5 Tips For Enjoying A Perfect Thanksgiving With Your Dog
It’s nearly that time of year again, Thanksgiving is just around the corner!
Here are our top tips for how you and your dog can have fun and stay safe during the festive long weekend.
Tip 1: Be aware of dog-friendly Thanksgiving foods
If you’re having the family over for dinner, make sure everyone is aware of what you can and can’t feed your furry friend.
Safe Thanksgiving food for your dog
Safe and healthy Thanksgiving food to feed your dog include:
- skinless and boneless cooked turkey (minus the seasoning)
- unmashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and pumpkin (great sources of fiber and essential vitamins)
- plain green beans and peas (more great sources of fiber and essential vitamins)
- apples (you guessed it, it’s yet another great source of fibre and essential vitamins – just make sure you cut around the core as apple seeds can be toxic).
- frozen yoghurt (it’s not only a tasty dessert treat, it’s rich in calcium and protein which is great for your dog).
Thanksgiving food to avoid giving your dog
Unfortunately, there’s usually a spike in emergency vet visits over Thanksgiving. A major reason for that is food. Make sure you and your Thanksgiving guests avoid giving your dog any of the following foods, no matter how much your buddy drools over it or begs.
- turkey with any bones, skin or gravy, as well as any uncooked turkey
- stuffing
- ham
- casseroles
- fatty foods
- spicy food or food containing onion or garlic
- raisins
- grapes
- chocolate and other sweets
Make sure your dog can’t access any of this food without you knowing it either. Otherwise, you’re likely to have a sick dog on your hands. Ideally, you should set up a barrier between the food preparation, serving and eating areas to avoid any issues. Also make sure that you securely wrap and store any leftovers.
Tip 2: Invite your friends and their dogs over for a Thanksgiving dinner
If you can’t spend time with your family on Thanksgiving (or even if you can), why not spend it with your friends and their four-legged pals?
Just make sure you have plenty of safe food available to share around.
Tip 3: Get some exercise after your feast!
We all tend to eat and drink too much over Thanksgiving. Make sure you work off all those excess calories by doing some exercise outside with your dog. You could go for a walk, run or play a game of fetch with some of your dog’s favourite toys or a ball.
Tip 4: Get some exercise before your feast
If you take your dog with you, this can be a great way to get rid of some of their excess energy before your guests arrive. You’ll likely have a relaxed and better-behaved dog as a result who will do you proud.
Tip 5: Have some dog-friendly treats handy
A good way to avoid your dog pestering you for scraps of your Thanksgiving food is to make sure they are well fed before you start and having some dog-friendly treats on hand.
How we can help
At DOOG, we have a great range of dog products that you can use to ensure your Thanksgiving celebrations are fun for you, your family and any canine guests, including:
You can order any of our quality products online anytime.