Wondering?

[Tinkhamtown]

Wondering if anybody has given his or her dog an egg a day? I have an eighty pound chocolate lab and a forty pound Springer and feed Purina Dog Chow. Noticed that the dogs coat are dry and no shine and we have an abundances of eggs (my wife has chickens) Do you use a raw egg or cooked egg and if so how fried, poached, hard boiled and what has been the result for the dog? Does dogs coat get nice and shiny?

[Big Buck Buster]

I would suggest going with a better quality dog food. If you like Purina brand, go with Purina One, or Proplan. I have a yellow and a chocolate, and both have nice shiny coats. I was feeding them dog chow before and they crapped alot more than with the "ONE" and "PROPLAN". They have alot less fillers according to the local vet.

[Tinkhamtown]

I am retired and have to go with what I can afford. Dogs have done pretty well on this for the last few years. I have also used Sprout dog food 21 percent protein. Question was on supplementing dog food with an egg not on my choice of dog food.

[LABS4ME]

Never been a fan of feeding them raw eggs. I've been told they cannot get salmonella from the eggs, but can still pass it to you. I think I'd at least lightly poach them.

I've also been told a tblsp of canola oil and fish oil once or twice a week helps to build up their coats.

Good Luck!

Ken

[Dave S]

I remember reading something here about raw eggs not being good for dogs, but couldn't find it in a search.

[tealitup]

Do you take fish oil as a supplement? Give the dog one

[311Hemi]

I would give a fish oil supplement, or better yet feed a better food. Feeding a better food may work out to roughly the same price as your current food because you feed less each time.....and help their skin/coats at the same time. If they have been doing pretty well on this food, what has changed that their coats now have issues?

I have never been a fan of raw eggs either (I don't feed eggs at all). But, if your going to feed eggs you should poach them from everything I have read/heard.

[verg]

I have been told by a couple vets that the fat content (% wise) is just as important if not more important than protein for sporting dogs.

[Boogaard]

ive heard of people putting in a little olive oil into the food to produce a shinny coat. I would possibly try that.

[Lindy Lee]

My neighbor said his vet told him to put 2 table spoons of yogurt on the his dogs food. He said he has noticed a better coat with less shedding, it is also supposed to help with the digestive system. I think he uses the cheapest stuff that he can find. As far as the output of your dog it comes from all the grains used as fillers in the food. It was explained to me that dogs have fangs because they were designed to eat meat not grains. Horses and cows have teeth designed to eat grains and would not do so well on meats. I relize that you may be on a fixed income, but if you go look at what the feeding amount is on a bag of high quality food is and then look at what the feeding amount is on the low quality food, you might be supprised that it does not cost as much as you think to feed the higher quality of food as it usually takes less of the better stuff. I swithced my dog to "taste of the wild". There a lot of people that feed raw chickens to there pets. If you look on the internet you can find alot of information on this. Hope this info helps. Sorry for the long posting.

[gspman]

If you are going to give an egg cook it first. Lowers risk of salmonella and there is some chemical in raw eggs that interferes with biotin absorbtion in the dog. Cooking it breaks down the chemical that interferes with the biotin absorbtion.

[Tinkhamtown]

Thanks everyone for the good ideas and advice.

[311Hemi]

 Originally Posted By: Lindy Lee

My neighbor said his vet told him to put 2 table spoons of yogurt on the his dogs food. He said he has noticed a better coat with less shedding, it is also supposed to help with the digestive system. I think he uses the cheapest stuff that he can find.

IMO...this is good advice and can help with various skin or ear issues. Look for a yogurt with as many bacteria as possible and just get plain non flavored/unsweetened yogurt (cheap and in large quantities!!!). Dogs do not need the sugar that is in sweetened/flavoered yogurt. The bacteria on the yogurt is whats beneficial to dogs (and people!!) digestive system.

From what I have heard two tablespoons every other day for maintenance, or two tablespoons daily during problem times like ear infections.