potato skins?

I'd steer clear just in case. I do think the eyes (and green potatoes) contain a toxin - I'm sure someone has a helpful link, as I've seen it here before.  It's one of those things that isn't instant death but you wouldn't want to feed it regularly so if your dog ate a potato skin you don't have to worry.  Mine occaisionally raided my compost pile and ate peelings among other things and the vet said it was fine.

It's too bad they are a no-no since the skins are rich in vitamin C and some other micronutrients.  I enjoy them with butter and organic sour cream!

doesnt the entire potato contain vitamin C ?

My dogs eat whole potatoes, with the skins, regularly. As a matter of fact, this morning, I made them garlic (another "nono") potatoes, with scrambled eggs. They were *beyond* thrilled. They love it when I cook one meal, fresh for that day. I can't do it every day, but it makes them so happy, I try to on occasion.

My best guess is that it's fine. I scrub the potatoes well and cut out any weird spots or eyes. Emma is super sensitive, so if she hasn't reacted yet, I'm guessing she isn't going to.

i thought garlic was supposed to be good for them
 

Some people say it's bad, b/c, in ridiculously high doses, it can cause a form of anemia. It's listed on quite a few sites as toxic to dogs. My dogs eat it every day, so... again, I dunno. They're quite healthy and never have more than 2-3 fleas on them, even though *I* carry home fleas every day. Something is working.

Sites that say garlic is potentially toxic:
[linkhttp://www.petalia.com.au/Templates/StoryTemplate_Process.cfm?specie=Dogs&story_no=257]http://www.petalia.com.au/Templates/StoryTemplate_Process.cfm?specie=Dogs&story_no=257[/link]
[linkhttp://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dtoxin.html#Onion%20and%20Garlic%20toxicity%20%20in%20dogs%20and%20cats]http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dtoxin.html#Onion%20and%20Garlic%20toxicity%20%20in%20dogs%20and%20cats[/link]
[linkhttp://www.petplace.com/cats/dangerous-foods-are-they-harmful-to-your-cat/page1.aspx]http://www.petplace.com/cats/dangerous-foods-are-they-harmful-to-your-cat/page1.aspx[/link]

All say that onions are worse than garlic

Sites that list the benefits of garlic:
[linkhttp://www.provet.co.uk/petfacts/healthtips/garlic.htm]http://www.provet.co.uk/petfacts/healthtips/garlic.htm[/link]
[linkhttp://www.1800petmeds.com/solutions.asp?ID=BH1]http://www.1800petmeds.com/solutions.asp?ID=BH1[/link]
[linkhttp://www.thepetprofessor.com/articles/article.aspx?id=2030]http://www.thepetprofessor.com/articles/article.aspx?id=2030[/link]

None of the sites listing the benefits suggest feeding a large amount of garlic, at all. Really just a small amount is enough. I feed about a clove per week, per small dog. I eat a LOT more than that, LOL.

Avocado is another that you'll see on toxic lists, on benefits lists, and even IN pet food ingredients.

One of the largest canine kidney sites says to use sweet potatoes with the skins in the recipe for their homecooked food.  I don't know about regular potatoes, but my dogs eat them occasionally - I take the eyes off the taters, just as I do for myself.  Dancer has been eating it for quite some time, since she was diagnosed at age 14 and is now 17.  She's been eating garlic all her life, because she's allergic to Frontline!  Recently, when she had an attack of vestibular syndrome, the emergency vet said it was fine to add garlic to her food as an incentive to eat. 

I have always given the skins from our baked potatoes to the dogs.  Also, when I cook a potato or two with their meat, I leave the skins on--whte and sweet.  then I read potato skins are poison.     Same with garlic--read it is posion, read give it to dogs.  All this goes to show me that nothing can be agreed on by "experts".  One "expert" says never do this, the next "expert" says it is okay to do this once in a while, and the next says it is safe to do it al the time.  so how the H E  double hockey sticks does a person know which one to follow.   One person says expert A is the best and Expert B doesn't know what he is talking about and they never heard of Expert C..  Then another person comes along and says the first person is totally wrong.  Expert A is a total moron that doesn't know what she is talking aoubt and Expert B has some good ideas, but Expert C is by far the best.
 
SOOO I have decided to just do my own thing and do what I have always done, feed like always as my dogs are always pronounced healthy and have no health problems that could be caused by what they eat or don't eat.  To heck with experts A,B, and C.
 
Oh, I should say, you do have to use common sense.  You don't want your dog's diet to consit of popcorn and ice cream, LOL.

One book I read about Garlic said that for some reason dogs really love it and that is why it's added to dog food and treats, to entice them to eat it. I would think anything they eat in excess would be toxic to them, but I doubt it's in the amount that we feed them per serving in their treats and such.
 
Most of the home cooked recipes I feed mine have garlic in them, and I will throw a small part of a garlic clove in the crock pot when I make their homecooked.

i want to know if potato skins are beneficial or not

my dog needs potassium which skins have but are they toxic

and is the potato meat  just as good for potassium

in a conundrum

help

do you know if potato skins are good or not

my dog needs potassium

and I heard they are toxic

wondering if the potato flesh contains potassium as well

not going to give something toxic even though he needs

potassium with medication for cushings, poor guy

thanks if you can provide can't find answer anywhere

to explain - it is the skin area that is *green* that is toxic in white potato -- it can be really hard to tell under the fluorescent lights at a store but for BOTH humans and dogs that greenish cast to white potato skin *is* toxic.  Honestly just don't buy them if they are at all green (you almost can't peel deeply enough -- truly just don't buy them if they are like that).  I use white potato in my home-cooked dog food quite often and I never peel them.  However there are better sources of potassium

sweet potato is actually the highest on the list. In fact I use it as the base of my cooked dog food.  Just hack the sweet potatoes into chunks, cover with water and keep at a low boil until tender.  Then just use a potato masher to further break down.  If you just break the pieces of skin down it is fine for them and gives them good bulk to keep their poops normal.

Tomato sauces -- pureed tomato -- is a really good source of potatassium  You will occasionally read things about tomato being toxic -- it's not the red tomato itself (which is the "fruit" of the vine) that is toxic.  It is ALL the green plant matter.  Tomato is a nightshade so you just don't want them eating part of the vine or the green leaves.

Beet greens (the tops of the beet root) are also high in potassium.  Again you just chop them up and boil til tender.

Another is green beans and DOGS LOVE THEM.  The easiest is to use no-salt canned green beans.  I dunno why dogs love those so much but they do.  (most dogs think they are yummy as treats -- weird but true).  But if you decide to add them to a topper I usually use the "French cut" ones from the freezer section -- after cooked I mash them with my trusty potato masher.

Yogurt is also high in potassium.  Just make sure it doesn't have artificial sweeteners in it (yes fruity yogurt is fine -- altho dogs tend to love plain yogurt as well -- but I stick with the greek yogurt which is less sugary sweet and more just fruit added)

You can use a food processor if you like but I cook all my veggies first.  If you don't cook them at all you have to totally break down the cellulose (which is what makes veggies crisp) -- so don't cook them like YOU would want them -- they can't be crisp or they can't digest them. 

And btw .. I never throw away the water I cook stuff in.  There are vitamins in there.  Also just FYI -- don't your dog ONLY the same veg time after time. 

This URL gives you a decent slideshow of various high potassium foods:

http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20721159_6,00.html

COMMON SENSE ALERT:  Too much of anything is TOO much.  That list contains stuff like "carrot juice" -- it's too concentrated and will throw your whole mineral balance off -- so a little would be great but don't add tons of carrots to the diet (it has a sucky calcium/phosphorous ratio).

Another thing that article lists is prunes.  Now I'll tell ya -- my dogs LOVE prunes.  They're great fiber.  My pug is on an herbal blend for petit mal seizures and it *constipates* her -- and her favorite treat is the 2 prunes she gets every evening.  (They're yummy sweet, Mom!) - but even at 19 pounds two is her limit!  My other two (at 30 pounds) LOVE them, but they only get 1/2 to 1 prune a day -- because yep, prunes do the same thing for dogs as for humans.  Along with the fiber there is a mild laxative effect so a little is good, a lot if not.  (Again that article is saying prune juice -- you're better off with the prunes themselves -- just  cut one in pieces -

Whitefish (sometimes called whiting) is also great.  I often use whitefish as part of the protein in my cooked dogfood.

Hard squash (acorn squash, butternut squash, spaghetti squash) -- NO SEEDS.  But again just cut them up, boil and you don't have to peel.  Great potassium, great anti-oxidants.

Bananas -- and yes dogs love them.  You might want to get some banana chips and use as treats.  They love them, crunch good *smile* and you've got good potassium there.

They list citrus on that list but surprisingly that tends to be one of the things dogs aren't crazy for (at least in my experience).  But again if you use it NO seeds.

So honestly I'm saying don't try to supplement potassium with just one food all the time.  Mix them up