A Holiday Dog Photo Contest, Success Tips for Thanksgiving, and The Origins Of The TV Dinner

In partnership with

The North Pole Pup Parade Holiday Pet Photo Contest is underway!

Now accepting entries!

• One winner will receive a $30 USD digital Amazon gift certificate. That could pay for a new blanket, an upgraded water bowl, or some treats.

• The winner will be chosen by you! Entries are added to this voting website daily. One vote per email and IP address. Real-time vote tallies are displayed after each vote.

• It’s free to enter one photo of your dog or dogs showing off their festive attitude. Your dog is the star of this contest and so photos that include people will be excluded. It’s perfectly fine to include toys, figurines, statues, trees or other non-people accessories.

• Entries will be accepted through December 15, 2024.

• Voting closes on December 15, 2024.

• The winner will be notified by email on December 16, 2024.

What’s Wrong With Your Dog

Plan For the Gobble Gobble Goodness

As your belly eagerly awaits that third slice of pie on Thanksgiving, give some prep thought into how to make sure your dog is safe this Thanksgiving. It may seem like a treat to give your dog something from the feast, but not if it makes your dog's belly upset or is very harmful. Your dog may be planning a turkey heist so grab your spoon and let's dip into the cornucopia of tips. 

This is not an exhaustive list and please contact your vet with any questions, but below are some common no-no's for dogs on Thanksgiving.

• Cooked Bones: Turkey or chicken bones can splinter and cause choking or intestinal blockages.

• Onions and Garlic: Common in stuffing and seasoning, these can damage a dog’s red blood cells, leading to anemia.

• Grapes and Raisins: Found in salads or desserts, they can cause kidney failure in dogs.

• Chocolate: Especially dark chocolate, contains theobromine, which is toxic to dogs.

• Alcohol: Even small amounts can lead to alcohol poisoning.

• Xylitol: Found in sugar-free desserts and gum, it can cause a dangerous drop in blood sugar and liver failure.

• Butter and Fat Trimmings: These can cause pancreatitis, a painful and potentially dangerous condition.

• Nutmeg: A common spice in desserts and sweet potatoes, it can cause seizures and tremors in dogs.

• Stuffing and Casseroles: Often contain onions, garlic, butter, or other harmful ingredients.

• Mashed Potatoes with Additives: Plain potatoes are safe, but added butter, cream, and cheese can upset your dog’s stomach.

• Ham and Pork Products: High in salt and fat, they can lead to pancreatitis or salt poisoning.

• Cranberry Sauce with Sugar or Artificial Sweeteners: Can be too rich or contain xylitol.

• Gravy: High in fat and seasoning, which can lead to gastrointestinal upset.

• Desserts: Pies, cookies, and cakes may contain chocolate, xylitol, or other harmful ingredients. This of course includes pumpkin pie.

• Unbaked Dough: Yeast in dough can expand in a dog’s stomach, causing bloating or serious complications.

Basically, consider everything on that day (and others!) as harmful to your dog. If you bake with pure pumpkin puree, maybe set some aside of that plain pure pumpkin puree and on a separate tray bake some dog treats (we gave a recipe in an earlier newsletter). Be sure to watch Uncle Doug too because inevitably someone will pull the trash out to make it convenient to dump the food from the plates. Your dog can sniff out trouble faster than you can say "I ate too much". So secure your trash, keeping it away from your dog. Also, it may take your sister a while to get inside the house or leave at the end because of her ongoing knee problems, so factor that in for when the door is open for an extended period of time. 

Surprisingly (or not surprisingly) your dog may go off and find a relaxing spot that is away from the noise. Have a spot ready for him (or a couple of them). This doesn't seem too unusual because my dad leaves the table as his fork drops the last bite. He goes to his chair and inevitably by the time we get up to do the dishes, he is sound asleep. Maybe my dog learned it from him. Also, have a special dinner and dessert prepared for what your dog is able to eat. Each dog is different but my vet approved his dinner and dessert, which makes me feel good. Dinner is his dog food with a handful of tiny carrot slices, plain tiny slices of apple, and (plain) fresh green beans. You could even make it into a stew by adding water and a tiny amount of wet dog food. For dessert, he gets a frozen lickimat with wet dog food or a frozen treat kong with his dry and wet food inside. Plenty of options. And of course, bring some toys including interactive toys to keep your dog entertained, if possible.

Share the love this Thanksgiving (and not the food) and your dog will enjoy his extra snuggles and food options like listed above and approved by his vet. Now your mind can go back to that third slice of pie. 

Proud Parent

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Veterinary costs up 60% over the past decade

Veterinarians nationwide reported that corporate managers pushed clinics to focus on profit, encouraging them to see more pets, order more tests, and upsell services.

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Keep talking, don’t skip massages, and consolidate

Button up: Impressive communication
A+ routine: I hope my dog doesn’t see this video
Modern humor: Some truth here

I wish school could have been this much fun. Useful tips shared by a real human being who has a sense of humor. Check it out.

Feast On This

You Can Thank Thanksgiving For This Invention

What time is dinner? We've all heard it from that one particular family member, young or old. Tell them about two minutes from now because you pop that thing in the microwave and voila, dinner! I'm talking about tv dinners, and some include turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. It likely isn't decadent like your family's homemade meal, but it serves a nice purpose when in a pinch (or when you are too lazy to cook). 

In 1953, Swanson, the frozen food giant, had quite the turkey pickle of sorts in that after Thanksgiving they found themselves with a whopping 260 tons of unsold turkey (I guess someone was drinking wine when forecasting that one). Yikes, right? It was a logistical nightmare wrapped in freezer burn. So an employee, Gerry Thomas, was inspired by those compartmentalized trays for airplane meals and thought let's pack turkey, cornbread stuffing, peas, and sweet potatoes into individual trays and then they could sell them as pre-made meals! And boom, just like that, lickity split, the TV dinner was born. 

So you have Thanksgiving to thank for revolutionizing dinner forever. If you are in a pinch or if you are tired of hearing your spouse nag what time is dinner (without helping of course), how about mere minutes from freezer to microwave to table. Maybe put it on your fancy dinnerware and get rid of that evidence. 

Psst! Does your little one like to receive presents? 

To save you time, we scavenged through over 10,000 items on Amazon to find the best stuff. We were dismayed that many items are already gone so we stocked up in our own store to make sure you can find the perfect gift. We offer two ways to shop here.

Chuckle

The fib is C. Cranberries are tested for ripeness by bouncing them.

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