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Dogs may not be able to understand the meaning behind Thanksgiving, but they can certainly enjoy the smell of it.
Tomorrow, it will be tempting for you to indulge your four-legged pal and give them some turkey leftovers, but veterinarians strongly advise against it.
Instead, check out our favorite best Thanksgiving dinner for dogs ideas with safe leftover ingredients.
While some ingredients will be safe, many aren't. In fact, the week after Thanksgiving is one where veterinarians are busiest, and it's not unusual – holidays are the worst for dog poisoning cases.
The amount of calls and visits veterinarians receive after Thanksgiving because of the digestive problems of our pets is staggering.
We've already discussed what NOT to feed your dog on Thanksgiving.
While turkey meat is good for the pup, plenty of other foods on the Thanksgiving dinner table are extremely unhealthy – the succulent and delicious turkey skin, the rich and extra fat ham bones, the spicy gravy, the wine sauce, butter, cream, salt, peppers, and the chocolate desserts which are often a part of most Thanksgiving dinner tables.
A simple turkey bone splinter can block your pet’s intestinal tract and have terminal results long before you are able to get it to a vet.
Salmonella is often an issue, given how common it is to leave raw meat on the table for too long and give it to the dog after that.
The DIY Thanksgiving dinner for dogs should be specially made for your pooch in order to be safe and healthy and meet the dog's nutritional needs.
SIMILAR: 25 Best Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes for Dogs
The Best Thanksgiving Dinner for Dogs Ideas
Is Thanksgiving Dinner for Dogs Safe?
A quick switch from a kibble diet to a huge dish of human food can wreak havoc on your pet’s digestive system. Moreover, not all Thanksgiving dinner for dogs recipes are a safe and healthy option for them.
The best way to avoid any problems – and if you still prefer to keep the holiday theme – is to stick to homemade Thanksgiving dog food (or mix in Thanksgiving dog treats) over any human foods.
To avoid spending half of the next day at the vet, either don’t give your pet leftovers or make sure that your pet is used to homemade, wet dog food beforehand.
If you feel that you absolutely have to give your dog some leftovers from the Thanksgiving table, make sure that it is just a piece of lean turkey meat with no skin and no bones. Casandria Smith, chief veterinarian with Los Angeles Animal Services, warns:
“Veterinarians experience an increased number of office calls due to digestive problems after the holidays because humans invite their animals to celebrate with high fat meals.”
But Thanksgiving dinner for dogs can be done properly for the dog. The only danger beside using toxic ingredients is making homemade dog food that fails to be nutrient-rich or vitamin-rich enough and feeding long-term. For one or two Thanksgiving dinner for dogs meals, you're fine as long as ingredients are safe for the dog.
Some of the no-no ingredients on Thanksgiving you need to avoid include:
- turkey skin
- overly fat meat
- turkey bones
- spices like salt and pepper
- cream and butter
- desserts
- artificial sweeteners
As long as you are sticking to lightly cooked lean turkey meat, lightly cooked eggs, and lightly cooked veggies like sweet potatoes, broccoli, and carrots, your special one-time Thanksgiving dinner for dogs should be safe.
RECIPE: Thanksgiving Dog Treats with Sweet Potato and Pumpkin
8 DIY Thanksgiving Dinner for Dogs Recipes
1. Oatmeal Turkey with Sweet Potatoes
- 3 lb or 1.3 kg of skinless light and dark turkey meat
- 1 cup of about 175 g (6 oz) cooked oatmeal
- 1 lb or 450 g of cubed sweet potatoes
- 2 tablespoons of cranberry sauce
- 4 tablespoons of turkey gravy
Preheat the oven at 180°C or 350°F. Put a lightly oiled roasting pan in it. Cook 30 to 45 minutes if the meat is boneless and 45 to 60 minutes for boned meat, or an hour and a half for a whole turkey. For a doggie meal we’d advice on a boneless thigh or breast meat. After the meat is cooked, let it cool off.
If the meat was boned, remove all the bones and dice the meat. Cook the sweet potatoes together with the meat, but only for 25 to 30 minutes or until they are tender. After that, you can let them cool off, peel, and chop.
Cook the oatmeal separately, according to its instructions. Mix everything together and add the cranberry sauce and the gravy or oil, if you are using any. Serve and watch your dog’s happiness with utmost delight!
2. Turkey Gobbler
- 3 peeled, cored, and sliced green apples
- One eight of a tablespoon of cinnamon
- 1 lb. or 450 g of ground turkey
- 1 cup of about 175 g (6 oz) peas
- Half a cup of sliced 1-inch carrot pieces
Put the apples and the cinnamon in a sauce pan together with 1 cup of water. Get the water to boil and then cover the pan. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes until the apples are completely soft. After that remove the pan from the heat and let the apples cool off.
Put the turkey, the peas, and the carrots in a food processor and puree them all into a cream. Take the mixture and put it into a greased cupcake pan, filling it only two-thirds of the way. Put the apples into the food processor as well and puree them into a cream, too.
Fill up the cupcake pan with the creamed apples. Bake the contents of the cupcake pan for 45 to 45 minutes on 350°F or 180°C. Once the cupcakes are baked, let them cool off and give them to your dog for a swift and ravenous devouring!
SIMILAR RECIPE: Turkey and Vegetable Homemade Dog Food
3. Beef & Pork Meatballs (with Cheese and Pasta)
- 3 cups of chicken broth
- A small pinch of pink Himalayan salt
- Half a pound of ground beef, pork and veal
- 1 large egg
- A quarter cup of chopped carrots
- (optional) A quarter cup of grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
- One eight of a cup of finely chopped parsley
- (optional) Quarter clove of garlic, mashed with a little pink salt
- (optional) A quarter pund of ditalini pasta
Put the broth to boil in a deep saucepan or a skillet. After it boils, salt it lightly and let it simmer. Combine the ground meat, the egg, the carrots, the cheese, the parsley and the garlic paste into a bowl, and form the mixture into 1-inch meatballs.
Drop the meatballs into the simmering broth and let them simmer with it for about 5 minutes or until lightly cooked. Cook and stir the pasta for about 6 or 7 minutes. Let everything cool off, and serve the meatballs on top of the pasta. Watch your dog enjoy this Thanksgiving dinner for dogs!
4. Doggy Beef Meatloaf
- Half a pound of ground beef
- Half a container of cottage cheese (about 12 ounces)
- 2 eggs
- A quarter cup of dry milk powder
- One eight of a cup of wheat germ
- 4 slices of oatmeal bread
- 4 cups of cooked oatmeal
- 2 cups of cooked brown rice
Combine the ground beef and the cottage cheese in a large mixing bowl. Once you’ve mixed them, add the eggs, the milk powder, and the wheat germ and mix again. After that, add the crumbled bread, the oatmeal, and the brown rice. Mix again.
Divide the mixture into five equal small aluminum loaf pans. Place the portions on a cookie sheet and bake them at 350°F or 180°C for about an hour. Let the loafs cool off for about an hour and serve one of them to your happy pooch, while putting the others in the freezer.
SIMILAR RECIPE: Simple & Healthy Doggy Meatloaf
5. Turkey Treats
- 1 cup of lightly cooked and chopped lean turkey meat
- Half a tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons of grated cheese
- 1 cup of whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon of brewer’s yeast
- 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Mix the turkey, the cheese, and the parsley. Beat the egg and pour it over the mixture. Add the flour, the yeast, and the oil. Stir until all the ingredients are perfectly mixed.
Pour the mixture into cookie shapes on the cookie sheet. Cook the cookies at 350°F or 180°C for 20 – 25 minutes. Let the cookies cool off, and then serve them to your lucky canine pal.
6. Apple Cheese Doggy Treats
- 2 cups of barley flour
- Half a cup of a good old-fashioned oatmeal
- One-third of a cup of shredded gruyere cheese
- A quarter of a cup of shredded asiago cheese
- One-third of a cup of sugar-free applesauce
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Add some water so that they can form a dough. Knead the dough with your hands and place it on a sheet of cookie paper. Roll the dough until it’s no more than a quarter of an inch thick (about 6 mm).
Cut the dough into whatever shapes you prefer – bones, turkey legs, or good old stars, circles, or anything else. Bake the cookies for about 30 minutes. Let them cool off for about 30 minutes as well.
SIMILAR RECIPE: Homemade Thanksgiving Doggy Dinner
7. Pumpkin Delights
- 1 cup of whole wheat flour
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup pumpkin
- One four-ounce jar of pure carrot baby food
- One four-ounce jar of green bean baby food
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Add all the ingredients together in a bowl and mix them. Scoop out the mixture onto a baking sheet and shape as many small cookie shapes as you want. Shape them into pumpkins, bones or any other shape you prefer.
Bake the pumpkin cookies for about 30 minutes. After that, let them cool off for about 30 minutes, too. Give them to your pup and enjoy the swift and joyful devouring that will ensue.
8. Chicken Flavored Dog Biscuits
- 1 cup of whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup of wheat germ
- 1/4 cup of brewer’s yeast
- 1 teaspoon of pink Himalayan salt
- 1.5 tablespoons of canola oil
- 1/2 cup of low-sodium canned chicken stock
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Put the flour, the wheat germ, the yeast, and the salt in a medium-sized bowl and set them aside. Put the oil in a large bowl. Add stock and flour mixture in three separate batches and mix well. The batches must begin and end with stock.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it to about a quarter of an inch of thickness (about 6mm). Shape the cookies out of the dough in whatever shape you like – bones, pumpkins, turkey legs, or plain ol’ circles and stars. Bake the biscuits in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes.
Leave the biscuits in the now turned-off oven for about an hour and a half to dry off completely. Let them cool off for as long as necessary. Serve the biscuits to the luckiest dog in the world!
READ NEXT: 50 Best Homemade Dog Food Recipes
