Dogs, eggs and liver.

[Crossy]

We have two young dogs, just under 4 months, mum and dad are about 12" at the shoulder. Wifey says they're Thai Chihuahua, but, though they have the typical head shape they're already bigger than a western Chihuahua, but that doesn't matter, they're great little woofers.

 

Anyway, like every dog I've ever owned they love (cooked) liver and (raw) eggs.

 

One of Wifey's friends has now told her that both eggs and liver are bad for the dogs and she should only feed "dog food".

 

Of course Mr Google comes up with both sides of the argument (although mostly on the positive side for both eggs and liver).

 

The liver comes from Makro (human food area), the eggs are from our own chooks.

 

Any opinions from experienced dog owners, I've only had dogs on and off for 40 years :)

 

EDIT By the way, has anyone seen doggie chocs (training treats) here?

 

[Crossy]

Yeah, I agree that the chocs probably are not great for them, but ham or liver tends to go a bit furry in the pocket (not that the dogs mind)

 

The chocs would be for those exceptional "training in-the-field" times, they're already pretty good at sit and stay (in both English and Thai).

 

They know what an egg looks like and go mad when I get them one, but if I'm feeling mean I just put it in the bowl whole They've not worked out how to open it.

 

Back home our Old English Sheepdog (Dulux Dog) never worked out how to open an egg, he died at age 13, thick as two short planks (but he was fantastic with the kids, I still miss the daft old thing).

 

[Daffy D]

Sometimes give my Thai mutts a raw egg, shell and all over their dry granules for a change.

 

Those small cocktail sausages available in packs from 7-11 and Tesco make great doggie treats, not expensive and don't mess up the pocket if kept in plastic bag.

 

[Oxx]

Raw egg in its shell is definitely not a good idea.  Significant chance that the shell will be contaminated with salmonella bacteria.

 

Personally, I scramble the egg (no shell) in the microwave until cooked.  Did try hard boiled eggs, but the dogs struggle with the texture.

[Daffy D]

Raw egg in its shell is definitely not a good idea.

 

I'm sure you are right, but as I said mine are local Thai dogs that will eat anything.

 

The park that I take them to has several packs of local strays that obviously eat any food scraps left by visitors, so you would imagine after the park dogs have scavenged through the scraps there wouldn't be anything left.

 

Well my mutts always seem to find scraps the park dogs have left behind. Taking them to the park is not so much "walkies" as scavenger hunt for them. They dash around from rubbish bit to rubbish bit sniffing for anything that resemble food. Have even seen one eating a plastic bag that was covered in barbeque chicken fat, yes it did come out the other end

 

If my mutts can eat stuff that even the local park dogs won't touch and live, I doubt the odd raw egg will harm them. 

 

[jak2002003]

On ‎23‎/‎01‎/‎2017 at 7:19 AM, Oxx said:

Raw egg in its shell is definitely not a good idea.  Significant chance that the shell will be contaminated with salmonella bacteria.

 

Personally, I scramble the egg (no shell) in the microwave until cooked.  Did try hard boiled eggs, but the dogs struggle with the texture.

Raw eggs in the shell are one of the healthiest foods for dogs.  My dogs nick my chickens eggs from their pen if I am not up early enough in the morning.

 

Salmonella and other bacteria are no problem to dogs.  They have a digestive system designed to destroy these bacteria. 

 

OP.  I also have 2 small dogs., one is a Thai Chihuahua.   I feed a very mixed diet... some dry dog food, raw eggs, raw chickens and other meat, leftover food from out dinner and much more.  The smaller dog also likes to hunt insects, geckos and frogs and sometimes eats them as a snack.

 

They also get raw chicken legs, wings, which they love to crunch up.... and it really does clean their teeth really well and get rid of any bad breath. 

 

If I were you, I would save the cooked liver for the dog training treats... rather than the dog choc.  Its much healthier for them and most dogs prefer the liver to the commercial dog treats any day.

 

Most of the dry commercial dog foods are actually not healthy for a dog... believe me I worked in the pet food industry for 10 years.  If you look on any of the ingredients lists you will see its just made of cheap grains and meat bi products, with lots of artificial stuff added, even vitamins, as they get destroyed in the cooking process, have to be re added.  This is part of the reason most dogs fed commercial dog food have bad teeth and gums, and are overweight.

 

The dog food companies fill out the food with cheap, non human grade, surplus grains, like corn, rice, wheat, etc.. which make up the majority of the dry dog food.  This is not a natural diet for dogs at all. 

 

 

[Oxx]

3 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

Salmonella and other bacteria are no problem to dogs.  They have a digestive system designed to destroy these bacteria. 

 

Simply not true.  Dogs can get gastroenteritis and septicaemia from salmonella.  They can also harbour salmonella, then pass it on to humans.

 

Source:  http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/digestive/c_dg_salmonellosis

[wayned]

Now that I only have 8 grown dogs, I cook 2 kilos of chicken insides, liver, gizzards and hearts with some veggies everyday and mix it with cooked rice.  I've been know to scoop out a small bowl and eat it myself with a couple of poached eggs on top!That is supplemented with bowls of dry kibble.  I use pedigree as it's the best available here but would prefer science diet or ukanuba but would have to drive to Bangkok to get it and take out a bank loan on the way.  When I had 23 Golden Retrievers, the kitchen every morning looked like a military mess hall.  It was 6 kilos a day at one point in time.

 

When I raised Goldens in the states they mainly got kibble, but good kibble was available locally at a reasonable price

[Bung]

I cook my chihuahua some lean chicken or pork,  carrots,  sweet potato,  mashed potato in a little water in a small pot and he loves it. Mix it up a bit. He doesn't come up for air normally. Try some different veggies but I've found they don't go for greens. Also scrambled eggs. Stick to two meals a day and go easy on the treats. If they nibble during the day they won't eat their dinner. Just like kids funnily enough! 

[jak2002003]

1 hour ago, Oxx said:

 

Simply not true.  Dogs can get gastroenteritis and septicaemia from salmonella.  They can also harbour salmonella, then pass it on to humans.

 

Source:  http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/digestive/c_dg_salmonellosis

The article you provided  says...

 

That the dogs that can get sick from Salmonella are dogs with underdeveloped and/or compromised immune systems. Similarly, dogs with weak immune systems or immature gastrointestinal tracts are at risk.

 

Healthy dogs will not get sick from eating raw eggs.  Even dry food dogs regularly shed Salmonella bacteria... and most of the casts of dogs suffering from bacterial infections come form dogs that are dry commercial food fed, or animals suffering form reactions to vaccines. 

 

Many vets now think that it is the dry kibble, not the raw meat, that causes bacterial problems. Kibble in the intestine not only irritates the lining of the bowels but also provides the perfect warm, wet environment with plenty of undigested sugars and starches as food for bacteria. This is why thousands of processed food-fed animals suffer from a condition called Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, or SIBO (Lonsdale, T. 2001. Raw eggs, and raw meaty bones, however, create a very inhospitable environment for bacteria, as RMBs are easily digestible and have no carbohydrates, starches, or sugars to feed the bacteria.

 

Here is a good link for anyone thinking about feeding their dogs raw diets.. or part raw diets....

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/AnimalWellness/SampleRaw

 

Concerned about salmonella and other bugs?

The digestive systems of dogs and cats are short, acidic, and handle bacteria well. This is why they are not susceptible to salmonella, parasites, or e-coli from tainted meat as humans are. Humans have very long digestive tracks which allow food to 'linger' for 24 hours or more, thus allowing more time for parasites to get into their bloodstreams.

 

Feeding fresh raw eggs is not going to cause a healthy dog any problems... believe me and the OP need not worry. 

 

 

[dick dasterdly]

Most importantly, I'd be more careful about food fed to puppies than adult dogs - but also encourage them to a varied diet, as it becomes difficult when they're so used to some foods that they have no interest in things they don't know.

 

Some liver and eggs should be fine, although I'm not sure that too much liver is good for them?

 

Its hard to believe that dogs seriously suffer from salmonella etc., bearing in mind the rubbish they'll eat given the opportunity - without any problems.

 

And why do they prefer this to the fresh meat I buy for them ???

 

They do love the frankfurters (?) sold at 7/11 - as I discovered when I saw them sitting attentively around my part-time cleaner as she fed them slices from the supplied 'stick'!  One of my dogs who was very sick and hadn't eaten for a couple of days was there - and started eating 'proper food' after - i.e. chicken/beef mince etc.  But I've also noticed that they prefer the frankfurters when fed by my part-time cleaner (heavy sigh).....