One thing most of us are thankful for is our pets. But Thanksgiving can be filled with landmines of trouble for our furry little friends. An entire day built around yummy smells and food everywhere around them.
Add to that the chaos of their distracted owners cooking, serving, and entertaining guests, and it just could give them moments to sneak things into their mouths and bellies that don’t belong there.
Here are a few tips to help make it a happy holiday for both you and your furry family members…..
Before guests arrive:
- Exercise
Have someone in the family take them for a long walk or a short run to expend some of that excited energy. Throw the ball or frisbee in the backyard with them to chase and bring back. A tired dog gets into less mischief.
- Safe Place
Identify somewhere in your home, away from all the commotion, where your dog (or cat) can retreat to if they begin to feel over-stimulated. Set up the bed they’re most comfortable in there. You could even leave on some relaxing music to help calm them if they choose to get away from it all there.
- Distraction
Give your pet new toy to explore so they have more to focus on than your turkey. You could even take existing toys and rotate them through the day so they continually get something different to play with. Toys that slowly dispense their dry food is a great thing to give them to occupy themselves while you are all sitting at the table eating. (You could use part of their breakfast or dinner so that they are not getting doubly fed.)
- Monitor
Communicate to make sure you are all on the same page regarding where you do, and don’t want your pet to be. Plan to communicate that information to each arriving guest. For example, as the door opens for them to enter, simply mention “let’s be careful not to let the dog outside unless she’s on a leash”. It should be every family members’ equal responsibility to keep a monitoring eye on your pet throughout the day.
Avoid these:
- Onions and garlic
- Grapes and raisins
- Chocolate
- Xylitol (sweetener found in many desserts)
All of these foods are toxic to pets. Animals’ systems are different than that of humans. For example, onions can impair their red blood cell function, grapes can impair their kidney function, xylitol can impair their glucose levels, and chocolate can impair their blood pressure and even cause seizures. (The darker the chocolate, the more toxic, with bakers chocolate being the worst.)
- Aluminum foil and plastic wrap
- Cooking twine and rubber bands
Left on tables or fallen on the floor, they have been touching the food so smell great to your pet. Each of these can do significant harm to their GI track if swallowed.
- Open trash cans
During clean up, lids might remain opened while we clear plates from the table. Assume if it’s in there, it shouldn’t end up in your dog’s belly. Be extra careful to keep the trash lid closed.
Treats ok in moderation:
- Turkey
No skin, no gravy
- Green Beans or Carrots
Plain, with no sauces, no sweeteners
- Apple
Small slices of the actual apple (not sweetened or from a pie)
- Pumpkin Puree
Plain, with no sweeteners (not from a pie)
Even with the best laid plans, it’s still wise to monitor our pets even into the day after Thanksgiving. There’s still moments we may have missed, especially after a glass of wine with dinner. You can never be completely sure you’ve seen every moment of their temptation-laden day.
Also, even when festive, holiday pandemonium is out of their routine so can still be stressful to them. Therefore, the furry members of your family may need a little extra of your TLC in the aftermath of Thanksgiving.
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(adorable dog image from shopdapperdogs.com)