BBQ Safety Tips for Your Dog & A Great Recipe for All to Share!

Published by Erin Edwards

‘TIS the season: BBQs, swimming pools, family time, & yummy treats! We love this time of the year and we love all the goodies a good BBQ can offer us! With that in mind, remember that your dog LOVES to be where you are and most undoubtedly LOVES all the yummy smelling food you are cooking on that HOT BBQ!

SAFETY FIRST, yummy food (doggie approved food that is) SECOND:

• Remember that your fur baby is not meant to eat or drink everything you are: A piece of hamburger meat or some cooked chicken, no problem usually, but tell your guests to be cautious and to be mindful of their plates and what is dropped. Grapes/raisins, cooked onions, chocolate, nuts/almonds, just to name a few, are typically a “no no” for your doggie as they are toxic to them.
• Keep cooked bones away from your dog: While it may seem natural to throw your dog a bone after you are done with it, cooked bones are actually extremely dangerous to give to dogs. Cooked bones can easily splinter and lodge in your dog’s body, which may puncture body systems and require life-saving surgery to remove.
• Keep alcoholic drinks away from dogs: Both raisins and grapes, the key ingredient in wine, are toxic to dogs. In addition, hops, a primary ingredient in beer, are also toxic to dogs. Dogs are not meant to digest alcoholic beverages; they have much smaller bodies than humans and their systems don’t process it well.
• Teach your dog to stay away from the grill & never leave it unattended when your dog or cat is outside: A simple training command can save a lot of pain and anguish! This will probably be hard for a dog that is food motivated, as the smells coming from the grill will be enticing, but you work on it and a simple “stay” command can really save the day!
• Maybe DON’T use charcoal briquettes: This is a simple suggestion, but if you clean up properly it should not be a problem to use them. Remember, even if the briquettes are no longer warm when they are ingested by your dog, they can get stuck in your dog’s digestive system and they may require surgery to remove.

Pet Treater loves to educate and give fun ideas on how to make the day better. We love to give nutritious and easy ideas to help feed the pack!

Cooking for Dogs Grilled Sweet Potato Recipe:

Recipe by: Felissa Elfenbein

1. Whisk together oil and brown sugar. You don’t even have to peel these tasty potatoes. Scrub the skin well with water and trim off any black or green spots. (Green spots on potatoes contain a toxin called crystalline alkaloid which you don’t want to feed your dogs or your family.)
2. Thinly slice your lemons. Chop sweet potatoes into ¼” thick rounds and toss with lemon and olive oil.
3. Wrap the potato and lemon in foil and place on the grill over medium-high heat. Allow the sweet potatoes to cook for 5 minutes then flip the foil packet. Cook for another 5 – 7 minutes or until fork tender.
4. Remove from the grill and allow potatoes to cool for a few minutes before unwrapping the packet.
5. The brown sugar will caramelize leaving you with some tasty looking lines. Sprinkle finely chopped dill over the sweet potatoes and serve.

Above all: have fun, enjoy the great outdoors and fresh air and yummy BBQ smells, BUT be safe with your dogs and cats in mind!

Pet Treater always looks to treat our fur babies and their “hoomans” alike. Come over to our website and see all the options available on our subscriptions!