What can happen if your dog eats turkey bones?

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 26: Executive Sous Chef Judith Cooper carves a turkey for Rosa Mexicano's Thanksgiving dinner near Lincoln Center on November 26, 2020 in New York City. The pandemic continues to burden restaurants and bars as businesses struggle to thrive with evolving government restrictions and social distancing plans which impact keeping businesses open yet challenge profitability. (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 26: Executive Sous Chef Judith Cooper carves a turkey for Rosa Mexicano's Thanksgiving dinner near Lincoln Center on November 26, 2020 in New York City. The pandemic continues to burden restaurants and bars as businesses struggle to thrive with evolving government restrictions and social distancing plans which impact keeping businesses open yet challenge profitability. (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

The holidays are here and that means things are getting hectic in the kitchen. The turkey is being cooked for Thanksgiving. Your dog is underfoot. And that can mean that things get missed, accidents happen, and sometimes those turkey bones that were meant for the trash end up in your dog’s mouth.

We already know that turkey meat can be safe for our dogs to eat, but what happens if they get their teeth on the carcass of the bird?

Honestly, turkey bones, as with chicken bones and other forms of poultry are actually very bad for our dogs. These bones shatter easily and create dangerous shards that can do a lot of damage if consumed.

What can happen if dogs eat turkey bones?

While it is entirely possible that your dog will be fine if they eat a bone (we have had it happen and spent days freaking out at any little sound our pup made), the reality is that there are some very scary things that can happen if our dog gets into the bones.

According to the AKC, these are just some of the things that could happen if your dog eats the turkey bones:

"Mouth and tongue injuriesObstruction of the throat or intestinal tractChokingPossibly piercing stomach and intestine liningConstipationRectal bleeding from sharp bone fragmentsBlockages that require emergency surgery"

With this list of possibilities in mind, it is definitely important to keep those poultry bones away from your dog. And if that means taking out the trash before dinner even starts, that may be what we have to do in order to keep our dogs safe this holiday season.

Did you know that turkey bones could do so much damage to our dogs? What do you do to keep the bones away from your pup? Let us know any tips or tricks you have in the comments below.