During the holidays, tables are loaded with indulgent dishes, making the house smell fantastic. One thing you can always count on is the constant presence of an excited pup staring over the counter-top. Those puppy eyes begging you for a nipple (or the entire plate!), but just like you, your dog does not want to pack on the added pounds either and some foods may even be hazardous to their health.
According to pet insurers, pet illnesses spike during the holiday season as many traditional dishes are dangerous for your doggy. Here are Thanksgiving foods you should not feed your dog:
- Turkey Skin: Feeding your pup a small serving of turkey breast is a great protein source, but be wary of turkey skin that has been seasoned with onion, sage and garlic. All of which is toxic for your doggy.
- Stuffing and Gravy: The ingredients in gravy and stuffing (onions, sage, leeks, chives, garlic and scallions) can be a source of toxicity for your pooch.
- Cranberry Sauce: Generally, cranberries are healthy for your pup, but when cranberries are turned into a holiday sauce, they may contain sugar, high fructose corn syrup, raisins and nuts.
- Green Bean Casserole: Regular green beans make a nice, healthy snack for your doggy, but casseroles contain heavy cream and fried onion.
- Bread Dough and Cake Batter: Bread dough and cake batter rise in your pup’s tummy and cause vomiting and painful abdominal bloating. Bread dough and cake batter may also contain raw eggs carrying salmonella.
- Mashed Potatoes: Cooked potatoes all by themselves are fine in moderation; however, you need to see what ingredients go into the mashed version. For instance, if your doggy is lactose intolerant, the milk and butter you are adding can upset his tummy.
Other Foods to Avoid:
- Sugar-free holiday candy and gum: Read the label of your sugar-free gum, candy or even cough drops, and you may find Xylitol on the ingredients list. This sweetener has become extremely popular in recent years and causes low blood sugar and liver failure in dogs
- Chocolate: In large enough amounts, chocolate and cocoa products can kill your dog. The toxic component of chocolate is theobromine. Humans easily metabolize theobromine, but dogs process it much more slowly, allowing it to build up to toxic levels in their system.
- Raisins and grapes: Dogs who eat a large amount of either may go into renal failure.
- Walnuts and Macadamia nuts: Though fatalities are rare, as few as 10 nuts can cause frightening symptoms in a small dog, such as muscle weakness, tremors and vomiting. Stick with almonds or peanut butter.
- Alcohol: Exposure to seemingly harmless amounts of alcohol can kill a pet. Dogs can also be exposed to alcohol by drinking or licking alcohol containing cooking products, mouth wash, perfume, cleaning products, cough syrups or other medications. Some alcoholic beverages are more toxic for dogs than others. Beer contains the lowest concentration of alcohol, usually around 4%. Wine averages 10% alcohol by volume, but some hard liquor can be as high as 90% alcohol. Even small amounts of hard liquor can potentially kill a small dog.
Happy Thanksgiving. 🙂