November 10, 2009 Feasting on Thanksgiving

Feasting on Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving! What a wonderful holiday! It brings to mind all of our blessings and that which we are thankful for. The feast of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie! My mouth is watering just writing this! If your pets are anything like mine, and you are having Thanksgiving at your house, you may want to take a few precautions.
If you are having company and your pet isn’t really comfortable with company, please give them a space of their own, in a room of their own or in their crate where they can feel safe from the noise and activity going on. Nervous dogs and noisy crowds aren’t good combinations.
The smell of food is so tempting for your pet; you know they are bound to be underfoot waiting for you to drop a few morsels for them. Make sure your pet isn’t in your way while you are cooking or serving, nothing like tripping over the dog and dumping the turkey platter on the floor to make you re-think your blessings. Put your pet in a safe place away from the kitchen and dining areas until you are finished. Then you can share a few leftovers with them.
Here is what is normally okay to share with your pet, turkey, potatoes, veggies, but not in huge quantities. Most pets will gorge themselves if you let them on the good stuff. What is NOT okay to share with your pets are cooked turkey bones, or any cooked bone for that matter, cooked bones tend to splinter and your dog may not be lucky enough to pass them easily. You also don’t want to have to rush your pet to the emergency vet on Thanksgiving. Raw bones, oddly enough don’t splinter and if your dog can chew it, those aren’t so bad. Also on the no-no list are grapes, raisins, onions, garlic and chocolate. Those foods can be toxic and deadly to your pet!
Which brings me to my next point, large dogs, agile smaller dogs and cats are experts at getting to your food no matter how high you think it is safe from them. We have learned at our house, that as soon as you cook a meal, you better put it in the microwave or oven until you are all done otherwise you will have critters getting at it!
Jasmine is an expert at opening things and getting high enough to reach whatever she wants. It’s hard to break a bad habit when you aren’t in the room to catch them. She would never do these things in my presence, but if I go to answer the phone, or leave the room however briefly, she will go for it.
Luckily pumpkin pie isn’t toxic to dogs, that I know of, because just a couple of weeks ago, my husband, so happy from his trip to the IGA to get some food, got a hankering for pumpkin pie and bought one and baked it. The smell of the pie swirled around the room and I remember warning him when he took the pie out of the oven and put it up on the stove, that isn’t a good place for the pie. He of course scoffed at me, saying there was no place else to put a pie to cool, it would be fine.
I was envisioning kitty cat paw prints going through the pie since cats can jump up on counters. Luckily the cats were busy doing other things and didn’t go near the kitchen. The phone rang and I went to answer it, it was my mother long-distance and I sat down to chat with her and we were having a great conversation when I heard the yelling; “Mom! Jasmine got into the pumpkin pie!” and then heard my husband yelling and doors being slammed, chaos had erupted. So much for a lovely Sunday meal, half the pie was gone, the other half now in the trash, sigh. I told him that wasn’t a good idea. One day he’ll learn to listen to me.
I can’t wait until someone invents a pet proof kitchen. Until then, like I’ve always said, dogs are like children. Just like a 2-year-old child but FOREVER! You cannot leave them outside on their own, or with tempting things in their sight. They are bound to get into things just like kids. You have to watch them, or put them someplace safe until you are done. We have lots of places to put the dogs with gates to keep them out of rooms, but nobody did it. I can’t blame the dog for doing what she did, she’s a “toddler” but if the person supervising the toddler doesn’t make sure the toddler doesn’t get into things, then whose fault is it?
This dog is amazingly smart, and cunning! She can open cabinets and eat the food in them that are in boxes. She can open the refrigerator too, and pulls out leftovers and shares them with the other pets. She can open the trash cabinet too, and has been known to close it after the cat has jumped in to feast on the garbage, trapping the cat inside it.
I’ve actually installed cabinet locks and alarms for the fridge to scare her away from it. So much for tossing out the baby-proofing items from the kids, now I have to get more. I was so glad when the toddler years were over, sigh.
Here is another suggestion, one I should heed. Exercise your dog thoroughly before you have company or plan a large meal. A tired dog is a good dog! I’m not talking a little walk. I mean RUN that dog, wear them out! Make them so exhausted that all they can do is collapse on the living room floor when you get home. Enlist the aid of the younger members of your family to wear Fido out. I’m sure that would help out Jasmine and her antics. Like I tell her, “good thing you’re cute”.
I am still thankful I have a smart dog, albeit too smart at times. .
So count your blessings this year, for they are many, and keep an eye out for your pets, no matter how mad you get, you are still thankful for their company.