CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — With smaller, stay-at-home Thanksgivings this year, our pets may be some of our primary dinner guests. However, some parts of our feasts we may feel tempted to feed them aren’t safe.
“Limiting what our dogs eat to what they’ve had in the past is probably the better ‘safe than sorry’ way to go,” Animal Clinic East’s Dr. Jeremy McKeever said.
McKeever said the Thanksgiving foods dangerous to dogs can be divided into three groups.
One group are those that can cause gastrointestinal distress in your dog. Symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea. Those usually don’t show up right away.
Some of these foods above are toxic for other reasons and fall into the second group. Those are foods that contain spices and ingredients like garlic and onion which can cause anemias, or low red blood cell counts in dogs.
“Even the ones that are sort of ready-made, where you kind of mix them up on the stovetop can have those things in there,” McKeever said.
The third group are foods that can’t be digested and cause intentional obstructions like bones and corn cobs.
Dr. McKeever said it’s also crucial that your dog doesn’t eat the sugar substitute xylitol. It’s found in many desserts and pre-made cranberry sauces.
“Xylitol can be fairly rapidly fatal if we don’t get them to a veterinarian quickly,” McKeever said.
However, McKeever said there are some safe options you can mix in to your dog’s regular food to make them feel included in the holiday.
Those include low sodium canned green beans, washed raw carrots, peas, apples, and plain turkey meat.
If you suspect your dog ate any of these dangerous foods, there are three emergency vet clinics that will be open on Thanksgiving Day in Chatanooga.