Are Sweet Potatoes Good for My Dog?
Delicious and nutritious sweet potatoes are popping up on restaurant menus more and more. They’ve grown beyond a great roasting vegetable to become popular as chips, in soups and curries, and as an innovative addition to many other delightful dishes. If you are enjoying them at home, you might notice a pair of big, brown eyes trained on you, pleading for a taste. It is always wise to check before sharing any food with your canine companion. You might love this root vegetable, but can dogs eat sweet potato? In a word, yes. But it is important to know how can dogs eat sweet potatoes and what it offers them.
Sweet potatoes are extremely popular with dogs. And why wouldn’t they be? Their distinctive flavour is hard to resist, especially when we know these deep orange tubers are packed with important vitamins that both humans and dogs need. But like many other foods, we need to beware of giving our dogs too much of a good thing.
Why Can Dogs Eat Sweet Potato?
It is safe to say our pet dog’s canine ancestors were unlikely to dig sweet potatoes out of the ground, but dogs are omnivores. They are designed to eat a variety of foods, unlike cats, who are strict carnivores. Sweet potatoes are one way dogs can get several critical nutrients.
Sweet potato should not be a large part of your dog’s diet. Instead it can be a small but significant part. It’s a delicious way to deliver key nutrients and add some variety to your dog’s food. But too much sweet potato can be dangerous.
Will They Make My Dog Sick?
However, sweet potatoes aren’t fantastic for all dogs, and some dogs should only have very small amounts. For instance, diets containing high quantities of oxalic acid derivatives (spinach, wheat germ, sweet potatoes) can contribute to oxalate crystals in urine. These can cause uncomfortable urination and blood in the urine. They can also cause bladder or urethral stones, which are painful and may require emergency surgery to remove.
These types of stones are most common in the Miniature Schnauzer, Bichon Frise, Shih Tzu, Lhasa Apso and Yorkshire Terriers. If your dog is one of these breeds, you should be careful about adding excess oxalic acid to their diet. A small amount of sweet potato now and then is unlikely to hurt.
But regularly adding extra sweet potato to a diet already high in spinach may be too much for them to handle. If your dog has previously had bladder stones removed, you should be very careful about adjusting their diet and discuss any planned changes with your vet.
In addition, every dog is different. Although rare, you may find that your dog cannot tolerate sweet potatoes. For some, it will cause an upset stomach- vomiting, diarrhea or abdominal pain. For others, it may cause a skin reaction and increased itching, which can be treated with an anti-itch dog shampoo. It is always a good idea to give your dog a small amount and watch for 24-48 hours for any adverse reactions before you progress to giving it to them regularly.
For those dogs that suffer with diabetes, you should already be aware that the diet should be extremely stable. Giving your dog sugary fruits or vegetable tidbits is likely to upset diabetes and cause it to become uncontrolled. This is especially true for sweet potatoes, which have lots of carbohydrates (there’s a reason they’re called ‘sweet!’) and a high glycemic index.
Digesting these carbs would cause a huge spike in blood sugar, which for a diabetic dog can cause serious issues. As well as additional snacks of sweet potato, diets rich in them as an ingredient should also be avoided for dogs with diabetes.