11/27/2025
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!
Want to treat your dogs safely on Thanksgiving?
Here are the treats I made this morning for my dogs so they can share in Thanksgiving dinner with us and I won’t have to deal with upset tummies or pancreatitis later!!
1. Sweet potatoes- I boil my sweet potatoes to make the casserole and before adding any butter, sugar or seasonings, I put aside a few pieces to cool.
2. Egg yolks- I use a couple egg whites for my sweet potato casserole and cook up the yolks in the microwave to add to the dog meal.
3. Kibbles of their regular dog food (canned food would work as well but I prefer to use kibble for this). I use a little less than my dogs’ regular meal amount for each treat.
Mix and mash all ingredients together and stuff into a Kong or other foods stuffable toy and freeze.
When mealtime comes around, my dogs have a healthy, delicious treat that they get to enjoy while we eat our meal. It takes my dogs a good 20-30 minutes to finish their stuffed kong and everyone has a good Thanksgiving feast. I was aboe to make two Kongs for each of my dogs so they will have a special meal tomorrow too!
Other things you could add in:
*Green beans (raw or cooked but before adding seasonings, butter or other ingredients)
*Carrots- again, cooked or raw, without seasonings or butter
*potatoes (cooked, no skin, and again, no butter or seasonings added)
*Turkey- of course! Use fully cooked white meat or smaller amounts of dark meat. Turkey is higher in fat than most dogs are used to so use small amounts only! No skin, bones or fat!
*blueberries or other fruit
*plain yogurt
Dont overdo it! Choose a few ingredients your pet will love and you know they will tolerate!
The treat should be mostly their regular kibble with small amounts of the other ingredients. The flavors all mix together and get into the kibble so your dog thinks they are getting all kinds of special treats but it is still healthy and nutritious!
I choose the ingredients I did only because I make these things early in the morning and the stuffed Kongs have time to freeze before dinner time. Their treat Is all prepped and ready and I don’t have to add extra work in the last minute meal prep chaos.
If you want to feed this to your dog fresh ad warmed instead of stuffed/frozen, then go for it. I like the frozen stuffed Kong because it takes them a while to eat it all and keeps them busy and happy!
Pro Tips:
*Don’t overfeed your dog just because it’s a holiday! Keep the total volume of food consistent with their normal meal and make sure the majority of their food is their regular dog food to reduce risk of upset tummies!
*Avoid ingredients that you know might cause your dog to have an upset tummy. You know your dog best. Dogs with sensitive tummies or food allergies may not tolerate these special meals and may thrive on consistency in their meals. No one wants to deal with diarrhea or vomiting on or after Thanksgiving!
*Do not allow well-meaning guests to feed your pets excessive or inappropriate foods!
*Remember, no onions or garlic!!! Here is a link with a good list of foods that are toxic to pets: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/aspca-poison-control/people-foods-avoid-feeding-your-pets
*Remember Safety! Having guests in the home is stressful for your pets (even happy excitement is a form of stress!) Be aware if your pet seems nervous. Some pets benefit from some quiet time in their crate or kennel or in a quiet bedroom when guests are visiting. Keep unfamiliar kids away from your pet if you have any doubts about your pet being nervous. Advocate for your peif you see someone interacting in a way your pet does not like. Bites often occur because dogs try so hard to tolerate inappropriate or “scary” behavior from kids or guests and at some point just can’t take it any more and snap to protect themselves. Be proactive and avoid these incidents!!! Your pets will thank you for it and be so much happier!
I put photos of my dog’s treat meal in the comments because it kind of looks like”gross” and I didn’t want to shock anyone just scrolling through! Pardon the Not-Pinterest Quality Photos! I’m just a mom cooking Thanksgiving dinner and not a social media influencer!!
I hope you all have an amazing Thanksgiving!!!
Sincerely,
Drs. Carolyn and Matt Robbins
