Safely treating your pets at Thanksgiving

As a food-oriented website, we can’t ignore the fact that Thanksgiving is tomorrow, at least here in the U.S. But we wanted to do something a little different, so we thought we’d focus on what foods you can, and can not, share with your pets at dinner. After all, for those of us who are blessed with animals, we want them to be part of the family and share in the holiday – but not at the cost of an emergency trip to the vet. 

So after doing a little research, we’ve found that there are some guidelines that everyone agrees you should follow before giving into those woeful eyes:

Here are the No-No’s:

• Keep the fat to a minimum. A little turkey meat is OK, but only white meat and no gravy. Or ham.
• Definitely No Bones – turkey bones are soft and can splinter easily.
• No turkey skin – it can adversely affect the pancreas.
• No fresh herbs, esp. sage. The oils can cause a stomach upset. So no stuffing.
• These foods are toxic to a dog: onions, leeks, chocolate, mushrooms, raisins/grapes. 
• No raw bread dough – it can swell in the stomach and cause all sorts of problems. 
• No raw turkey, due to salmonella concerns.
• No liquor.

Here are the foods you can share, in very small portions:

• Potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Carrots
• Green Beans
• Turkey White Meat
• Cranberries, if not overly sweetened

And from all of us at EYB, we wish all our U.S. members and friends a wonderful holiday. And we give thanks to everyone – not matter where you are – for being part of our community.

Photo courtesy of happyhealthydogblog.com