During this holiday season, keep your pups healthy and happy by limiting their people-food intake. If they are not used to people-food, it can upset their tummies very easily. Even if they ARE used to people food, often times the ultra-rich Thanksgiving dishes will not sit well in the belly. You may not think it's a big deal to give them a piece of turkey or two, but keep in mind, your guests are thinking the same thing. Now they've suddenly had 1 piece of turkey ... from 12 people! Remind your guests to not feed the pups while they're in your home.
The extra people around your house can also lead to pup-stress. Give them a safe and quiet place for them to relax away from the people to keep their stress levels low. Put their dog bed in a bedroom, or let them have access to their crate so they can "escape" if they need some down time.
Even though people are over at your house, make sure you keep the pups on their regular routine with walks and meals. If you typically give them a 30 minute walk at lunchtime, but you're busy trying to speed up the cook time of the turkey, allow one of the kids to take them for their regular walk instead.After the meal has been completed, make sure everything has been put away, out of reach - especially if you have a counter-surfer like Tyler! Three years ago, we were all enjoying some football in the living room and suddenly, it was very quiet in the other room. The dogs are never quiet unless they are sleeping. I went to investigate, and both dogs were devouring the turkey on the kitchen floor. I know Tyler was the instigator (since he's tall enough to get on the counter), pulled the turkey onto the floor ... then Maggie got in on the delicious meal too. Needless to say, we had two pups with upset tummies the rest of the night! Lesson learned ... push the food to the back of the counter so Tyler can't reach!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
