"Thanksgiving feast" for dogs?

Aw, I think that’s sweet. I’d do it. I’m not sure how you tuck in a dog, but the feast sounds like something any dog would like.

What kind of chicken and what about the bones?

Give him a pre-trip feast at home and then a post-trip one at home after you return (unless you are very sure that he can read the calender.)

Sorry, I had to stop briefly to laugh.

Roast a turkey leg, cut off the meat and leave it on the counter where he is not supposed to go. Let him sneak up and secretly wolf it down. A few pieces of cooked bacon draped over the meat wouldn’t go amiss.

Or, do both. Having to pay a premium will assuage your guilt at boarding him at the vet’s. And you are correct. He will feel left out and neglected if you don’t.

(I love this question.)

@livelaughlove21 I do think that one reason the techs do it is to have some fun with the dogs on that day.

@Adirondackwannabe I’m sure they are giving healthy chicken without the bones. I do see it as part of anthromorphizing our pets.

Duh, they are vets. They should know what they’re doing.

@janbb I’d be concerned that other people will opt for it and get the good food and your dog will be sitting in his cage eating kibble, while he can smell the chicken. I know they’re just dogs, but I’d feel bad about that. Bad enough to pay the extra money. When Daisy is put in a cage, she acts as if she’s being punished. Being teased with scent and denied tasty food would only make that puppy dog face even more pitiful, I think. If I was the tech, I’d sneak some to all the dogs.

I don’t have a dog, but if my kennel offered such a “Feast” for my cat, I’d decline. I’d be afraid it would be too much of a departure from his normal diet and too rich. Anyway, every day is a holiday for Sy.

@livelaughlove21 Yes, that is why I am inclined to do it but I do feel a bit guilted into it. “All the other kids got a cupcake but my Mom said I couldn’t have one.”

Whatever floats your boat, but..I’d call him and say ” Hello.” haha
The rest is projection, he won’t know the chicken leg is from you. lol
I used to call my pets when I was traveling and they were always excited to hear my voice. Say familiar things to them. Mine was ” Home soon!” They all knew what that meant, I said it every time I pulled out of the driveway and when I got back I said ” I am home!” Serious association. haha

@janbb; Milo here; Guilt is good. It took Gail three days to notice that I had been licking the ¼ lb. stick of unsalted butter she had left on the counter. I made sure to space the licks evenly so that one side wasn’t noticeably lower than the other. Then she caught me at it.

If Auggie were still bothering, I bet that this would be the question-of-the-day.

@Coloma I doubt @janbb thinks Frodo will know the chicken is from her. I don’t think that’s where the feelings of guilt are coming from. Regardless of where she thinks it comes from, I want Daisy to get a tasty treat if the other dogs get one.

@livelaughlove21 Of course! However, “guilt” is a projection of our sentiments on the animal. Animals live in the moment, they don’t have egos likes humans. They are not sitting around thinking that they have been abandoned or making up mind stories about why they are in a kennel. haha
They may feel, on an emotional level, stress, but otherwise it is us that project our thoughts onto them.

@gailcalled raw turkey leg would probably be better than cooked. The tendons in the turkey leg get stiff and brittle when cooked and can cause punctures in an animals digestive tract. Raw they are soft and not brittle.

I would say go for it, your emotional well being is worth $20.

Well, they’d better include an afternoon of football and an all-nighter at Walmart. ;)

@WestRiverrat Yes – I’m inclined to.

Uh, no. I would be rolling my eyes.

@syz I know, it is a little squicky.

@glacial for the win.

I feel bad for pups whose owners won’t spare a little extra cash for them to get a special treat while they’re stuck in a cage for a week. If a pet owner can afford to go away for several days for the holidays, they can afford $20 for their pet.

@glacial What about the post-Thanksgiving family argument? Do you think you have to pay extra for that?

@janbb Definitely, but I’m pretty sure they’ll throw in some racist remarks for free.

@livelaughlove21 Yes, I guess more than the food, it’s the extra attention I am hoping for.

OTOH, when they were a small vet’s, my Cocker had the run of the place when he boarded. Now you can pay $19 extra for a walk and a playtime daily! That’s on top of the regular fee.

@glacial But Frodo is black and cream!

@janbb Logic is never a deterrent where family is concerned!

@janbb That sucks! We’ve only boarded Daisy once so far (she’s 1), but the place we used walked them 2–3 times a day and played with them and/or have them attention throughout the day. And it was about $15/day. But yeah, I’d definitely pay extra just for the attention. Daisy craves attention like crazy and loves interacting with anyone that’s willing, so I know she’d be miserable without it. Spoiled little brat. :)

@livelaughlove21 I’m running on the theory that Frodo is so adorable that he will get extra attention anyway. And they do take them out and in several times a day.

@janbb Yeah, Daisy always makes a big impression. The people at the vet fell in love with her this week when she had to be hospitalized. They even let her come up front with the receptionists for awhile. She’s cute with a big personality.

@gailcalled I think we should club together to get Auggie a thanksgiving feast.

Depending on your point of view, they’re being either very clever or extremely cynical.
They surely must know that every owner is going to pay the little extra in order to save their pooch from missing out. For a dog to smell those tantalising odours & yet be fed basic rations would be sheer cruelty. I’d be very upset if my dawg didn’t get to pull a cracker & wear a silly paper hat.

I’m on the fence, part of me thinks it’s sweet but part if me wants to roll my eyes like @syz. If it makes you feel better then what’s the harm in it, the dog won’t know that you’ve arranged it but it may make the stay in kennels a little more positive for him which could be useful in the future. I know so many dogs that get really stressed in kennels and little treats like this may be a way of reducing that stress so there is a positive association with kennels making future stays more relaxed.

The cynical side of me says, it’s a money making scam and don’t fall for it, instead, provide your own treats (which you could probably buy cheaper than what they are charging) and ask them to give them to your dog every so often throughout his stay.

@Leanne1986 I know; I’‘m on that fence too.

@flutherother: Am I missing something? Is Auggie going to spend Nov.28 at the kennel? Did she mention somewhere that she is not having her own feast?

@janbb; Think of how much pleasure that $20 has already afforded me and most of the other respondents? Money well spent. And also a nice laugh for the vets and their assistants who have volunteered to spend the day at the kennel with the doggies and not with their families.

(Given some of my Thanksgivings over the years, I might well have loved being able to hang out at the kennels, handing out treats, tucking the animals in, and maybe even sharing a large cushion with a Frodo or Jessie for a joint nap. Did I just say “joint”? Sometimes MIlo will lie on my knee while I am in bed; the heat feels wonderful and it’s free.)

I keep coming back to this question and I am also on the fence here, so I don’t know what to answer.
I don’t give my dog people food other than green beans (per my vet) when I have them, so Jessie is used to smelling the good food smells, but not getting the food.
On the other hand, she is the only dog in the house. In the case of the kennel, other dogs are getting something that she is not.
It’s a dilemma.

Off topic, but we are talking about kennels. A man that I graduated with that started the first doggie hotel type kennel in my area passed away yesterday. He was a very good person, and a fellow dog lover. I am sad for his family.

Roast chicken and a treat? Isn’t roast chicken a treat? It is in my house. After roast chicken, the only thing that my dogs would consider a treat is filet mignon. If that’s it, well worth the twenty bucks…

@gailcalled That’s one reason I posed the question.

@chyna Frodo doesn’t get people food either but I think this might be worth for the extra attention.

@janbb: Now that you’re home, how did everyone survive? Was he glad to see you or had he transferred his allegiance to the treating, feeding, tucking-in, LOTR-fans vet assistants?

As Gail is hinting, here’s the info from his report card. The vet techs said he had eaten, slept and played well. In the comments, they said while he had not gotten to Mordor, he had made adventures of his own at the kennel and that Aragorn says hello. Hooray for geeky vet techs; his trainer at Pet Smart is also a geek who loves that he is Frodo and asks the other workers if they know who that is.

Frodo came home clean and fluffy from his bath there, but worked hard on getting his nice doggie smell back on a long walk. He is showing no signs of trauma from his separation but bounded into my arms when I picked him up.

I didn’t, however, hear any details of the T’day feast but have uploaded a photo of Frodo with Santa to FB.

^^ Report card? Report card? Are you showing trauma from the long separation? And do you have the nice Janbb smell that he is used to or do you reek of påte de foie gras, pommes frites, Chanel N˚ 5 and a nice Puligny-Montrachet?

Here are his pictures from their website of his recent stay at “camp.” I don’t think he suffers much at all there!

He seemed to be flourishing…and he continues to be uber-photogenic. Did he greet you warmly?

A bit of peeing, a jump and then a turn over and rub my belly. Yes – I’d say it was a warm greeting! And he is racing around in and out at home.

They didn’t share what his Christmas day bedtime story was though!

Maybe some calming Zen parables and a brief moment of shared meditation?