8 Safe Foods To Share With Your Dog This Thanksgiving

The holidays are here which means we'll be celebrating with friends, family, and of course food. If you're a pet owner you know how difficult it is to keep your four-legged friends away from the delicious dishes that have been prepared.

Unless, of course, you have a well-behaved dog who doesn't beg for a taste or straight up steals your meals.

While it's not ideal to give your dog (or cat) food from the table, there are some exceptions. I mean, it's the holidays! After a little research, we found 8 of the safest foods to give your pup this holiday season.

The Pet Experts Chime In

American Kennel Club or AKC.org consulted with 3 experts in the veterinary field to break down the safe and unsafe foods your dog can consume this holiday season they are:
Dr. Gary Richter: MS, DVM (who is also the author of The Ultimate Pet Health Guide: Breakthrough Nutrition and Integrative Care for Dogs and Cats)
Dr. Sara Ochoa:DVM, a small animal and exotic veterinarian in Texas
Dr. Jerry Klein: Chief Veterinary officer for the American Kennel Club.

Avoid Giving Your Pet These Foods This Thanksgiving

According to AKC, Thanksgiving is the start of an uptick in emergency vet visits. Dr. Richter explains it's "because of the extra, often unsafe “human” food that dogs end up consuming at this time of year."

When it comes to sharing with your pet, you'll want to avoid giving them the following foods as they can be toxic and hurtful to your family pet's health as reported by AKC.org:

• Turkey bones, skin, and gravy
• Stuffing
• Casseroles
• Mashed potatoes
• Creamed peas
• Chocolate, cookies, pies, and sweets (especially anything containing xylitol)
• Alcoholic beverages
• Raisins and grapes
• Onions, scallions, and garlic
• Ham
• Yeast dough
• Fatty foods
• Foods containing spices

Safe Foods To Share With Your Pet on Thanksgiving

The American Kennel Club shared that foods like turkey, pumpkin, and green beans are all safe for your dogs to enjoy around the Thanksgiving table. However, with that being said, these foods should be served to your pet with no additional spices. Turkey should be given to your dog without skin or bones, sweet potatoes should be cooked, steamed, boiled or dehydrated and pumpkin should be given i pure puree form.

No pumpkin pie for you, Spot. Sorry.

Along with turkey, pumpkin, potatoes and green beans, it's safe for dogs to consume the following foods: