🐕 Can My Dog Eat Turkey?

Turkey is a lean, high-quality protein that's commonly used in premium dog foods. Plain cooked turkey breast provides protein, B vitamins, zinc, and selenium with less fat than dark meat. However, holiday turkey presents several hazards: it's typically seasoned with garlic, onion, and herbs that can be toxic; the skin is loaded with butter and fat; and cooked turkey bones are extremely dangerous as they splinter easily. If you want to share turkey with your dog, set aside some plain, unseasoned breast meat before adding seasonings during cooking.

Plain turkey: very safe. Seasoned turkey: potential garlic/onion toxicity, GI upset. Turkey skin: vomiting, pancreatitis. Cooked bones: choking, intestinal puncture.

If your dog ate plain turkey, great! If your dog ate seasoned turkey with garlic/onion, monitor for toxicity symptoms. If your dog swallowed turkey bones, contact your vet.

Plain chicken breast, lean beef, cooked salmon, and lean ground turkey are other safe protein choices.