Today we will talk about a Thanksgiving guide for pets. The holiday season is coming and we decided to make an infographic about how you can ensure your pets are safe and happy during Thanksgiving. And they will be grateful for it 🙂 Even though it is a magical season and event that is celebrated by humans annually, we have to keep our pets away from food that is detrimental to their health.
Every year the veterinary clinics are reporting a huge number of emergency visits during the Thanksgiving period. These visits consist of emergency exploratory surgeries because of turkey bones, diarrhea, and pancreatitis from turkey meat, chocolate intoxication, and alcohol poisoning. Gasp! Sometimes even marijuana poisoning.
The last thing any pet owner feels like doing is rushing a pet to a veterinary practice (probably after hours as Murphy has it) after having enjoyed a feast and celebration with family and friends because a dinner guest could not look past Fido’s begging face, and in some cases, Fido is very clever and can help themselves to snacks.
As pet owners, we need to make sure that our pets are safe and sound, and that they won’t sneak onto the table and grab the feast of no-nos.
Some snacks and treats that you could try to spoil your pet with that are safe for them include:
- Sweet potato (plain, with no seasoning)
- Mashed potato (plain, with no seasoning)
- Canned pumpkin
- Corn that is removed from the husk, without any flavourants and seasoning
- Steamed carrots
- Green beans
- Pumpkin and Peanut Butter Balls
- Homemade BBQ liver biscuits
- Apples
- Cranberries
Invite your furry friends to take part in the family- and pet-friendly activities such as:
- Playing games outside where there is fresh air.
- Taking the dog/cat/pig or other animals for a walk.
- Dress you animals in Thanksgiving themed outfits and have fashion shows and photoshoots.
- Indulge in some animal themed movies and cuddle with them on the couch or make a family bed on the floor.
- Play hide and seek with the dogs and use cat toys to have fun and record videos thereof to post to your social media accounts.
- Have a pet scavenger hunt that involves the whole family as they spend hours outside looking for the treasure that you have hidden.
Another thought might be to keep your dog in another area of the house if you are planning on having many people over. It can be overwhelming for them, however don’t keep your pets isolated the whole day in a separate room, as this can also cause anxiety. Spoil them by investing a new chew toy that can keep them busy as they try to get the snacks out of the toy to enjoy! They will thrive on the stimulation.
Even if it is outside of the norm, try giving your pets their dinner and mealtimes in accordance to the plans for the day, this way they won’t be sitting around begging for scraps and annoy dinner guests.
In summary the infographic below provides the 5 main areas of concern that should be avoided at all cost during the Thanksgiving holidays for your pets. After all, they are an important part of any family dynamic.
If you liked this infographic, read “Disaster preparation for pets” on our blog.
Happy Thanksgiving!
