Best ways to feed your dog sweet potatoes
Dogs usually love sweet potatoes. I know mine do!
They are best if boiled or baked, then mashed, sliced, or cubed. These root vegetables make good training treats because they are low in fat and calories. You can also occasionally add them into your dog’s regular meal, like a kibble or wet food for a tasty, nutritious addition.
Sweet potato fries and chips made for humans can have salts, sugars, or artificial additions to their content. These aren’t safe for your dog and can cause stomach or tummy upsets. If you want to share your sweet potato fries or chips with your pooch, try making them from a fresh sweet potato rather than processed or frozen products.
My dogs love dehydrated sweet potatoes as a healthy alternative to rawhide chews. They come out of the oven or dehydrator stiff, with a slight chewiness that satisfies their chewing needs. There are many resources on the internet for making quick and easy sweet potato chews for those who prefer to DIY. This option is especially good for senior dogs or puppies.
Mixing sweet potatoes with other fruits and veggies is a great way to add a nutritional boost to your dog’s diet. Mix them with strawberries, blueberries, broccoli, bananas, add them to plain yogurt smoothies, or freeze them for a quick summer treat.
Clubs Offering:
Update: Recent research has suggested that sweet potatoes, while not poisonous, may not be appropriate for a dog’s diet.
From the UC Davis School of Medicine: “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently issued an alert about reports of canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs eating certain pet foods containing peas, lentils, other legume seeds, or potatoes as main ingredients. DCM is a disease of the heart muscle that leads to reduced heart pumping function and increased heart size. The alterations in heart function and structure can result in severe consequences such as congestive heart failure or sudden cardiac death. While the most common cause of DCM is genetic, on rare occasions other factors can also result in the condition, particularly in breeds that are not frequently affected.”
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that sweet potatoes are often found on lists of foods you should eat. They offer an abundance of health benefits, along with tasting delicious. But can dogs eat sweet potatoes? Yes, they can.
“The health benefits are the same for canines as they are for people,” says Dr. Rachel Barrack, a licensed veterinarian and certified veterinary acupuncturist at Animal Acupuncture in New York City.
Intestinal Blockage
This bears repeating: Feeding dogs raw sweet potato can lead to an intestinal blockage. If you notice any of the signs of intestinal blockage that we mentioned, go to your vet immediately.
Can Dogs Eat Sweet Potatoes? | Petmoo #DogFoodGuide
Can dogs eat sweet potato? Yes, they can! So long as they’re served up plain — sorry, pups, no sweet potato fries for you! — your dog can enjoy this starchy, yet sweet vegetable cooked, boiled, steamed, baked or even dehydrated. And the best part is that sweet potatoes are available at most grocery stores year-round, inexpensive, and easy to prepare.
We spoke with Dr. Katrin Ventocilla, DVM, owner of PACK Animal Care in Lorton, Virginia, for tips and advice on how to include sweet potatoes in your pup’s diet.