Ground turkey can be healthy for pets as long as the meat's cooked right and without unnecessary flavorings. Ground dark meat and skin can be fatty. Your pup may not care about this, but you might. If so, use lean turkey meat.
Tips
Just as ground turkey is a healthy protein for your diet, so it is for your pup. Avoid giving Rover particularly processed forms of turkey, such as deli meats or turkey hot dogs. The chemicals used to keep these meats shelf-stable are hard for dogs to digest. When adding ground turkey to Rover's dinner, feed less kibble so he gets the same amount of food as usual. If you regularly feed both turkey and kibble, Rover may become overweight.
Benefits
Ground turkey offers natural sources of minerals including potassium, niacin and selenium. Turkey meat itself may be lean, but check nutrition labels on ground turkey before you buy. Some ground turkey contains skin, which ups the fat content. If your pooch is on a diet, look for lean ground turkey or offer small portions of this tasty treat.
Warning
While onions may make your turkey burger taste yummy, they are not safe for dogs to eat. Avoid giving Rover ground turkey that has been cooked with garlic or onions, since these are toxic to dogs. To prevent your dog from exposure to salmonella, cook the turkey before feeding your pup.
Considerations
Some dogs may have allergies to turkey. If you feed your dog ground turkey and he vomits, experiences gastrointestinal upset like tummy gurgles, appears lethargic or loses his appetite, he may be allergic to the turkey. In this case, stop feeding Rover turkey. While it is not bad for dogs, it's not good for your dog in this instance.
