Egg Whites?

[Roy]

Good morning everyone,

We've been giving Nickie boiled chicken cut into tiny pieces as a topper on her Acana kibble. If we didn't give her toppers, she wouldn't bother eating at all. 

Nice seems to like boiled egg whites (I don't give her the yolk). I was reading online and it seems as egg whites are okay to give to dogs. Would it be okay to give Nickie two eggs without the yolk a day as a topper?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Sure, egg whites are harmless. Just be sure that you are willing and able to add toppers to her meals every day for the rest of her life, and that whoever watches her when you are out of town can do it as well, because once you start adding toppers, you end up with a dog who won't eat without them, as you've seen, lol. 

BTW, there's nothing wrong with giving egg yolks to dogs, either. The yolk contains most of the nutrients, as well as the calories. But I wouldn't give whole eggs every day, let alone twice a day. :) 

[Roy]

Hi Karen,

Thanks for your reply! I know, toppers arent good but Nickie won't eat without chicken or egg white on top :(

She doesn't eat the kibble by itself. We've tried almost all the flavors from Acana and orijen but no luck. What do you recommend we do to have her eat the kibble by itself? Do you think another brand altogether would be better? We tried Wellness and zignature before.

Healthwise, Nickie seems very healthy but she doesn't have the biggest appetite. There are days where she would. Just eat half of her meals but other days where she eats the whole thing. She's a year and 10 months.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The problem is, Nickie has learned not to eat plain kibble. You have taught her that if she holds out, she will get something extra/better. 

A normal healthy dog will not starve herself. And until we teach them that there are other options, they don't know that there is something else to eat other than what we place in their bowl. It's okay if a dog doesn't eat all her food at every meal. No harm will come to her. 

There's also a way to provide variety without changing brands, and I never understand why, when a dog doesn't seem to "like" her food, people switch to a whole other brand rather than just changing formulas within the same brand. For example, if you try Zignature Duck, and she stops eating it, why not try Zignature Lamb, or Zignature Whitefish, rather than switching to a whole other company? These lines are all designed to be rotated from one "flavor" to the next, with each new bag, to prevent boredom. But that works best when you stick with the same brand and line, so the nutritional profile doesn't keep changing. 

At this point, anything you introduce may be met with initial approval, but she's going to revert back to her picky ways it at some point in the not-too-distant future. She knows that if she doesn;t eat, she'll get something else; she has you well trained, lol.

To have a dog eat what you give her (i.e. kibble by itself), you put the food in her dish, sit down nearby and keep her company, perhaps having a snack or cup of coffee yourself (dogs generally dislike eating alone), keep all distractions to an absolute minimum (nobody walking in or out of the room, no kids playing in the next room, nobody calling out from other parts of the house, etc), you give her 10 minutes, and then you put the food away and do not offer food again until her next scheduled mealtime. Period, even if she doesn;t eat one bite. She will not starve, I promise you. Meals are always at the same time, even on weekends and holidays. It will not take long before she begins to understand that food is not available any time she feels like having some, the menu choices are take it or leave it, she is not in charge of anything, and if she wants to eat, she needs to eat what is offered when it's offered, or wait til the next meal. This will be much harder on you than it will be on her. You might start with a new flavor (please, not a new brand) so that she has some initial interest. 

If you don't want to do this, I'd suggest using Stella & Chewy's as toppers, instead of fresh cooked food, which would make it easier for you if and when you ever have to board or travel with her. 

I may have suggested this before, but please read the following discussion. It's funny and you may have a light bulb moment. 
http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/an-ode-...

[Kamela & Beckett]

Egg whites are an excellent source of protein and are highly digestible for dogs. I use them as a part of the protein source for the homemade food for my dog with kidney failure. 2 a day sounds like a lot in addition to kibble, but I guess it depends on the size of your dog, amount of kibble being supplemented, etc.

As an aside, I read these posts about convincing dogs to eat with wonder as both of our dogs live to eat and are not the least bit picky. I can't offer any suggestions on that topic as I've never experienced it. LOL.

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Why not the yolk, too? I give my dogs eggs a couple of times a week. Like Karen said, the yolks are the part that contain the most nutrients. Very good for the coat and skin!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yep. In fact, JD's dermatologist recommends giving them a whole egg several times a week because the yolks are so good for the skin. 

[Kamela & Beckett]

For a healthy dog, whole eggs are fine. My schnauzer has kidney failure and therefore requires a diet low in phosphorous. Most of the phosphorous in eggs is in the yolk, so by using the whites you get the protein but minimize the phosphorous.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The white also has most of the sodium, though, which I believe is also supposed to be limited in dogs with kidney failure. :(

This link has a nice chart showing what nutrients are in each part of the egg:

 https://www.ahealthiermichigan.org/2011/10/11/the-nurtional-value-o...