# Thanksgiving Turkey Can Prove Toxic For Pets



## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

This article was on today's AVMA's Animal Health SmartBrief:


Love Your Pets Just Don't Feed Them Turkey | NBC Los Angeles


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

great article thanks so much for sharing !


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## Nikki's Mom (Feb 13, 2008)

Hmm, both my doggies eat ground turkey cooked in butter every few weeks, and they are both in perfect health.


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## silverhaven (Sep 6, 2009)

Didn't see the vid. and a quick look at the article seems to be saying don't ever feed real food. Basically instead of saying don't feed them loads of butter and turkey fat, they are saying don't feed them people food ever. I just don't agree with that at all.


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## lisaj1354 (Aug 9, 2010)

I feed Pepper left over chicken, cooked ground beef, and most veggies. I combine them with his regular kibble and wet food. He loves it. 

I'm taking the article with a grain of salt. Moderation is everything when it comes to feeding my little guy. 

Its not like I'm going to let him chow down on an entire turkey, giblets and gravy. But some finely chopped turkey mixed in his food? That gets a yes from me.


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## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

I looked up another article on the matter. This one is from an Internal Medicine specialist:

Revisiting ? Avoiding Pancreatitis During the Holidays - Speakingforspot.com | Dog Time - Dog Blog Network


The point we need to take away from this is that there are "some" pets who get pancreatitis from holiday foods and I posted the article(s) hoping that perhaps a case or two of pancreatitis might be prevented by posting them. If you want to risk it - that's your choice. 

Not every dog responds to people foods the same. Karli has a very sensitive stomach and there's no way I would feed her food that's out of the norm for her.


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## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

I usually don't post articles unless I know it's a credible source, so I'm letting you know on this one that I don't have a clue as to who the author is.

From this article, looks like there can be cases of pancreatitis from a one time injestion of a high fat substance. Also, lets say your dog is predisposed to diabetes or hyperlipidemia and you don't know it. . . . . .

Causes Of Pancreatitis In Dogs - What Causes Canine Pancreatitis?


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

Yes, turkey is richer and if fed with other somewhat rich foods it could be overload and cause a flare of pancreatitis. Cosy is so little I don't tempt the fates with much table food, other than veggies and fruits. A little chicken or beef now and then is a big treat too.


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## michellerobison (Dec 17, 2009)

Cosy is so cute,I could look at her all day...

Always wondered what caused the Turkey coma...

We're not big turkey fans,we usually grill filet mignon that's been merinating for a couple days in teriaki and pineaple juice merinaide.....mmmm,mmmm.
At Christmas,we forgo the ham and do those colasal crab legs,the ones as long as your arm...almost... Or we do fish on a bed of raw spinache w/ slices of granny smith apples...or steaks.

I know it's almost sacreligeous to not do the traditional turkey on T-day and ham on Christmas....

But I figure if we're going to party holiday style,I'd rather eat what I really like!

Mom did turkey on T-day but we did a steak,potato fondue thing on Christmas Eve,then went to Grams for the ham....


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## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

Cosy said:


> Yes, turkey is richer and if fed with other somewhat rich foods it could be overload and cause a flare of pancreatitis. Cosy is so little I don't tempt the fates with much table food, other than veggies and fruits. A little chicken or beef now and then is a big treat too.


 


The smaller size of a maltese is a good point. A maltese digestive system, including their pancreas has to be itty bitty, and I would assume giving a few bites of rich people food to a maltese would have more of an impact on their digestive system than that of a larger dog.


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## Nikki's Mom (Feb 13, 2008)

You know, I didn't want to put my 2 cents worth in anymore on this forum about food and nutrition, but I have been encouraged to stick around and continue posting. I am not telling you what you should or should not feed your dog. I am just giving you my opinion and telling you what I do. 

My take is that for an uninformed pet owner who would think nothing of feeding their dog a chemical-laden/vegetable oil-injected Butterball, plus gravy full of onions and flour, this article might certainly be useful. For those folks, I thank you for posting it. 

On the other hand, for people who take an interest in their dog's health, it is an over-the-top-generalization. *

Rancid* and/or *poor quality* fat, from omega 6 vegetable oils (corn, canola, soy, sunflower, etc.) and omega 3 oils (poor quality fish oils) can certainly cause inflammation, pancreatitis, kidney, and GI issues in a dog. Do we know the quality of the fat that is used in kibble? No we really don't unfortunately. 

Good quality human-grade fats and meats, if fed plain, in tiny quantities, not too much at a time, by a careful, informed pet owner _might_ be just fine for _some_ dogs. For example, I've had Nikki for over 2.5 years now, and she has been eating coconut oil, organic Irish butter, animal fat-beef tallow, in her human food for 2 years, and is in perfect health. No high triglycerides, etc. No digestion issues. No pancreas issues. She's smart, too. Figured out the most difficult Nina Ottosson toy in less than 10 minutes flat, much to my disappointment, lol! I had hoped it would have been more of a challenge for her. 

Does that mean that every dog who eats human fat and human food will do well on them? Of course not. Dogs are individuals. Should everyone skip the kibble and home cook? Of course not, not everyone can or will, although I wish more would try it. 

On the other hand, not every dog does well on commercial pet food, either. Dogs are individuals, and I believe that we do them a disservice by over-generalizing what all of them should and should not eat. 

JMO.


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## beckinwolf (Sep 2, 2008)

Nikki's Mom said:


> You know, I didn't want to put my 2 cents worth in anymore on this forum about food and nutrition, but I have been encouraged to stick around and continue posting. I am not telling you what you should or should not feed your dog. I am just giving you my opinion and telling you what I do.
> 
> My take is that for an uninformed pet owner who would think nothing of feeding their dog a chemical-laden/vegetable oil-injected Butterball, plus gravy full of onions and flour, this article might certainly be useful. For those folks, thank you for posting it.
> 
> ...


:goodpost:


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## The A Team (Dec 1, 2005)

I feel like I need to add my two cents here too. I've been feeding my dogs Dr. Harvey's for the past few months. They are all thriving!! I did change Archie's food from the Complete Canine to Veg-to-Bowl because of allergies. Each week i change the protien...one week it's ground chicken, then ground pork, then turkey and then veal. I'm afraid of beef for tear stain reasons. 

I must say Archie is doing GREAT!!! I am NOT a poopie kind of person, but Archie's is just about perfect.....:brownbag:...if there is such a thing...:blush:

My dogs don't really care for fish - so are there any other proteins i can use?


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## Nikki's Mom (Feb 13, 2008)

The A Team said:


> I feel like I need to add my two cents here too. I've been feeding my dogs Dr. Harvey's for the past few months. They are all thriving!! I did change Archie's food from the Complete Canine to Veg-to-Bowl because of allergies. Each week i change the protien...one week it's ground chicken, then ground pork, then turkey and then veal. I'm afraid of beef for tear stain reasons.
> 
> I must say Archie is doing GREAT!!! I am NOT a poopie kind of person, but Archie's is just about perfect.....:brownbag:...if there is such a thing...:blush:
> 
> My dogs don't really care for fish - so are there any other proteins i can use?


I use chicken, turkey, lamb, beef, fish, and scrambled eggs, too.


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

when dex came out of the specialty hospital for pancreatitis internal medicine specialist had me feeding him lean ground turkey and rice. 

I think it is the fatty part of the turkey that is the biggest issue so the dark meat I would not feed nor would I feed with seasoning and pumped with butter etc. 

I do not take any chances with my guys after going through pancreatitis as it is very heart breaking and very expensive to treat if they do get it and 50% end up dying from it so we consider ourselves lucky dex made it having it back to back 

@pat chivas which is goat some feed with dogs with allergies and they get it from mexican markets 

Venison and Buffalo are other proteins but harder to come by 

you feed veal Pat? yikes you may want to check into that one further as you may not like what you read about how those animals are treated to get that  I steer clear of veal for that reason.

There is some controversy over whether tryptophan which is in turkey is bad for dogs so why I am not a huge fan of that protein in dogs. 

http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/tryptophan-nutricalm/page1.aspx

this below makes alot of sense as dex tests slightly high on triglycerides on a 12 hr fast on a low fat diet so it does make sense he is more prone than my other three who do not test high on triglycerides on their fasting blood work. They all ate the same thing and he was the only one on deaths door with pancreatitis. Yorkies are also prone to this disease and I believe because some like dex have a higher fat content in their blood just like I believe schnauzers can as well. He was not over weight when he was sick either.

http://www.oes.org/page2/2113~The_Great_Turkey_Debate.html


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## 3Maltmom (May 23, 2005)

Holidays are no different from any other day, around here.

I don't feed my dogs table scraps. I do, however, make them an omelet every Sunday, and cooked carrots for treats.

That's all I need is to take 8-plus dogs to the ER ~ :blink:


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## lovesophie (Jan 28, 2008)

Nikki's Mom said:


> You know, I didn't want to put my 2 cents worth in anymore on this forum about food and nutrition, but I have been encouraged to stick around and continue posting. I am not telling you what you should or should not feed your dog. I am just giving you my opinion and telling you what I do.
> 
> My take is that for an uninformed pet owner who would think nothing of feeding their dog a chemical-laden/vegetable oil-injected Butterball, plus gravy full of onions and flour, this article might certainly be useful. For those folks, I thank you for posting it.
> 
> ...


Great post, Suzan. :aktion033:

Oh, and I'm glad you're back. :thumbsup:


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## aprilb (Jul 9, 2010)

I also want to add that the title of this article is a bit misleading. It sounds as though feeding turkey is bad for our fluffs. My girls are eating Wellness Core and the first ingredient is "deboned turkey." A better title might be "Avoid Feeding Pets Your Holiday Meals." If you feed them fried turkey, turkey bones, turkey skin, etc., you shouldn't do it. To me, this is a "no-brainer.":thumbsup: The white meat of the turkey is good protein and lower in fat. I cook a turkey breast on Thanksgiving.


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## poochie2 (Jan 14, 2010)

aprilb said:


> I also want to add that the title of this article is a bit misleading. It sounds as though feeding turkey is bad for our fluffs. My girls are eating Wellness Core and the first ingredient is "deboned turkey." A better title might be "Avoid Feeding Pets Your Holiday Meals." If you feed them fried turkey, turkey bones, turkey skin, etc., you shouldn't do it. To me, this is a "no-brainer.":thumbsup: The white meat of the turkey is good protein and lower in fat. I cook a turkey breast on Thanksgiving.


I also feed a food with the FIRST ingredient being turkey( NOW Grain-free)
and I got so worried after reading these articles.
:goodpost:


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## Nikki's Mom (Feb 13, 2008)

I just cooked some ground turkey for the dogs - sauteed in coconut oil.


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## Rocky's Mom (Apr 10, 2010)

I had just had some leftover turkey and gave Rocky a few bites of the white meat, sat down and read this post and nearly fainted. Then I read the other posts, so I'm ok now.:HistericalSmiley:I don't understand, so please help... I too feed Rocky the Wellness Core (grain free) and he loves it. It has 34.0 crude protein. How much protein should he be getting a day? He eats 1/4 cup twice a day. Is this too much protein?


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## aprilb (Jul 9, 2010)

Rocky's Mom said:


> I had just had some leftover turkey and gave Rocky a few bites of the white meat, sat down and read this post and nearly fainted. Then I read the other posts, so I'm ok now.:HistericalSmiley:I don't understand, so please help... I too feed Rocky the Wellness Core (grain free) and he loves it. It has 34.0 crude protein. How much protein should he be getting a day? He eats 1/4 cup twice a day. Is this too much protein?


 You will get so many different answers on SM. No one knows Rocky better than you and your vet. I would ask your vet about protein and fat amounts for our sweet boy. Wellness is a great food and they make a variety of high/low protein and high fat/low fat diets. Feeding him a little bit of white turkey meat is good for him. I gave my girls some too, and they are still with me.:HistericalSmiley: The amount of protein and fat that our fluffs need depends on any health conditions they might have, age, and activity level.


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## princessre (Dec 23, 2008)

I gave Thanksgiving turkey and mashed sweet potatoes to my two babies also. Just the breast. Sans butter, gravy, salt, pepper. (I cook very light anyhow.) They are both alive and well.


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## beckinwolf (Sep 2, 2008)

This reminds me of ages ago, probably almost 20 years ago, before we really knew any better. There's a picture of our mixed breed mutt dog in the backyard with her head in the turkey pan. We let her eat out of it that night! I guess she was ok, but I was only 10 or so, so I don't remember if she got sick or not.


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## poochieheaven (Nov 19, 2009)

Rocky's Mom said:


> I had just had some leftover turkey and gave Rocky a few bites of the white meat, sat down and read this post and nearly fainted. Then I read the other posts, so I'm ok now.:HistericalSmiley:I don't understand, so please help... I too feed Rocky the Wellness Core (grain free) and he loves it. It has 34.0 crude protein. How much protein should he be getting a day? He eats 1/4 cup twice a day. Is this too much protein?


You'll be ok. 

Duke & Piper ate turkey for 3 days (I raw feed) and both are still here and kicking.


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