As a Frenchie owner, we will often Google certain things about what to feed our own dog Claude. There’s not a lot of information online about whether or not eggs are bad for a French Bulldog’s diet and whether they can eat them safely. To get the right answer, I did some research, and also wanted to share our own experiences with you.
Can French Bulldogs eat eggs?
French bulldogs can eat eggs safely, whether they are raw, boiled, cooked or scrambled. In fact, they can even eat egg shells as long as the meal is prepared correctly. Eggs can be a good source of protein and nutrition and can help settle their stomach after illness.
Can you give a French bulldogs eggs?
Please don’t worry, it is safe to feed your French Bulldog eggs, as long as you don’t see evidence that they react badly. And also, please make it’s only a small part of their weekly diet.
Despite common misconceptions, you can give a French bulldog egg, and it could play an important part in your dog or puppy’s diet.
I would go so far to say that scrambled and boiled eggs are a great addition to the diet of a growing French bulldog puppy and can help older dogs increase their nutritional intake.
But let’s get into this a bit deeper to find out if French bulldogs can eat raw eggs, the shell, or if you should cook, boil, or scramble the eggs first.
Can French Bulldogs eat raw eggs?
Yes, French Bulldogs can eat raw eggs, and in fact, this will mean they will get the most nutritional value. However, some people believe that feeding raw eggs to a dog can lead to a biotin deficiency.
If you are in any way concerned about feeding your Frenchie raw eggs, make sure you cook them through thoroughly before letting them eat it.
However, feeding him a cooked egg will mean you lose a lot of the nutritional value, and in fact, our vet told us that raw eggs are ok for our Frenchie in smaller amounts.
To find out more about what the professional told us, scroll down to the section lower down where I talk about the dangers eggs are said to present to a dog’s diet.
Can French Bulldogs eat cooked or boiled eggs?
Eggs are a cheap and safe source of protein and raw food for a Frenchie puppy and adult dog.
Most owners prefer to cook and boil eggs before letting their French Bulldog eat them, as this reduces their concerns over food poisoning. However, vets suggest that raw eggs are also fine as long as it isn’t the mainstay of the dog’s diet.
Can French Bulldogs eat scrambled eggs?
Scrambling the eggs first is the most common way that owners let their French bulldog eat eggs. By scrambling, you can cook the egg thoroughly, and also make sure that it’s in small enough pieces for your dog to chew and digest properly.
Scrambled eggs can also be mixed into normal food, meaning you can get the nutritional value into your dog’s diet without having concerns they might push it one side and not eat it.
Full disclaimer: We have never given Claude raw egg to eat, we have only ever scrambled the eggs first, and then only given him little bits at a time in combination with his normal food.
Why are eggs good for a French Bulldog?
Eggs contain riboflavin, selenium, and a range of digestible proteins. If your Frenchie often gets an upset stomach (and whose doesn’t!) or has digestion problems, eggs can provide a great boost to their diet.
Eggs include the following benefits to your dog’s diet:
- Amino acids
- Fatty Acids
- Folate
- Iron
- Riboflavin
- Selenium
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin B12
What are the best eggs to feed a Frenchie?
We only ever buy organic chicken eggs, for both ethical and health reasons. We treat Claude’s diet as seriously as we do our own and that of our young son’s.
Organic eggs are much better because they won’t be sprayed with any chemicals to make them look all nice and shiny.
You can feed them cooked chicken eggs safely, but if you do that, a lot of the nutrition in the egg white will be lost. That’s why you might want to consider feeding them raw eggs occasionally. One egg type I would not let them eat is a fried egg; you don’t want all that cooking oil being ingested.
Feed your Frenchie the whole of the egg, whether cooked, boiled, scrambled, or raw and not just the white. That way he will get the most benefit.
Are eggs dangerous in a dog’s diet?
You will see people saying on Internet forums that eggs are bad for dogs, given the high levels of cholesterol and potential salmonella poisoning. Some will also say that eggs can lead to a biotin deficiency in dogs.
Having spoken to our dog’s vet, I can confirm that the professionals don’t believe this is a huge risk, as long as you don’t make eggs a large part of the dog’s diet.
Let’s talk about the potential risks though, and a few reasons why you shouldn’t really be concerned.
Biotin deficiency:
Eggs have something called avidin in them which is known to reduce biotin levels. Biotin is a B vitamin and is good for growth, metabolism, skin and coat health.
Obviously, you won’t want to reduce your Frenchie’s B vitamin levels, but biotin deficiency is a very rare complaint in dogs and our vet says he would have to eat a huge amount of eggs in his diet to even make this a possibility.
There is a large amount of biotin in the yolk of an egg, so as long as your let your French bulldog eat the whole thing, it can be a definite benefit.
Salmonella risks:
Dogs don’t need raw foods cooking for them, and the same applies for eggs.
Their biological make-up makes them very resistant to illnesses like salmonella, and so this is a very small risk if feeding them a raw egg.
Just make sure that you source your eggs organically from a reputable store or farm shop, keep them in cool storage to reduce the chances of bacteria, and don’t feed them to your Frenchie after the safe use-by date printed on the shell.
What about egg shells?
I was actually quite surprised by this one, when I read a post on a veterinarian website about feeding dogs egg shells.
They said that French bulldogs can have boiled eggs, even with the shells on.
The reasons that shells are ok to eat is that they have calcium carbonate in them and can be a great food source, particular for dogs that have trouble chewing and eating bones.
But take care when preparing, as Frenchies are terrible at getting things stuck in their throats.
This is how you should feed your Frenchie egg shells:
- Dry the eggs shells out first.
- Grind the eggs shells up until they are almost powder-like in consistency.
- Sprinkle the egg shell powder onto your dog’s normal food.
How often can a French Bulldog eat eggs?
You can let your French bulldog eat eggs every day if you like, but I would not recommend it.
Instead, make a little bit of egg a few times a week just as a special treat, or when they are ill. I also talk about this lower down the page in my guide about letting French bulldog eat cooked eggs, raw, boiled, or scrambled.
Bear in mind that one egg can contain up to 70 calories, and it’s really important to not overload a Frenchie with too much. Many of them aren’t the most active of dogs and can easily become overweight if fed too much.
To summarise, eggs are safe for a Frenchie, but don’t make it a large and daily part of their diet.
Eggs can be good for a Frenchie’s upset stomach
Claude will eat almost anything he comes across when we’re out walking.
I will often take him into the forest near our house, and he will run ahead and start licking wild horse and cow dung before I can stop him. I’ve even seen him start to eat another dog’s faeces.
This is a prime reason he will often be sick for a few days.
When this happens, vets will often advise certain foods if your French Bulldog has an upset stomach. Believe me, this is more common in our beloved breed than many others.
Along with the common food types recommended to help with an upset stomach on a Frenchie, vets also recommend cooking scrambled eggs for them. It can settle their stomach down and help to reduce vomiting and diarrhoea.
Here’s how you should prepare, cook, and feed your French bulldog the eggs when they are sick.
- Cook the scrambled eggs up and place into a plastic container in your fridge.
- Offer your Frenchie a couple of tablespoons every couple of hours.
- If your dog doesn’t sick the eggs back up, increase the amount offered after 6 hours.
- Once your dog is eating the same volume of food as normal in eggs you can then add boiled rice into the mix.
- At the point your Frenchie seems to be better after a few days, start to reduce the amount of scrambled egg and rice mixing it with normal food, returning him back to his normal diet.
Will my Frenchie be allergic to eggs?
Whilst we’ve established that French Bulldogs can eat eggs in the main, just like any “human” food you give your dog, make sure you see how the react first with a small piece.
It’s an unfortunate fact of keeping a Frenchie, is that they can often get allergies to certain foods and there’s no way of knowing what your particular dog will react badly to. It’s very much down to the dog as an individual.
Some of the more common French bulldog food allergies include:
- Beef
- Cheese (click here to see which cheeses are safest)
- Chicken
- Corn
- Dairy products
- Fish
- Lamb
- Milk
- Wheat
- Soy
Don’t be alarmed by that list if you have fed your Frenchie some of the foods listed above. Not all of them will get these allergies, and most dogs will be perfectly fine with them.
However, the list of food types above are the most commonly reported as resulting in an allergy.
But what does a food allergy look like in French Bulldog?
Basically, keep an eye out for vomiting, scratching, licking more than usual, red blotches, and hives breaking out on their skin.
Handy Hint: Here’s a list of other reasons your French Bulldog might be throwing up including allergic reactions, eating too quickly, or food poisoning.
Will eggs make your French Bulldog fart more?
And here’s the kicker… when we have given Claude eggs I have to say, his gas output increases!
How do I know?
Well, I once made the mistake of giving him a pickled egg.
I personally love pickled eggs; they sell them at our local fish and chip shop in the UK.
One evening I was eating one, and he was looking up at me with those puppy dog eyes, making out like he was starving hungry as usual, so I decide to give in.
Big mistake.
A few hours later he was sat in our bed as we watched TV, and the worst ever farting started. I put the entire smell down to the picked egg I’d given him earlier.
It was so bad my wife even posted on Facebook what a mistake it was as you can see with the screenshot of her status below.
Conclusion
To conclude, French bulldogs can eat eggs safely, but I would recommend that you limit the egg intake to just a few a week, rather than it being a large part of their daily diet.
Our vet said that the health benefits of eggs outweighs any potential negatives and can go some way to counteracting harmful imbalances in his diet.
Eggs can provide great nutritional value and also be a way of helping to settle your dog’s stomach if they are ill.
As long as you don’t see any adverse reaction, then there’s no reason why eggs can’t be a weekly part of his diet – just like it is for our own Frenchie, Claude.
Try feeding your French Bulldog just a couple of eggs a week, and you could end up seeing health improvements – but just keep a mind on the gas and farting you might have to put up with!