The holidays are a time of indulgence. Most of our gathering this time of year revolves around food. Halloween candy, the Thanksgiving feast, office and organization parties, Christmas dinner and New Year’s parties all revolve what’s delicious and edible that’s being offered.

Even if we’re not watching what we eat ourselves, we do need to be careful of not letting our pets indulge as that can be an expensive or even fatal mistake.

Foods that are perfectly fine for human consumption can cause great distress in our pets. With Thanksgiving coming up this next week, there are several common food items that we need to be aware of that may cause harm.

If you host a party or lunch at your residence and your pets get to mingle amongst the guests, make sure that everyone follows the rule of not feeding your pets. Even as tempted it is to give in to those sad eyes of our pets, if every one of your guests slipped just a bite to Fido before, during or after dinner, that could add up to a large amount of food.

High-fat foods such as turkey skin can be extremely dangerous. The skin holds seasonings, butter, marinade and a whole variety of ingredients that can be toxic for our pets. High-fat foods can easily lead to pancreatitis which will result in an immediate veterinary visit over the holidays.

Cooked bones of any kind are also a big no for our pets. Cooked chicken bones splinter easily and other cooked bones can break easily and get stuck in your pet’s digestive tract. Again, this blockage could cause for an emergency and expensive veterinary visit.

Be sure that when cleaning up after the big meal, any and all bones are disposed of properly. Wrap them up carefully and put them in the outside trash container immediately so as not to be a big enticement for your pet in the household trash. You don’t want to have your pet figure out how to get into the trash and get out the bones when your back is turned entertaining your family and guests.

Seasonings such as onions and garlic contain sulfides which can lead to your pet being anemic and this is extremely harmful to canines. Even cooking onions and garlic will not reduce the threat. Refrain from giving any leftovers to your pet that may contain onions or garlic. Sage is another ingredient that can cause upset stomachs in our pets. Keep it up and away from your family pets.

If you’re a lover of pumpkin pie or sweet potatoes, these tasty foods contains a spice called nutmeg that can cause seizure and central nervous system issues. Without nutmeg and in moderation, both of these food items are good for our pets. It’s sometimes recommended to feed pumpkin in times of upset stomachs but the recommendation is for pure pumpkin only and not the pumpkin pie type.

If you’re into holiday baking, nuts such as macadamias and walnuts are extremely toxic for our pets. It doesn’t take very much time after ingesting such items to cause lots of problems and even death for our pets.

We all have heard that chocolate is a big no-no for our pets. Even with a small amount of chocolate, pets can have a severe reaction. Dough is also a risk for our pets as it can continue to rise within our pet’s stomach and cause bloating and pain for our pets. Dough and batter also contain raw eggs and can be a source of salmonella.

If you imbibe at your get together, make sure Fido or Fifi do not have the opportunity to ingest any alcohol. Hops which is found in beer is extremely toxic and our pets should never be allowed to have any type of alcohol.

Whether you’re celebrating with a gathering at your house or preparing food to take to another party, keep your pets away from the food and drinks. You never know when you might spill something and your pet would be right there to gobble it up.

The above mentioned are just a few of the many items that can be harmful to our pets. This time of year is stressful enough without adding a pet emergency.

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