Thanksgiving is a special day where our country unites in honoring our heritage as well as showing thanks. It is also the day where we throw out our Weight Watcher points and indulge on food. But it would be wrong to celebrate this day of giving thanks without including those we’re most grateful for: our dogs. That’s why we put together this post on how to make a doggy delicious Thanksgiving dinner for your canine guests to enjoy!
Below is a list of our favorite Thanksgiving dishes that while can’t be enjoyed by our furry friends in their original version, can be eaten in a dog-friendly modified version.
Delicious Dog-Friendly Thanksgiving Dishes
Thanksgiving Turkey
Yes, dogs can certainly eat turkey; however, Thanksgiving turkey is typically high in fat and is cooked with onions (which are poisonous to dogs). For this reason, we recommend cooking up a separate piece of turkey especially for your dog. You can dress up the turkey with some rosemary and chicken stock.
Green Bean Casserole
A classic dish. But this dish is loaded with not so friendly doggy foods like the fried onion toppings, mushrooms and creamy soup base. That doesn’t mean your dog can’t enjoy some plain steamed green beans with his turkey.
Read: Our Ultimate Guide to a Dog-Friendly Thanksgiving
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkins are great foods for dogs, but butter, sugar, and fat are not. We recommend making pumpkin doggy biscuits instead. There a lot of recipes out there, but here is a recipe from Food.com that looks so easy to make that you might start to make it year-round.
Mashed Potatoes
Buttery, creamy mashed potatoes & gravy – yum! Potatoes do offer nutritional benefits, but the butter and cream, and sometimes garlic, should not be consumed by your dog. Better than a mashed potato? A baked potato. Remember to only serve your dog a small portion (Think 1/4th or 1/8th of a potato). This is because potatoes are high in carbohydrates, which is not good for your dog’s blood sugar.
Baked Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are found in a variety of high-quality dog foods and offer a lot of nutritional benefits. Although on Thanksgiving, they are usually covered in a bed of marshmallows, which is definitely not a doggy friendly food. If you skip the marshmallows and the sugar, baked sweet potatoes are a great treat for your dog. Here is a recipe from Food.com for homemade sweet potato chews. (Hint: There is only one ingredient)
Foods to Always Avoid:
These foods should never be given to your dog – not even in small quantities:
- grapes
- raisins
- chocolate
- onions
- garlic
- alcohol
- plums
- sugary foods
- fatty meats
- cooked bones of any kind (unless specifically pressurized & made for dogs).
With a little bit of substituting, you can always find a way for your pup to join the party & the feast. Wishing you best of lucking making a doggy delicious Thanksgiving dinner!
This post originally featured on DogTipper