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Thanksgiving Foods Safe For Your Furry Friends

exclusive More on PawNation: Cats, Dogs, Kittens, Puppies, Safety, Thanksgiving

By Wendy Diamond Nov 14, 2012

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    1 of 11

    Every Thanksgiving, North Americans are faced with worries as big as the feast. Will we survive another visit from our in-laws? Will our favorite football team stop breaking our hearts and finally win a game? One thing that should not be on our mind, however, is whether our pets are at risk. Here are the safest (small, treat-size portions!) foods that are safe and palatable for your furry friends off the Thanksgiving menu.

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    1. Turkey

    Cooked poultry bones can easily break and may get stuck in your pet’s throat or bruise their stomach, so if your pooch wants some extra protein on their plate, stick to white-meat turkey with no skin or bones ONLY. They’ll gobble it up!

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    2. Yummy Yams

    Although your favorite version may be decked out with caramelized brown sugar and marshmallows, hold the sweets when you serve them to your sweetie pie. Plain yams are rich, delicious and filled with fiber.

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    3. All-American Apple Slices

    Raw apple slices are a great way to hold your pet over until the main course. (And make sure Fido remembers to eat his fruit!) Hold the pie, please.

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    4. Have a (S)mashing Good Time

    Mashed potatoes without the gravy and butter, please! Fatty foods can cause inflammation of the pancreas, but it is OK to serve up some plain mashed potatoes without the skin for your pooch.

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    5. Corn: A Canine Energy Booster

    Give your pooch a few kernels of corn and the carbs will keep them from dozing off before you finish your meal!

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    6. Don’t Forget the Cranberries

    While humans may disagree whether gelatin or sauce recipes are best, dogs know they both taste great! Serve your dog a small amount — watch the sugar content — and they’ll get a tasty dose of vitamin C and antioxidants.

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    7. Get Stuffed

    Everyone’s favorite side dish is also okay for pooches to nibble on. Just make sure their serving of your famous stuffing has absolutely no onions, garlic or strong herbs — especially sage — in it. Best to give a taste of the plain batch you make for picky Aunt Edna.

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    8. Wag Your Veggie Tails!

    Make sure your pet leaves room for veggies on their plate. Carrots, broccoli or string beans are nutrient-packed and will keep your pet healthy. Keep it simple by steaming them plain, without seasoning or salt.

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    9. Got Canine Calcium?

    Want to give them something to wash down that divine meal? For a special treat, you may half fill their doggy bowl with some milk! It will strengthen their bones and keep them quenched.

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    Next: 10 People Foods OK For Pets Too!

    10. As Sweet as Pumpkin!

    Does your pooch have a sweet tooth? Give them plain cooked or canned pumpkin instead of pumpkin pie or pie filling.

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davis family

Rev...You can still feed the dog chicken just pull it off the bones like you would for a small child~

March 24 2013 at 10:09 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
davis family

Why dont we all do what is best for our own pet...what works for one may not work for another.. My friend is a veternarian pathologist and gives their pets only people food, NO dog food at all!!!! I feed my dog Ceasar and she loves it but she also eats a few bites of my chicken or whatever just small ones so she does fine with it..Just love and take care of your own pets the best way possible!

March 24 2013 at 10:08 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
wyrdotter

@GlennMaynard:
"If it's something we can eat, then it should be ok for the dogs to eat the same. What do you think of that." I think it makes you sound like an ignorant toddler. "should be" perhaps, but this is not a perfect world. You can eat grapes, raisins, onions and chocolate, all of which are toxic for your dog. That said, much of what they can and cannot eat without getting sick depends upon what they're used to. If all they ever eat is the dry kibble-crap from the grocery store, then yes, loading up a big plate of leftovers from a rich meal like Thanksgiving will likely result in all manner of problems, including pancreatitis, gastritis, and multiple ruined rugs. On the other hand, if they've been exposed over time to a wide variety of foods, they'll have developed the enzymes to digest "real" food without problems (same reason that if you give a human vegan a hamburger, he'll probably throw it right back up - lacks the enzymes to digest it.) I cook for my dogs, they get rice, oatmeal, pasta, fresh veggies, turkey, liver, fish, beef, pork, chicken, rarely the same mix two days in a row. They're all healthy, with good coats, clear eyes, active, happy, and could probably digest my pickup truck if I could dice it up small enough for them.

November 24 2012 at 12:33 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
allenhollowell

if you feed your dog or cat table scraps you should have your pet taken from you.

November 24 2012 at 4:30 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
jennianna

A few pieces of corn is ok but the CORN COB is EXTREMELY dangerous for dogs! They need to remove the picture of the dog with the cob in his mouth!

November 23 2012 at 11:37 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to jennianna's comment
Arthur Chaney

I give my dog corn on the cob all the time how is it dangerous?

November 24 2012 at 3:46 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Glenn Maynard

i gave my dogs any leftovers i had.I had big golden retrievers and they wood eat any that we do. But lets keep one thing in mind. If its something we can eat then it should be ok for the dogs to eat the same. What do you think of that

November 23 2012 at 9:52 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
lashleydunc11

Some of this stuff sounds ridiculous. Who writes this stuff?
And FYI, just because your vet says do or don't give something to your pet doesn't make them right. They get very little in the way of nutritional education at vet school. Their education in that aspect consists of a one or two day presentation by pet food companies.
It's best to do your own thorough unbiased research. Milk is in no way suitable for any other adult mammal besides humans and even then, much of the world population has a degree of lactose intolerance because lactase persistence into adulthood was only bred into some populations when it first came about.
Cooked chicken bones are bad news but raw ones should be fine. However, supervision is always needed. My dog and cat got raw venison and turkey for Thanksgiving because that is what their systems were built to eat. The marrow in the bones is very good for them! Their outside appearances and behavior may have changed from their wild ancestors but their insides are still the same.

November 23 2012 at 8:09 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
tinavu2

Leave the milk out of their bowl, it will give them diarrhea. Dogs are lactose intolerant and can't process dairy at all!!!

November 23 2012 at 5:02 PM Report abuse Permalink +2 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to tinavu2's comment
wolfdanc

Not true. My dog finishes the milk in my cereal bowl and cleans up after my ice cream, and has no problems

November 23 2012 at 8:02 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Richard

I've had dogs all my life and I have given them small amount's of milk all the time, It will not hurt them at all. Even my Vet agrees with me.

November 23 2012 at 5:00 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
belajobb

I've given corn on the cob to all my dogs, small to large, for years without problems. The difference is, I held on to the cob and they chewed off the kernels.

November 23 2012 at 3:34 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
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