How many eggs can I feed my dogs?

[Akane]

It is highly debated whether it will cause biotin deficiency. Most seem to now be leaning towards the egg yolk having enough biotin to count the problems from the egg whites.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

My Great Pyranees lives largely on eggs. He gets all the scrap eggs (breaks in the wash, not salable, etc.) mixed with some rolled oats and a pinch of salt then cooked for breakfast every morning. This accounts for about 60-70% of his diet with a good brand of dog food for the rest. He typically gets one to three eggs a day. Sometimes as many as four or five, but that's pretty rare.

 

[FrenchToast]

Here is what it says in the book "Storeys Guide to Raising Chickens" written by Gail Damerow

Chapter 7 Table Eggs
page 147
This is from the 195 edition. (Yellow chicks on cover)There is a newer one out last year.(Barred Rock on cover)

"One of the protiens in raw eggs,avidin, ties up the vitamin biotin as one of the eggs's defenses against bacteria, since most bacteria can't grow without biotin.
Pets are sensitive to the effects of avidin and shouldn't routinely be fed raw eggs.
A human would have to be fed two dozen raw eggs to be affected.
Avidin is inactivated by heat."

I was feeding my 20lb dog an egg a day on top of her dry and canned food but she is 11 yrs old and now I mix it all together with the egg then nook it. Doggy omlet.

I just don't want to take any chances on her health at this age.

Sorry, I didn't get back to the post with the info but I have been cleaning cages etc.....

Sandi

 

[AquaEyes]

If you want to feed your dog raw eggs, be sure to give them whole, and not just the whites. There is enough biotin in the yolk that even after all the avidin from the whites has bound to the biotin in the yolks, there is still an excess of biotin. Look at it like this: let's say there is 100 parts of biotin in the yolk, and the avidin in the whites binds up to 80 parts of it. There is still an amount of 20 parts of biotin left over (my numbers are not to scale, and are just used to illustrate the point). Instances of biotin deficiency associated with raw egg consumption as found through my google searches were all resulting from consuming just the whites (or it wasn't specified). Where "whole eggs" was specifically mentioned, no instance of biotin deficiency resulted.

Biotin is one of the B-vitamins, and is present in a vast array of foods. Deficiency in biotin is relatively rare, usually caused by some medication or other health condition, or over-consumption of raw egg whites (without the abundance of biotin from the yolks, there is a net loss of biotin per each consumed raw egg white...eaten together, there is actually a slight net gain of biotin). Biotin is also produced by intestinal bacteria in healthy individuals. To produce a significant biotin deficiency, one would have to have a diet already low in biotin (not likely unless specifically designed), and have reduced intestinal flora that produce the chemical. Then, perhaps, consuming raw egg whites will tip the balance into the deficiency zone.

I wouldn't worry about giving a dog a whole raw egg every day.



~Christopher

 

[TheSitcomGirls]

My dogs like their daily egg fried....my vet said one egg a day for them is fine. They really like it!

 

[True Grit]

If I started frying up eggs for the dogs every morning DH would probably want similar treatment. I'd hate to set a precedent.