Better Dog Care
Better Dog Nutrition

Holiday dinners - sharing yummy food with your dog the RIGHT way

1. No cooked bones - EVER! As tempting as it is, any sort of bone that has been cooked (doesn't matter if it's baked, roasted, boiled, steamed, barbecued etc.) is not safe to feed to your dog. The heat alters the bone matrix so weight-bearing bones can splinter into sharp, damaging fragments, and even too much soft "crumbly" bone like cooked turkey neck can impact in the intestines and cause a blockage. This is a risk not worth taking!

2. If you feed mostly commercial food (especially dry kibble) the rest of the year, don't overwhelm your dog by giving lots of fatty cuts of meat, or turkey skin. Skip the ham, too - too much sodium. Safe to share: small bites of lean meat such as turkey breast, without fatty gristle or skin attached.

3. Do not give any fatty sauces and gravies. A small dollop of mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes is fine, but keep in mind that these are high in calories already, and even more so if you use cream, sour cream and/or cream cheese to make them especially rich. Most vegetables are also fine to feed, but stick to things like plain carrots, green beans and broccoli rather than to prepared versions that have bacon bits or other ingredients added. If in doubt, wash off the veggies before feeding.

4. Sweets aren't healthy for your dog, so please don't share your pies and other desserts. Most dogs love plain canned pumpkin (no salt or anything else added), so stock up on an extra can by all means! Mixed with plain, non-fat yogurt and frozen in a Kong toy, canned pumpkin makes a yummy, low-calorie treat that will keep your dog busy away from the dinner table while the humans eat.

5. Overfeeding in itself can cause digestive upset and diarrhea already even if no other foods cause irritation, so be sure that if you do give your dog some of the safe tidbits, cut down a little on the regular food portion you feed for regular meals.

I wish you a safe and happy Thanksgiving!