Be it Thanksgiving or Christmas, turkey is a staple holiday food in the United States, as well as a common everyday sandwich filling. Humans certainly love the meat, but the question is, can dogs eat turkey, too?

The answer is yes. In fact, turkey is found in many commercial kibbles and wet dog food as it’s a lean and nutritious source of protein. However, pet parents need to be a little more careful if they’re thinking of serving up fresh turkey to their dogs — bones, seasoning and fat can be dangerous.

Keep reading to discover the health benefits of turkey and how to give it to your dog safely.

Top takeaways include:

If you’ve ever worried ‘is turkey bad for dogs?’, the good news is it’s packed full of good stuff. This is just as well given that most dogs love the taste of it. Here are just some of the nutritional perks that come from eating turkey.

Dogs need lots of protein in their diet to keep their energy levels high, maintain healthy muscle growth and help with healing wounds. Turkey is an excellent source of this crucial nutrient — 100g (around 3.5oz) of cooked turkey contains a whopping 30g (1oz) of protein.

This low fat content makes it particularly digestible and suitable to feed dogs suffering from gastrointestinal upset.

Turkey contains several minerals dogs need for a healthy body and mind, including:

That’s not all. Turkey is packed with B-complex vitamins, including Riboflavin, Niacin, Pyridoxine, and B12, which are involved in numerous bodily processes, including:

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the nutrients found in 113 grams of raw turkey breast:

Turkey and chicken have very similar nutrient profiles when it comes to the protein, vitamin, and mineral content. However, turkey has slightly fewer calories than chicken and is a lower-risk food for dogs with food allergies.

Aside from this, these meats are nutritionally similar and both can be a healthy part of the canine diet.

The amount of turkey you can safely give your dog depends on their weight and recommended caloric intake. 

As a rough estimation, you can safely give a dog a quarter of a cup of turkey per 5 pounds of body weight. That means a 20 pound dog (say a French Bulldog) can eat one cup of turkey a day.

Although turkey is good for dogs, it’s not nutritionally complete and cannot replace commercially manufactured dog food that’s been formulated to include everything a dog needs.

As with everything, moderation is key. Overdoing it on turkey can cause an upset stomach and weight gain (which in turn can lead to secondary conditions like high blood pressure, Diabetes, and joint problems).

There are a number of ways turkey can be prepared — and some things to avoid, too.

For anybody asking can dogs eat Thanksgiving turkey, the answer is yes, providing it’s only been roasted, baked, boiled, and sauteed. Pan-fried turkey should be avoided as the excess oil can cause stomach upset.

When it comes to preparation, the meat needs to be completely removed from the bone, as cooked bones can be brittle and lead to choking, constipation and even intestinal blockages.

Only white meat should be given to dogs, as the darker meat found in the legs is higher in fat and calories. The fat-heavy skin should also be avoided, as seasoning can potentially be toxic to dogs.

It’s possible to give dogs raw turkey in some circumstances — for example, as an ingredient in many raw dog food recipes. Parents need to be very careful when it comes to raw meat as it can make dogs sick, especially if they don't normally eat raw food or if the meat is contaminated with Salmonella or Campylobacter.

Yes, dogs can eat ground turkey, providing it’s completely plain and unseasoned. Again, pan-fried ground turkey is a no-go. Be sure to check the nutritional stats as some ground turkey can be made predominantly from the fattier dark meat as opposed to the leaner white meat.

While some authorities don’t see a problem with giving dogs a small amount of turkey bacon, we would avoid it if possible. This is because it can be high in sodium and fat, as well as other ingredients.

The same goes for any other turkey-based processed products, including sausages, burgers and jerky.

Unfortunately, there are some instances in which dogs might not react well to eating turkey. For example, some canines suffer from poultry allergies, which manifests itself in symptoms such as vomiting, wheezing, diarrhea and skin infections. Those affected should be fed dog food that contains neither chicken nor turkey.

If dogs eat too much fat-heavy food — such as dark meat or turkey skin — they might suffer from Acute Pancreatitis. Many vets report that the most common time for the diagnosis of Pancreatitis in dogs is the day following Thanksgiving, which is certainly revealing.

Heavily seasoned food — such as turkey skin — can also cause gastrointestinal upset, including vomiting and diarrhea. This is why it’s important to only give dogs small amounts of plain, white turkey meat.