Turkey thief. Is your dog the type of pooch who looks for every opportunity to sneak food? Even though you feed it regularly, does it act as though it hasn’t had a meal in months, inhaling snacks, when someone offers them a treat?
If that’s the case, you need to be vigilant in training your dog not to scavenge human food. You’ll notice the worst offenders sidling up to toddlers, salivating over the pieces of kiddie digestive biscuit sprinkled on their little clothes. And like a furry hoover, they go over the kid, stem to stern, licking every last crumb off them.
Sensitive stomachs. You’ll need to train your dog that human food is not allowed unless you personally put it in their dish. Dogs’ digestive systems are sensitive, so you’ll need to monitor their intake of human food, which can often upset their stomachs and leave you with a lovely mess to clean. If you’re someone who learns the hard way, you may have to do this a few times before realizing that dumping the family’s leftovers in Rover’s dish might not be the best idea. Usually a little bit sprinkled on top of regular dog food is all that’s needed to send them into paroxysms of ecstasy.
If they’re given a little bit here and there, their systems can handle it better than huge amounts of turkey fat, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy all in one sitting.
If you’re bringing Rover over to relatives, you’ll need to discuss dog etiquette ahead of time. Will your sister scream at your dog every time it comes in the kitchen? Do all of your family’s dogs get along with each other, or is there one bad apple always stirring up trouble? Mind you, we’re talking about the dogs now, not family members.
So whether you’re entertaining at home this Thanksgiving, or bringing Rover along to relatives, be sure that your dog is not planning to annoy guests by begging at the table, or overindulging on holiday food and making itself sick—tips you would be well-advised to follow. Can you mentally picture you and Rover rolling yourselves away from the Thanksgiving dinner table, patting your stomachs, and both thinking, “I ate too much, again!”