Can Dogs Eat Potatoes?

Dogs can eat potatoes, that’s true. However, only feed them boiled potatoes because even potato skins are poisonous to dogs.

Dogs should be fed as balanced and appropriate to their species as possible. This means your dog needs to get enough protein, fat, and carbohydrates.

Potatoes as an alternative to grain

In conventional feed, carbohydrates are often added in the form of grain. But not every dog ​​tolerates wheat or rye.

More and more dogs are reacting to dog food containing grain with food intolerances or even allergies. Therefore, you should feed alternative carbohydrate sources. The potato is particularly suitable for dogs with allergies.

We, humans, consider potatoes to be particularly healthy and nutritious. The same applies to our four-legged friends.

Potatoes as healthy carbohydrates for dogs

Because the potato contains around 78 percent water and 16 percent carbohydrates in the form of starch. About 2 percent of the potato is protein, which is high in essential amino acids.

Lots of vitamins C, B1, B2, B5, and  B6 as well as calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium make this type of vegetable so healthy. The tuber contains only 0.1 percent fat.

Potatoes are particularly important for our dogs in the event of food intolerance and allergies.

Potato during an elimination diet

The allergen is determined using an elimination diet. The potato is often used as a neutral source of carbohydrates.

The dog can only eat one source of protein. Here mainly horsemeat or goat is given.

Once the allergen has been identified, the dog must avoid it for the rest of its life. Grain types are often the trigger for intolerance.

The potato is an excellent alternative here, which the dogs also gladly accept.

Boiled potatoes good for dogs

The potato is a crop. It is considered one of the most important human foods in the world. Potatoes are also one of the most popular feed crops.

To this day, it is not exactly known who originally brought the potato to Europe from South America. It was first used in Spain during the 16th century.

Today there are around 5,000 different varieties of the tuber worldwide, which are differentiated according to numerous criteria.

Only the parts of the potato that grow underground are used. Potatoes belong to the nightshade family, like tomatoes, peppers, and aubergines. All green parts of the potato are inedible.

Why can’t dogs eat raw potatoes?

Dogs cannot tolerate raw potatoes. Because even parts are poisonous, we’ve included raw potatoes in the list of foods dogs shouldn’t eat.

If you want to feed your dog potatoes, they must be peeled and steamed or boiled. Because solanine is contained in the skin, the sprouts, and the green parts of the potato.

Solanine is a poison that can irritate the mucous membranes, vomiting, and diarrhea, ea in dogs. A larger amount of solanine can lead to cramps and disorders of brain function.

At first, that might sound dramatic. The first reflex that is usually asked is whether nightshades belong in dog food at all.

But it is not for nothing that potatoes are one of the staple foods. Therefore, the solanine content in potatoes is regularly examined. For ware potatoes, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment has set the limit at 100 mg per kilogram of raw ware potatoes. This value applies at least to human consumption.

With regular checks, over 90% of all providers comply with this limit. For this purpose, the maximum recommended glycoalkaloid content in Germany is checked by the Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety.

In ten percent of the potatoes examined, the solanine content was only a few milligrams above the limit. 

How long to cook potatoes for a dog?

However, there are a few tips you should keep in mind when cooking potatoes:

Contrary to the persistent rumor, the poisonous solanine cannot be rendered harmless by cooking. The poison only decomposes at a temperature of approx. 240° C. In a normal household, you will never reach these high temperatures, neither in the oven nor in the fryer.

Can dogs eat potato skins?

Your dog should never eat potato skins. Potatoes store the most solanine in the skin and below the skin.

However, there is a lot you can do during storage to ensure that the solanine content in the potatoes does not continue to increase:

Can a dog eat mashed potatoes?

The potato is not only an excellent supplementary feed. It is also suitable as diet food.

Mashed potatoes also have the advantage that sick dogs do not have to chew much. Diarrhea or vomiting can quickly happen to our four-legged friends. With these stomach and intestinal problems, you can give mashed potatoes on a light diet.

On the one hand, potatoes are easy to digest and, on the other hand, provide the dog with important vitamins and nutrients. The carbohydrates give the animal strength.

Incidentally, the potato has a protective effect on the gastric mucosa.

Ideally, steam the potatoes and mash them a little. You can also mix in a little cottage cheese if you like. Dogs usually appreciate this diet food very much.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are potatoes good for dogs?

On the other hand, peeled and boiled potatoes are a very healthy and tasty source of carbohydrates for dogs. Potatoes contain many valuable minerals such as calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium. In addition, the potato in dog food also provides important vitamins such as vitamin C, B1, B2, B5, and B6.

Are boiled potatoes harmful to dogs?

Boiled potatoes are harmless and even very healthy for your furry friend. Raw potatoes, on the other hand, must not be fed. The green parts of tomatoes and Co. contain a lot of solanine and are therefore particularly harmful.