Why Thanksgiving Dinner Could Kill Your Dog

The season for giving thanks is upon us and it's time to celebrate the splendid holiday with family and friends. Dogs have become such a part of the family that many families want to include them in the food, festivity, and Thanksgiving dinner. Unfortunately, this can make your dog sick or even kill your dog.

Here are the reasons including your dog in your Thanksgiving dinner and celebration can be dangerous:

Traditional Thankgiving foods can cause your dog to develop pancreatitis.

Many Thanksgiving foods, including turkey gravy and mashed potatoes with butter, are high in fat which can cause your dog to develop pancreatitis, an inflammatory disease of the pancreas, which can lead to serious illness and even death. Dogs should never be given high fat foods even on special occasions such as Thanksgiving dinner.

Turkey bones can cause an intestinal perforation in your dog.

Turkey bones are prone to splintering and a piece can easily lodge in the esophagus or intestines causing a life threatening intestinal condition. To protect your dog, don't feed him turkey bones on Thanksgiving and keep the trash can with turkey remnants out of his reach.

Holiday desserts with chocolate can cause serious health problems for a dog.

Chocolate contains theobromine which is a central nervous system stimulant. It can cause your dog to develop an increased heart rate, hyperactivity, increased panting, twitching, diarrhea, and vomiting. Depending on the dose, it can even result in a fatal cardiac rhythm. Theobromine poisoning is a true medical emergency. If your dog ingests chocolate or experiences these symptoms after being around chocolate, you should call your veterinarian immediately.

You dog may become agitated with strangers in your home.

If you plan on serving Thanksgiving dinner in your home, it's probably a good idea to give your dog a special chew toy and put him in a secure room. With so many people coming into and out of your house, your dog may become agitated. Dogs don't like changes in their routine and may not find mingling with strangers to be enjoyable. There's also a higher risk of your dog escaping to the outside when there's so much confusion.

If you want to do something special for your dog on Thanksgiving day, consider giving him a small amount of lean turkey meat with no gravy along with his regular food. Even this may give some dogs intestinal symptoms such as diarrhea due to a change in their diet. Give your dog a new chew toy or bake some special dog treats for your dog when you prepare the Thanksgiving meal. After the celebration is over, take a relaxing walk with your best friend and celebrate and quietly ponder all you have to be thankful for.