Paws Up! 10 Usual Suspects at Thanksgiving & How to Save Your Dog From Them

Paws Up! Bite-sized bonus episodes offer tips, tricks, breed profiles, and approachable science.

On this episode, lead trainer of Alaska Dog Works, Michele Forto discusses the usual suspects at Thanksgiving and how to save your dog from them. 

Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude, personal reflection, and binge eating. While it sounds great in theory, the event is only as enjoyable as those you share it with. And often, that involves a collection of characters you wouldn’t choose to regularly share a meal with. But before you start planning/daydreaming about the gallons of wine or in my case fine bourbon it’ll take to get through the evening, recognize that you are not the only one suffering. As much as you may loathe coming face to face with the various personalities that inevitably derail turkey day — it’s worse for your pet. For them, Thanksgiving is scarier than fireworks, the vacuum cleaner, and nail clippers combined. So just as our pets save us from loneliness, boredom, and a life without meaning, we too must protect them from our irritating friends and family, if only for one day.