Mabel the Rescue Dog

3 min read (Articles narrated by Mabel)

Happy Thanksgiving! I’m sure many of you have big feasts planned, so it is likely that your dog will be getting some table scraps. However, a lot of the food that is served on Thanksgiving can actually be harmful to your dog. So, I decided to create a list of what you can and can’t feed your dog during this celebration.

What Should You Avoid Feeding Your Dog?

There are lots of foods that are perfectly fine for humans that are actually harmful to dogs. Many foods provide choking hazards or have harmful ingredients that can effect dogs in ways that they don’t for humans. So, it is important to know whether or not something is healthy for your dog before your feed it to them.

These are the foods that you should NOT feed your dog for Thanksgiving:

• Corn on the cob is okay if the corn is fed in loose pieces, but the cob itself is actually very difficult for dogs to digest.
• Any food with garlic in it can damage red blood cells and have long-term effects on your dog. (Stuffing is one of the Thanksgiving foods that often has garlic and other harmful seasonings)
• Gravy is very high in fat, which could cause gastrointestinal distress.
• Pie is a delicious dessert for humans, but the high amount of sugar in it is harmful for dogs.
• Turkey Bones could splinter, causing a choking hazard.

Which Foods Are Okay to Feed Your Dog?

While human foods shouldn’t be an everyday treat for dogs, we do love to eat them whenever we can! Since Thanksgiving is a special day, why not give your dog some small table scraps to show them that you care? As long as you make sure the foods are okay to eat, your dog will be just fine!

Here are the Thanksgiving foods that are okay for your dog to eat:

• Bread is fine as long as it is free of nuts, raisins, and spices.
• Carrots are good for dogs, especially if you cut them into small pieces.
• Ham can be given in small portions since it’s high in fat and salt.
• Sweet Potatoes are rich in Vitamin A, so they are a healthy and beneficial treat for dogs.
• Turkey is okay to eat as long as the fat, skin, and bones are removed.

Celebrating Thanksgiving with a Dog

Thanksgiving can be a confusing time for your dog. Lots of people and food can create many unusual smells, and we can’t help but want to beg for food. Sometimes this begging can get out of hand and disturb the meal.

If you feel it’s necessary, you can keep your dog in a separate room while the family eats. Give them a treat to chew on to keep them busy, and reward them for their patience. We never like to be left out of the fun, but sometimes we can be a bit too much at big family gatherings.

If there’s a food at your dinner that is not on the list, please check out my other article about human foods to see more foods that dogs can and can’t eat.

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