04/26/2026
This was a newsletter I (Rochelle) received from Chattanooga Holistic Animal Institute (CHAI) today. If you are like me and love the natural/holistic side of things they are a great veterinarian office to check out! I have learned so much about pet health through them.
Eggs - The Powerful, Untapped Tool for Canine Nutrition
"Can my dog have eggs?" This is a question we get fairly often here at CHAI and we are so happy more and more pet parents are becoming more receptive to Nutritional Therapy. By focusing on the foundation of your pet's diet, we can support their systems in many different ways, like improving longevity, skin health, cognition, mobility, digestion and so on! This week we are going to discuss the humble egg and how it packs a nutrition punch in a small package.
Understanding the Whole Egg
Nutrients Contained in the Egg
Eggs are a perfect source of protein, but that's not all. They contain all the essential amino acids and are a highly digestible protein. Plus they are loaded with vitamins and minerals too! Ideally, the eggs you use would be from free-range or pastured chickens, or organic moega-3 enriched eggs that come from hens that have been fed flax. Also, eggs contain 9 of the 22 amino acids that the canine body needs to create protein.
Benefits From Other Egg Nutrients
Vitamin B12
Vitamin A - Essential for sharp eyesight and cell growth
Riboflavin - Helps digestive enzymes break down food and process it into energy
Selenium - Supports proper metabolic function
Fatty acids
Iron
Folic Acid - Necessary for DNA synthesis and red blood cell production
Raw vs. Cooked?
While feeding pets a raw diet has become more well known and accepted there is still some misunderstandings about what most dogs' digestive systems can handle vs. others. Compared to humans, dogs have a much shorter and much more acidic digestive tract and, therefore, have to worry less about bacterial infections in the digestive tract. Worries of contracting E. coli or salmonella should not deter dog parents from feeding eggs to their dogs.
The ways dog parents feed eggs to their dogs range from raw to soft-boiled eggs. It's all about your dog's preferences. Some dogs will eat raw eggs without turning their noses up, while others might object to a raw egg's texture. For the latter group, soft-boiling the egg is the best cooking version because soft-boiled eggs retain most of their nutrients. Dog parents who choose other cooking methods, such as sunny side up or scrambled, must avoid adding ingredients that disturb the canine digestive tract, such as oil, salt, spices, seasonings, and butter.
THE WHOLE EGG
The egg was designed by nature to be consumed whole. The yolk of an egg contains biotin and the whites contain avidin. Avidin binds to biotin and allows it to be absorbed by your dog's digestive tract to be used in their body to use biotin. Biotin is a vitamin that is responsible for skin and cell health and aids in proper metabolism and digestion.
EGG SHELL & MEMBRANE
The eggs' salutary benefits are not limited to the egg whites and egg yolk. As you crack open a raw egg, you will notice a membrane lining the eggshell, a rich source of collagen, hyaluronic acids, glucosamine (i.e., a natural compound found in cartilage), and chondroitin (i.e., a chemical substance found in connective tissues). All of these components will help your dog battle arthritis and other joint issues.
The egg's membrane contains:
Collagen - helping joints maintain elasticity
Elastin - a protein that supports skin, cardiovascular, cartilage, and spinal health
Amino Acids - specifically, desmosine and isodesmosine, the two amino acids responsible for elastin's elastic properties.
Glycosaminoglycans - Including glucosamine, chondroitin, and hyaluronic acid. These are vital polysaccharides that support the connective tissue, interstitial fluids, and skeletal structure of the joints and help with mobility, range of motion, and flexibility.
It is important to discuss feeding the shells to your dog with your Veterinarian as the additional calcium may unbalance their diet. While eggshells are a reliable source of natural calcium for dogs who would benefit from calcium supplementation. Add ½ teaspoon of eggshells to your dog's meal for extra calcium, but with the following caveat: eggshells cannot act as a substitute for the calcium found in bones. The calcium found in eggshells is calcium carbonate, which is different from the calcium found in bones that the canine digestive system easily absorbs. Furthermore, bones contain phosphorus and magnesium, two essential minerals eggshells cannot substitute.
