An important point in the dog’s care is their diet and food quality. In this regard, many people wonder whether dogs can eat potatoes. This tuber is the common food in our kitchens and for sure attracts dogs. It is a good idea to know the chemical content and other features of potato tubers before knowing if it is healthy for them.
Can Dogs Eat Sweet Potatoes?
A dog nutrition diet includes sweet potatoes of the Cassava family standing out quite a lot for having a large amount of energy. This product provides pets with a good amount of vitamins of group C, B6, and minerals as magnesium, iron, calcium, among others. This food also contains fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, sugars, proteins, and fiber.
Some of these characteristics make this food healthy for people. But is it a healthy food for dogs? Moving on to what is important for us to know, this tuber is quite healthy for our pets. Keep in mind that although dogs mostly eat a carnivorous diet, it does not mean that they cannot eat some fruits or tubers. Due to several of the properties they have, sweet potatoes are quite healthy for dogs.
To begin with, it is a source of slow absorption carbohydrates. It provides healthy energy for our pets. Starch or carbohydrates it could be considered an effective source of energy. But it is better to give preference to meat protein and fat since a dog is a carnivore. The carbohydrates’ adequate doses will not hurt.
Fiber and vitamins from group B are other advantages. It is food that does not make any living creature fat due to a low caloric index. Although dogs may eat potatoes, this does not mean that we can give them just potatoes without any reservations.
Are Potatoes Healthy for My Dog?
Cooked potatoes are not harmful to dogs. You can offer your dog without any risk a peeled fully ripe piece of the tuber. You should only give cooked, boiled, and chopped cool potatoes in small quantities. They have minimum toxic solanine content and are less dangerous for dogs. A diet wich is based on cooked potatoes it is good for allergic dogs.
Consult with the veterinarian who sees your pet about how many potatoes a week your pet can eat. It is recommended feeding your dog potatoes that contain less additives. Dog owners must make sure that the cooked potato does not have salt or any other seasoning.
Unhealthy Crispy & Fried Potatoes
Keep your dog away from crispy or fried potatoes, cooked with seasonings, spices, and aromas. Frying oil also is unhealthy for dogs. Salt and other common seasonings can trigger digestive upsets. And the same goes for butter, milky sour cream, and cheeses put on potatoes.
Speaking without so much detail we can say that French fries are not toxic to dogs. But this does not mean that they should consume fries. It is food with a large amount of saturated fat. It is recommended to avoid fries to secure your pet with a healthy life.
Should Potatoes be Peeld?
As soon as a tuber peel contains potassium and sodium, dogs may eat only peeled potatoes to avoid causing problems. You need to completely peel the potatoes because peels contains very dangerous oxalates.
You need to make sure to completely peel the potatoes.Peels contains oxalates, which can be very dangerous for our four-legged pets.
A dog that eats potato peel is likely to experience vomiting, low spirits, fatigue, seizures, permanent tremors, and serious heart arrhythmia. Consider giving a maximum of only 10% potatoes daily to the dog’s total diet.
Can Dogs Eat Raw Potatoes?
A raw potato plant and its tubers, sprouts, stems, and leaves are very dangerous for dogs. Such green mass should be excluded from a dog’s diet because all listed parts contain high doses of toxic compounds such as solanine and glycoalkaloid chaconina, which naturally act as pesticides and fungicides.
Solanine
Cooking does not remove this toxic compound. As the potato matures, solanine levels decrease. Potatoes exposed to high storage temperatures and direct light increase solanine concentrations (potato peel turns green).
Solanine can have negative effects on your dog’s central and peripheral nervous system: blurring his eyesight, causing digestive disturbances, and slowing a heart rate. If you see something green on a potato peel, keep it away from your pet. Avoid even cooked peels since boiling does not affect solanine.
Don’t worry if your pet played and bit a raw potato. For there to be symptoms of poisoning, your dog should consume a little more than a couple of raw potatoes. The smaller he is in size, the more chances are for poisoning.
The Myth about Feeding Potatoes to Dogs
It is amazing how some myths about pet food are widespread without a scientific basis to support them. Here we present one of the most popular myths about a potato.
Myth: Dogs should not be fed food containing potato as it causes arthritis
Fact: There is little evidence on the relationship between arthritis and nutrition. Many fads and fallacies have emerged from human nutrition that spread to the dog world. It seems to be proven that avoiding certain foods, within a rigorous and monitored diet, can help reduce certain symptoms in some people with rheumatoid arthritis.
This has led to erroneous assumptions that potatoes belonging to the nightshade family can make arthritis symptoms worse. Although, there is no proof that this happens. There are some pro-inflammatory foods that people with joint diseases are suggested to avoid. They are basically high-fat diets and processed meats.
This is partly due to the unhealthy fats in the preparation and processing of these foods. Especially trans- and saturated fats. Processed meats, such as deli meats, hamburgers, and hot dogs contain chemicals like nitrites that are associated with increased inflammation.
It is suggested to avoid foods high in sugar.
The reasoning behind this has more to do with the fact that high fat, high sugar, and generally processed foods contribute to obesity. And rather than the fact that they have properties specific nutritional supplements that make joint problems worse. There are three nutritionally factors proven to help dogs with arthritis, and they are:
1) Keep your dog at a healthy weight to reduce stress on the joints, the circulatory system, and other vital organs.
2) The inclusion in the diet of the essential fatty acid Omega 3 which has a mild anti-inflammatory effect on osteoarthritis.
3) Incorporating glucosamine into the recipe, which has a similar effect.
As we mentioned above, the potato is an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, and potassium.
