle small quantities of onions without any issues. However, it can prove toxic with whole onions or a chopped portion around a cup or more.
Garlic
Large quantities of garlic can be toxic similar to onions.
Grapes and Raisins
Feeding dogs grapes and raisins is generally not a good idea. Some dogs can handle eating grapes, but others can’t. For those that have a problem, renal failure is a possibility. Dog vomiting and diarrhea are the first systems of toxicity with raisins or grapes. Acute renal failure can occur within 48 hours of first systems. For more information, see Grape and raisin toxicity in dogs from Wikipedia.
Dispose of the remains properly
First, make sure when you take the turkey out of the oven, dispose of all of the stuff that comes with it. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but all the grease and fat in the bottom of the aluminum foil pan that you leave on the top of the garbage can, can quickly become ours. Let’s face, we can’t help ourselves. Pups, resist the urge to eat that stuff. It will only make you sick later.
What can my dog do while we eat Thanksgiving dinner?
I’m going to try and distract Shadow when the turkey is taken out of the oven. Hopefully, I can keep him from getting his nose burned.
So, what can you do while the humans are at the dinner table? Go find your favorite toy and enjoy it. Do not beg at the table. I, for one, am far too civilized to beg for food from the human guests, and you should be too.
I hope if any humans are reading this, ya’ll have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I’m going to go sneak a nice turkey bone and enjoy it in my bed (just kidding).
Happy Thanksgiving,
Abigail and Shadow
* This reference was from Chris’ Grandfather that passed away this year. Whenever the family would get together for a big meal, his would alway say, “that was better than snuff”, at the end. Since no one in the family (other than him) has tried snuff, we’ll take his word for it.
Great tips here, Abigail and Shadow! Yes, cooked or otherwise heated poultry bones are extremely bad for dogs (and cats also) because they get brittle! That is the reason why wild wolves can eat wild turkey — they don’t cook it! SY
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Thanks for the post… I’ll keep that in mind as we are cleaning our plates tonight.
I searched your blog, but couldn’t find any posts about fleas. We love our dog, he is great with the kids, but the fleas are horrid this year and we’ve tried everything except those pills from the vet. And the fleas are now biting the kids. Do you have any recommendations? Brands? Tips?
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I don’t like fleas either!
That’s a great article idea. Thanks for recommending it.
Shadow the Alpha Dog
Shadow´s last blog ..Is the Thanksgiving Turkey Bad for Your Dog?
I don’t feed my dog anything but his own food but I think this is quite an original post…
A very informative article. I had no idea Onions, Garlic, and Macadamia Nuts were toxic to dogs. I am glad I didn’t feed my Jack(my dogs name) any turkey this Thanksgiving, If I do give her some it I will be more careful about it in the future.
I also didn’t know about the nutmeg, I will be sure my dog doesn’t get any of that either.
I also second the other comment about fleas. What really is the ebst way to deal with fleas? Is there any types of foods that help keep fleas away from your dog?
I really don’t like putting that FrontLine stuff on her as it smells awful to me, I could just imagine how it smeels to her.
thanks again
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Ah, that was very sweet of you to say that. Let me tell you, I was amazed when I saw how many thing we aren’t supposed to eat. Fortunately, the humans were careful not to tempt us and nobody got sick. (Although I think Shadow did sneak a chicken wing out of the garbage last night.)
Ya’ll be good.
Abigail the Southern Belle
Abigail´s last blog ..Is the Thanksgiving Turkey Bad for Your Dog?
Great post. All good to know tips on how to protect your dog. Our Corgi got into some ham on Easter and cost us $400 for pancreatitis. :0( Ya gotta protect your pup. Thanks again.
Carol
Is he okay now?
I put the garbage next to the front door as I was getting ready to walk out the other night and Shadow sneaked a chicken wing bone out of the bag.
You’re right, dogs are opportunists and you have to keep an eye on them.
Take care,
Chris
That is such a good list; now I am afraid to eat half of those things…lol. Besides Thanksgiving food, do you know where more information can be found on other foods dogs can’t eat?
Abigail has been compiling a list. I believe she will be done with it tomorrow.
Chris
ahhhhhh… thanksgiving day was awesome for us. Except we did not eat the turkey. We had veg turkey tho cos we just started on a veg diet. Reason is we went into menopause and hormone change we started getting allergy on meaty diet.
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Would you two be so kind as to explain this to my cat Cooper? He seems to think that everything related to chicken and turkey are for him! He’s old, and we’re just happy when he eats, but we appreciate this list to help keep him safe!
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I live with a cat named Flynn that loves to steal food almost as much as Shadow. If we cut any type of poultry on the kitchen counters, we have to watch him constantly to make sure he doesn’t steal any. At least he doesn’t eat the bones.
Abigail
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We call Cooper the Exterminator because he is good at getting rid of chipmunks in the backyard. Unfortunately they are hibernating right now, so he figures any fresh meat in the kitchen is his! (Hamburger is another one that is high on his list of loves.) I’m guessing he eats the bones of the small mammals he consumes because all I usually find left is a tail.
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Thanks, good advice. I only give my dog some of the turkey and never anything else. I never give her the bones of the turkey because I knew not to give her chicken bones and always though they were close.
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