Thanksgiving Goodies!

We all want to share the good things in life with our dogs- and Thanksgiving is a good thing.   I have a friend who works at a local veterinarians’ office, and yesterday we were discussing Black Friday plans (SALES! we’ve got one, too, check it out here) and she said that she was working.  I was surprised- I figured no one would be planning a vets’ visit the day after thanksgiving and the office would be closed!  Turns out, most of the appointments won’t be planned.  They’ll be dogs who’ve been given bones and cut their mouths or got it caught (intestinal problems could take a few days to show up), or overfed and are vomiting, or in one case, ate the foil that covered the turkey during baking.  She says its’ one of the busiest days of the year for her (along with after Easter).  Please, don’t overfeed your dog, or give him things that could hurt him, like bones or too much gravy.  Spending the day after such a nice holiday at the vets’ with your dog miserable beside you will completely ruin the holiday.

But since good things are meant to be shared, here are some ideas for safely treating your buddy this Thanksgiving!

After Dinner Delight

Ingredients:
Leftover turkey
potatoes
squash
cranberry sauce
any other vegetables
Directions:
Mix together all of the above, and drizzle lightly with a tablespoon or two of gravy.  Don’t give your dog more than one serving (approximately how much he’d eat anyway).  Make certain there are no bones in the meat.  Remember, while hot food tastes great to humans, dogs’ aren’t used to it.  Let his food cool thoroughly.

Bark-Va-Lous Dish

1/2 lb. shredded turkey (use a fork to make it stringy, or use a blender)
1 1/2 T. vegetable oil, divided
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 C. uncooked white rice
1 C. peeled and sliced cooked sweet potato
1 C. diced cooked green beans
1 carrot, diced

Brown the ground chicken in a pan with 1 tablespoon oil and the garlic. Drain. Steam the rice according to instructions on the package.

Saute the sweet potato, green beans and carrots in 1/2 tablespoon of oil. Combine the chicken, garlic, cooked rice, sweet potato, green beans and carrots; mix thoroughly. Serve when cooled.