Is Sweet Potato a good carb for dogs
Can Dogs Eat Sweet Potatoes?
NOTE: Always check with your veterinarian first before giving your dog any new foods, especially people foods. What might be OK for one dog might not be good for your dog, depending on multiple factors, such as their age, health history, health conditions, and diet. Dogs on prescription diets should not be fed any food or treats outside the diet.
Sweet potatoes are a nutrient-packed staple for us humans. But what about our canine companions? If your dog is giving puppy dog eyes for your favorite Thanksgiving side, you may wonder if dogs can eat sweet potatoes.
Good news: vets give the OK when it comes to dogs and sweet potatoes! In fact, sweet potatoes are considered a healthy treat for dogs and offer lots of nutritional value for your pooch.
Just be careful how you go about introducing this fiber-rich starchy root to your pooch. Even though dogs can eat sweet potatoes, dont just toss them any old yam to gnaw on! Keep the following tips top of mind in order to safely feed your dog sweet potato.
Are Sweet Potatoes Good for Dogs?
Sweet potatoes can be a nutritional treat for our canine companions when fed in small amounts. This vitamin-rich carbohydrate is even becoming a common ingredient in commercial dog food and treats. As long as you watch out for extra ingredients that can sneak into human recipes (like butter, sugar, and molasses) and dont offer too much, these starchy root veggies are considered a safe dog treat.
Here are a few reasons sweet potatoes are considered a healthy snack for dogs:
High in fiber: Sweet potatoes are a good source of dietary fiber, which helps dogs with digestion. These special spuds are also considered a complex carbohydrate, meaning they provide a steady source of energy.
Good source of beta-carotene: Like other orange veggies (such as carrots), sweet potatoes contain high amounts of beta-carotene, which the body turns into vitamin A. Vitamin A helps dogs eye health, immune function, and cell growth.
Vitamins and minerals: Sweet potatoes are also a good source of other vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, manganese, potassium, and iron.
Low glycemic index: As a source of carbohydrates, sweet potatoes have a relatively low glycemic index, which means theyre less likely to cause a spike in your dogs blood sugar. This can be beneficial for dogs with diabetes.
Antioxidants: Sweet potatoes contain antioxidants that may help protect cells from damage caused by free radicals.
Can Dogs Eat Cooked Sweet Potatoes?
Cooked sweet potatoes are fine for your dog to enjoy as an occasional treat. Just be sure to avoid other ingredients that us humans like to add to our sweet potatoes, such as butter, cream, or salt, which can be dangerous for dogs to eat (and even cause pancreatitis in dogs).
Sweet potatoes that have been prepared with salt, sugar, garlic, or other seasonings that are not safe for dogs to consume should also be avoided. As with any new food that finds its way into your dogs bowl, moderation is key.
Can Dogs Eat Raw Sweet Potatoes?
While cooked, unseasoned sweet potatoes are fine in moderation, dont feed your pooch raw sweet potatoes. Uncooked sweet potatoes are difficult for them to chew and can be a choking hazard. They can also cause an upset stomach.
Can Dogs Eat Sweet Potato Skins?
Potato skins are not considered safe for dogs to eat because their chewy exterior can cause dogs to choke and even lead to intestinal blockages. Be sure that any sweet potato offered to Fido is cooked and that the skins (along with any stems or leaves) are removed before they find their way into your pets food bowl.
How to Safely Feed Sweet Potatoes to Your Dog
Whether theyre mashed, baked, or boiled, sweet potatoes are fine for dogs to eat as long as theyre cooked, peeled, and plain. Again, avoid any seasonings or extra ingredients that may be included in human food recipes, such as butter, sugar, or salt.
For a little extra flavor (and fiber), try topping your dogs regular food with a little sweet potato pure at mealtime. Or add a spoonful to their Kong or other food puzzle to keep their brains busy as they snack. Sweet potato is easy to mix in with other dog-friendly ingredients, and most dogs enjoy the taste.
Just be sure not to overdo it! Treats (including veggies like sweet potatoes) should only make up 10% of your dogs overall calories. The other 90% should be from a diet of well-balanced dog food.
How Much Sweet Potato Can a Dog Eat?
When feeding your dog cooked, plain sweet potato, start slowthe high fiber content in sweet potatoes may cause gastrointestinal upset. See how your pup reacts to a small amount before giving them a full serving size.
Here are some general guidelines for how much sweet potato is safe for dogs to eat in a day, based on their weight:
Extra-small dog (220 pounds): 1 teaspoon
Small dog (2130 pounds):12 teaspoons
Medium dogs (3150 pounds): 23 teaspoons
Large dogs (5190 pounds): 12 tablespoons
Extra-large dogs (over 90 pounds): 34 tablespoons
Note that these are just general guidelines. Its always best to check with your veterinarian before making major changes to your dogs diet.
What Other Vegetables Can Your Dog Eat?
Some other veggies that are considered safe for dogs include:
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About sweet potatoes
Originally native to tropical regions of the Americas and dating back some 5,000 years, sweet potatoes are only distantly related to potatoes despite their shared name. They are in fact rather surprisingly related to bindweed and morning glory. Neither of which seems to visually share any resemblance whatsoever with the tuberous root vegetable we and our dogs know and love so much. So what about sweet potatoes for dogs?
Nutrients in sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A and a good source of vitamin C and vitamin B6. Theyre also a good source of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese and potassium.
Benefits of sweet potatoes for dogs
High in fibre and low in fat, sweet potatoes help support a healthy immune system. Due to their high dietary fibre content, they also support a healthy digestive system in both humans and dogs.
Sweet potatoes are said to protect against heart disease and to have anti-aging properties which help fight against cancer.
Gluten and of course grain-free, sweet potatoes are a useful source of necessary carbohydrates for dogs. As a canine nutritionist I can tell you that mine simply adore them!
Can Dogs Eat Sweet Potato Skins?
You may already know that sweet potatoes have a variety of health benefits for humans.
Theyre a great source of vitamins and minerals, can improve digestion and reduce inflammation, and can even be used to help manage diabetes.
While you can feed most parts of a sweet potato to your dog, can dogs eat sweet potato skins to reap the most nutritional benefits?
Heres a look at whether or not this is a good idea.
Are sweet potatoes good for dogs?
Yes! Sweet potatoes arent only safe for dogs, but theyre an excellent source of vitamin A, B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, and more.
Theyre also quite high in fiber (especially with the skin on), making them a great choice if your dog is struggling with weight issues or constipation.
Sweet potato vine poisoning
Now, this is important: theres ONE part of the sweet potato plant thats highly toxic to dogs.
The vine/stem of the sweet potato and its seeds contain a compound similar to LSD, so if you have a home garden and have just dug up a sweet potato, be absolutely sure to get rid of the stem so your dog cant ingest it.
Sweet potato vine poisoning can cause vomiting, diarrhea, seizure, hallucinations, dilated pupils, drowsiness, difficulty swallowing, and other symptoms.
If your dog is displaying these or any other odd symptoms after ingesting sweet potatoes or being around a garden with sweet potatoes, take them to the emergency vet immediately.
Dont let this scare you off of feeding your dog sweet potatoes, though.
This is extremely unlikely to result from your dog eating a sweet potato bought at the grocery store.
As long as youre careful to remove the stem from sweet potatoes purchased at the farmers market or your garden, you should have nothing to worry about.
Can dogs eat sweet potato skins?
Okay, this is where it gets tricky.
Technically, dogs can eat sweet potatoes and their skins. However, its important to note that while some dogs eat sweet potato skins with no problem, others may have problems digesting them.
Make sure you thoroughly scrub the skins of the potatoes before feeding them to your pup, and if possible, try to find some that are organic.
You should also look out for any mold on the skin, which may be toxic for dogs.
Raw sweet potatoes
And while were on the subject, you probably shouldnt feed your dog raw sweet potato either.
Not only can cooking sweet potatoes kill off any harmful mold or bacteria, but raw sweet potatoes also contain trypsin inhibitors, which make your dog less able to digest protein.
In addition, cooking or dehydrating the sweet potato will help break down the starch, making it easier on your dogs stomach.
How to cook sweet potatoes for dogs
The great thing about cooking for dogs is, you want to keep it simple.
Sweet potato fries may be a delicious treat for humans, but all that oil and salt isnt a good idea for your pup. Instead, try boiling your sweet potato in water or cooking it in the microwave.
If you choose to boil it, cut the potato into 1-inch cubes, put them into a pot of boiling water, and let cook for approximately 15 minutes.
You can also bake your sweet potatoes in the oven.
Again, remember to keep your ingredients simple and with as few additives as possible when preparing home-cooked food for your dog.
Recommended reading: How to Start Cooking Dog Food at Home
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 minutes
Total Time 13 minutes
Ingredients
- 1-2 Sweet potatoes (with or without the skin)
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
- After thoroughly rinsing and scrubbing, cut the ends off sweet potatoes and discard. Then cut the sweet potatoes into lengthwise slices, about 1/4-inch thick.
- Bake for 2-3 hours, flipping once halfway through cooking. When done cooking, turn your oven off and allow them to cool before removing.
- Remove the chews from the oven and place them in an airtight container. Chews can be stored in the fridge for up to three weeks.
If you want to save yourself some time and a trip to the kitchen, we recommend
these sweet potato slicesfrom Amazon. Theyre 100% natural and only include one ingredient: sweet potatoes and their skin.
How much sweet potato can I feed my dog?
Like any other food, moderation is key.
Too much sweet potato can cause diarrhea or vomiting, so always start with a small amount and work your way up to avoid any digestive upset.
As a general rule, small breeds can have one to two teaspoons of cooked sweet potato per day while medium and large breeds can have one to four tablespoons per day.
Sweet potato alternatives
Although carrots, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes at first glance are seemingly similar ingredients, there are a few distinctions that may make one a better fit for your dogs diet over the others.
Youre probably fine feeding your dog all three1, but if they have specific health needs, you might want to pay attention to these subtle differences.
Pumpkin
Pumpkin and sweet potato are very similar in nutritional benefits, and both are great sources of fiber.
The biggest difference is that pumpkin is significantly lower in calories, so if youre trying to reduce your dogs weight, stick with pumpkin instead.
Alternatively, if your dog needs to gain a few healthy pounds or will be doing rigorous activity, opt for the sweet potato.
Its also worth noting that fresh sweet potatoes are generally available year-round, whereas pumpkins are a seasonal produce.
You can always get canned pumpkin, which may be more convenient since its already in a mashed form your dog can easily consume.
However, youd be sacrificing the freshness of a sweet potato or pumpkin from the produce section or farmers market.
Carrots
Between carrots and sweet potatoes, carrots have a lot more fiber and vitamins per serving. Carrots are also far lower in calories than sweet potatoes, so again it depends on your health goals for your dog.
Although carrots are super high in nutrients, the extremely high fiber content without any fat to cushion it may lead to an upset stomach.
Consider mixing carrots with healthy fat, such as fish oil or coconut oil, to better absorb the vitamins and pass the fiber.
In summary
Sweet potatoes make a delicious and nutritious snack theyre full of vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber which can help digestion. However, some dogs have trouble digesting the skin, so you may need to remove it first.
You must also be careful to remove the stems as theyre highly toxic to dogs and make sure the potatoes are rinsed and cooked before serving them to your dog.
Sources
- What Vegetables Can Dogs Eat? Whole Dog Journal
