Breakfast is the cornerstone of every successful day, and eggs provide a nutritious start to each morning. But when Fido shows interest in what looks like delicious scrambled or omelet eggs to you, is it safe for him or her to share in?
Yes! Eggs make great treats or nutritional supplements for your pup! Whether they’re raw or cooked, eggs offer some incredible nutrition benefits to their diet.
WARNING Make sure that any eggs offered to your pup don’t contain additives such as salt or are present in an omelet with onions and other potentially toxic ingredients. Furthermore, check that no other components such as oil, butter or pepper might also contain ingredients which could potentially harm them. Your pooch likely enjoys devouring every last bit of the eggs without needing additional seasoning (although cheese sprinkled onto scrambled eggs might make for a tasty special treat).
Benefits of Eggs for Dogs
Eggs are packed with protein and packed full of essential amino and fatty acids, vitamins such as A and B12, folate, iron, selenium and riboflavin that all offer health benefits to canines; from improved skin and coat health to stronger teeth and bones. Eggs have long been considered an indispensable addition to many homemade pet diets as a nutritious food source – as such they’re often included as part of homemade pet diets as safe ingredients.
Eggs may be safely included in your dog’s diet as a supplement; however, they should never become their sole source of nutrition. As a general guideline, eggs should only be given occasionally as part of an overall high-quality commercial food or meat-based diet plan.
How to Give Your Dog Eggs Though eggs are considered safe “human foods” for Rover, always consult with your veterinarian before giving him eggs as too much may lead to health issues like obesity or diseases like Salmonella. Eggs contain ample nutrition but should only be given occasionally due to being high in fat content – owners with overweight dogs should exercise extreme caution when offering such protein-packed treats!
Eggs can be an enjoyable and healthy snack for your dog, while also aiding their digestive issues if the hardness of their food irritates their stomach too much. Your veterinarian can advise how many eggs your individual pet can tolerate at one time.
Although some bacteria from raw food is beneficial for your pet, you need to ensure any harmful bacteria is contained at safe levels by properly storing eggs. When possible, purchase organic free-range eggs.
Eggs Are Dangerous for Dogs
Canines were once known to raid birds’ nests and devour eggs raw–even those with crunchy shells–but this practice should no longer be practiced within domesticated environments. Consuming raw or undercooked eggs has inherent risks for both your dog and you; although side effects may be relatively rare, veterinarians advise cooking eggs before feeding them to your pup.
Warning
Both pets and humans may be vulnerable to contracting Salmonella through raw eggs.1 A foodborne illness which can spread easily between species, Salmonella can manifest itself with symptoms including vomiting, fever, bloody diarrhea (which could occur), loss of appetite or decreased activity level in pets with cancer, infections or other serious medical conditions that make their immune systems unable to protect against potential contamination of raw eggs.
Biotin deficiency, another lesser-known risk of feeding eggs to your pet, can result from overeating of raw egg whites for too long, due to an enzyme present in egg whites that prevents biotin’s absorption into their bodies. Biotin is a B complex vitamin essential for health in both dogs and humans alike and as egg whites contain enzyme inhibitors which may interfere with digestion–particularly puppies and senior dogs–eggs should always be offered moderately to ensure your pup doesn’t overdoe it – veterinarians still advise against overfeeding on eggs!
As with any new food source, make sure your pet can tolerate scrambled and hard-boiled egg snacks without experiencing stomach distress.