Canine Thanksgiving Tips

Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday season - a time of entertainment, joyful festivities and reflection. Family and friends may come to your house and participate in holiday activities. If dogs are a part of your immediate family, please keep the following tips in mind:

If you are cooking a large meal with lots of people in the kitchen at one time, be careful that no one trips over the dog while carrying something. If possible, during the busiest kitchen time, have someone "entertain" your pet in another room or outside.

Keep an eye on any hors d'oeuves that you may place on tables for your company to nibble on prior to the actual meal. These tidbits should be put out of your pet's reach.
Watch the table scraps. While an occasional bite of turkey meat will not do any harm, dogs, as humans, can overindulge and end up with an upset tummy.

Never feed your dog poultry bones. Turkey bones may break and splinter apart. This can cause choking.

Tie up the garbage tightly after dinner and remove it from the house. This will ensure that your dog is not tempted to search the trash (usually on your clean kitchen floor) for bones and Thanksgiving goodies.

While entertaining, do not neglect or ignore your pet's needs. Take him for walks or let him outside as you normally would; keep his water bowl filled; and take time to either play with him yourself or designate another family member to spend quality time with the household pet.