What comes to your mind when you hear these words—sweet potatoes? No doubt, the thought of something sweet comes to your mind. From experience, I know it’s normal to extend food we enjoy to our four-legged furry friend. But can dogs eat sweet potatoes, either cooked or raw?
Cooked sweet potatoes are completely safe for your dog to consume. On the contrary, the excessive consumption of raw sweet potatoes will likely cause a belly upset for your canine. Cooking sweet potatoes makes them soft and more palatable for your canine.
One of the benefits of feeding cooked potatoes to your dog is that it helps regulate its digestion. If you want to know more about the other benefits of sweet potatoes for your pup, continue reading this article.
Before discussing the benefits of sweet potatoes, let’s discuss the implications of feeding raw potatoes to your dog.
Will Raw Sweet Potatoes Hurt My Dogs?
Yes, feeding raw sweet potatoes to your dog will cause intestinal blockage for your pup. Apart from this fact, dogs also find it difficult to chew raw potatoes.
Under no circumstances should you feed your dog raw sweet potatoes. The digestive system of your canines is not suited for digesting raw sweet potatoes.
If you didn’t peel the skin of raw sweet potatoes before cooking them, peel the skin off before serving it to your dog.
Peeling the skin away would help your dog avoid any form of stomachache or intestinal blockage.
Are Potatoes Healthier Cooked Or Raw?
It is healthier to take cooked potatoes over raw ones. Raw sweet potatoes contain resistant starch. A kind of starch your pup’s body finds difficult to digest.
Meanwhile, cooked sweet potatoes are loaded with nutritional benefits. When raw sweet potatoes are cooked, a process called the Maillard reaction occurs.
Maillard reaction is responsible for the unique taste that makes sweet potatoes more palatable for your pooch than the raw ones. Besides, cooking will soften the sweet potatoes, making them easier to chew and digest.
What Are The Differences Between Sweet And White Potatoes?
Sweet potato is sweeter and contains more nutrients than white potato. White potatoes contain more starch and folate than sweet potatoes.
For example, a ½ cup of baked sweet potato contains about 6.5 teaspoons of sugar, while a half cup of baked white potato contains about 1.4 teaspoons of sugar.
One edge sweet potato has over its white counterpart is that it provides about 384% of the recommended daily value of vitamin A while white potato provides 0%.
If your dog is already obese, you are not encouraged to feed your canine sweet potatoes due to their high sugar content.
Is White Potatoes Toxic For My Dog?
It depends. If you don’t prepare them properly, or you give excessive quantities to your dog, there will be adverse effects.
Like sweet potatoes, white potatoes are also packed with a lot of nutrients. But if you decide to feed it raw to your dog, it will result in belly upset or intestinal blockage.
Raw white potatoes contain solanine, which is toxic when detected at high levels in dogs. But cooking white potatoes reduces their level.
Furthermore, potatoes fried in oil or potatoes with butter or salt added to them are not healthy for your canine. If your dog is diabetic, avoid giving it any type of potatoes.
What Happens If My Dog Eats Too Many Sweet Potatoes?
If your dog consumes too many sweet potatoes, it can result in bone and muscle weakness.
Sweet potatoes are packed with a lot of vitamin A. If you give your dog excess sweet potatoes, this will ultimately lead to bone problems for your canine.
Carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes should not be the main source of nutrition for your dog.
Dogs are obligate carnivores, so your dog needs more animal protein to thrive. You can speak to your vet to ascertain the exact amount of potatoes to give your dog.
How Much Raw Potato Is Poisonous?
Raw potato becomes poisonous if your canine takes about two teaspoons of it. Raw potatoes contain solanine, which is toxic for your pup.
Raw potatoes have also been found to contain antinutrient, which tends to inhibit some enzymes found in your dog’s digestive system.
Raw potatoes have also been discovered by experts to contain chaconine, a chemical that depresses the nervous system and affects kidney functions.
Uncooked potatoes are simply harmful to your canine. You can choose to either boil, bake, or fry the potatoes before offering them to your dog.
Symptoms Of Potato Poisoning In Dogs
There are signs you want to watch out for that would indicate your dog is suffering from potato poisoning. These signs will include but are not limited to the following:
- Bleeding
- Cardiac arrhythmia
- Burning of the throat
- Delirium
- Difficulty breathing
All the symptoms above happen to your dog if it consumes excess raw potatoes. Raw potatoes with green skins or growing sprouts are especially toxic to your dog.
How Do I Treat Potato Poisoning In My Dog?
Take your pooch to the vet if you notice any symptoms of potato poisoning. Your vet will treat your dog by giving it activated charcoal to absorb toxins.
Your vet will also likely give your dog apomorphine to induce vomiting. In addition, your vet would also give intravenous fluids to treat dehydration.
If your veterinarian suspects there are still toxins in your dog’s system, he will likely perform a procedure known as gastric lavage.
Medications such as physostigmine or pilocarpine would also be prescribed for your dog to boost the nervous system of your canine.
What Are The Benefits Of Sweet Potatoes For Dogs?
Sweet potatoes are types of root vegetables offering benefits such as disease-fighting antioxidants and important vitamins for your dog.
Sweet potatoes are not only nutritious food, but they are delicious as well. Sweet potatoes are also excellent sources of vitamins C and B5.
According to a study conducted in the US, dogs that had vegetables like sweet potatoes in their daily meals reduced their cancer risk by about 70 to 90%.
Now, let’s discuss the three main benefits of sweet potatoes for your canine.
Digestion
Sweet potatoes help with digestion in dogs. They are loaded with dietary fibers, which assist your dog in producing healthy stools.
Fiber is essential for keeping the digestive system of dogs functioning smoothly. If your pooch has diarrhea, high-fiber food like sweet potatoes will help in correcting this.
Also, you would be surprised to know sweet potatoes are second on the list of top vegetables high in fiber.
If your dog is obese, it can benefit from taking sweet potatoes in moderation. High-fiber food like sweet potatoes enhances the feeling of fullness after a meal.
Blood Pressure
Sweet potatoes are loaded with potassium which helps in regulating the blood pressure and the fluid balance of your canine.
Higher potassium intake helps your canine to excrete more sodium which lowers blood pressure.
Sweet potatoes contain about 475 mg of potassium for every ½ cup of cooked portion. Giving sweet potatoes to your canine helps in reducing the risk of heart disease.
Vision
Sweet potatoes have a lot of vitamin A which helps the vision and skeletal tissues. Beta-carotene found in potatoes is responsible for their bright colors.
Each beta-carotene converts to two molecules of vitamin A in your dog’s body. Beta-carotene is an antioxidant known to help reduce certain types of cancer.
In a nutshell, beta-carotene is essential for your dog’s vision, bone growth, skin, and reproduction.
Can I Feed Cooked Potatoes To My Dog Every Day?
Yes, but do make sure the potatoes are well cooked before serving your dog. If your dog is diabetic, we encourage not serving it with potatoes, as it can cause a spike in blood sugar levels.
Even if your dog is not diabetic, you are still encouraged to feed sweet potatoes to your dog in moderation.
If sweet potatoes are new to your canine, start with a small amount to ensure that your dog has no problem digesting them.
