Key Takeaways
- Thanksgiving can be a fun and delicious time for dogs too!
- Try these homemade dog treats that incorporate traditional Thanksgiving foods.
- Ingredients in these recipes include pumpkin, turkey, and sweet potatoes.
- Make sure to leave the sugar and seasoning out of homemade dog treats, however.
1. Cran-Pumpkin Peanut Butter Homemade Dog Treats
Cranberries are a healthy seasonal addition to any homemade dog treat recipe! As always, serve only occasionally and in moderation to avoid gastrointestinal upset in your pup. Use fresh cranberries or dried, but with no added sugars. Do not substitute raisins, which are deadly for dogs! Pumpkin should also be “pure” – not pumpkin pie filling… Peanut Butter Lovers’ Month is drawing to a close; choose chunky or smooth, but select one free of xylitol, an artificial sweetener dangerous to pets. This dog treat recipe is vegetarian, but not vegan.
2. Allergy-Friendly Sweet Potato Dog Treat Recipe
A Thanksgiving table staple, sweet potatoes are also a tasty treat for dogs. This seasonal superfood is packed with vitamins A and C as well as potassium and fiber. Use fun cookie cutters to customizer your homemade dog treats, like this acorn shape used by The Ledford Life! If you have a puppy, skip the honey – undeveloped immune systems are susceptible to even the tiniest spores of Botulism, which is commonly found in honey. This dog treat recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free, but not vegan.
3. Pumpkin Pie Dog Treats
Do your pups have pumpkin pie FOMO? (That’s “Fear of Missing Out,” typically caused by social media!) Whip up these pumpkin pie dog treats on Thanksgiving for your four-legged family’s feast. Like we mentioned before, avoid xylitol in your peanut butter and only use real pumpkin! This dog treat recipe is vegetarian, but not vegan.
4. Turkey and Sweet Potato Meatballs for Dogs
This dog treat recipe combines the best Thanksgiving flavors – sorry, cranberries! – for a drool-worthy dish guaranteed to distract dogs from the human dinner. Only use unseasoned turkey and no-sugar-added sweet potatoes; food that is too rich or flavored can cause diarrhea in dogs. (And pancreatitis…) Again, avoid giving puppies honey!
5. Pumpkin Apple Dog Breath Mints
Make these after-dinner dog treats to top off your pup’s Thanksgiving dinner. Fresh parsley and mint work to counteract bad breath, while healthful pumpkin and apple provide flavor. Fixing bad breath in dogs can be difficult for everyone involved – brushing a dog’s teeth, anyone? – but homemade dog treats put a little fun back in the process. This dog treat recipe is vegetarian!
