The Thanksgiving Meal
Keeping your dog safe!
It's almost Thanksgiving. Along with being thankful and family getting together comes a big table of food. During your holiday season we want your havanese to stay safe when enjoying the holiday food. Many foods that are common during the holidays can pose a real danger for your dog causing vomiting, upset stomach, pancreatitis or even worse. Let's go over a few common holiday foods that your havanese should avoid.
Turkey
Feeding your dog small bits of white turkey meat is fine. The problem lies in the skin and undercooked meat. Most turkeys have been basted and seasoned with spices like onion, sage and garlic. While these seasonings can make a great tasting turkey, this can make the skin dangerous for your pet. In addition, salmonella is a concern if you feed your dog a piece of raw or undercooked turkey.
Cooked Bones
While many of us know to never feed chicken bones to our dog, the same goes for turkey and ham bones. Cooked bones can splinter in the digestive tract causing blockage or even puncture the stomach or intestine. If this happens your holiday could include a very expensive emergency trip to the vet or worse. Dispose of all bones carefully so that your dog isn't tempted to chow down on them.
Stuffing and Gravy
Depending upon how you make your stuffing and gravy, it can be toxic to your dog. Many stuffings and gravies are prepared using mushrooms, onions, sage, garlic, chives, leeks, scallions, pepper and a variety of other ingredients. These ingredients can be toxic to your dog's system. While some ingredients won't harm them, it will make them very uncomfortable. It's best to avoid feeding your pet any stuffing or gravy.
Casseroles
Just like stuffing and gravy, casseroles can have a variety of ingredients that when eaten can make your pet uncomfortable or be downright toxic for their system. It's best to avoid all casseroles.
Nuts
While some nuts are good for pets, walnuts and macadamia nuts can be very dangerous to dogs. These nuts could cause a toxic reaction called "macadamia nut toxicosis." Within 12 hours of eating them, dogs are unable to stand, vomiting, having tremors, fever, weakness and elevated heart rate. Usually these symptoms go away but this can lead to deadly shock. When nuts are around, be sure to keep them out of reach of the dog.
Bread Dough and Cake Batter
When dough gets warm, it rises. If your wonderful havanese eats raw dough, it may rise in their stomach. There will be vomiting and painful abdominal bloating. Bread dough and cake batter also contains raw eggs, which can carry salmonella. Neither dogs nor humans should eat these things in their raw state. Yes, even that great tasting cookie dough.
Alcohol
Many dogs love the taste of beer, but you should not share your favorite brew with your dog. Any alcohol is toxic to dogs and in some cases can cause death.
Desserts
During the holidays there are many sweet treats around the house. We all know chocolate is a no-no, but what about pumpkin pie and sweet potato? Pumpkin and sweet potato in their original state are okay for dogs and found in many dog foods, however many dessert recipes call for nutmeg and cinnamon. Nutmeg is dangerous and when ingested in large amounts can cause seizures and problems with central nervous system. Cinnamon can have dangerous effects as well causing diarrhea, liver disease, vomiting and low blood sugar. It's best to avoid all desserts for your dog.
What to feed your pet on Thanksgiving
It's best to feed your havanese their regular diet of food. Want to treat them to something special? You can find
unique and fun flavors like Thanksgiving dinner to feed your dog on a holiday.