A Dog at Christmas Dinner: The Day, Hour by Hour

A dog at Christmas dinner does best with a plain plan: a set place to eat, a closed trash can, and nothing from the table that you would not hand over plain. Most of the trouble on the day comes from the morning and the cleanup, not the meal.

We make single ingredient freeze-dried and air-dried treats in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and this page is the order of a Christmas Day as we would run it for a dog. We wrote a similar one for Thanksgiving dinner, and we will not repeat all of it here.

The morning: paper, ribbon and gifts

Set a trash bag by the tree before the first gift comes out and fill it as you go. Paper, tape and the little plastic ties that hold a toy to its cardboard all go straight in. Ribbon is the one to watch. It is long, and a dog can swallow a length of it before anyone looks over.

Chocolate is the other one. Stockings, boxed candy and the foil coins people tuck into gift bags all count. Put anything with chocolate in it up high before the first gift is opened, and leave it there until the day is done. Wrapping paper does not stop a nose. For a dog, chocolate is skip it, even a little.

The door and the guests

The front door opens and shuts all afternoon. Give the dog a room with a bed and a chew while people arrive, and bring the dog out once the coats are put away. Coats and bags left on a bed or the floor have gum and mints in the pockets, so ask guests to use the hooks.

Tell people the rules once, at the door. No food from the table. Treats come only from the bag on the counter. An adult lets the dog out the back.

Where the dog eats, and when

Feed the regular meal about an hour before the family sits down. Use the usual bowl in the usual spot, away from the table and the kitchen traffic.

What goes on a dog's plate from yours is short. A small plain piece of turkey meat is fine. Skin, gravy, stuffing and ham stay on your plate, because they come with fat, salt, butter and usually onion. If your dog is on a special diet, ask your veterinarian before the day, not during it.

The counter and the trash

The carcass is the biggest thing in the kitchen after the roast, and the most interesting. Cooked bone goes brittle and splinters, so turkey and ham bones do not go to the dog. Bag the bones, knot the bag, and carry it to the outside bin. A can with a lid under the sink does not count if the cabinet door opens with a nose.

Push the roasting pan, the ham and the platters back from the edge of the counter. Dogs reach further than people think. For food by food answers, see the Christmas foods guide.

A chew that outlasts the meal

Dinner takes an hour or two. A long chew in the dog's own spot gives it something to do in the meantime. Ours is Air-Dried Turkey Necks, and the only ingredient is turkey neck. Each order is one neck.

We air-dry them whole, low and slow, in small batches in Malvern. They are never cooked, since cooked poultry bone goes brittle and splinters. The meat and connective tissue stay wrapped around the bone. A neck is for medium and large dogs that chew rather than gulp, and it is not for toy or small breeds.

Stay in the room. Keep a session to fifteen or twenty minutes, and take the piece away once it is small enough to swallow or shows a sharp edge.

Heart pieces for the guests who cannot help themselves

Every table has one person who slips food under it. Give that person a job instead. Count a small handful of freeze-dried beef heart into a bag, hand it over, and say that when it is gone, it is gone.

Ours is Freeze-Dried Beef Heart Dog Treats. The only ingredient is beef heart, and we freeze-dry it in small batches in Malvern. It comes in 1.5, 3 and 6 ounce bags. The texture is firm and it snaps into small pieces, milder than liver. On our scorecard the piece size is medium, the crunch is 3 of 5 and the training value is 5 of 5. Snap each piece in half before it changes hands.

The label lists about 75.3 kcal per ounce, which is a reason to count. It also says to feed it as a treat or meal topper, not as a complete diet, and to supervise your dog while feeding. Reseal the bag after opening and store it cool and dry. You can see the rest in our Christmas dog treats collection.

The kids and the new toys

Cut the tags, the plastic ties and the cardboard backing off a new dog toy before it changes hands, and give the dog one toy at a time. Children's toys are a separate pile on a separate shelf. Small parts and batteries go up high the moment the box is open.

Show children how to give a treat on a flat palm, one piece at a time. Let an adult carry the bag.

The cleanup

Cleanup is when plates sit low and everybody is tired. Scrape plates at the counter, never on the way to the sink. Take the trash out as soon as the bag is full instead of leaving it by the door.

Then walk the room. Look under the tree and behind the chairs for dropped ribbon, candy and bits of ornament. Put the leftovers away before they are set out to cool.

The drive to the second dinner

Plenty of families have two dinners and a drive between them. Pack the dog's bag the way we pack for a car show: the bowl, a towel, water and the heart pieces. Give the neck at home, not in the back seat.

At the second house, run the same plan again. Pick the spot for the bowl, close the trash, and tell the guests the rules at the door.

Questions

Can my dog have turkey from the Christmas table?

A small plain piece of turkey meat is fine. Plain means no skin, no bone, no gravy, no butter and no seasoning. If it was basted or came out of the stuffing, keep it on your plate.

Should the dog eat before or after the family?

Before. Feed the regular meal about an hour ahead, in the usual spot, so its dinner is finished before yours starts.

What about the ham?

Skip it. Ham is cured and salty, and the glaze is sugar. It stays on your plate, and so does the fat trimmed off it.

Can my dog have a little chocolate from a stocking?

Skip it, even a little. Put stockings and gift bags up high before anyone opens anything, and check the pockets of visiting coats too.

How many treats should guests hand out?

Set the number before anyone arrives. Count the pieces into a small bag, snap them in half, and let the bag run out. Anything the dog gets from a guest counts toward the day.

Is a turkey neck right for a small dog?

No. A neck is for medium and large dogs that chew rather than gulp. For a small dog, use heart pieces snapped smaller.