Listen to this articlePotatoes are a staple food worldwide as this veggie has found its way in most of our favorite dishes. Dogs love it when we share our food with them as it lets them know that we adore them and care about them deeply. Therefore, it’s just natural for dog owners to ponder about can dogs eat potatoes or not. Therefore, if you find yourself thinking about whether you can share your potato chips with your dogs or not, then no need to worry as you are certainly not the only one who is searching for answers to questions like “Can dogs eat Potatoes?” “Can dogs eat mashed potatoes?”, “Can dogs eat raw potatoes?”, “Can dogs eat potato skins?”.
Thousands of dog lovers search the internet for answers to these burning questions but unfortunately, the internet is not much help in this matter as it’s full of articles that give conflicting answers to these essential questions. To save our valued readers the trouble of searching the entire internet for answers, we have formulated the following blog to answer all of these critical questions.
Benefits of feeding potatoes to dogs
In order to equip our readers with the necessary information to decide whether potatoes are suitable for their pooches or not, we first need to talk about all the health benefits that potatoes have to offer.
Potatoes are loaded with many essential nutrients needed for our canine friends’ well-being. Potatoes are good sources for a wide range of essential minerals and vitamins. Some of these essential nutrients present in potatoes are listed below
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin B1
- Vitamin B2
- Vitamin B3
- Vitamin B5
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin B9
- Potassium
- Magnesium
- Phosphorus
We will go through the medical benefits of nutrients listed below to tell our readers about all the pros of feeding potatoes to their dogs.
Vitamin C
Before we tell you about the crucial role that Vitamin C plays in the well-being of our furry friends, we have to tell our readers about Oxygen Radicals and anti-oxidants.
Oxygen radicals are produced during the natural process of respiration and can be described as oxygen atoms that lack a single electron in their valance shell. Every single atom strives to stabilize or complete its valency, and there are only two ways to achieve that. An atom can lose all of its electrons except the final two, or it can have eight electrons in its outermost subshell. Oxygen radicals tend to have seven electrons in their valance subshells. This makes them highly reactive, as these oxygen radicals are willing to react with anything to gain an electron and complete their valance shells. And most often than not, these oxygen radicals end up reacting with cells present in the body and snatch away electrons from them. This causes the cell to undergo degeneration at an atomic level, which can lead to the total collapse of the organ in which these oxygen radicals are reacting. This activity can also lead to cancer of all types, and therefore dog owners need to prevent their pooches from all the harmful effects of these oxidizing agents.
Fortunately, nature has provided us a solution against these oxidizing agents in the shape of Anti-oxidants. These anti-oxidants act as tough bodyguards and react with these oxygen radicals so that cells don’t face the risk of being oxidized. Anti-oxidants are the only and most effective way to protect our dogs from oxidation, and that’s why we recommend our respected readers to provide their canines with an ample supply of anti-oxidants. One of the most effective and safe anti-oxidant that nature has to offer us is Vitamin C.
Vitamin C serves to protect our four-legged best friends from all the harmful effects of oxidation, and therefore all dog owners should offer their dogs food that is high in Vitamin C content. And since our topic at hand is “Can dogs eat Potatoes?”, we are proud to tell
our readers that potatoes are highly rich in Vitamin C and therefore are an effective meal option to fight against oxygen radicals.
Vitamin B1
Vitamin B1 is characterized as an essential vitamin which means that our canine friends can’t produce this vitamin independently, and therefore they rely on their food to provide their Vitamin B1 requirements. Another term used to refer to Vitamin B1 is Thiamine. Ranging from boosting the immune system’s functionality and making it stronger to taking care of teeth, Vitamin B1 performs a wide variety of crucial functions in animal bodies. To help our readers understand the importance of Vitamin B1, we have added brief notes of all the major functions of Vitamin B1. Just like all other discovered members of the Vitamin B family, Vitamin B1 is also a water-soluble vitamin and is therefore involved in almost all the essential metabolic and biochemical reactions that occur in our dogs. Vitamin B1 is also termed as “Moral Vitamin” because of the vital role this vitamin plays in promoting good heart health and in strengthening the central nervous system.
Vitamin B1 is known in the medical words by many names; given the plethora of essential functions this vitamin is responsible for. On that note, Thiamine is also referred to as an Anti-Stress hormone. This title is because Vitamin B1 is responsible for regulating the production of hormones that act to relieve stress. Some of these hormones are Dopamine and Serotonin. By producing these stress-relieving hormones, Vitamin B1 serves to make your dog emotionally stronger and able to bear all sorts of stress. Thiamine also strengthens the connection between nerve cells over the body, which helps our dogs learn faster; thus, Vitamin B1 also boosts a canine’s mental capabilities.
Another significant way by which Vitamin B1 proves to be beneficial for dogs is by boosting the heart health in dogs. Scores of research in this area have found a direct correlation between a healthy heart and increased consumption of food rich in Vitamin B1. Intake of Vitamin B1 also reduces the chances of heart complications such as angina, heart murmurs, and even heart attacks.
Vitamin B1 is also quite essential in the breakdown of complex organic compounds like Carbohydrates and fats. These organic compounds are used as instant sources of energy by animal bodies, and therefore the role of Vitamin B1 in the production of energy is quite important.
All the above benefits of Vitamin B1 are why we recommend dog owners to provide their pooches with food loaded with Thiamine. Fortunately, you most likely already have a good source of Vitamin B1 in your fridge in the form of Potatoes. This also answers the question at hand, which is “Can dogs eat Potatoes?”
Vitamin B6
Belonging to the Vitamin B complex, Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin that dogs cannot produce independently. Therefore, they rely on their meals to obtain the required amounts of Vitamin B6. This makes Vitamin B6 an essential vitamin, and that, along with all the essential functions associated with Vitamin B6, makes the importance of Vitamin B6 clear. Therefore, this vitamin should not be taken slowly, and dog parents should try their best to supplement their dog’s meal with Vitamin B6 supplements. Fortunately, Vitamin B6 is also quite common in root vegetables like Potatoes, and therefore you can also give potatoes to your pooch to boost his health. Following are some critical roles that Vitamin B6 is known to play in dogs.
Protection from Depression
Vitamin B6 is needed in producing neurotransmitters responsible for regulating moods, and therefore Vitamin B6 can help improve the mood of your furry friend. These neurotransmitters include Dopamine, Serotonin, and Gamma-aminobutyric acid. Another way by which Vitamin B6 serves to protect our dogs from depression is by reducing the levels of depression-causing amino acids such as homocysteine. All this is most likely why many researchers concluded that there was a direct link between low intake of Vitamin B6 and increased cases of depression in dogs.
Prevention from Anemia
Vitamin B6 is critically involved in the production of hemoglobin, and therefore optimum levels of Vitamin B6 can help prevent our dogs from lack of red blood cells or Anemia. Hemoglobin is a protein that holds central importance in the production of functioning red blood cells. It is also needed when it comes to the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen molecules throughout the body. This makes the role of Vitamin B6 for our dogs extremely important, and therefore dog owners should feed potatoes to their furry friends as potato is full of Vitamin B6. This also solves the question of “Can dogs eat potatoes?”
Boost Eye health
Vitamin B6 can also serve to boost the health of your dog’s eyes, as Vitamin B6 is known to lessen the levels of homocysteine flowing in the blood. Increased levels of homocysteine in the blood are linked with causing various eye-related problems. High levels of homocysteine are mainly responsible for causing age-related macular degeneration or AMD. Therefore, dog owners need to provide their furry friends with a meal rich in Vitamin B6 to prevent the risks of eye problems in their dogs. Fortunately, nature gives us an easy and healthy Vitamin B6 supplement in the shape of potatoes. Potatoes come loaded with Vitamin B6, and therefore dog owners should not hesitate from feeding potatoes to their dogs. This also solves the question of “Can dogs eat potatoes?”
Vitamin B7
Potatoes also come loaded with another member of the Vitamin B complex, and that is Vitamin B7. Vitamin B7 is also termed Biotin and is needed in a dog’s body for many functions. Some of those functions are listed below.
Ensuring Good Quality Fur
Biotin is also termed Vitamin H and is crucial for ensuring that your dog’s coat stays lush, shiny, and smooth. Therefore dog breeders that breed dogs to compete in dog shows emphasize feeding their dogs food that is full of Vitamin B7. The cause for this is the fact that Vitamin B7 serves to regulate keratin production in dogs. Keratin acts as the building block of hairs, and therefore this protein is essential for the ideal production of hair follicles. Keratin also comes in handy when it comes to repairing damaged hair follicles. In this way, adequate keratin production is essential for ensuring that your dog always has a shiny coat. And to maximize the production of keratin protein, dog owners must provide their pooches with an adequate supply of Vitamin B7 through their food. That’s why we recommend dog owners to feed potatoes to their dogs as potatoes are good sources of Vitamin B7. This also answers the query of “Can dogs eat potatoes” as a big Yes.
Role in regulating the blood sugar level.
As mentioned earlier, Vitamin B7 is needed to break down complex molecules present in dog foods such as carbohydrates and fats. These molecules are broken down into smaller, less complex molecules such as glucose which acts as the major source of energy for the body. Therefore, the process of breaking down fats and carbohydrates into glucose is essential for the well-being of our dogs. Still, this process can come to a complete halt if not enough Vitamin B7 is present in the body. This can result in Hypoglycemia, and it can itself act as a precursor to several diseases and complications. Hypoglycemia which is commonly known as low blood sugar level can cause the following life-threatening diseases.
- Extreme Lethargy
- Muscle twitching
- Loss of Appetite
- Blindness
- Trembling
- Loss of coordination between body parts
- Unusual behavior
- Unconsciousness
Therefore, it’s vital for dog owners to help their dogs’ fight Vitamin B7 deficiency, and the best way to do that is by adding potatoes to your dog’s diet.
Vitamin B9
Vitamin B9 is a water-soluble vitamin and is one of the most important members of the Vitamin B complex. Vitamin B9 is also termed Folate. Vitamin B9 is required for the regular proceeding of many vital processes in animal bodies. Therefore, our readers must be aware of all the functions performed by Vitamin B9 so that they can grasp how vital Folate is.
Folate is required to produce both types of blood cells, i.e., red blood cells and white blood cells, and without the recommended concentration of Folate, the production of these blood cells can even come to a complete stop. And this clearly shows the value of Vitamin B9 as this essential vitamin is directly required in the process of supplying oxygen to every cell of the body and makes our immune system much stronger and capable against all sorts of pathogens. Vitamin B9 is also needed to break down the food molecules and obtain energy from them, and in this way, Vitamin B9 also serves a role in energy production.
The functionality of Vitamin B9 doesn’t end here as it is also needed in the production of nucleic acids, namely DNA and RNA, that are regarded as codes of life. Healthy amounts of Folate are also required by the body when it comes to receiving medicines against depression as antidepressants fail to work if not enough amounts of Folate are present in the body of your pooch.
All the above benefits of Vitamin B9 must make their importance clear to you. It is imperative for you to add rich sources of Vitamin B9 to your dog’s meal, and you can accomplish that by feeding potatoes to your canine friend. This also answers the question of “Can dogs eat potatoes” as a big Yes.
Magnesium
Magnesium falls in the category of Essential Macro-mineral when it comes to canines—being a macro-mineral means that dogs require Magnesium in relatively large quantities to ensure their well-being and to continue all the essential metabolic processes taking place in their bodies. The term essential refers to the fact that dogs cannot synthesize this mineral on their own. Therefore, it’s up to the owners to make sure that their dogs receive the required amounts of this critical mineral through their food, and what better way to ensure that than adding some potatoes in your dog’s meal?
Magnesium is essential in more than 300 different biochemical reactions, which shows the importance of this mineral. Dogs require Magnesium as it can act as an alternative to Potassium to generate nerve impulses. This makes Magnesium important for having a well-performing immune system and for ensuring perfect muscle contractions. The fact that Magnesium helps with muscle contraction also applies to the heart as the heart is a tough cardiac muscle. Direct links of high magnesium intake with a healthy heart have been observed during various researches. Magnesium also acts to increase bone density, and thus it serves to make bones stronger. In addition to all the functions mentioned, Magnesium is also required to regulate blood glucose levels and boost the energy production process in the body.
This vital information about the benefits of Magnesium, along with the role played by this vital mineral, will help our dear readers analyze the pros and cons of feeding potatoes to their four-legged best friends. And this will also help them in answering the question of “Can my dog eat potatoes?”
Potassium
Potassium is another essential nutrient that dogs require in ample amounts to guarantee their well-being. Potassium is an essential mineral, which means that owners should provide their furry friends with food options rich in potassium content. Otherwise, all the necessary functions performed by Potassium can come to a complete halt, and this can spell trouble for our pooches. Owners should be aware of all the crucial duties that Potassium performs so that they can better understand the importance of feeding potassium-rich food to their canine friends.
Potassium serves a core role in transmitting messages originating from the nervous system to the rest of the body. These messages are transferred throughout the body in the form of nerve impulses. These nerve impulses are electric currents that travel from one nerve cell or neuron to another. As with any electric current, nerve impulses also require a charge which can act as a carrier of these nerve impulses, and this requirement is fulfilled by the presence of Potassium ions(K+). These Potassium ions carry the nerve impulses from the Central nervous system to all other parts of the body. Without the required amount of Potassium in the body, the process of transmission of never impulses can be drastically affected, and this can result in failure of the body to react to external stimuli appropriately, and prolonged potassium deficiency can also cause organ damage due to the lack of nerve impulses reaching that organs and therefore the organ stops what it is supposed to do.
Possible demerits of feeding potatoes to dogs
Now that you know about all the nutritional benefits that potatoes have to offer for our dogs, it’s time that we tell you about some disadvantages of feeding potatoes to dogs as we hope to present our readers a complete picture of the pros and cons of potatoes. Following are some major cons of potatoes when it comes to feeding them to dogs.
Solanine Toxicity
Since potatoes are members of the nightshade family of vegetables, they are full of a harmful and toxic chemical called Solanine. Another vegetable full of Solanine is tomato, and therefore dog owners should keep it in mind before offering their pooches potatoes or tomatoes. Solanine is highly active and efficient, and that’s why too much consumption of Potatoes can expose your dog to Solanine Toxicity which can even prove to be Fatal. High concertation of Solanine in dogs can result in many medical disorders and complications, including the following.
- Gastrointestinal infections
- Cardiac problems
- Complete loss of coordination
- Muscle weakness
- Tremors
- Seizures
Therefore, we recommend our readers make sure that they don’t overfeed potatoes to their canine friends.
Kidney Problems
Potatoes come loaded with minerals like Potassium, Magnesium, Folate, oxalates, and phosphorus. These nutrients are necessary for guaranteeing your dog’s well-being, but as with anything else, excess of anything can be harmful. The same goes for these minerals, as above-average concentrations of these minerals in your dog’s body can have dire consequences. The entire body is affected by the excess of these minerals, but your dog’s excretory system is the one that stands to be affected the most by these minerals.
If these minerals are present in excess, they can clump together and form stones in all the parts of the excretory system. These stones can completely block all the vessels through which the excretory system expels all the waste materials from the body. High consumption of potatoes can also cause Renal stones, which are stones made up of oxalates and potassium present inside the kidneys, and there they can unleash complete havoc. All this can lead to serious kidney-related complications, including complete renal failure.
Frequently Asked Questions about feeding potatoes to dogs.
“Can dogs eat potatoes” is a very broad question, and it can easily lead to several similar questions. Therefore, we have included some of the frequently asked questions about this topic which are as follows.
- Can dogs eat mashed potatoes?
- Can dogs eat raw potatoes?
- Can dogs eat potato skins?
- Can dogs eat potato chips?
Can dogs eat Mashed potatoes?
We all like to eat mashed potatoes from time to time as it brings us back to our childhood. But is it a good option for dogs? Most dog owners find themselves pondering questions regarding mashed potatoes and dogs like “Can dogs eat Mashed potatoes?” Fortunately, we are here to respond to all these questions.
Yes, dogs can eat mashed potatoes, provided that you ensure there is no seasoning in the mashed potatoes. Mashed Potatoes without seasoning? You must be scratching your heads over it, but hey, that the truth. Dogs don’t process several seasonings as we humans do, and therefore it’s better to keep your dog far away from any seasonings. These seasonings, such as garlic powders, paprika, etc., can be dangerous for our four-legged best friends. They can cause serials stomach-related problems at best and can be highly toxic at worst. That’s why we recommend our valued readers to keep their dog’s food away from any seasonings.
Another thing to make sure of while feeding mashed potatoes to your dogs is never to add any salt to those potatoes. Salt can cause several medical complications in dogs, such as dehydration, high blood pressure, and kidney-related problems.
In short, the answer to the query “Can dogs eat Mashed potatoes?” is generally yes, provided that you keep those mashed potatoes safe from any seasoning.
Can dogs eat raw potatoes?
Another commonly asked question about the topic at hand is “Can dogs eat raw potatoes?”. If you are also searching the internet to answer this question, then this is the right place for you.
The straightforward answer to “Can dogs eat raw potatoes?” is No. Dogs should never be fed raw potatoes as potatoes are loaded with Solanine which can be highly dangerous. It can lead to several medical complications and even death; therefore, dog owners should try everything in their power to reduce the solanine content of the potato before feeding it to dogs, and the most effective way to do that is to cook the potato as it is observed that cooking a potato can drastically reduce its solanine concentration.
Can dogs eat Potato skins?
The straightforward answer to the question of “Can
dogs eat Potato skins?” is Yes. Potato skins are safe for dog consumption and are good sources of essential nutrients. Just make sure to cook the skins properly as raw potato skins are loaded with Solanine, and feeding raw skins to your dog can spell disaster. Therefore, we suggest our readers always cook the potato skins before feeding them to their pooches.
Another thing to keep in mind while feeding potato skins to your pooch is that potato skins are loaded with oxalates. Therefore, too much consumption of potato skins can expose your furry friends to high concentrations of oxalates, and this can cause all sorts of kidney-related problems such as pain during peeing, kidney stones, and kidney failure.
Now that you are familiar with all the pros and cons of feeding potato skins to your pooch, you can answer the question of “Can dogs eat Potato skins?” on your own now.
Can dogs eat potato chips?
Potato chips are the go-to comfort foods worldwide, and we can’t get enough of them. But this raises the question of “Can dogs eat potato chips?”. The internet isn’t much help when it comes to the questions like “Can dogs eat potato chips?” as it is full of articles that give conflicting information and answers. We are here to put an end to all this by answering the question once and for all.
Yes. dogs can also enjoy potato chips as they are not toxic to your canine friends. But it’s more of a question of “should you” rather than “can you.” Potato chips are made in high-fat oil and loaded with seasonings like garlic powder, paprika, and salts. None of these seasonings are safe for dogs, and therefore, although the answer to the question “Can dogs eat potato chips?” is a yes, dog owners should still avoid feeding potato chips to their furry friends.