Raw Potatoes for Dogs: A Big No - No
Jan 18,2025 | puaintapets
As dog owners, it's natural to be curious about what foods are safe for our furry friends to eat. One common question many pet owners have is whether dogs can eat raw potatoes. While potatoes are a staple in many human diets and can be a healthy addition to a dog's meal when cooked properly, raw potatoes present potential risks. In this article, we'll explore whether raw potatoes are safe for dogs, the risks involved, and how to handle potatoes to keep your dog safe and healthy.
Can Dogs Eat Raw Potatoes?
The simple answer is no, dogs should not eat raw potatoes. Raw potatoes, particularly those that are green or have begun to sprout, contain toxic compounds called solanine. Solanine is a natural defense mechanism of the potato plant, designed to protect it from pests. While humans can tolerate small amounts of solanine, it can be harmful to dogs, leading to symptoms like nausea, vomiting, lethargy, and in severe cases, even coma or death.
Why Are Raw Potatoes Dangerous for Dogs?
Raw potatoes are harmful to dogs in the following ways.
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Toxicity
Raw potatoes contain a toxin called lycopene, also known as lobelin. This toxin is found in higher levels in the skin, sprouts and immature parts of the potato. Although the human body has some tolerance to lycopene, a dog's body is more sensitive to it and ingestion may cause toxic reactions such as vomiting, diarrhea, excessive salivation, stomach cramps, headache, dizziness, burning throat, and even cardiac arrhythmia, and in severe cases, fever, jaundice, dilated pupils, hallucinations, paralysis, hypothermia, and in extreme cases, even death.
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Indigestion
The starch particles in raw potatoes are large and not heated and cooked, making them difficult to be digested and absorbed by dogs, which can easily lead to indigestion, bloating, diarrhea and other problems. Moreover, the texture of raw potatoes is relatively hard, which may form clumps in the gastrointestinal tract after your dog chews and swallows them, increasing the risk of intestinal obstruction.
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Kidney problems
Potato skins contain oxalates, which may lead to kidney problems if your dog ingests large amounts of them.
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Allergic reactions
Just like humans, dogs can be allergic to foods, including potatoes. If a dog is allergic to raw potatoes, they may experience chronic diarrhea, chronic ear inflammation, chronic gas, measles, itching, nausea, compulsive licking, paw biting, poor coating quality, rashes, and vomiting.
What to Do if Dog Eats Raw Potatoes by Mistake?
If your dog has accidentally eaten raw potatoes, you can do the following.
1. Observe the state of the dog
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Poisoning symptoms
Raw potatoes contain lobelia, dogs may vomit, diarrhea, abdominal pain, drooling, breathing difficulties, convulsions, coma and other symptoms of poisoning after accidental ingestion. If these symptoms occur, you need to take your dog to the vet immediately.
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General Symptoms
If your dog has only eaten a small amount of raw potatoes, he or she may experience indigestion, bloating, diarrhea, and other symptoms. You can observe your dog's reaction first and try to treat it on your own if the symptoms are not serious.
2.Emergency measures
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Induce vomiting
If your dog eats raw potatoes shortly after eating them and does not have serious symptoms such as vomiting or diarrhea, you can try to induce vomiting. Use chopsticks or fingers to stimulate your dog's throat to induce vomiting and get rid of the potatoes in the stomach.
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Gastric lavage or diarrhea
If your dog has eaten a large amount of raw potatoes, or has developed symptoms such as severe vomiting, diarrhea, or abdominal pain, take your dog to the vet immediately, where the doctor may administer treatment such as gastric lavage or diarrhea.
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Maintain water balance
If your dog is experiencing vomiting or diarrhea, it is important to keep your dog hydrated to prevent dehydration. You can give your dog some warm or lightly salted water, but do not force your dog to drink water as it may cause vomiting.
3.Follow-up care
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Diet adjustment
During the dog's recovery period, pay attention to dietary adjustments, feed the dog some easy-to-digest food, avoid feeding the dog greasy, spicy and stimulating food.
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Observe the symptoms
It is important to closely observe whether the dog's symptoms improve, such as whether the vomiting and diarrhea stop, and whether the mental state improves. If the symptoms do not improve or worsen, you should take your dog to the vet for a review in time.
How to Give Potatoes to Dogs?
Here is the right way to give potatoes to your dog.
1. Choose the right potato
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Selection of varieties
Try to choose potato varieties that contain less starch and carbohydrates, such as sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc. These varieties are relatively more suitable for dogs.
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Quality selection
Choose potatoes with smooth skin, no buds and no green parts. Avoid sprouted or greenish potatoes as these contain high levels of toxins.
2. Correct Cooking Method
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Cooking
Cook the potatoes thoroughly, by boiling, steaming or baking, but do not add any seasonings and flavorings, such as salt, butter, cream, etc. These ingredients may be harmful to dogs.
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Peeling
Remove the skin of potatoes before feeding as it contains oxalates and other substances that may burden your dog's kidneys when consumed in large quantities.
3. Control the serving size
- Add in moderation
Even though potatoes are safe for dogs, they should be added to their diet in moderation. In general, adult dogs should not consume more than 10% of their total daily calorie intake of potatoes per day.
- Introduce Gradually
If it is the first time you feed your dog potatoes, you should start with a small amount and observe if your dog has any allergic or indigestive reactions such as vomiting, diarrhea, rashes, etc. If there is any abnormality, you should stop feeding immediately and consult your veterinarian.
4. Match with other food
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Balanced diet
Potato should not be the main food for dogs, it should be matched with other foods rich in protein, fat, vitamins and minerals, such as meat, fish, vegetables and fruits, to ensure a balanced nutrition for dogs.
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Avoid mixing with certain foods
Do not mix potatoes with onions, garlic and other foods that are toxic to dogs to avoid poisoning.
Precautions
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Observe the dog's reaction
After feeding potatoes, closely observe the dog's reaction, such as mental state, appetite, feces, etc. If there is any abnormality, you should consult a doctor promptly.
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Storage safety
Unconsumed potatoes should be stored properly to avoid the dog accidentally eating raw potatoes or spoiled potatoes.
FAQs
Are sweet potatoes different? Can dogs eat them raw?
Sweet potatoes are different from regular potatoes. While they also contain starch, they generally have lower levels of solanine - like substances. However, it is still not recommended to feed sweet potatoes raw to dogs. Cooked sweet potatoes are a great source of nutrition for dogs, providing vitamins, fiber, and other beneficial nutrients.
Are potato skins okay for dogs if the potato is cooked?
Even if the potatoes are cooked, it is not recommended to give your dog the potato skins.
Potato skins contain oxalates, and dogs ingesting large amounts of oxalates may cause kidney problems. Although dogs normally need to eat quite a lot of potatoes with skins for this to happen, it is best to remove the skins before feeding them to your dog to be on the safe side.
Potato skins are relatively hard and your dog's digestive system has a limited ability to digest them, which may lead to indigestion, gastrointestinal upset and other problems.
Can dogs eat unseasoned potatoes?
Conclusion
In summary, while potatoes can be a nutritious treat for dogs when cooked properly, raw potatoes should be avoided due to the presence of solanine and other potential health risks. Always make sure to cook potatoes thoroughly and serve them in moderation, free from seasonings or additives. If you're unsure whether a particular food is safe for your dog, always consult your veterinarian.