Everyone, our dogs especially, loves Thanksgiving dinner. However, the things that are safe for us to eat aren’t always safe for our dogs to eat. We can try to resist those big, round eyes begging us for food all we want, but eventually we find ourselves caving in and giving out scraps underneath the table. When this happens, make sure that you’re not handing out anything toxic to your animals by reading over our list of safe Thanksgiving foods.
Thanksgiving turkey—yea or nay?
Before we get into the full list of foods, we should first cover the hallmark of the Thanksgiving holiday—turkey. Turkey meat is safe for dogs to eat, but there are other parts of the turkey that are harmful, including turkey skin and turkey bones. So, if you plan on giving your four-legged friend some turkey, take off the trimmings and feed them only the meat. You can give them either dark meat or white meat, but we recommend feeding them white meat as its healthier and a greater source of protein.
Safe Thanksgiving foods
Besides turkey meat, there are other Thanksgiving foods that are safe for your dog to chew on. This list includes:
- Plain potatoes
- Sweet potatoes
- Plain cooked pumpkin
- Plain peas
- Apple
Toxic Thanksgiving foods
We’ve covered safe Thanksgiving foods, but in order to keep your dog safe this Thanksgiving, we also need to cover toxic foods. Unfortunately, this list tends to be longer than the safe list, as there are many spices and herbs that are added to these foods that make them harmful, even lethal. They include:
- Turkey skin
- Turkey bones
- Stuffing
- Gravy
- Candy
- Chocolate
- Onions
- Scallions
- Mashed potatoes
- Yams (with additional ingredients)
- Sweet potatoes (with additional ingredients)
- Pumpkin pie
- Alcohol
- Raisins
- Grapes
- Creamed peas
With this list in hand, you and your four-legged friends should have a wonderful Thanksgiving. For more Thanksgiving safety tips, contact Patti’s Dachshund Farm today.