26/11/2025
🦃🍁 Thanksgiving is Here! 🍁🦃
As everyone prepares for a day filled with cooking, baking, and all the delicious holiday favorites, our dogs are already practicing their big, hopeful “please share” eyes.
Before the feast begins, here’s a helpful guide to what’s safe and what’s dangerous for dogs on Thanksgiving. Sharing this ahead of time helps everyone prepare — and helps keep pets out of the emergency vet on the holiday.
🦃 Thanksgiving Foods: What’s Safe & What’s Dangerous for Dogs
Helping Vermont families keep their pets safe this holiday season 🐾
✅ SAFE — In Moderation & Plain Only
(No butter, salt, sugar, oils, or seasonings.)
✔ Plain Turkey Meat (boneless, skinless)
✔ Plain Sweet Potatoes
✔ Plain Pumpkin Purée
✔ Green Beans (unseasoned)
✔ Carrots
✔ Apples (no seeds)
✔ Peas
✔ Plain Potatoes
✔ Cucumbers & Celery
✔ Fresh Cranberries (not sugary canned sauce)
✔ Plain Rice
✔ Plain Cooked Eggs
✔ Plain Dog-Safe Bread
✔ Peanut Butter (xylitol/birch sugar–free)
✔ Small Amounts of Cheese
❌ DANGEROUS — KEEP AWAY COMPLETELY
✘ Xylitol / Birch Sugar
Found in sugar-free baked goods, candies, gums, diet desserts, and some peanut butters. Even tiny amounts are extremely dangerous.
✘ Turkey Skin, Drippings & Fatty Scraps
✘ Cooked Turkey Bones
✘ Stuffing (onions, garlic, butter, herbs)
✘ Gravy
✘ Ham
✘ Onions, Garlic, Leeks, Chives
✘ Mashed Potatoes with Butter/Cream/Garlic
✘ Cranberry Sauce (canned/jellied)
✘ Corn on the Cob
✘ Seasoned or Buttered Vegetables
✘ Yeast Dough (uncooked)
✘ Chocolate Desserts
✘ Pumpkin Pie & Spiced Pies
✘ Pecan Pie & Most Nuts (esp. macadamia)
✘ Grapes & Raisins
✘ Alcohol (even tiny amounts)
✘ Artificial Sweeteners (including xylitol/birch sugar)
✘ Fatty, Salty Dishes
✘ Charcuterie Meats
✘ Heavy Dairy Sauces
✘ Foods with Nutmeg, Cinnamon Oil, or Strong Spices
🐾 Thanksgiving Safety Tips
• Keep trash secure — turkey prep scraps are tempting.
• Remind guests not to sneak food to the dogs.
• Prepare a few dog-safe treats or chews to keep pups busy.
• If your pup is sneaky or tends to counter-surf, consider using a safe space — a crate, gated room, or quiet area — during the main meal.
• If your dog shows vomiting, diarrhea, bloating, trembling, or lethargy, contact an emergency vet right away.
💚 We hope this guide helps keep Vermont’s pets safe this Thanksgiving. From all of us at VAACA, we wish you a warm, safe, and happy holiday!