Can Dogs Eat Eggs?
Anybody that has been around dogs will know that they are really quite easy to feed. They will be happy to eat just about anything, including scraps. Asides from maybe the occasional upset stomach, you are likely to find that dogs can eat just about anything without a problem.
There are some foods that you should not feed to your dog, however. Some can be toxic to them and quite dangerous to their health and even to their lives. This may lead to the question of whether or not it is ok to feed eggs to your dog. We have answered the question and provided some further information.
1. Yes, Eggs Are Fine for Dogs
The straightforward answer of whether or not dogs can eat eggs is yes, it is just fine to give eggs to dogs and you should not expect your pooch to have any complications. It is okay to give your dog eggs as a meal on its own, or mixed in with other foods. Just bear in mind that, just like some people, some dogs stomachs can be sensitive to a change in diet. To be sure, try using just a little egg at first and maybe try mixing some in with their usual food. If they do experience an upset stomach then it probably means that eggs are not for your pooch, but it should not do any lasting harm.
2. Omnivores
It is often thought that dogs are carnivores, just like their wolf cousins, but this is not the case. Instead, they are omnivores, just as we are, which means that they eat vegetable matter as well as meat. While wolves are known to eat vegetable matter such as berries occasionally, this is more likely to be for medicinal purposes than for nutritional purposes.
There are some foods that dogs cannot eat but they are usually very flexible in regards to what they can eat. In addition to vegetables and meat, they are also able to eat egg, which is a good thing because eggs are packed full of important nutrients.
3. High Protein
One of the reasons that eggs are good for us, and for dogs, is their high-protein content. If you bear in mind that an egg has all that is needed to make a fully formed chick, it is easy to see how many nutrients they contain. The high volume of protein and other nutrients is one of the reasons why eggs are often recommended for our diets.
In addition to protein are vitamins A and B12, riboflavin, selenium, folate, and fatty acids. While eggs are a near complete food source in themselves, they also work well as a supplement to help provide a complete balanced diet.
4. Cooked Only
While it is fine to give eggs to your dog, make sure that the egg is cooked first. One reason for this is the risk of salmonella poisoning, something that humans also need to be careful about. Another reason for cooking eggs is that your dog may develop a biotin deficiency. Biotin, which is also known as vitamin H, is responsible for aiding in various bodily functions including digestion, and keeping cells healthy.
Uncooked eggs contain compounds that prevent the vitamin being absorbed by the body, hence leading to a deficiency. Symptoms of a biotin deficiency in dogs include loss of appetite, insomnia, dry eyes, brittle hair, red rashes on the skin, and fatigue.
5. Hard Boiled Are Best
Dogs can eat eggs no matter how they are cooked, and some just love scrambled eggs or even an omelet when given the chance. You should try to avoid soft-boiled eggs, though, unless you want to run the risk of having egg yolk spilled all over the pace. The most convenient option is hard-boiled eggs.
These are easy to make, easy to keep, and also easy to give to your pooch. Another very important factor is that dogs just love them. If you want, you can also add eggs as an ingredient with other foods to help them benefit from the nutrition.
6. Handy Treats
Dogs just love eggs. For many pooches, even a little bit of egg is a welcome treat that will brighten up their day. This can be very useful to us because such treats are handy when it comes to encouraging your pooch to learn new things. Because hard-boiled eggs are easy to store, they will be easily accessible when they are needed.
Even if you are going out you can take some eggs with you in a sealed container, and these will make suitable treats that can be very effective at helping in training.
7. Easily Digested
Another advantage of giving eggs to dogs is that the protein and other vitamins and minerals are fairly easy to digest. This can be useful in helping to ensure that your pooch gets all the nutrition that they need, especially in dogs that might otherwise have difficulty in extracting what they need from their food.
You can also try giving eggs to dogs that are fussy eaters and might otherwise not get the nutrition that they need. As mentioned, however, your pooch might still experience an upset stomach to begin with, but this will likely subside as their digestive system gets used to the new food.
8. Eggshells
When we are eating eggs ourselves, we will usually peel the shell away first and then throw it away. This makes sense considering that we won’t want to have pieces of eggshell in our mouths when we are chewing, but we are throwing away a lot of nutrients in doing so.
Eggshells are a good source of calcium and protein, both of which are important for maintaining good health. In order to use them safely, you can first grind up the shell and then mix them in with your poochs other food. This will help to replace some nutrients that might otherwise be missing from their diet.
9. Cholesterol
It is no secret that eggs are among the most nutritious of foods, but they are not without their drawbacks. One such drawback being that they are high in cholesterol, and this is not good for our health. While they are packed full of nutrients, it is also wise not to overdo it.
Dogs are fortunate, however, in that cholesterol does not affect them in the same way that it affects us. This means that they get to make the most of the benefits of eating egg, but without the negative aspects that people are prone to suffering from.
10. Weight Gain
In addition to being very nutritious, eggs also have a very high calorific value. Foods that are high in calories are often scorned upon for contributing to problems like obesity, but a lot of calories can be very useful in some situations. If you have a dog that is too skinny and needs to put on some weight, eggs might be just what you need.
Their high calorie content will help your pooch to start gaining some weight, while the nutritional value of eggs will also help to keep them in good health. If you have been feeding eggs to your dog and they are getting too big, it is probably a good idea to remove eggs from their diet.
