Sweet potato is a tuberous root vegetable that dogs love to eat. Sweet potatoes contain a lot of minerals like calcium, selenium, and iron. They are a good source of vitamins A, and C. Pumpkin is also a good vegetable that your cat needs to survive. It is very rich in vitamins and minerals but low in calories. A lot of dog owners prepare pumpkin squash for their pet dogs to keep them healthy.
You should know that both pumpkin and sweet potatoes contain good nutritional benefits, but sweet potatoes contain more protein, fiber, and vitamin A than pumpkin. And your dog needs more of these contents to stay healthy. Sweet potatoes have more carbohydrates in them than pumpkins, and this also means that the sugar content and calories in them are relatively high. So, if your dog has diabetes or an underlying illness, make sure you make inquiries from your veterinarian before you start feeding it with sweet potatoes so that it doesn’t worsen its health condition.
RELATED POST: How to Clean Dogs Mouth after Eating Dead Animal- Follow These Easy Methods!
Your dog can eat pumpkin. It can serve as a great way of changing your dog’s diet. Ensure you are careful about the quantity of pumpkin you give your dog. Do it in moderation. It will also be cool if you talk to your veterinarian about serving your dog with pumpkin so he can appropriately advise you.
Pumpkin contains a lot of fiber that quickly satisfies your dog without giving it too many calories. So, if you want your dog to lose excess weight, feed it with pumpkin. It’s an excellent diet for it.
Also, pumpkin contains Vitamin C that helps enzymatic reactions in the body of your dog and collagen synthesis. It also contains Vitamin A that boosts your dog’s vision and immune system. Alpha-carotene and Vitamins E are also part of the content in pumpkin, and they help to prevent damage to cells from free radicals and they also regulate enzymatic activity. Pumpkin also has lutein in it that keeps the skin and eyes of your dog healthy. Iron is also contained in pumpkin; it promotes the flow of oxygen in your dog’s body and maintains your dog’s hemoglobin count. If your dog consumes pumpkin, its bones and teeth will be strong because it has calcium in it.
If your dog is having constipation issues, feeding it with a tablespoon of canned pumpkin and its usual food will improve its health condition.
You may be asking yourself what kind of pumpkin is suitable for your dog’s diet. Plain, canned pumpkin is the right choice for your dog. Avoid giving your dog any pumpkin pie that contains cinnamon or nutmeg. It can make your dog develop digestive issues.
How can you introduce pumpkin into your dog’s diet?
You can freely introduce pumpkin to your regular homemade dog food. Ensure the quantity is moderate, and seek advice from your veterinarian on how to go about it.
Too much pumpkin is not healthy for your dog. It can become poisonous to its system. This ks because pumpkin contains a lot of beta-carotene in it, and when your dog converts it to Vitamin A, it becomes very poisonous to your dog.
Give your puppy a few teaspoons of pumpkin and your adult dog a few tablespoons of pumpkin every day.
How should you feed your dog with sweet potatoes?
Bake, steam, or boil the sweet potato you want to feed your dog with. Avoid adding seasonings to the sweet potatoes so that the nutritional benefits in it won’t be wasted.
If your dog is still small, feed it with a teaspoon of sweet potatoes, but if it is an adult, a tablespoon would be better. You should consult a veterinarian before you start to feed your dog with this diet, to not go out of the usual quantity. If you go beyond its regular diet, it may consume a lot of vitamin A that can lead to muscle weakness and home issues. It could also lead to gastrointestinal problems because of too much intake of fiber.
Benefits of feeding your dog with sweet potato.
There are many benefits your dog stands to gain when it consumes sweet potato. Some of them are:
- Its high fiber content is very healthy for your dog’s digestive system. It prevents your dog from developing diarrhea issues.
- Sweet potatoes are very rich in vitamin A, B6, and C. Vitamin C aids in boosting your dog’s immune system. Vitamin A gives your dog healthy eyesight, muscles, nerves, and skin.
- It also contains potassium, calcium, and iron that promotes well being of your dog.
- Sweet potatoes have beta-carotene in it that gives them their unique orange, gold, or yellow color. Beta-carotene has a lot of antioxidants in it that protect your dog against heart disease and cancer. When beta-carotene gets converted to Vitamin A in your dog’s body, it aids your dog’s reproductive system, vision, and bone growth.
How should you prepare sweet potatoes for your dog?
Don’t just take raw sweet potatoes and toss them at your dog. Cook it properly until it’s very soft; peel the skin, so your dog doesn’t find it hard to digest.
RELATED POST: Dog Ate Dead Birds with Maggots-Will He Be Okay?
Feeding your dog with raw sweet potato will give it stomach upset and cause intestinal blockage. It will also be too hard for it to chew.
Conclusion
Sweet potato is a delicious and healthy meal for your dog. Explore the different options of preparing it for your dog. Just ensure that you don’t feed your dog with more than ten percent of its daily diet. Also, please don’t feed your dog with raw potato; it can choke it. Cooking or baking the sweet potatoes you want to provide your cat with is excellent. Also, make sure you mash the potato or cut it into small slices to devour it. Where your dog has gastrointestinal issues, stop feeding it with sweet potato.
Variety is excellent for your dog; feel free to feed it with both pumpkin and sweet potatoes. If you provide your dog with only sweet potato, it might quickly get tired of it and even start rejecting it.
Feed your dog with good food. It should eat well so it can stay healthy.