A Dog at Thanksgiving Dinner: A Plan for the Day

A dog at Thanksgiving dinner needs a plan more than a recipe, and the plan is mostly about the door, the bowl, the counter and the trash. We do not make anything for the table. We make single ingredient treats in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and we spend a lot of weekends around crowds and dogs, so this is the order we would do it in.

Before the first guest

The doorbell is the busiest minute of the day. Every guest opens the door, the door stays open while coats come off, and a dog that has never met your aunt is standing right there. Decide ahead of time. Either the dog is on a leash held by one person, or the dog is in a closed room with a chew until the coats are hung up.

Pick one and tell the household. A plan that two people read differently ends with a dog in the driveway. If you have a gate, close it before the first car pulls up, not after.

The dog at Thanksgiving dinner: feed first

Give the dog its regular meal before the guests sit down, in a spot that is not under the table. A dog with a full bowl and a place of its own has less reason to work the room. Put the bowl in a room with a door if you can, and leave it there until the meal is done and picked up.

Keep the timing close to a normal day. Dinner might be at four instead of six, but the bowl, the water and the spot to settle stay the same.

The counter and the trash

A turkey resting on the counter is at nose height for a big dog and within a jump for a small one. Push it back, cover it, and do not walk away from it for a long errand. The same goes for the butter dish, the cheese board and the rolls cooling by the stove.

The trash holds everything the table did not finish. Wrapping, string, bones and skin all go in. Put the bag in a closed cupboard, or carry it to the outside can as soon as it is full. Do not leave it by the back door while you hunt for a new one.

On bones and skin, the American Kennel Club writes: "Skip out on feeding turkey bones or turkey skin. Skin itself can be fatty, and the outer layer of the turkey's skin was likely slathered in butter or oil before cooking." Our longer rundown of each dish is in Thanksgiving foods dogs can eat.

A chew that outlasts the meal

The longest stretch of the day is the hour after dinner, when everyone is on the couch and the dog is looking for a job. A chew gives it one. For a medium or large dog that chews rather than gulps, our Air-Dried Turkey Necks are one option. The only ingredient is turkey neck, and it is sold as one neck.

The neck is whole and air-dried low and slow in small batches in Malvern, not cooked. Cooked poultry bone goes brittle and splinters, which is why a bone off the carcass does not count as a chew. The meat and connective tissue stay wrapped around the bone. Roughly forty to fifty-five percent of a neck is bone, so count it as part of the day and not on top of it.

Stay in the room while the dog works on it. Take the piece away once it is small enough to swallow or shows a sharp edge. It is not sized for toy or small dogs. Stock changes, so check the product page for what is there today.

A pocket of heart pieces

Some guests cannot help it. A dog looks up at them and a hand goes to a plate. Give those guests something to do instead. Put a small handful of treats in a bowl by the door, or in your own pocket, and tell people that this is what the dog gets.

Our Freeze-Dried Beef Heart fits that job. The only ingredient is beef heart, the pieces are medium sized, and the texture is firm and snaps into small pieces. It is milder than liver. The label says to feed it as a treat or meal topper and not as a complete diet, to provide fresh water at all times, and to always supervise your dog while feeding.

The kids table

Children are the most generous people at any dinner and the least likely to ask first. Give them the same rule as the adults: nothing from a plate goes to the dog, and anything the dog gets comes from the treat bowl. Handing over one piece on request makes a good job for a child.

Dessert is where the rule matters most. The American Kennel Club puts it in one line: "Keep the slab of pumpkin pie on your plate."

Cleanup

Cleanup is when plates are stacked low and carried past the dog. Scrape them in the kitchen with the dog behind the gate or in the room with the chew. Do not leave a loaded dishwasher door hanging open. Wipe the floor where the gravy dripped, and check under the table for anything that landed there. Leftovers go in the refrigerator before anyone sits back down.

If dinner is somewhere else

Pack the dog's bag the way we load the car before a show: leash, bowl, chew, treat bag and a towel, all by the door before the pie comes out. Tell the host the dog is coming and ask where it can eat and sleep. Bring your own plan for the door and the trash, because the host may not have one.

See our Thanksgiving page for everything we make for the day.

Questions

Can I give my dog turkey from the table?

A small plain piece of turkey meat with no seasoning, skin or bones is fine. If it came off the platter with butter and herbs on it, skip it.

Where should the dog be during the meal?

Fed and settled in a separate room with a chew, or on a leash next to the person who knows the dog best. Under the table is the one place we would not pick.

What do I do about the open door?

Put the dog on a leash or in a closed room before the first guest arrives. One person owns that job until the coats are off and the door is shut.

Can the dog have a turkey neck at the table?

Not a cooked one. Our air-dried turkey neck is a chew for medium and large dogs, given away from the table, with someone watching the whole time.

What if the dog gets into something it should not have?

Take whatever is left away, note what it was and how much, and call your veterinarian. Have the number somewhere you can find it on a holiday.

How do I handle guests who feed the dog?

Give them a bowl of treats and a job, and ask them to use that instead of their plate. People usually want to help, so hand them the right thing.