Five Thanksgiving Safety Tips for Pets

Wow, Thanksgiving already? Planning to spend the holiday with your furry friends? We’ve got all eight tips to keep your pets safe this holiday season. 

As much as you want everyone including your pets to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner, it’s important to keep certain parts of dinner far away from your pets. Below are some Thanksgiving dangers to keep away from your pets' curious noses. 

DID YOU KNOW? 

Poisonous Foods: It’s important to note that some Thanksgiving culinary masterpieces can hide ingredients that are poisonous to pets. Keep your pets away from dishes that contain chocolate, onions, raisins, macadamia nuts, and artificial sweeteners. 

Obstructive Foods: Be aware of foods that can cause obstruction such as bones and cooking twine. These may get stuck in your pet's digestive tract potentially causing life-threatening injuries or surgical removal. 

Fatty Foods: Pets can be very prone to gastrointestinal issues so it’s important to take that into consideration while eating your Thanksgiving dinner. Keep pets away from meat drippings, butter, gravy, and dark meat. Fatty foods are known to also cause inflammation of the pancreas which may require hospitalization. 

Keep eager stomachs away from the dinner table by using some of the below precautions.

TIPS FOR YOU AND YOUR PET

No. 1 - Block off the kitchen and dinner table: Cooking on Thanksgiving is a big ordeal and can get messy at times, making it easy to accidentally drop foods that can cause harm to your pet. Block off the kitchen and or dinner table from your pets especially when you aren’t around to supervise.

No. 2 - Secure trash cans: Keep a tight lid on all garbage cans so that they can’t be knocked over and spilled for easy pet reach. 

No. 3 - Remind children and guests to not feed pets: Sometimes guests are new to your pet or pets in general. Explain your house rules when company arrives and remind them to not feed your pet any table scraps. Most importantly, make sure to supervise all interactions between pets and children. 

No. 4 - Have a designated person to clean up scraps: Pets can be quick and sneaky. Have a designated person to keep an eye out for any clean any plates left around the house. 

No. 5 - Make pet-friendly treats: To make your pet feel more included consider making Thanksgiving pet treats. Last Thanksgiving I made my dog homemade peanut butter and pumpkin dog treats and they were a huge hit. 

Have a great Thanksgiving and make sure to keep your four-legged friends safe!