Raw eggs for dogs are an amazing nutritional booster all year round, but Easter is certainly an amazing time to write about their benefits since they’re top of mind for so many people.
My Boxer mixes Missy & Buzz got raw eggs as of 2015.
That’s when I switched them both from kibble to raw dog food, after Missy’s first cancer diagnosis in 2014. They each got 3-4 raw eggs per week because they’re filled to the brim with nutrients.
So in this blog post, I’ll talk about the benefits of raw eggs for dogs as well as:
- Which raw eggs should I feed my dog?
- 4 dog food ideas with raw eggs
- When it’s OK for dogs to eat the eggshell
- What about the risk of salmonella?
The Benefits Of Raw Eggs for Dogs
Disclaimer: This blog post was originally published in 2015 and has been updated in 2023. It contains affiliate links I may earn compensation through at no additional cost to you.
Raw eggs for dogs are a great, inexpensive, and complete source of protein. That’s because they contain all 8 essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein.
They also contain lots of minerals & vitamins:
- Iron
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin D
- Phosphorus
- Calcium
- Thiamine
- Folate
- Riboflavin
To top it all off, adding a few raw eggs to a dog’s diet will result in a shiny, glossy, healthy coat, because they also contain omega-3 fatty acids!
Raw eggs also help dogs with itchy skin. More on that in the next section.
Since the membrane is rich in natural glucosamine, collagen and hyaluronic acid, (organic) raw eggs also support your dog’s joint health.
Which Raw Eggs Should I Feed My Dog?
You can feed your dog chicken eggs, duck eggs or quail eggs. If you’re lucky, you can find all 3 at your local grocery store. My Harris Teeter in NC carries all three.
If your dog doesn’t do well with chicken in general, he likely also won’t do well with chicken eggs – like my pup Wally!
So in that case, the chicken eggs won’t help your dog with itchy skin. But the good news is that you can feed them duck eggs and/or quail eggs instead.
Other than that, you can buy them at Farmer’s Markets, on Etsy and even on Amazon – I’ve found fresh duck eggs on Etsy and quail eggs on Amazon.
But either way, it’s best to feed your dog organic raw eggs from pasture-raised birds.
That’s because they’re a lot more nutritious than eggs from caged birds that never get to enjoy sunlight (less Vitamin D) and are fed a soy-and grain rich diet.
Soy and grains are rich in Omega-6 fatty acids that increase inflammation in the body and cause itchiness, excessive licking and hot spots.
Good to know: Organic eggs must come from birds fed organic, vegetarian feed.
They are also GMO and pesticide free, and have been produced without any added growth hormones or antibiotics.
The organic Pete & Gerry’s eggs I buy at our local grocery store are raised and handled in a certified humane way on small family farms in the Northeast. I’m all for supporting small businesses – after all, I used to run one myself!
Of course you can also buy organic, fresh eggs from a local farm or farmer’s market in your neck of the woods!
Just make sure to ask how their chickens (or ducks/quails) are raised and what they’re fed.
Dog Food Ideas with Raw Eggs
I’ve experimented with a few different ways of how to actually feed the raw eggs to my dogs.
Cracked raw egg over dog food
One option is to mash the raw egg up with the raw dog food right inside the food bowl.
Poke a hole into the raw egg
Another option is to place the raw egg into the food bowl and simply poke a hole into the egg.
This is a little more challenging on a mental level as the pups will have to break up the rest of the egg themselves.
Feed your dog the raw egg whole
Taking it up yet another notch as far as the mental challenge is concerned would be to add the raw egg to the food without poking any holes into it.
The very first time I did this for Missy & Buzz it took them both 5+ minutes to figure out how to eat it.
They actually both ate the food surrounding the egg first, then grabbed the egg with their mouths, and placed it outside of their food bowls.
To me, that was OK because I would line their eating area in our dining room with doggie towels. The pups liked to drag their edible raw meaty bones onto their towels as well.
Tip: You can also feed your dog the whole egg outside.
What followed next was interesting to watch and I wish I had videotaped it!
They nudged the egg with their muzzles and rolled it around, licked it every now and then, and finally picked it up with their mouths and gave it a good crunch.
Update 2022: My new dog Wally loves his raw eggs too, and demonstrates how he eats his when I don’t add it to his raw food bowl below.
He mostly eats raw duck eggs these days because he has chicken and quail allergies.
Spoiler alert: pokes hole, sucks egg out, leaves shell. LOL
Add raw eggs to dry kibble for an extra nutrient boost
You can also add a raw egg to your dog’s dry food if you feed kibble. It will not only add variety to the meal, but also a ton of nutritional value!
Remember that eggs are a complete source of protein as they contain all 8 essential amino acids.
I suggested this approach to one of my pet sitting clients whose Boxer mix Rebel had skin issues where she was itchy and dandruffy quite a bit.
Over the years, Rebel’s skin condition has improved. While she’s still eating kibble, she’s been getting raw eggs cracked over her dog food 2-3 times per week.
Cracked raw egg over dog food
Can Dogs Eat Eggshell?
You can probably guess the answer from the pictures above – yes, they can. As a matter of fact, eggshells are filled with nutritious calcium.
The membrane lining between the eggshell and the egg is also highly nutritious because it contains chondroitin, glucosamine, collagen and hyaluronic acid.
All of those are particularly great for dogs with joint pain.
But you can only feed your dog the eggshell if your eggs are organic.
If they’re not organic, you should toss the shell because it will have been sprayed with a chemical to reduce bacteria.
Good to know: Although eggshells are rich in calcium, they can’t be used as a replacement for raw meaty bones because they don’t have any phosphorus.
What About The Risk Of Salmonella?
The risk of a dog getting sick with salmonella from eating raw eggs is slim to none.
Remember that a dog’s digestive system differs tremendously from our human one and is a lot more acidic. That’s exactly why they don’t have trouble consuming a raw meat diet in the first place!
After all, that’s what they would be eating in the wild – or have you ever heard of a dog who stole a live chicken and roasted it over a campfire or boiled the egg in hot water first?
Of course not!
However, if you’re unsure of feeding your dog raw eggs, you can also offer them hard boiled eggs or scrambled eggs. Just make sure you serve them without salt or any other condiments.
Bottom Line
So, can dogs eat raw eggs? Why yes, they certainly can!
Raw eggs are a superfood for dogs because they’re a complete source of protein as they contain all 8 essential amino acids.
Additionally, they’re also rich in other nourishing vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin D, Calcium and Iron.
As a raw feeder, I add raw eggs to my dogs’ food bowls several times per week.
But even if you don’t feed raw dog food, your dog will benefit from a cracked raw egg over their dog food. Remember, it’s great for coat health and can really help turn your dog’s dull coat into a shiny coat.
Does your pup get an occasional raw egg or have you been thinking about introducing them? As always, we’d love to hear from you in our comment section!
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Yes everytime I’ve fed the girls eggs, their coats improve!!
Egg-cellent testimony 😉
We have not fed raw eggs. They get left-over scrambled eggs every now and again, but that is about it. On the whole we are not big egg eaters in out house. 🙂
Neither am I – Missy & Buzz are the main reason why I buy eggs 🙂
I eat 3 every morning! Scrambled. 🙂
Maybe I should look into eating a few every week myself. I might get shinier hair out of it 😉
Great idea – we love eggs in our home. The boys have had hard boiled eggs in the past but I love the idea of cracking a raw egg over the meals we prep. We will try this week. I can just imagine our boys having no clue what to do with an un-cracked one!
Yay, very cool, I’m sure your boys will be intrigued 😉 You should try giving them a whole one and record their reaction!!
I never thought of this. Thank you and Cocoa thanks you because she is going to get something new!! Funny story, I was cooking eggs one day and I put 2 on the counter but when I went to get them I only found one and was like, I know I put out 2. All of a sudden Cocoa looked at us from the other room and had the egg!!
Haha, I love Cocoa’s very own, unsolicited testimonial of how good eggs are 😉 Sounds like she’ll be in for a few in the near future – without having to steal any!!
I have given Ace raw eggs too. (Also, scrambled!) I usually break them and mix with whatever he’s eating. My grandpa actually used to give his farm dogs raw eggs. He said it gave them shiny coats. I think he was onto something!
HA, I think your grandpa was definitely on to something! Ace is a lucky pup to get his egg treats – I’ve given the pups scrambled eggs too, towards the beginning of our transition from kibble to raw. They love them both cooked and raw.
I have been thinking about adding them, but I just keep forgetting! It would be fun to see what they would do with the whole egg. I always buy organic eggs, and even better I like to buy local fresh eggs. There is a farm at the end of our road where we just moved to so we’ll be checking them out for eggs soon. Next year we hope to get our own chickens!
Haha, you should give the whole egg thing a try! Super awesome to hear that you buy organic eggs as well, AND that you’re getting them from a farm down the road from you. I would LOVE that!!