Things You Shouldn’t Feed Your Dog at Thanksgiving

The holidays can be challenging for dog owners. With so many food items being passed around and so many things going in and coming out of the oven, it's hard to allow pets to have their usual run of the home. Data from Daily Meal reveals that in the past week alone, there’s been a 130% increase in Google searches for ‘Is Thanksgiving food bad for dogs?’ and an 80% increase in Google search demand for ‘What Thanksgiving foods can dogs eat,’ showing a surge in interest in this topic.

But luckily, you don't have to crate your animal during the festivities. Instead, make sure they feel right at home, celebrating alongside you during your Thanksgiving Day feast — while taking some important precautions.

Anyone with pets knows there are certain foods you need to keep away from them as they are dangerous for their health. For dogs, this includes things like chocolate, grapes, raisins, stuffing, and other desserts, like dairy-like ice cream, which can cause digestive problems.

You should also avoid seasonings, which can cause similar issues with digestion and be toxic (like in the case of onions and garlic). These alliums, including chives, leeks, and shallots, can damage red blood cells and induce hemolytic anemia.

How to safely share a Thanksgiving dinner with your dog

Jose Molina, executive chef at The Wilson NYC (a New York City restaurant with a year-round dog-specific menu), and Barry Tonks, Culinary Director for IGC Hospitality, exclusively told Daily Meal that the best thing to do is to “set aside some of the simple main ingredients prior to seasoning them.”

Additionally, while turkey is a good choice, stick to white meat rather than dark, which is fatty and can cause long-term health issues, and avoid bones, skin, and gravy. These items "shouldn't be served to your pet (even the bigger leg bones can easily splinter and [become] a choking hazard)," Tonks and Molina told Daily Meal.

Items like (unseasoned) green beans, apples, and sweet potatoes are all safe choices.

Best and worst Thanksgiving foods for cats, according to experts:

The issues multiply if you're talking about eating with cats rather than dogs. Cats are even more intolerant of plants in the allium family than dogs, and thanks to their small size, they can develop toxicity from even smaller amounts of it.

With cats, you also have to be extremely careful of nutmeg (which can kill them), as well as butter and mushrooms (which won't kill them but will mess with their digestion).

Interestingly, both dogs and cats can eat unseasoned pumpkin. Whether they'll want to is another story, but pumpkin pie filling from the can is so safe they even make dog-specific brands infused with things like maple and banana. Molina and Tonks also told Daily Meal: "For cats only, you can top it with some unsweetened homemade whipped cream."

Daily Meal recommends, “Just be sure to follow these rules, and your Thanksgiving will be blissfully free of any trips to the Veterinary Emergency Hospital.”

Prior to sitting at the table and indulging in an extravagant meal, it has become a tradition in many communities to partake in the annual Thanksgiving 5K. Perhaps you have to earn your forthcoming calorie intake! The Thanksgiving Turkey Trot race is also where you find four extraordinary kinds of people who enter this road race for very different purposes.

To take an overarching look at this holiday, Thanksgiving offers a coming home of all sorts. College students return to their stomping grounds to showcase how cool they have gotten in a matter of weeks. The person who you once knew as the quietest person in the room, is now a candidate for the loudest. Then, you have those who partied a bit too much the night before, and have no business running down the block, much less in a "race." In fact, they may not even remember they were in just a few short hours. Let's not forget those that also believe the Turkey Trot is a performance stage. Whether it's to flex your running skills or outfit skills, clearly this race is for all eyes to be on you.

Yes, much of this feature is tongue-in-cheek. However, most of these Thanksgiving 5k races take place within a tight-knit neighborly community. Furthermore, in the spirit of giving, often they benefit a great cause. For example, it can be a local non-profit, or as a benefit in the honor of a local hero. Still many participants show up to have a fun time. There is certainly nothing wrong with that. Yet, let's not lose sight of the hard work organizers put forth in an effort to achieve a goal. Ultimately, that is to impact something near-and-dear to your area.

In no particular order, here are the four types of people you will run, bump, stumble into, or hide from at this year's Thanksgiving Turkey Trot.

Here is the spectacle runner, who is decked out in a giant turkey costume. They can't breathe let alone run, but they certainly can waddle. If this person finishes actually runs and finishes the race, it is usually by Christmas time. Nonetheless, you must respect the fact that lots of thought and deliberation went into this decision. It may even take longer for the person to get properly fitted in the morning to get ready for the trot than it does for the actual turkey to cook.

With all due respect, this runner is there an hour early stretching, even though they already completely stretched at home prior to eating a full protein breakfast. This participant is fully rested, fully hydrated, and plans to smoke you like you are the turkey. Furthermore, while you are trucking through the first mile, gasping for breath, this runner is going to pass, but going the other direction. That is because this person finished the race already and is simply running back to the starting line as their "cool down." We get it, your cross-country skills are superhuman, and you now own the Turkey Trot best time. Just don't be the person that beats the day's honoree.

It's common knowledge that the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving is one of the biggest party nights on the planet. It's a special occasion where people come out of the woodwork and return to their hometown. The local pubs may make their annual quota based on Thanksgiving Eve sales. It's great fun for sure, as long you have a responsible ride home. For some though, they have not even been home yet. It's much more convenient to walk two blocks to the left to the downtown starting line at sunrise than it is to trek a half of a mile down Main Street to sleep it off for a few hours. This person looks and smells like the party. If there are woods adjacent to the 5k running route, you will usually find this runner in there immediately.

Many towns that host Thanksgiving races are deep with tradition and local history. The families that call this place home often go back generations. Somehow, your grandmother had the same 4th grade teacher that your daughter currently has. The socialite is there to talk to everyone. They are in full-blown campaign mode, yet they are not running for anything. They simply love everything that has to do with their hometown and their mission for Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, is to see literally everyone, and spread some spirit. You have to respect that.