Thanksgiving Treats for Your Agility Dogs

Dogs are part of the family and as such we want to share all the good stuff in life with them. Thanksgiving is one of those days where food and generosity is plentiful for all including the dogs. And everyone loves a great Black Friday sale the day after, right? Well I was talking with a friend who works at a local veterinarian office, she said that she was working. Boy was I surprised! Who schedules a vet visit the day after Thanksgiving and isn’t the vet’s office closed? She shared with me that most of the appointments won’t be planned.  They’ll be dogs who’ve been given bones and cut their mouths or worse it got stuck in the intestines. Some get 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 veterinarians. Her words of advice and some pleading? We know you love your dog and want to share the great food, but please, don’t overfeed your dog, or give him things that could hurt him, like cooked poultry bones or too much gravy.  Spending the day after such a nice holiday at the vet hospital with your dog feeling 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.