The sheer amount of misinformation out there concerning what is safe for dogs can be a cause of dismay for vets, myself included. With the holidays upon us and bringing with it much merriment and feasting, plenty of my clients have been asking me about giving leftover bones to their dogs. After all, dogs descended from wolves and wolves feed on bones in the wild, so shouldn't our family pets be able to do the same? 

I always tell them to please AVOID giving any type of bone to a dog. ALL bones have the tendency to splinter, and the shards can become lodged anywhere in your dog's digestive tract. I have seen tongues speared by bone splinters, stomach linings pierced by bone shards, and horrible intestinal lacerations that could have so easily been avoided. Potential injuries aside, even if the bone pieces manage to successfully navigate the gastrointestinal tract, they are often not fully digested, leading to a giant wad of solid gritty material moving through the colon- Well hello there, severe constipation! 

Therefore, regardless of what wild wolves may do in their free time, I would never dream of giving my beloved dog a bone to gnaw on. I've unfortunately seen the consequences and they are not pretty. Instead, we give her rawhide, pig ears, and chew toys, which satisfy her innate instinct to gnaw.

Also, for nearly the exact reasons as mentioned above, PLEASE don't throw sticks for your dog to catch or use them to play with your dog! I can't help but cringe when I see people do this at the dog park. We vets have even coined a lovely little term for the damage caused by sticks that splinter on the moment of impact: "stick injuries". We see far too many of these cases, with pieces of sticks lodged in the soft mouth tissue or throat lacerations. More than once I've had to sedate a dog to remove a piece of a stick that became lodged between the two upper canine teeth. So whatever you throw for your dog or give him to gnaw on, please leave the sticks in the dirt and the bones in the bird.

At holiday time, it's a good to remind our readers of foods that can harm pets:

-High-fat "treats" such as turkey drippings, bacon, cheese, pumpkin pie, stuffing, etc: I know it's tempting to let your buddy share the feast with you, but this can lead to gastroenteritis (vomiting and diarrhea) and pancreatitis (severe inflammation of the pancreas that requires hospitalization). It's always a sure bet that we'll see plenty of these cases the day after Thanksgiving.

-Onions or anything in the onion family (garlic, chives, leeks, green onions, etc): Even small amounts can lead to severe anemia and death

-Grapes and raisins: Cause acute kidney failure

-Chocolate of any kind but esp. dark chocolate:Causes diarrhea and vomiting which may progress to muscle twitching, seizures, and coma

-Avocado: Can cause gastroenteritis

-All types of alcohol: Pets can become intoxicated and sick to their stomach on even small amounts, or can go into kidney/liver failure

-Sugar-free foods with artificial sweeteners, esp. Xylitol (found in sugar-free gum): Can cause low blood sugar and even liver failure

But hey, it's not all doom and gloom! Some foods that you CAN give your dog this season that he may really enjoy include:

-Pumpkin (plain canned or fresh) and butternut squash: Don't overdo it, but a tablespoon or so is a great treat for many dogs, mine included. It is full of fiber so can be used to stimulate a bowel movement.

-Kale and dark leafy greens: My dog will do anything for a kale stem, believe it or not. If your dog likes to eat grass outside, he'll probably go nuts for kale! The only possible concern is if your dog is prone to bladder stones, the high calcium content in these greens could be undesirable since some stones are composed of calcium carbonate, but you could still give it as an occasional treat.

-Other fruits and veggies: apples, pears, citrus, carrots, bananas, peas, green beans. I avoid the more "obscure" fruits and veggies for my dog, such as say, kumquats, because we just don't have enough information to know whether they could be toxic. As always, some dogs may be intolerant of a certain food, so when trying out a new treat please give only a small amount to make sure that he doesn't become sick.