BBQ Party Precautions to Consider When You Have a Dog

Planning a backyard barbecue is fun. What’s not fun is ending up at the emergency vet at midnight, googling “can dogs eat bbq” in the waiting room because at some point between firing up the grill and winding down around the pool, your dog ate some barbecue ribs and a couple hotdogs. 

If you’re lucky, you and your pup will get to go home with some probiotics and a couple of cans of prescription food for sensitive stomachs. But this is probably not how you want your barbecue to end, which is why we’ve put together this backyard BBQ safety guide to make sure your party is 100% doggy-friendly.

Secure the food

So wait, can dogs eat BBQ? The simple answer is no, not the same foods, condiments, or toppings that are safe for you to eat. In particular, you should never share any of these foods with your dog:

• Raw meat
• Barbecued meat cooked with seasonings or barbecue sauce
• Hot dogs
• Raw or cooked onions
• Desserts of any kind (especially chocolate)
• Bones
• Corn on the cob
• Chips or dips
• Grapes or fruits with pits
• Rinds
• Egg salad or potato salad

Of all the possible safety hazards, this one is the most likely to happen, whether your dog sneaks some food or a guest offers some to your dog. But there are a couple things you can do to avoid these scenarios.

Although it might be a pain, keep the food that’s going on the grill in sealed food containers until it’s time to cook it. If you’re doing kabobs, keep the skewers on a baking sheet or tray in the fridge. Then you’ll need to be super diligent about rinsing the containers right away and putting them in the dishwasher or out of reach of any dogs.

Make funny signs to remind your guests

You don’t want to give your friends a list of rules for your barbecue, but you also don’t want them feeding your dog anything bad. So instead, place some cute signs near the food to tell human guests not to feed the canine guests anything, no matter how much they beg. 

Another idea is to ask friends whether they’re bringing their dog and ask for the dog’s T-shirt size. Then you can make shirts that say something like, “Don’t feed the wildlife” or “Please don’t feed me, no matter how cute I am” for all the pups to wear.

Set up doggy hydration and cool-down stations

If it’s hot out, dogs can get dehydrated or suffer from heatstroke, both of which can lead to some not-so-great issues. Even if it’s not hot out, if you have a pool, you don’t want thirsty dogs lapping up the chlorine-treated water because they can’t find a water bowl.

Be sure to set up a few doggy hydration stations. Get some dog water bowls that you can freeze, or keep the cooler next to the bowls so you can keep refreshing them with ice cubes. You can also try a couple of dog cooling mats and dog cots that keep dogs up off hot surfaces. For extra fun, get a couple of kids’ sprinkler hose attachments that water-loving dogs can run through to cool down.

Keep dogs away from the grill

You’ll need a long, foldable dog gate or a dog pen for this. Place the gate around the grilling area and deem it a no-dog zone. The grill master must stay in the pen unless they hand off the official fork and tongs to the next pitmaster. You don’t want any dogs getting too close to the grill, jumping up on it, or burning their paws or mouths trying to get a taste of that sweet, forbidden BBQ.

Dog-proof backyard gates 

Hold the party in a yard that is fenced in with a high gate that dogs can’t jump over. Humans should be able to lock it securely, and dogs should not be able to sneak out. Put a friendly note on the gate to keep it closed so you don’t have to form a search party later to look for escaped pups in the neighbors’ yards.

Go for low-noise fireworks or skip them altogether

Yes, fireworks are fun, but not for everyone, and certainly not for most dogs. More dogs are lost on the 4th of July in particular because dogs are frantic to escape from the terrifying noise of fireworks. 

You can always go to a city fireworks event, or you can get fountain fireworks (without whistles or bangs), snake fireworks, ones that give off a cloud of colored smoke, or good old-fashioned sparklers. With sparklers, you can have fun using your camera’s long exposure effect to draw shapes or words with your friends.

Wash off dogs that go in the pool

If your yard has a pool, and there are dogs at the party, you’re bound to have a few that love to swim. Let your guests know whether dogs are allowed in the pool, and if they are, it’s a nice idea to set up an after-pool doggy wash station.

It could be as simple as an area to hose off pups so the chlorine doesn’t dry out their skin. If you want to win “dog-friendly BBQ party of the year,” you could even put a stack of dog towels nearby and some doggy shampoo for folks who don’t want a soaking wet dog in their car.