If you’re coming to this article concerned and ready to call the vet—just know that sweet potato fries aren’t toxic for your dog. However, if they are already made into fries, and you haven’t just cut up a fresh, sweet potato, they might contain other ingredients that are toxic or certainly not healthy for your pooch.
In this article, we’re going to go over all of the benefits of sweet potato, as well as some of the potentially damaging ingredients that could be in sweet potato fries.
Your Dog Shouldn’t Eat Sweet Potato Fries
Although eating a few sweet potato fries likely won’t hurt your dog, sweet potato fries made for people are often not a healthy selection for dogs. They can be cooked in fats which provide unnecessary additional calories for your pup. Some dogs can get pancreatitis from eating fatty foods; this is a painful inflammation of the pancreas that causes vomiting and diarrhea.
If the sweet potato fries are cooked with garlic or onion powder, they are toxic to dogs. These powders are very potent and contain sulfur compounds that cause damage to red blood cells, and anemia if enough is eaten.
If your dog snatched a few plain fries off your dinner plate when you weren’t looking, they should be fine but you should check for toxic additives and monitor them for signs of illness. You should also never voluntarily feed fries designed for people.
Negatives of Sweet Potato Fries for Dogs
Let’s take a deep dive into the negatives. As we’ve already stated, these fries aren’t the worst human food your dog could eat, but it’s certainly not the best.
Unnecessary Oils
To make the sweet potato fries crispy but soft, oils are often added to the recipe. These oils can create just the right crunch and keep everything delightfully flavored and textured. However, some oils can be very unhealthy for our dogs to consume.
Some examples of oils used in sweet potato fries include vegetable, safflower, corn, canola, soybean, coconut, or sunflower oils. Too much excess oil can directly impact the pancreas. It can also cause weight gain, especially if your dog eats a lot of food containing these ingredients over the long term.
Preservatives
When it comes to anything processed, preservatives are always necessary to keep the product fresh for longer. However, some of them can be pretty harmful—to both us and our pooches. Will it kill us right away? No, but it isn’t the healthiest selection.
Dog food itself has a bounty of preservatives. Some are not quite as bad as others. Check out the label on your sweet potato fries. Do you see any ingredients you’re not sure about? You might want to give them a Google to see the effects on dogs.
Some brands will contain more preservatives than others. So, if you’re a health-conscious person, sweet potato fries might not have any questionable additives. Others may have a ton. There is a lot of wiggle room here—and it’s worth the research to stay informed.
Toxic Ingredients
Not everything that can be enjoyed by people is good for dogs. Two ingredients that could be added to sweet potato fries for taste are garlic and onion powder, but there could be other ingredients that aren’t good for dogs too. Garlic and onion belong to the Allium genus. These plants contain sulfur compounds that damage a dog’s red blood cells.
Garlic is 3-5 times more toxic than onion, and the powders of both these plants are more potent than the fresh forms. If your dog has consumed fries with these ingredients you should call your vet or Animal Poison Control, as the risk for your dog varies depending on their size and how much they have consumed.
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Are Sweet Potatoes Safe for Dogs?
Sweet potato by itself is not just safe for dogs to eat, it’s also extremely beneficial! If you sweep the ingredients of any dog food recipe bag, you might just find sweet potato as one of the ingredients, especially foods designed for digestive health.
It helps with digestion tremendously and delivers a bounty of minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients to your pup. So, even though sweet potato fries aren’t the best for your dog, sweet potatoes themselves are a much better alternative. Let’s take a look at the benefits of sweet potatoes and how you can properly serve them to your pooch.
Sweet Potato Benefits
There are a ton of benefits to adding sweet potatoes to your dog’s diet. Of course, it’s no replacement for their daily kibble and you should definitely feed in moderation, but that doesn’t change the perks of well-measured orange taters as a snack.
Fiber for Digestive Improvement
Sweet potatoes are packed full of fiber! They can help with a ton of gastrointestinal improvement. You might look at specialized dog food bags. Many contain sweet potatoes in place of soy, corn, wheat, etc. That is because sweet potato nourishes the gut and supports healthy digestion.
Antioxidants from Beta-Carotene
Sweet potatoes have a gorgeous orange color thanks to a powerful antioxidant called beta-carotene. This is the same antioxidant found in many other veggies—carrots are a great example.
While this antioxidant is responsible for the color, don’t let that undermine the benefit! Ultimately, beta-carotene has also been proven to be a fantastic anti-inflammatory.
Healthy Alternative to Many Carb Sources
The sweet potato is a starchy veggie that is a very sound source of carbohydrates. Often, these potatoes are used in many recipes to replace traditional carb sources that can cause irritation or allergies in some dogs.
Loaded with Vitamins and Minerals
Sweet potatoes are full of nutritious vitamins and minerals that nourish several areas of the body. Sweet potatoes contain vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, and copper. These vitamins and minerals serve many different areas of the body, helping a variety of organ systems.
How to Make Sweet Potatoes Healthy for Dogs
There are many selections you can make when it comes to sweet potatoes that are much healthier for your dogs than store-bought sweet potato fries. Here are a few ideas to get you started!
Make Your Own Sweet Potato Fries
You could make your very own doggy-friendly sweet potato fries for your four-legged canine companion. You will be in full control of all of the ingredients therein. Simply cut up the sweet potato and bake it in the oven without any additives.
Add Sweet Potato to Your Dogs Dish
Sweet potato can be a wonderful additive to spruce up dry kibble or add a little gastrointestinal support to your dog’s daily diet. You can boil and mash sweet potatoes for a tasty treat or you can cut the sweet potato into small diced pieces and bake it to soften it up a bit.
If you don’t cook it, it won’t be as digestible for your dog and may cause a gastrointestinal upset.
Conclusion
Now you understand that sweet potato fries that are prepared for humans might not be the best option for your dog. However, if you home-make your own or create a selection of different doggie treats with the sweet potato base, you are in the clear.
Sweet potatoes are a highly beneficial food item for your dogs and can aid digestion. They are a healthy treat that helps to nourish their system.
Featured Image Credit: grafvision, Shutterstock