Egg Eating Dogs: Raw or Cooked, No Difference!

Understanding Raw Eggs

Salmonella Risk: Just like humans, dogs can contract salmonella, and consuming raw eggs can make them susceptible to this illness. The symptoms of salmonella poisoning are primarily acute gastroenteritis. However, you can easily prevent this by cooking the eggs thoroughly.

Vitamin Deficiency: Feeding dogs raw eggs for extended periods can lead to a deficiency in vitamins, a condition known as hypovitaminosis. Raw egg whites contain a protein that can block the absorption of new vitamins, leading to illness over time. Cooking the eggs can prevent this issue.

Enzyme Inhibitors: Raw eggs contain enzyme inhibitors that can disrupt a dog's digestive system, particularly in puppies and older dogs. Cooking the eggs completely eliminates these inhibitors.

Is It Safe to Feed Cooked Eggs?

No, while cooking eggs can prevent the issues mentioned above, it's important to note that cooking also results in the loss of most of the nutritional value. The tradeoffs are something everyone can understand.

Can We Feed Eggshells to Dogs?

Eggshells are rich in calcium and also contain strontium, both of which are beneficial for bone health. They also contain magnesium, which can help regulate blood pressure and heart rate, and can strengthen teeth. In fact, a study by researchers at the Slovak Republic's Rheumatism Institute in 2003 suggests that consuming eggshells can help prevent and treat arthritis and osteoporosis in humans and animals.

However, there are potential risks:

On rare occasions, eggshells may also carry salmonella. Before feeding eggshells, it's advisable to boil them for 3 to 5 minutes, let them cool, crush them into a powder, and then feed the powder to your dog.

Eggshell powder can be stored for a long time, and generally, a half teaspoon mixed into your dog's meal is sufficient.

While veterinarians abroad generally advise against feeding raw eggs to pets, there have been no major health issues reported due to raw egg consumption in dogs and cats. Clearly, cooked eggs are a safer option.

If your dog is not allergic to egg whites, it's best to feed them the whole egg, including the yolk.

As a general rule, large dogs may need 2 to 3 eggs per week to meet their nutritional needs, while smaller dogs can have less. Eating too many eggs can be wasteful as the body may not absorb all the nutrients.