Watch That Turkey!
Sometimes when we sit at the dinner table we look at the leftovers on our plates and decide to give our dogs a treat, scraping our leftovers into their bowls and watching them chow down with delight. While human food can be quite healthy for dogs, some of it can be down right dangerous! So when you’re deciding whether to stuff yourself and finish the meal, or share some holiday delight with the dogs, keep these things in mind:
Just some of the common holiday foods that are toxic to dogs:
Raisins (and Grapes)
Onion
Chocolate
Macadamia Nuts
In addition to toxic foods, your delicious turkey may not be the best thing to share with your dog either. Cooked bones are very dangerous to dogs, once chewed they splinter and can cause tears in their digestive tract, or can even cause blockages. And though turkey in and of itself isn’t bad for dogs, quite often we’re tempted to give them the darker meat pieces from the bottom of the bird, the part that has been sitting in the juices. These juices (and subsequently the gravy made from them) are extremely fatty and can actually cause your dog to suffer from some terrible stomach trouble, even can bring on a bout of pancreatitis, which is a painful condition that can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and subsequently dehydration.
So this holiday season, when deciding whether or not to share your delicious meal with your furry friend, keep the above in mind and decide whether or not it’s the best idea. We want everyone to have a happy and healthy holiday, humans and dogs alike.
-Alyssa
Tags: christmas, pancreatitis, toxic foods
