Is Turkey Bad for Dogs?

So, is turkey bad for dogs?

The holidays are upon us. We do our best to keep Napa away from the table, so he doesn’t beg. But for whatever reason, house guests seem to take rules into their own hands when it comes to table scraps! So, with Napa’s first Thanksgiving upon us, the last thing we want is a puking pup.

Here are a few things we learned about Turkey for both of us to learn how your pooch can enjoy the festivities!
 In short, dogs can eat turkey. But there are a few parts of the turkey you should avoid feeding your pooch.

  • Turkey Fat
  • Turkey Skin
  • Turkey Bones

These are all big no no’s!

More on that from a commenter on Dogster:

Raw turkey can be fed whole – skin, bones, and everything. Raw turkey necks are great for keeping your dog’s teeth clean, by the way.

If it is cooked turkey, you definitely need to take into account what spices were used. Food that is very salty or spiced with onions or garlic can be very dangerous to your dogs.

When cooked, don’t feed the skin or the bones, either – just the meat. The bones are altered in consistency when they are cooked, making them brittle and easy to splinter which can be very harmful. The cooked skin is very fatty.

So if you’ve used onion in your stuffing, in your turkey pan, or anywhere near your turkey DO NOT GIVE ANY OF THAT TURKEY TO YOUR DOG!

Is turkey bad for dogs? Turkey isn’t but here is also a quick list of additional food your dog shouldn’t eat.

  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Avocado Chocolate (all forms)
  • Coffee (all forms)
  • Fatty foods
  • Macadamia nuts
  • Spoiled food
  • Onions, onion powder
  • Raisins and grapes
  • Salt
  • Yeast& dough
  • Garlic
  • Products sweetened with Xylito

It’s important to go over this list of foods with any house guests you have visiting for the holidays. You don’t want Aunt Muffie giving your pooch a stick of Winterfresh and ruining Christmas.

What I like to do is keep a list of these “do not feed the dog” foods visible on my refrigerator during the holidays. Like many households, my kitchen is the busiest room in the house. Having this list in BIG BOLD letters lets everyone know what my puppies cannot eat.

What other tips do you have for keeping you puppies happy and healthy for the holiday? Let me know by sharing them in the comments.


Side note: Do you run a business in the pet industry? Would you like to drive more traffic and sales to your site through a search-optimized pet blog? Get in touch with my office-mates at Lantern Content Marketing!

About Napa 'ze Dog

My name is Napa and I'm the Lantern Content Marketing Adventure Company office dog. They create content for business blogs, so I do my part by blogging about pet stuff. My favorite topic is poop! Since you asked, I'm an F2B Miniature Goldendoodle. Everything else you want to know about me is right over here!

One thought on “Is Turkey Bad for Dogs?

  1. My vet wants me to see a trainer my dog is about 4yrs old got him at a shelter we have had him for a year and a half, we love him but he is such
    a bully when he see’s other dogs at he park here on our street, do I really
    need to go to a trainer for that?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *