From Idaho to Ireland, the potato knows no boundaries. Whenever you enjoy a delicious potato, you feel your dog’s eyes watching you closely. Perhaps that precious pup of yours hopes for a clumsy, or maybe they hope for a generous treat. But, can dogs have potatoes?

For the impatient: the answer to can dogs have potatoes is yes. However, there are things dog owners like you need to know when it comes to feeding potatoes to your furry friend.

Why Can Dogs Have Potatoes?

Potatoes are one of many human foods that your pup has the pleasure of eating.

Potatoes provide your pup a great source of potassium and carbohydrates. In fact, potatoes are often found in many prescription dog foods, to provide necessary carbs.

According to Dr. Danel Grimmett, dogs can eat potatoes as a treat or as part of their regular diet.

Dogs can have potatoes because potatoes provide little risk for your dog’s health, and they contain healthy nutrients. The carbohydrates in potatoes provide energy for your dog, while the potassium aids with digestion and muscle recovery.

While I said potatoes have little risk for harming your dog, there are still certain aspects of the potato for dog owners to know about.

Can Dogs Have Potatoes That Are Raw?

The answer here is no because of a certain toxin called solanine. Potatoes belong to the Nightshade family of stem vegetables. The significance of this is that many Nightshade veggies, when raw, contain that toxin called solanine.

Although raw potatoes contain relatively harmless levels of solanine, a dog can still be affected by the toxic compound. While not extremely harmful, solanine does run the risk of upsetting your dog’s tummy and irritating their esophagus (throat).

Because of the potential harm, it’s best to steer clear of raw potatoes. Also, avoid feeding your dog a potato with green skin. Green skin on a potato is a sign of higher amounts of solanine.

Even cooking a potato with green skin fails to completely rid it of the higher solanine levels. So, you definitely want to avoid feeding your pup a green potato, whether cooked, raw, steamed, or anything.

How To Feed

The best and most recommended way to feed potatoes to your dog is to peel them, cook them, mash them, and not to season them. Your pup doesn’t need that potato to be buttered up or salted for them to devour it.

Besides, dog’s don’t need extra butter or salt in their diet.

The rationale behind mashing the potatoes is to avoid any potential risks of blocking your pup’s stomach. These solid potato pieces are difficult to digest and can block your dog’s intestines and lead to vomiting or diarrhea.

Also, potatoes run the risk of making your dog overweight. Because of their high carbohydrate level, the addition of potatoes to your dog’s diet might lead to a weight gain. My advice? Don’t feed your pup potatoes everyday. Just give them the occasional potato treat.

Of course, you never need to feel like you have to give your pup a certain food. There are always other foods you can give your pup for a healthy, special treat.

A Monster Mash

So, can dogs have potatoes? They sure can! The occasional potato treat should serve your furry friend well.

Go on, give that little monster of yours some mash and earn yourself some valuable love points.