Holiday Food Challenges
Holiday indulging. Many internet comments may scare you into not feeding holiday meal and party treats to your dogs or cats. Hopefully everyone reading this newsletter is already feeding a fresh food diet, or at least supplementing with fresh food. If so, your only concern is not to allow them to eat more than they normally would. Maybe have a pretty dog/cat designed platter on the table with a little bit of all they can eat. You know your companion’s limits. Guests are to feed only from that platter.
You may be feeding raw and it is fine to feed cooked turkey or other meats and fish today. If the giblets did not go into the stuffing, they are super foods.
Maybe an extra dose of probiotics/fermented foods would be good a few days ahead of time.
If your dog does overeat and is struggling, be patient and treat with some fasting, bland diet, flower essences, acupressure, belly massage, lots of loving, homeopathy and of course, if needed, call your holistic vet. Do not have one yet – make finding one your Christmas or New Year gift to your dog or cat.
Do be careful to not allow access to the carcass and bones of any of the cooked meat. Have you trained your dog to not get into the trash yet?
Myths abound
Several reports on the net that you should not feed cookies made with nutmeg – a common holiday spice. Not true. Research showed you would need to feed tablespoons to possibly cause any problems.
Onion, garlic, avocado, are often cited as toxic – again only in large amounts
Chocolate is popular in the holidays and you know if your dog and cat can counter surf! Don’t panic! Most chocolate has too low a level of theobromine (over stimulates the heart) to affect an animal. Keep this web site handy – maybe in your holistic first aid kit - https://www.petmd.com/dog/chocolate-toxicity. You enter approximate weight of dog or cat and type of chocolate and it lets you know if there could be a problem. A friend of mine had a 5 pound toy poodle who ate a 1 pound fundraising type of chocolate bar, wrapping and all. The dog was fine. No real chocolate was probably even in that bar. The healthier your dog and cat the less likely they are to have problems as well, so make that your holiday goal – to take another step or two towards full health and vitality.
While only a few macadamia nuts may cause some symptoms in small dogs, the symptoms are self limiting, so do not worry.
Lots of other foods, mostly fat related, have been cited – not to worry, though temporary digestive upsets may occur if they are not already being fed a fresh food diet of good variety (much healthier microbiome).
Not a myth
Avoid THC (cannabis) even in foods (brownies, etc.) If ingested, do contact your veterinarian. Dogs and cats are very sensitive to THC – CBD, of course, is fine.
Alcohol. That eggnog could seem very very tempting due to the cream content.
Do not panic about a few grapes, but maybe a note on the fruit display to not feed to the dogs and cats. Deaths do still occur from kidney damage, though not always definitely from the grapes. A 2026 study in the UK reported only around a 10% rate of death.
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