I hope everyone had an excellent Thanksgiving!  I got sick, again, of course, but not until the day after.  Luckily, I still had working taste buds on Thursday to enjoy my mom's homemade miracles of food.  On the topic of Thanksgiving and this holiday season in general, I have a few helpful tips to allow your pets just as much enjoyment out of this festive season. 

Wake me when it's Christmas.

It's okay to allow your pets scraps from the table now and then, but don't ever give them any sort of poultry bones.  These particular bones tend to splinter, which means the pieces could either tear up their throat and stomach or even cause them to choke.  No good!  I keep Frankie away from all bones because, no matter what kind, they wreck havoc on his digestive system.  Nuff said.


It's true that chocolate is bad for dogs, but don't freak out if they sneak into some of your Christmas candy.  Baker's chocolate (the more cocoa, the worse) is what can poison them most easily.  Most of your over-the-counter baked goods and wrapped candies are made with milk or white chocolate.  This can still lead to toxic poisoning, though, if they ingest too much!  This is a great interactive chart to determine the amount of toxicity your pet may have come in contact with after indulging.

Taken from veterinarypartner.com, this is another handy chart so you can predetermine what may harm your pet.

Number of OUNCES of CHOCOLATE a Pet Would Need to Ingest for TOXICITY   Weight of Pet in Pounds 5 10 15 20 25 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Milk Chocolate (ounces) 2 4 6 8.2 10.2 12.3 16.4 20.5 24.5 28.6 32.7 36.8 41 Dark Chocolate (ounces) 0.7 1.4 2.1 2.8 3.5 4.2 5.5 6.9 8.3 9.7 11 12.5 13.8 Baking Chocolate (ounces) 0.23 0.5 0.7 0.9 1.2 1.4 1.9 2.3 2.8 3.2 3.7 4.1 4.6

There is also a magical alternative to chocolate called "carob", which is what most Christmas pet treats are made from.  Your dog won't know the difference, and you will have fun picking out different varieties!  Places such as Three Dog Bakery and All Pet Supplies offer many different festive treats you can stuff in their stockings.  Your pet do have their own stockings, don't they?

If you're like me and don't feed your pets table scraps (okay, maybe some occasional popcorn and extra chicken, but that's it!), there is a wonderful wet food that I can't recommend enough.  It's made by the company Merrick, and they supply both dogs and cats with dozens of full-course meals within a single can.  I only feed my pets wet food once a week as a treat, but during the holidays, they get an extra helping of Thanksgiving dinner.

 Anyway, I hope you and your pet enjoy this holiday season just as much as you!  Mine will!