Whether dogs may eat eggs, about it you read even on this web page partly contradictory statements.
And we have received some questions from readers about this. Therefore you find on this page an overview, which should serve in the future as a reference.
To put it in a nutshell: Dogs are allowed to eat eggs. raw, cooked and with the egg shell. Only with too large quantities of raw egg white you should be careful.
Eggs are full of valuable nutrients
Eggs play a rather subordinate role in the dog nutrition. Eggs are rarely mentioned in the composition of dog food, although they have so much to offer.
Eggs contain high amounts of unsaturated fatty acids. In addition, they are rich in vitamins, trace elements and high quality protein.
For our dogs everything is very healthy and therefore the four-legged friends are allowed to eat eggs as a matter of principle. But especially with this food it depends on the preparation as well as the quantity.
Are boiled eggs harmful for dogs?
Cooked eggs may take the dog in any case to itself, if your favorite would like this at all. Mostly the egg yolk is popular. It is preferred by most animals.
Nevertheless, you should also not feed cooked eggs carelessly.
There is a lot of cholesterol in the egg yolk. Therefore eggs had in the meantime even the reputation of increasing the heart attack risk with humans.
Cholesterol is an important component of nerve cells, cell membranes and hormones.
However, too much of it represents an oversupply of fat. This is especially true for small dogs. Cholesterol can only be broken down with difficulty and metabolic disorders can occur.
So you may feed cooked egg yolk gladly in small quantities. Egg whites, on the other hand, can be eaten more often by dogs if they like it. Because the egg white or egg white does not want every quadruped.
Is egg yolk good for dogs?
The situation is completely different with raw eggs. Again and again you hear or read that a raw egg yolk would be very healthy for the dog’s coat.
This is basically also correct. The fatty acids it contains have a very positive effect on skin and coat. However, with a raw egg yolk, you must always ensure absolute freshness.
You can easily recognize a fresh egg if you put the raw egg in a glass of water.
If the egg is fresh, it immediately sinks to the bottom and stays there. The older the egg, the more likely it is to float.
A good test is also to break the egg on a flat plate.
- A fresh egg remains nicely marked and is gelatinous.
- An older egg spreads flat on the plate.
In case of poor storage or older eggs, there is a risk of salmonellae. You should therefore always take great care when handling raw eggs.
Avoid feeding egg white
Raw egg white on the other hand is absolutely taboo for the dog.
To understand this, let’s get out a little. Egg white contains the substance avidin. And this substance prevents the absorption of biotin.
For dogs, however, biotin is an extremely important vitamin, also known as vitamin H or vitamin B7.
If a deficiency occurs, a disturbed metabolism is the result. A biotin deficiency is usually first visible in the fur. The coat structure deteriorates. The coat becomes shaggy and dull.
It causes itching and reddening of the skin. If the biotin deficiency persists, this can lead to serious diseases.
The solution is simple, because the avidin contained in the egg white can easily be deactivated by heating.
Then the protein is normally tolerated by dogs.
The egg shell is also valuable
But not only the inside of a chicken egg is important for the dog. You can also use the shell. Because eggshells contain a lot of calcium, which is important for dogs.
Take the egg shells and grind them in a mortar or food processor and sprinkle a little of it over the food every now and then.
However, always make sure that the shells are clean. Because shells that are contaminated by soil or feces can contain numerous bacteria.This becomes dangerous for both humans and animals. It is best to use the shells of boiled eggs.
Breakfast egg for dogs
Make the menu of your favorite a little varied.
For many people, an egg is part of an enjoyable and substantial breakfast. This can be soft or hard boiled, comes as a fried egg or scrambled eggs on the plate or even once with cheese, spinach or ham au gratin.
The popular breakfast egg not only tastes delicious, it also contains a lot of important nutrients that are very healthy for the human body.
We have explained above what this looks like in your dog. May our four-legged friend also eat a breakfast egg? Having a raw egg yolk once in a while is very healthy. Cooked the whole egg is harmless, it does not have to be your breakfast egg.