Potatoes are eaten all over the world. Humans just love potatoes in any form, be it French fries or mashed potatoes. While eating potatoes, you must have thought about sharing it with your dog. At that moment a question must have popped up in your minds that are potatoes safe and good for dogs? The simple answer to your question is “yes” and only when the potatoes are cooked. An optimum quantity of potatoes can be feed to dogs. Let’s not forget that there are certain complications attached to feeding potatoes to the dogs especially gastrointestinal obstructions.
Nutrients of potatoes
Contents
100 grams of potatoes contain:
Calories: 87
Water: 77%
Protein: 1.9 grams
Carbohydrates: 20.1 gm
Fiber: 1.8 grams
Fat: 0.1 grams
Raw potatoes vs. cooked potatoes
Keep raw potatoes as possible as away from dogs. Giving raw potatoes to your dog is not a good idea at all. Just like tomatoes, potatoes belong to the nightshade family and in these plants, a substance is found named Solanine which can cause severe health issues in dogs. If you have potato plants at home, try to keep your dogs away from potato plants as well. Always cook potatoes before giving these to your dog because that is the only suitable form for the dogs.
Why dogs cannot eat raw potatoes at all?
Raw potatoes have a much higher amount of solanine (a poisonous compound found in the members of the nightshade family) as compared to the cooked or boiled potatoes. Cooking the potatoes reduces the level of solanine hence make them quite edible. Try to give your dog a simple boiled potato because potatoes fried in oil or butter can ignite diabetes and obesity issues in your dog.
Is potato skin edible for dogs?
The skin of potatoes consists of oxalates that are okay for the dogs in small quantities but a high dose of oxalates in the form of potatoes skin can lead to several critical renal issues. Feeding some amount of potatoes with skin will be okay but make sure to feed potatoes without skin. Sometimes, there is a green patch is there on potatoes, discard the potato in that case because that part is poisonous because of solanine and cooking that won’t take the poison away. Eating a lot of potato skin can cause vomiting, depression, fatigue, seizures, heart arrhythmia, and tremors in dogs.
How many potatoes can a dog eat?
Potatoes should not exceed 10% of the total diet of your dog. As potatoes are not the first suitable choice as a daily meal for dogs, their large amount in the meal should be avoided. A small ball sized potato can be enough for the dog.
Benefits of feeding potatoes to dogs
Potatoes contain zinc, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, fiber, and vitamin-C. Giving a plain boiled potato or potato in any other cooked form is actually a good idea.
Hazards associated with feeding potatoes to dogs
Occasionally, dogs enjoy potatoes, however, multiple health risks for dogs lingers around this vegetable, especially digestive issues. According to the latest research, certain ingredients found in potatoes can lead to DCM (canine dilated cardiopathy) which is more prevalent in golden retrievers. DCM is a disease of heart muscles that result in reduced heart pumping function and increased heart size. Apart from that, potatoes can cause a gastrointestinal obstruction in dogs. Moreover, eating too many potatoes can cause constipation. Also, it is not good for dogs to have obesity and diabetes issues. So it is preferred not to give the dogs potatoes as a staple food but an occasional treat.
How to prepare potatoes for dogs?
Whenever you decide to feed potatoes to your four-legged friend, don’t add extra seasonings, salt, and butter. Keep it simple and serve small portions at a time. As potato chips and French fries care not considered healthy food for humans, the same goes for canines. Fried potatoes can cause complications if your dog is already tackling issues like obesity and diabetes.
Swap potatoes with sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes are a better option as compared to potatoes as sweet potatoes contain essential vitamins like B6, C, and A. moreover, they are low in fat and make the digestive system healthier because they also contain a good amount of fiber. Potatoes contain beta-carotene. Dogs can convert beta-carotene to vitamin-A and it saves them from night blindness, poor skin quality, abnormal development of teeth and bones, and abnormal reproductive development.
Green potato poisoning
When a dog consumes too many potatoes, the solanine present in those potatoes results in green potato poisoning. This poisoning can cause intestinal issues, difficulty in breathing, and heart problems. If your dog has consumed a large number of potatoes, their skin, or even foliage, take your dog to the veterinarian as soon as possible even if there are no visible symptoms of any health issues. Here is a list of symptoms of green potato poisoning: cardiac dysrhythmia, difficulty in breathing, gastrointestinal issues, loss of sensation, progressive paralysis, swelling of lips and tongue, vomiting, weakness, excessive drooling, dilated pupils, and trembling. In order to save your dogs, keep the following away from the reach of your dog:
- Raw potato skins
- Potato foliage
- Green potatoes
- Sprouts are grown on potatoes
Conclusion:
Dogs are lovely animals and they keep roaming around you all the time when you are at home. They happen to show interest in most of the things that you eat. You also tend to share most of your eating items with them out of love and affection. But it is not necessary that all the food that is suitable for human consumption are suitable for canine stomachs as well. The same goes for potatoes, while they are suitable for humans, they are not good for dogs, especially in a big quantity. Feed your dog a small amount of baked or boiled potatoes only. Raw potatoes are not good for the dogs at all. You can replace potatoes with sweet potatoes in the diet of your dog because they are much more beneficial.