German Shepherds Forum banner

Safe Christmas dinner for dogs

3K views 22 replies 15 participants last post by  doggiedad 
#1 ·
Since Christmas is a special occasion, we were thinking of giving our dogs a bit of human food. I know smoked turkey and ham is probably safe, but what about cornbread stuffing, green bean casserole (without unions), mashed potatoes, jellied cranberry sauce, deviled eggs (mayo, egg yolks, paprika, and a small amount of sugar), and pumpkin pie?
 
#2 ·
Run to the store and get them some Merrick Canned dog food - it's made for dogs and they won't know it is not people food :)
There's one called "Granny's Pot Pie" that is sure to be a hit.

Human food has too much fat, sodium and other 'bad stuff' for dogs.
 
#4 ·
We had the senior foster Holly, who suffered from colitis and had to have tylan daily. She absolutely loved Merrick and it was the only thing she'd eat reliably.

You open it up and it looks like human stew :wub:
 
#8 ·
I did a one-hour meeting with Merrick a couple weeks back to learn the details of their food/formula, the representative ate the "Wingaling" canned dog food in front of us to prove it's human grade quality. It was pretty amusing! In the end, Merrick IS human food - just without spices, salt, etc. VERY bland.
 
#5 ·
You probably know your dog better than us. I'm a spoiler and give our dog human food - in very small portions. Our dog cannot handle fatty things very well, maybe yours can. From your menu I would give in very small portions some turkey without the skin, mashed potatoes if you don't make then too fatty, and a very thin slice of pumpkin pie ( I make mine with less fat than the typical recipe).

I'd skip ham (nitrates and too much sodium) the cornbread and I'd only give plain green beans, deviled eggs are too rich in my opinion.
 
#6 ·
I don't give mine human food, but I will get them some pre made raw and add some good stuff like egg, yogurt, and cottage cheese. I will also give them some sweet potato...just boiled sweet potato. They will get a special Christmas dinner too:)
 
#7 ·
I will be giving Hunter a small plate of cooked turkey and my husband's homemade macaroni and cheese and candied yams (sweet potato, brown sugar, cinnamon, marshmellows). He's raw fed, and has never eaten "dog food" - as long as I or my husband has cooked it ourselves and we know exactly what's in it, we'll give him some. Strangely enough, he rarely gets the food from our plates. Holidays are always a good time to spoil him. ;)
 
#10 ·
Yeah, it can be pricey but if you give a tablespoon only with kibble it works out pretty well. Very, very good quality food. One of the ones I recommend to clients when I do nutrition consultations. Their dry food is very good, too. Not a lot of people know Merrick.
 
#12 ·
Raw turkey neck and gizzards - yes!

Mashed potato is fine as long as it is with butter, not margarine

Turkey breast is fine w/o the fat and again as long as it has no margarine, if prebasted turkey check label - some use real butter

Pumpkin pie - no to that re: nutmeg and not sure if allspice also has nutmeg in the mix

no gravy especially if onions, stuffing in the turkey if has onions don't, but there are so many types of specialty stuffings some w/nuts that could be toxic some with raisans...not sure if these things leech into the turkey and cause problems

When in doubt - don't do it.
 
#14 · (Edited)
I avoid any and all spices. So I wouldn't do a deviled egg or pumpkin pie. Substitute with a raw egg, or a hard boiled egg with no fixinings. I would not give any mayonase as that's a lot of fat. Pumpkin pie can be substituted with straight mashed pumpkin. It's the stuff you'd use to make homemade pumpkin pie and not the already prepared stuff (Libby's has both and its usually right next to each other).

Meat is fine, I wouldn't do stuffing as its just carbs and doesn't really add anything for the dog (and they don't care that much about the taste of things). But the turkey or ham would be alright. Gravy out of a can is fine. Homemade...depends on ingredients used. Ham also might be very salty so I'd watch the portion.

I plan on slipping my dog some prime rib tonight, cut off most of the fat and also not give him any of the crust with salt and pepper on it.
 
#18 ·
My dogs will *probably* eat their regular meals,but a little less of it tomorrow because of all of the extra stuff that will probably be snuck to them. I know Saba and a couple of the other dogs love sweet potatoes. I will save out a few to divide between them when I cook.
 
#19 ·
LOL, I hope you have a can of dog food pumpkin around, because it won't be good coming out. I would hold off on the cranberries. Curious as to they react to the deviled eggs. Why to much spice in my book. I just got Tony a cheap 3dollar steak, which he totally loves.
 
#20 ·
Thanksgiving and Christmas, our two usually get some ham or turkey without the skin, carrots, mashed potatoes with a little gravy, a small piece of pumpkin pie and a boiled egg. Green bean cassarole if we have it minus the onions.
 
#21 ·
I'm curious how you make (or why) green bean casserole without onions!? Doesn't that defeat the purpose?
Or do you pick it apart and get the onions out before serving it to the dogs?
 
#22 ·
I dont like the onions (never been a fan) so we make half of it with and half of it without. least we used to when we made it. Havent made it the last couple holidays. The half without onions we actually sprinkle cheese over it.
 
#23 ·
Christmas is a special occasion to humans. i'm not so sure
it's special to dogs. i would give my dog a small slice of
turkey or ham.

>>>> Since Christmas is a special occasion,<<<<

we were thinking of giving our dogs a bit of human food. I know smoked turkey and ham is probably safe, but what about cornbread stuffing, green bean casserole (without unions), mashed potatoes, jellied cranberry sauce, deviled eggs (mayo, egg yolks, paprika, and a small amount of sugar), and pumpkin pie?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top