Safe Thanksgiving Foods For Dogs

Cooked turkey: Small amounts of unseasoned cooked turkey meat are safe to give your pet – but be sure to stay away from turkey fat, skin, and bones.

Cooked Sweet Potatoes: Cooked sweet potatoes are a good source of fiber, low in fat, and contain vitamins A and C. If giving your dog cooked sweet potato, be sure it doesn’t have any other added ingredients like cream or salt. While cooked sweet potatoes are safe to feed your dog, avoid feeding them uncooked sweet potatoes: they can upset your dog’s stomach and can be difficult to chew.

Cooked Potatoes: Small amounts of boiled or baked potatoes are safe to share with your dog – as long as they don’t have any added ingredients such as butter, sour cream, salt, etc. Never feed your dog raw potatoes! Potatoes are part of the nightshade family and when raw, contain solanine, a compound that’s unsafe for some dogs to ingest.

Pumpkin: Cooked, raw, or plain canned pumpkin is safe to feed to your pet (but avoid raw pumpkin seeds and canned seasoned pumpkin). Besides being delicious, pumpkin is also high in fiber, which can help with digestive issues like diarrhea and constipation.

Apples: Served raw, these crunchy treats are a safe Thanksgiving snack for your dog. Apples also contain beneficial vitamins and are loaded with fiber. Just be sure to remove the core and seeds before giving apple slices to dogs. When ingested in large amounts, apple seeds can be toxic.

Avoid feeding your dog turkey fat, skin, gravy, and any other fatty foods. While delicious for humans, these high-fat menu items can cause serious and painful conditions like pancreatitis if ingested by dogs. Another item to keep away from pets is cooked turkey bones. These can splinter and damage your dog’s mouth, throat, or intestines if consumed. All desserts should also be off-limits for dogs – pies, cookies, sweets, chocolate and more can contain sweeteners and other unsafe (and potentially lethal) ingredients if ingested by our furry friends.

An unattended turkey carcass or leftovers on the kitchen counter can look pretty inviting to a curious canine. When cleaning up after Thanksgiving, be sure to store leftovers and trash securely out of reach of your pet.