Dog Park Etiquette

I started getting tired of hearing conflicting statements yesterday, that “Turkey is bad for the dog“. For the record, she only ate a few scraps of white meat, while we carved up our Thanksgiving meal. I did stop when I heard that Turkey wasn’t good for dogs.

Today, I searched the net to find some facts to back up yesterdays dinner discussion. I know and respect not to give her chocolate, onions or tomatoes, but Turkey? My hunch was the tryptophan (that puts us all to sleep so quickly) was the reason people were saying this. As I soon discovered, that isn’t the case, actually tryptophan is an essential amino acid. It helps the body produce niacin, which in turns helps produce serotonin (which is what makes us calm and sleepy).

As with any table scraps, you have to watch for overly fatty foods, but turkey is known for occasionally triggering possibly fatal pancreatic inflammation. The real culprit seems to be turkey skin, which is very high in fat and hard for dogs to digest. While cooked turkey meat (in moderation) is safe for dogs to eat, be very cautious when discarding items used to cook the turkey which may be tempting to dogs, such as skewers, string, pop-up timers, and roasting bags. Swallowing such things can cause an intestinal blockage or perforation.

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Turkey bones should never be fed to dogs. Turkey and Chicken bones splinter easily, and whether splintered or whole, they can get stuck in a dog’s intestines. Place turkey bones and other garbage in cans with tight fitting, dog-proof lids.

In summary, I feel comfortable giving Sadie another piece of (white) meat this weekend - but that’s it till next year!

Turkey treats for your dog:

Footnote links related to this article:

• PetEducation.com - Definition of pancreatic inflammation

Tags: dog, dog food, holiday meals, table scaps