Let’s Talk Turkey

Let’s talk turkey

It’s the holidays – party time, gift giving, time for celebrations and dinners and friends and family. It’s easy to want to involve the pets in the festivities. Throw down some turkey, offer up some stuffing and some potatoes and gravy – not a lot, just enough to let them feel a part of things. Not a good idea. Your dog can end up with a case of holiday-itis. It comes in a number of variations but the symptoms often start out similarly – depression, lack of appetite, vomiting with or without diarrhea, or sometimes constipation. There are a number of illnesses that we encounter all too frequently during the holidays. “Dietary indiscretion” as we sometimes euphemistically describe it, can just lead to plain old vomiting and diarrhea, which can sometimes become protracted and dangerous due to the possible dehydration and/or electrolyte loss. Just a sudden departure from the common everyday feeding routine can throw some pets into a tizzy. Pancreatitis can be difficult to diagnose but is sometimes triggered by exposure to one of those greasy holiday meals, like roasted turkey with potatoes and gravy and all the fixings. It is often characterized by a patient that just doesn’t act or feel well. Frequently there is vomiting and sometimes diarrhea, and a visit to the vet or even a hospital stay may be the order of the day. Even if your pet is accustomed to eating table scraps and gets this sort of food as a matter of routine, he may still have a problem, although he is much less likely to react adversely. However, if your pet leads the kind of life recommended by most veterinarians and gets her nutritional needs strictly from a commercial kibbled diet, then your effort to treat her to a special day may result in some potentially serious problems. Hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (HGE) is a condition that often comes on for no apparent reason at all, but can be triggered by a case of “dietary indiscretion.” HGE is characterized by vomiting and/or diarrhea, usually with blood in it, and usually strikes the smaller dog breeds, although I have seen it in Labradors and Golden Retrievers and other large breeds. In HGE the vomiting and diarrhea is accompanied by a fluid shift within the body, with fluid moving out of the vascular compartment and into the GI tract and the circulating blood can become concentrated, sometimes to the point where it literally becomes thick, potentially putting a strain on the heart and cardiovascular system to keep functioning. Treatment involves hospitalization and the rapid administration of a large volume of IV fluids in an attempt to dilute the blood back down to its normal consistency.

One other issue that is seen more often at holiday time is constipation, with or without a potential intestinal blockage. Sometimes it involves old Roscoe breaking into the garbage after everyone has gone to bed and having his own holiday with the bones he has found in the garbage can. Other times an overzealous owner offers too many bones as a holiday “treat.” Either way, an excessive amount of bone can result in a potentially serious blockage, usually down in the lower intestinal tract. Many people think that the danger associated with eating bones involves the sharp shards of bone fragments potentially piercing the esophagus or the intestine. Although that is certainly a possibility, a far greater risk is that of developing a fecolith, a large rock made of bone that forms in the colon. As the chewed up bone passes through the stomach and the intestine, the protein portion of the bone is digested away, leaving just the rock-hard mineral portion, made of mainly calcium and phosphorous. As this material passes on into the lower intestine it is compacted and then dehydrated by the large bowel. It is the job of the colon as ingesta passes through, to reabsorb excess fluid so that formed feces are produced rather than diarrhea. When digested bone passes through and the water is reabsorbed, what is left takes on the characteristics of a chunk of stone. The nature of the bone causes the rock to have tiny pointed spicules protruding from the surface all around and the result is a mass that often irritates and gets stuck in the colon and cannot be passed. This sometimes necessitates general anesthesia and digital rectal exploration, repeated enemas, and sometimes even surgery to remove the offending chunks of bone. This can happen with any kind of bone but is most likely with poultry type bones. Don’t put your dog through this kind of torture. Just don’t offer up the bones, and don’t allow access to the garbage.

The other type of holiday blockage is sometimes simply the result of too much fun. Dog owner decides to buy Fifi or Max a dozen rawhide treats for the holidays and offers too many at one time. Some dogs will wolf down as many as they can possibly swallow, and an obstruction may result. Usually, when given in any kind of moderation, rawhide is readily digestible. Just remember that overdoing it can overwhelm even the most efficient digestive tract. Moderation is the key!

So make your holiday season a joy. Enjoy your turkey, or your ham, or whatever it is you traditionally choose, but be reasonable with what you offer to your pets. Both cats and dogs can become victims of too much of a good thing, and sometimes it takes very little to be too much. If a problem arises involving more than one or two brief episodes of vomiting or diarrhea, get him/her in to your veterinarian and nip it in the bud. It may not just be cheaper and easier to catch it early, it could save your pet’s life.